Investigated – Instant Love

To me, instant love has the power to battle it out with love triangles for the most hated/annoying type of romance in YA. It’s especially annoying when it happens in realistic fiction. Don’t get me wrong, it’s really annoying anytime, unless it’s done right (certain factors apply), but realistic fiction, really? The truth is, love at first sight seems like a fantasy. How can you claim to fall in love with someone you just met? Someone who you don’t even know? Sure falling in love with the idea of being in a relationship is certainly possible, but falling in love emotionally, in a romantic is quite uncommon. It’s like saying you saw a picture of someone, but automatically fall in love. It’s just UNREALISTIC. How many people do you know you have experienced love at first sight and is still with that same person today? I can’t name any couples like that. At least love triangles, as annoying as they may be, are much more possible in the world we live in.

Another problem with insta love besides the fact that they are unrealistic, is the fact that in most occurrences, they happen before the characters are really developed. I barely even know these two characters, what their qualities are, who they even are, they barely know each other and they are already falling in love and starting a relationship. It’s like starting off like….

“This is Maya. She is _____ years old and a _____________ [enter description on the line]. Meet Alex. He is ____ years old and a ____________. Maya and Alex bumped into each other in the hallway. They go on a date. They lived happily ever after. The end.”

My reaction: -___- Seriously?!? Seriously?!? What the heck did I just read?

The problem with this is that whenever this happens, you usually stop learning about the characters as individuals, but as a couple instead. And that can be quite nauseating. Not to mention cliche.

In addition, there’s also the factor that in most cases of insta love (that I’ve read), the story kind of ends as soon as the romance begins. The majority of the rest of the book is basically filler, and nothing much happens. There’s no drama. No tears. No fighting. No excitement. Just romance. Most of the time, insta love produces a happy relationship and the couple goes on to live happily ever after (like I mentioned above). Who wants to read a book with a happy ending? One filled with romance and devoid of anything else?

In my opinion that’s where love triangles have an upper hand. At least with love triangles, no matter how much they divide people, are always filled with drama, with conflict, with PROBLEMS!!! What is YA with conflict and problems?