tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post2163622807779955555..comments2023-12-02T05:59:27.143-05:00Comments on YAtopia: Romance & mini review for WITH OR WITHOUT YOUSM Johnstonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03546994863993080465noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-5065844071531418342011-06-21T22:57:21.559-04:002011-06-21T22:57:21.559-04:00Great post. I love it when the plot pushes the rom...Great post. I love it when the plot pushes the romance. I love romances that aren't perfect, where the people are flawed enough that you think - man, I wasn't sure if either would suck up enough pride to be the other one. But I do love me a really good HEA =)Jolene Perryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14809468564016928636noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-13258565535164440902011-06-21T12:55:34.080-04:002011-06-21T12:55:34.080-04:00I'll be honest and say that I (often) read for...I'll be honest and say that I (often) read for HEAs, lol. (I'm almost a pure escapist reader, what can I say?) However, those endings that turn everything I thought on its head and make me want to cry...well, those are the endings that totally stick with me and make me think. Well, and I honestly like my HEAs best when the characters really had to work for them. Love and life isn't easy.<br /><br />I'll have to pick up With or Without You. Sounds like the gritty, stick with you kind of story.JessiMhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05620317510135783572noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-57996078487160166742011-06-21T12:10:22.146-04:002011-06-21T12:10:22.146-04:00I am with you! I don't want to read a Happily ...I am with you! I don't want to read a Happily Ever After for YA, I want grit, too. Teenagers rarely have anything figured out, and that includes romance. It's natural for any relationship to ride a rough road. And how many "relationships" did we have as youth that didn't work out? Most of them! (I did marry my high school sweetheart, but I realize I'm an oddity). Bring on the grit!Emily R. Kinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03892444969625637064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-78240283773826129982011-06-20T21:38:49.482-04:002011-06-20T21:38:49.482-04:00I definitely agree with you guys: I love heartbrea...I definitely agree with you guys: I love heartbreaking stories, but I DO like to have some kind of flame of hope when the last page is turned. Even if it's a little one.<br /><br />I'm iffy on love-triangles. If they're present, I really want to *feel* them. I want to actually be wondering "who are they going to end up with?" because a lot of times, they say it's a triangle, but really... I have no doubts who will end up with who.<br /><br />Juliana, I hope you enjoy WITH OR WITHOUT YOU! Fantastic book. And I completely agree with THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH. Then again, I love everything about that series. ;)Kelley Yorkhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01852321111294729924noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-35224665223108227092011-06-20T17:52:55.279-04:002011-06-20T17:52:55.279-04:00I'm not a big fan of love triangles, though pe...I'm not a big fan of love triangles, though perhaps that's because they're overdone. I just finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth and hugely appreciated how she kept the relationships. Yes, there was a love triangle, but Mary had something bigger than the love, love wasn't everything to her. When a characters main motivation in a story is love, I usually get frustrated. That's not real life!<br /><br />I'm going to have to go pick up With or Without You! Thanks for the suggestion.Juliana L. Brandthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15903360100714298208noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-63436034867171786812011-06-20T16:55:59.475-04:002011-06-20T16:55:59.475-04:00I love what everyone has said about HOPE. I think ...I love what everyone has said about HOPE. I think that's very true for YA relationships. There doesn't have to be a HEA at the end as long as I understand why it ended the way it did and I'm left with a feeling of hope for the characters. <br /><br />I'm very excited to read With or Without You. I just won it form a YA charity auction and it was personally signed by Brian. It sounds so good!Shannon The Bookstalkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16905887015241289646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-76533621671473828072011-06-20T15:28:09.854-04:002011-06-20T15:28:09.854-04:00Wendy, I agree. Changing my mind. LOL. I love an H...Wendy, I agree. Changing my mind. LOL. I love an HEA, but I'm okay as long as I have hope. I was so depressed at the end of MOckinjay.Kelley Vitollohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304868437913885003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-72606324682011306912011-06-20T14:38:27.883-04:002011-06-20T14:38:27.883-04:00I agree with Bee - it doesn't necessarily have...I agree with Bee - it doesn't necessarily have to be a HEA (athough I'm a sucker for HEAs), but it does have to end with some sort of hope. I think that's what I didn't like about Mockingjay...I felt sort of hopeless at the end, and I hated that feeling, even if it is realistic. I guess I'm okay with gritty stories, but not necessarily gritty endings, unless the writing is stellar.Wendy Higginshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01060366096097773416noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-59957897140520866492011-06-20T10:17:44.822-04:002011-06-20T10:17:44.822-04:00I'm not a Happily Ever After person. I like &#...I'm not a Happily Ever After person. I like 'em bittersweet, although I believe that they must end on some kind of hope, otherwise the whole purpose of the book might just be lost.<br /><br />I'd suggest Stephanie Kuehnert's Ballads Of Suburbia. It's no way fun, but the relationship dynamics are extremely well-portrayed.<br /><br />Sometimes there are exceptions though. I loved Stephanie Perkins' Anna And The French Kiss although I so knew where it was going before I even started the book. What worked for it was the execution.<br />I guess it all just comes down to overall good writing.Bidishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17382938442171208326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-17544755890279635402011-06-20T10:16:37.173-04:002011-06-20T10:16:37.173-04:00Sigh. I loved WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. Awesome book. I...Sigh. I loved WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. Awesome book. I had no doubts in the end though. Maybe it's the romantic in me :)<br /><br />You know I'm a huge romance lover. It's funny because I just did a post on my blog today about why I love romance. I shared my love story. I love a good happily ever after. While I too like real, I like being uplifted in the end. I like it when my heart goes pitter patter and I turn to mush inside. I like growth too and they def can't have an easy road, but for me, I'm an HEA kind of girl :)<br /><br />Kell, you should read Take Me there by Carolee Dean.Kelley Vitollohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13304868437913885003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-88608006023113032062011-06-20T09:48:27.230-04:002011-06-20T09:48:27.230-04:00I really like love triangles when they're done...I really like love triangles when they're done well, too. Like in Nightshade, where I was torn between Shay and Ren.<br /><br />Romance is a key for me. A book, mine or not, has to have a romantic plot to it to make me really invested in the story. Slow, but steady relationships are hard to find in books nowadays, but I actually don't mind the instant-love thing. At least, not when it's done well and it seems plausible for those particular characters--like Edward and Bella.DJ D.https://www.blogger.com/profile/18166397633991731436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7202274659436317634.post-65000674594481010352011-06-20T00:30:26.860-04:002011-06-20T00:30:26.860-04:00I do love the books with love triangles where you ...I do love the books with love triangles where you don't really have an idea of how it's going to end up. (So many are so lopsided that I don't like even calling them a love triangle!) Especially when you spend a long time getting to know the characters and you *know* that one (or more) of them is going to end up heartbroken and it tears you up so that you kinda don't even want to know how it ends and couldn't possibly imagine having to make the decision yourself, but you have to keep on reading? Those are awesome! <br /><br />I also like to read about different kinds of relationships (as compared to the INSTANT ONE TRUE LOVE that's trendy right now). I love the ones that develop really slowly in a series where the author is so subtle in developing the romantic tension that you don't even realize it's there until three books in.Sarah Nicolashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11006982668067292031noreply@blogger.com