Top 5 Wednesday- Books You Like With Tropes You Usually Hate

Today's Top 5 Wednesdays Topic is:
Books You Like With Tropes You Usually Hate

Pick some of your most hated tropes and discuss books (or other media) that actually handled that trope well.

1. Red Queen- This Love Triangle is not one I'm living for, but I like these books regardless. Mostly because I love Maven so much and I'm conflicted on what I want his end game to be. Part of me wants him to die in a beautifully tragic way and part of me wants Mare to confess she loves him too and they live happily ever after. I don't care about Mare as a character that much and I Cal I like enough to want him to just be happy but also to do it with someone else.... like idk? Find someone?

2. A Court of Thorns & Roses- We're just going to talk about the first book here and the Beauty Blind trope. I usually hate characters in books who don't realize that they're actually gorgeous, like c'mon I get people have self esteem issues but it gets old really fast. The difference between most of those books and ACOTAR is that there is actual information backing why Feyre thinks she's plain. She's the youngest daughter, her sisters aren't exactly supportive one being downright mean, and on top of all that she doesn't have time to worry about the way she looks, she's busy trying to not starve. What adds to my hatred of this trope is that someones worth shouldn't be determined by the way they look, I understand historically that may have been the case and was what was valued most in looking for a female companion specifically, but as people we have a lot more to offer that has certainly changed throughout time. In ACOTAR, though Tamlin (*gag*) does see Feyre as beautiful, he finds her strengths as a human her most interesting traits, such as her loyalty and ability to adapt to survive.

3. Nevernight- I can't really say that I'm into the Insta-love of this book between Mia and Tric, though by the end of Nevernight at least I'm satisfied by the status of their relationship. I think what irritated me the most about this relationship was exactly what Mr. Kindly continued to point out; it was distracting Mia from her purpose of becoming a certified killing machine rather than just a regular one. ((Spoilers) I think Tric dying was a bit unnecessary to end the relationship, however I wasn't super sad when it happened other than it being because of Ashlinn.) 

4. Percy Jackson- This trope is a little hard for me to pinpoint because I think it's a mixture of Hero Complex & Mysterious Magical Powers. Now I don't mind the latter, however the Hero Complex is a trope I really struggle with although in Percy's case, is also part of why I like him so much. What I'm identifying as the problem, is when a character feels like he or she specifically has to save everything; the day, the girl, the artifact, whatever. In Sea of Monsters, Clarisse received the prophecy but Percy and Annabel decided to tag along. Despite there being mayhem at Camp, I found it an annoying character trait of Percy to somewhat come off as entitled to being the hero. I understand if he didn't there wouldn't be a book 2, but still they could have grouped up with Clarisse in a much better fashion that I don't think would have taken away from the story.

5. Dangerous Angles 1-5 A.K.A. The Weetzie Bat series- This is the only form of Manic Pixie Dream Girl that I've found I like through literature. I think it's a mixture of the fact that it's taken the trope in the too far direction, but Weetzie is also mature and the fact that I've genuinely encountered people IRL that are like Weetzie. As I feel some pre-teens obsessed with fantasy and magic do, I always idolized the manic pixie dream girl in movies, TV books, comics, whatever. Then I started to realize how that character never grew up in Manic Pixie Dream Young Adult who still didn't care about having paint in her hair and stars in her eyes but at the same time didn't dumb herself down to come off as childish. I think what really made me appreciate Weetzie more was getting to see her become her husband and having a child and eventually, what really hit the nail in the head and is my favorite FLB book... reading Necklace of Kisses. In Necklace of Kisses, Weetzie is having a "mid-life crisis" and we get to see her mature but also experience all the magic she's always had in her heart. 

Whew, I didn't expect this list to be this beefy but I feel like it was a really good one.

To counter my least favorite tropes listed above, I wanted to list some of my favorite tropes really quick:

• The Unambiguous Bad Boy
• Flawed & Feisty Female Heros
• Problems with parents
• Unqualified protagonist succeeding above overly qualified supporting characters. It takes a village sometimes people.

What are your favorite tropes? What are your least favorite? Leave a comment below!