I loved book 1 but I am 54% through the second book and I can see the writing on the wall. I think this is gonna be a DNF for me.
I hate when authors change the main love interest in book 2. Like I get it. ACOTAR was revolutionary or whatever so now we've all got to do it. I'm sorry but it just feels like a slap in the face. How dare you get me invested in a character only to retcon them later. Kamran was a POV character! I really loved his POV chapters because of how Alizeh lived rent free in his head from the moment he "saw" her, without even seeing her face. Like this man was unhinged. Playing full ass 4D chess with Alizeh in his head and she had barely spared him a thought. And the things he admired about her wasn't how hot she was but her compassion and intelligence and resilience in the face of so much hardship. I was so touched by this man who clearly fell first and harder haha.
And you mean to tell me it's this asshole Cyrus who is end game? And I KNOW that if I keep reading she is going to convince me that no wait he was actually a great guy all along and theirs is the actual greatest love and oh no it turns out Kamran is a piece of shit who treats her like garbage. I'm tired y'all. I don't need all that.
Is it too much to ask that love triangles don't play with our emotions? Why can't characters just grow apart and find other people, or with the characters realizing they aren't right for each other organically without emotionally cheating? Tamora Pierce really set the bar high for me at a very young age with her Alanna series. You really feel at the end that she ends up with the right person and no one had to turn into a villain to convince you.
Anyways, am I wrong about this series? Should I continue? Are there any other love triangles where one of the guys DOESN'T turn into an asshole to manipulate the reader into choosing the right guy?