Let's Discuss: The Deluded Love Interest

 

Look who's kicking butt this week! Lol. I swear I either get a swarm of ideas back to back, or I get nothing at all! Never rains, but it pours that's for sure! So this idea popped up in my head when I was reading something last week. But it didn't happen in the book, I thought maybe it was headed in that direction, but ended up not happening, which was a relief because this thing always drives me crazy.

And it's not that I hate it per se...I just hate when the MC has to go through it because it makes me want to shake the love interest or smack them upside the head!

The Deluded Love Interest

I call them "deluded" when it comes to this scenario, I am sure you've encountered it before at some point if you've read any books with romance in them! You have your established couple, they are likely newish and fresh and happy...and then (usually) the boyfriend introduces the heroine to his ex, who also happens to still be a good friend. They ended things "amicably" and remained friends for years or what-have-you.

But then the "friend" gets the heroine alone and tells her, "I'm going to get 'him' back! We belong together!" and then you see the ex continue to manipulate the guy and play these games and setup scenarios where the true girlfriend looks like a crazy-jealous petty girlfriend!

I HATE THIS!! I hate the manipulation! I hate that the other character can't see that their "good friend" is such a twisted manipulator! It's so gross! I hate it when the boyfriend plays right into his ex's hands! It's like seriously?!

For the life of me, I cannot remember titles that did this! Lol. I know it's happened because it has driven me nuts! Obviously things always work out. The guy either finally gets wise to the ex's ways or the heroine kicks her a$$ and sends her packing (so to speak)!

But it just drives me nuts! I hate manipulation like that. I hate when someone lies so seamlessly and people believe it! 

It's not like I will avoid books if they do this. It's just one of those things that drives me nuts. Authors tend to write these scenarios very well and they always end the way that I want them too, lol. But it's just that manipulation kind of thing where people believe the lies, that's what I can't stand! It's like when you have someone "magically" pretending to be someone else and the real person is called out as the fraud! Arghhhh! That drives me nuts too! Lol.

But again, it always works out in the end, but when these scenarios start popping up on the page, I get enraged on the heroine's (because it's usually the heroine) behalf!

How do you feel about this particular kind of scenario? Do you enjoy them? Hate them? Love to hate them? Is there another type of scenario that happens within books that drives you nuts? Like you won't not read the book, but when this thing happens your emotions get all riled up?