Worst Book Love Interests

[Spartan Girl]

Since I have one for the Movie and TV threads, I figure we should start a thread for the horrible love interests we have in books.

The first one that comes to mind is Henry II from Jean Plaidy's amazing historical fiction novel about Catherine de Medici, Madame Serpent. For those unfamiliar with history, Catherine de Medici was a French queen who basicallyspent most of her marriage being humiliated by her husband and her husband's much-older mistress Diane de Poitiers. In the novel, Catherine is obsessed with trying to win her husband's affections even though he treats her like crap. Every time the narrative tries to emphasize how "noble and courteous" Henry is, I just rolled my eyes. He was just a petty, prickly douchebag with the world's biggest Oedipus complex.

Great book, though. I highly recommend it.

[BlackberryJam]

Mikael Blomkvist in Dragon Tattoo series of books. Every woman wants him, an overall average middle-aged man, for no apparent reason. It's just ridiculous.

Edited October 24, 2016 by BlackberryJam

[psychoticstate]

I haven't read these books but I have read reviews so that should count (ha ha). The Christian Grey character in Fifty Shades of Grey sounds like a real prize.  Of course the "heroine" sounds like an idiot so there's that.  

[MargeGunderson]

On 10/23/2016 at 8:41 PM, BlackberryJam said:

Mikael Blomkvist in Dragon Tattoo series of books. Every woman wants him, an overall average middle-aged man, for no apparent reason. It's just ridiculous.

I could not agree more! I assume something got lost in translation because I didn't get the attraction.

[Spartan Girl]

Why everyone was obsessed with Bella Swan, I'll never know. Ditto with Daisy Buchanan from Gatsby.

And I already mentioned this in the movie thread, but Isabel from The Light Between Oceans. Miscarriages don't give you a free pass to take someone's baby, then falsely accuse your loving husband of killing a guy when he does the right thing and lets the biological mother know her child is still alive. And yet despite the fucked-up thing she does to him, everyone coddles and forgives her, including the husband. Ugh.

Edited October 26, 2016 by Spartan Girl

[Cobalt Stargazer]

7 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Why everyone was obsessed with Bella Swan, I'll never know. Ditto with Daisy Buchanan from Gatsby.

And I already mentioned this in the movie thread, but Isabel from The Light Between Oceans. Miscarriages don't give you a free pass to take someone's baby, then falsely accuse your loving husband of killing a guy when he does the right thing and let's the biological mother know her child is still alive. And yet despite the fucked-up thing she does to him, everyone coddles and forgives, including the husband. Ugh.

Don't read Gone Girl.

That is all.

[Spartan Girl]

7 hours ago, Cobalt Stargazer said:

Don't read Gone Girl.

That is all.

LOL, you're too late, I already did.

[Qoass]

Every time I read Jane Eyre, my mind has to retrofit Mr. Rochester to my comfort level. 

[Danny Franks]

At the beginning of Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogy, Molly was a great love interest (although I know some fans don't like her, but that's more because they projected their own desire for Fitz to pursue a different relationship onto her). But by the end of the second trilogy, The Tawny Man, she really wasn't. She and Fitz felt like strangers, there was a sense of settling and accepting the easy answer that I didn't really care for.

But the thing is, I feel like Robin Hobb meant for it to feel like that. One of the ideas that comes up frequently in the books is that Fitz is an unreliable narrator, and is unable to see himself and the world as others see it. It's mentioned explicitly once or twice, but because the series is told in his first person narrative, there are things you accept as fact because he accepts them as fact. So all the hints that Kettricken (and maybe the Fool, although I don't think the Fool's love is romantic) is in love with him are misread, brushed off or go completely over his head. It's a frustrating experience at times, but I still love the books.

[NutMeg]

Daisy in The Great Gatsby is the first one that springs to mind. As well as Tom. Then again, the Bronte sisters were particularly good at writing bad love interests.

[Athena]

On 2016-10-29 at 6:15 AM, NutMeg said:

Daisy in The Great Gatsby is the first one that springs to mind. As well as Tom. Then again, the Bronte sisters were particularly good at writing bad love interests.

I'm here to defend Anne Bronte. The best Bronte. Gilbert in Tenant has actual character development and becomes worthy of the female protagonist by the end of the novel.

[Danny Franks]

Daisy was supposed to be a bad love interest, though. Gatsby's overly-romanticised love who had already chosen a life of wealth and comfort over the honest devotion that James Gatz was offering her. Did she regret that choice? Sure, because she never loved Tom and she wasn't happy in their life together. But as Nick said, she was a careless person, she and Tom "smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made".

Gatsby's doomed pursuit of her, his inability to truly see what she was, was the tragedy of the novel.

[NutMeg]

12 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

Daisy was supposed to be a bad love interest, though.

Excellent point, so we should definitely differentiate between designed bad love interest and bad love interest who were intended to be good love interest. I like the distinction. Daisy is indeed one of the former, but I thing most (non Anne, you have a point Athena) Bronte are an interesting study in the grey area - were they or were they not supposed to be bad love interests?   

[partofme]

On 10/25/2016 at 5:52 PM, Spartan Girl said:

 

And I already mentioned this in the movie thread, but Isabel from The Light Between Oceans. Miscarriages don't give you a free pass to take someone's baby, then falsely accuse your loving husband of killing a guy when he does the right thing and lets the biological mother know her child is still alive. And yet despite the fucked-up thing she does to him, everyone coddles and forgives her, including the husband. Ugh.

I hated Isabel in The Light Between Oceans.  She starts out sympathetic, but when she finds out the baby's mom is alive she becomes awful, and the worst part is I thought the book expected me to sympathize with her over the bio-mom.  Just no.

[Athena]

12 hours ago, NutMeg said:

Excellent point, so we should definitely differentiate between designed bad love interest and bad love interest who were intended to be good love interest. I like the distinction. Daisy is indeed one of the former, but I thing most (non Anne, you have a point Athena) Bronte are an interesting study in the grey area - were they or were they not supposed to be bad love interests?   

Having not read biographies or being a Bronteologist, but I'm inclined to think for Emily and Charlotte, Heathcliff and Rochester were suppose to be good love interests. I think Emily had overly romanticized and naive view of men and romance. I hated everyone in Wuthering Heights though. I'm a bit more mixed on Rochester in Jane Eyre, but I don't think he's suppose to be bad either. He does lose Jane and he loses a sense for lying and being a bigamist. He "wins" her back. I think Charlotte would mature a bit more, but the reason Anne was the most feminist Bronte (and IMO the best writer in the bunch) was because she had the most life experience outside of their Yorkshire cottage. She worked and lived as a governess. She saw domestic abuse at close quarters. As a result, she has men in her book who are out right flawed, awful love interests and intended to be juxtaposed with actually good romantic interests.

Of this thread, I do agree with most of those listed. However, one of the worse reading experiences of my life were the Fifty Shades books. Two vapid, poorly written lead characters who deserve each other.

[Spartan Girl]

Jen, the cheating ex-wife, in This Is Where I Leave You. Unlike the movie, the novel is a bit more ambiguous about whether she and Judd get back together, which infuriates me because pregnancy or not, nobody in the right mind would even consider it. Her overall "sorry not sorry" attitude over cheating on Judd with his sleazy boss and using their miscarriage as an excuse and acting like Judd's anger was completely unreasonable made me want to smack her.

[Wiendish Fitch]

On 10/26/2016 at 9:14 AM, Qoass said:

Every time I read Jane Eyre, my mind has to retrofit Mr. Rochester to my comfort level. 

Funny, I always retrofit the story so Jane travels the world as a missionary after becoming St. John's friend (not his wife, and he's actually cool with this), helping others and having adventures, and forgetting all about Rochester. Meanwhile, Rochester languishes blind and alone in the squalid misery he so richly deserves. 

Yeah, I hate Rochester so much that I'm incapable of enjoying Jane Eyre on the whole, which is a UO of the highest order. Sorry, Rochester defenders, but my sympathies are strictly with Jane and Bertha.

[proserpina65]

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2016 at 6:39 AM, Wiendish Fitch said:

Funny, I always retrofit the story so Jane travels the world as a missionary after becoming St. John's friend (not his wife, and he's actually cool with this), helping others and having adventures, and forgetting all about Rochester. Meanwhile, Rochester languishes blind and alone in the squalid misery he so richly deserves. 

Yeah, I hate Rochester so much that I'm incapable of enjoying Jane Eyre on the whole, which is a UO of the highest order. Sorry, Rochester defenders, but my sympathies are strictly with Jane and Bertha.

My problem with Jane Eyre is that I don't have sympathy for any of the characters.  Except maybe Bertha, and having since read Wide Sargasso Sea, I no longer have any sympathy for her either.

Edited December 5, 2016 by proserpina65

[DrSpaceman73]

On ‎10‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 8:41 PM, BlackberryJam said:

Mikael Blomkvist in Dragon Tattoo series of books. Every woman wants him, an overall average middle-aged man, for no apparent reason. It's just ridiculous.

This I can explain.  And it happens often, and annoys me to no end. 

It has nothing to do with the character.  It a wish fulfillment of the author.  Well, a male author.  They place themselves in the role of the lead character and write it as some sort of fantasy for themselves with the lead acting out the things, often sexual, they wish they had in their lives. 

And he is not the only one to do it.  Dan Brown, he alludes to it in his novels.  Though I have only read the one everyone knows, and that one I don't recall all the details of it, don't recall how much he actually follows through on it, but I know he mentions it in his novels with the lead character.  I recall thinking of this while reading it

Even in places you wouldn't expect.  Larry Niven wrote Ringworld.  An old many meets a prostitute that is trained to fill his every sexual desire.  (Not just his, personally, but sex is her "training") She travels with him on the long spaceship ride.  Oh and in general that novel sucked by the way.  Nebula Award winner my ass

Its pretty blatant though in the Dragon series though.  I had the same impression.  Why does every woman of any age want to sleep with this guy?  Author wish fulfillment. 

[BlackberryJam]

Oh I know. It's obvious male wish fulfillment. It just frustrates me that when female authors do that, their characters are derided as Mary Sues and men do it and ...it sells millions. *sigh*

[Danny Franks]

On 23/12/2016 at 5:10 AM, DrSpaceman73 said:

This I can explain.  And it happens often, and annoys me to no end. 

It has nothing to do with the character.  It a wish fulfillment of the author.  Well, a male author.  They place themselves in the role of the lead character and write it as some sort of fantasy for themselves with the lead acting out the things, often sexual, they wish they had in their lives. 

Joseph Kanon is pretty bad for this. Not that his protagonists are necessarily middle aged men, but they're certainly not remarkable in any way. It's just the uniform frankness of his (period) female characters to the fact that the protagonist is irresistible, even when the women are already married. Hell, in one of his novels, the protagonist goes to his brother's funeral, after not having seen him for several years, and meets his brother's widow for the first time. Within a day or two of it, she actually asks him 'shall we become lovers, do you think?' as though it's just the natural order of things.

It's a shame, because I like his writing. But his women all have that aspect, along with them usually being duplicitous, adulterous and occasionally murderous.

[Spartan Girl]

Henry VIII in pretty much any historical fiction novel about him.

Also Robert Dudley in The Queen's Fool/The Virgin's Lover. Being charming and handsome doesn't make up for the fact that he was a ruthless, power-hungry, philandering asshole. Then again, Philippa Gregory's Queen Elizabeth was a nasty piece of work too, so those two deserved each other.

[OtterMommy]

On 10/26/2016 at 6:14 AM, Qoass said:

Every time I read Jane Eyre, my mind has to retrofit Mr. Rochester to my comfort level. 

Cosign...and Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books...DESPITE Rochester.

Also, what did Hester Prynne ever see in Arthur Dimsdale?  That has been bugging me since I first read The Scarlet Letter in high school!

[MargeGunderson]

Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. So boring and spineless. 

[OtterMommy]

3 minutes ago, MargeGunderson said:

Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. So boring and spineless. 

Ugh....yes.  I never understood the appeal in the book OR the movie.

[GreekGeek]

On 1/28/2017 at 6:21 PM, OtterMommy said:

Cosign...and Jane Eyre is one of my favorite books...DESPITE Rochester.

Also, what did Hester Prynne ever see in Arthur Dimsdale?  That has been bugging me since I first read The Scarlet Letter in high school!

He's better looking and nicer than Roger Chillingworth, which admittedly isn't setting the bar very high.

Quote

Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind. So boring and spineless. 

True, but I think he's supposed to be boring and spineless. Scarlett's tragedy is that she hangs on to her romantic dream of him too long and doesn't fully appreciate Rhett. By the time she realizes Ashley is completely inadequate to meet her needs and even to survive in the world, she loses Rhett.

Although I enjoyed the book for other reasons, I didn't fully buy the relationship of Emma and Dexter in One Day. We're constantly told how much they enjoy each other's company and make each other laugh effortlessly, but more often than not they seem to be bickering.

[MargeGunderson]

@GreekGeek, you're right about the point of Ashley but it was definitely lost on me when I first read the book, which was when I was 12. I couldn't figure out what Scarlett saw in him. 

[Cobalt Stargazer]

12 hours ago, MargeGunderson said:

@GreekGeek, you're right about the point of Ashley but it was definitely lost on me when I first read the book, which was when I was 12. I couldn't figure out what Scarlett saw in him. 

Ashley has the misfortune of being the Edgar Linton of the piece. The mild nice guy who can't stand up against the borderline obsession Scarlett (Cathy, and I've made this comparison for years) has with Rhett, and even though she eventually wrecks her relationship with him as well before he tells her he doesn't give a damn, Ashley is just so dull that you wonder why she spent so much time running after him.

[nodorothyparker]

Even Rhett says Ashley was a nice enough guy who would have been fine for what he was had the war not happened.

We're tipped off to the real problem very early:  Ashley hit Scarlett's imagination just right as the knight on the white horse out of the fairy tales when she was maybe 14.  It'd be fine to still be harboring a little girl fantasy crush at 16 when we meet her if she wasn't part of a society that expected her to marry and behave like an adult making adult decisions at that age.   As she moves into her twenties and marries first one and then another man who barely register with her (In our own time, Charles is barely even that guy she would have went out with a time or two to try to make Ashley jealous before dumping him.), she holds on to her crush out of habit and because she doesn't have anything else to properly distract from it.  Rhett rightly calls her a child for not letting her Ashley fantasy go, but even he approaches it wrong in his thinking the solution is to simply wait it out when it's already been years.  Ashley's share of the blame comes in being too nice or weak to rightly call out her obsession for what it is and deal with the consequences in their society and intertwined families.  He has the right idea when he tries to make a stand to move away to New York after the war's end, but he allows himself to be browbeaten by the combined efforts of Scarlett and Melanie with hardly a fight.

[Mabinogia]

Ok, so, half way through Wuthering Heights. I'm going to say Cathy slightly edges out Heathcliff as worst love interest EVER! OMG these people are absolutely horrific! They truly destroy everyone who comes in contact with them. I am shocked, SHOCKED that this is considered an epic love story. It's about destructive obsession and narcissism. Not at all what I thought the book was about.

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Mabinogia said:

Ok, so, half way through Wuthering Heights. I'm going to say Cathy slightly edges out Heathcliff as worst love interest EVER! OMG these people are absolutely horrific! They truly destroy everyone who comes in contact with them. I am shocked, SHOCKED that this is considered an epic love story. It's about destructive obsession and narcissism. Not at all what I thought the book was about.

Everyone I know who hates Wuthering Heights says it is the worst love story ever.

Everyone I know who loves Wuthering Heights (including me) says it is one of the best novels about obsession they've read.  It all depends on what you want out of it.

[partofme]

I read Wuthering Heights in the eight grade, all I remember about it is that I hated Heathcliff and hated Cathy but I don't remember any details about it.

[voiceover]

I just finished The Woman in White, which has, over its 650 pages, blown apart all healthy sleep patterns for the last four days.  And I. Am. Pissed as hell!!!

Such a brilliant, terrifying, shocking novel!  And then Wilkie Collins has to ruin his masterpiece by having Walter end up with 

Spoiler

that wet noodle weenie embarrassment to women everywhere, Laura!

-- instead of 

Spoiler

Marian, the best character in the whole damn book!

Imagine Gone With the Wind ending with Scarlett marrying Ashley, and you will have the teeniest inkling of my frustrated rage.

If that miserable SOB were still alive, oh what wouldn't I have to say to him!

[Qoass]

Don't forget, @voiceover:  first impressions are lasting and Walter makes it very clear how unattractive he finds Marian upon first meeting her.  Sad but true!

[voiceover]

On 4/10/2017 at 6:48 AM, Qoass said:

Don't forget, @voiceover:  first impressions are lasting and Walter makes it very clear how unattractive he finds Marian upon first meeting her.  Sad but true!

Yes, but another trope is the bookish girl who takes off her glasses and et voila!

I thought how easy it might have been to have the typhus get rid of the facial hair (btw, a fucking stupid throwaway line).

And they went through so much together that the Snowflake was too delicate to endure.

After all: David Copperfield wound up with his best friend once that simpering Dora died.  Collins & Dickens were contemporaries, I assumed he'd take a leaf.

[Spartan Girl]

This might be a weird choice given that the Snape/Lily story was not the lead romantic story of Harry Potter, but I think Snape counts as a Worst Love Interest.

Snape as a teenager was a total Nice Guy when it came to Lily. The whole reason he got involved in the Dark Arts was because as the skinny little oddball that everyone picked on, he wanted power and thought Lily would like him more with power. But that, as we all know, backfired on him dramatically. JKR said in interviews that Lily was aware of Snape's feelings for her and that she might have had a smidgen of growing feelings for him once puberty kicked in. And this is what I love about her: unlike the many female characters that are drawn to broody misfits and still believe they can change them even after they start going dark, she was smart enough to know when enough was enough. 

Snape, however, fails to realize this. And in typical Nice Guy fashion, he always sees it as "she chose James over me". Which is total bull (no matter how the movie made it look). Even when he starts working for Dumbledore and secretly protecting Harry, he's still bitter and petty. He hates Harry just for bring James and Lily's son; he probably even resented the fact that Lily sacrificed himself for him.

[nodorothyparker]

Snape is as relevant as any other character in this category, given that his great unrequited love is the entire motivation for his character.  Saying he's suffering from Nice Guy syndrome is particularly apt.  We're presented with seven books of some truly awful behavior toward young children, including the only child of the woman he claims to have loved, and are then told no, he was really a good guy secret double agent because of that love.  Which, sure, it can be a terrible wounding thing when you want someone who does not want you back.   But so many grown women I know focus on the tragedy of it and if only Lily had not chosen the bullying James over him, which again, no, he wouldn't be the petty bitter person he is throughout the series.  He loved her so she apparently owed him love in return so he could be happy.  He just can't help it, poor thing.

I generally tend to give characters a fair bit of leeway as long as they're well drawn and their motivations make sense.  The complete romanticizing of this, however, really bugs.

[Spartan Girl]

Preach it. Lily did not choose "bullying James" over Snape. She just didn't choose Snape because she didn't like the person he was becoming. It would be like Liesl choosing Rolf after he turned into a Nazi.

The fact that she wound up with James was irrevelant. They only started going out long after Lily terminated her friendship with Snape; he won her on his own because he grew up and showed her that he wasn't really a jerk. He might have been a bully to Snape, but he was also capable of great kindness and compassion -- befriending Remus even though he was a werewolf and Sirius despite his horrible family. Most of all, he wasn't a Death Eater.

Edited April 15, 2017 by Spartan Girl

[BlackberryJam]

Save me from the Nice Guy Who Didn't Get the Girl and Goes Evil trope.

Snape wasn't Lily's second choice. He wasn't Lily's choice at all. Even if James had never existed, she still wouldn't have been with Snape. (I don't even like the Harry Potter series at this point, but the Snape thing bugs.)

Also, Cathy and Heathcliff both sucked and they should have been together to save others from the suckage of having to tolerate those two.

[Joe]

This might be a controversial one, but Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade from the old Star Wars EU. Mara Jade was fun when she was first introduced, but she later had all her rough and spiky edges smoothed off in order to make her a compatible love interest for Luke. She became boring and annoying.

[Spartan Girl]

Phoebus and Esmeralda from the original Victor Hugo Hunchback of Notre Dame.  Phoebus was a womanizing asshole, and Esmeralda was too blinded by his looks to see it.

Not to mention the fact that she isn't even that nice to poor Quasimodo.  Aside from that one moment of pity, she can never really get past his looks to befriend him fully.  Not to mention the fact that when he fails to get Phoebus to the cathedral to see her, she blames him for it and shuns him.

[proserpina65]

On ‎04‎/‎15‎/‎2017 at 11:45 AM, nodorothyparker said:

Snape is as relevant as any other character in this category, given that his great unrequited love is the entire motivation for his character.  Saying he's suffering from Nice Guy syndrome is particularly apt.  We're presented with seven books of some truly awful behavior toward young children, including the only child of the woman he claims to have loved, and are then told no, he was really a good guy secret double agent because of that love.  Which, sure, it can be a terrible wounding thing when you want someone who does not want you back.   But so many grown women I know focus on the tragedy of it and if only Lily had not chosen the bullying James over him, which again, no, he wouldn't be the petty bitter person he is throughout the series.  He loved her so she apparently owed him love in return so he could be happy.  He just can't help it, poor thing.

I generally tend to give characters a fair bit of leeway as long as they're well drawn and their motivations make sense.  The complete romanticizing of this, however, really bugs.

To be fair, I don't think the books romanticized Snape's motivations.  The movies, yeah, but while the books still have him doing what he does to help Harry because of his feelings for Lily, they don't whitewash all the awful things he's done.  At least, not that I remember.  It's been awhile since I read the books. but he seemed a very dark, dark grey at best.

[Spartan Girl]

One of the many, MANY things I couldn't buy about Maeve Binchy's The Glass Lake was why Helen/Lena would remain hopelessly in love with Louis Gray, a man who left her for a rich girl.  She runs away with him 12 years later without even the slightest hesitation -- despite being married with kids -- and even still remains with him even when he repeatedly cheats on her. Yes, she eventually sees him for the douchebag he really is, but it takes YEARS for her to get to that point.

[Dr.OO7]

I love Binchy's books, but this makes me realize how often her female characters passively accept their man's infidelity. Lena is terrible. She just sits there and waits until he comes back one day and she just matter-of-factly prepares his dinner as if he'd only been gone to work that day. 

Sometimes the man isn't even hers--Rosemary Ryan of Tara Road spends years having an affair with her best friend's husband, yet again does nothing while he cheats on BOTH of them, even eventually leaving the friend for his pregnant girlfriend. Ironically, while this makes the wife fed up enough to divorce him, Rosemary continues to remain his side dish.

Pathetic.

[Spartan Girl]

Janie's boyfriend, Reeve, in The Face on the Milk Carton books was a piece of shit.  He sold out Janie's story just to get his stupid radio show going, and while he acts contrite after the fact, that doesn't stop him from trying to defend his actions by claiming how much of a "brat" she was to the Springs.  I HATED how her parents basically guilted Janie into taking him back.

[andromeda331]

VC Andrews had a horrible habit of creating horrible habit of creating horrible love interests From Flowers in the Attic series Cathy's choices are Paul the doctor who took her siblings and her in after they escaped from the attic flirted with Cathy despite the fact she was underage and her warden, then to make sure you know he's a complete asshole he tells Cathy about his first marriage. To a poor woman who didn't want to have sex and was afraid (she was abused in her childhood) so Paul the great man he was raped her, eventually she became pregnant, had their son and demanded he stay away from her. He did choosing to have affairs. His wife attempted killed their son and attempted to kill her, he told Cathy she was dead but she lived in a vegetative state until sometime after Cathy and her siblings moved in. He also choose to send the poor traumatized Carrie away to boarding school and Chris leaving only Cathy with him. Next up for Cathy was Julian, a great male ballerina who was also a complete asshole and abusive. He ended up in an accident that left him unable to dance and he did the world a favor by killing himself. That left Christopher. Her brother. He's a creepy dude who was most likely in love with his mother and then his sister and kept trying to get her to date him and always took it badly when she rejected him. Because he's her brother. He raped her. And again he's her brother. Seriously Cathy, there's more fish in the sea! 

From the Casteel serious Logan. Treats Heaven like crap, gets mad at her when he realizes she slept with Cal never mind Cal was technically a foster or adopt parent at that point and grooming Heaven who was also being abused by his wife who cares about that right? She dates Troy for awhile who seems like a really great guy they get engaged and then she learns Troy's her uncle. Figures the one nice guy ends up being her uncle (not that it ever stopped Corrine) She married Logan who convinces her to live with her creepy father Tony even though she doesn't want to. Then tells Heaven he cheated on her, but not until after her sister Fanny tells her. He slept with her sister. Great guy! In a later book gets drunk at a party at Fanny's, flirts with Fanny and kills Heaven and himself in car accident on the way home while trying to apologize. Again Heaven more fish in the sea! 

From My Sweet Audrina, Arden. Arden is the worse. Getting mad at Audrina because she won't sleep with him and clearly has issues. Now any other man might be understandably confused by their wife's reaction to sex. But not someone who knew his wife was gang raped at nine. He knows that (and knows that Audrina doesn't know that) and yet continues to be a jackass to his wife because she won't sleep with him. Aces Arden. Who then has an affair with her sister Vera. Then after Audrina is in a coma continues his affair with Vera, which Audrina can hear because she can hear people speaking around her even though she's in a coma and gets to listen to Vera convincing Arden to pull the plug on Audrina. Sylvia! Why didn't you shove him down the stairs too? Or murder him in some other way.  Audrina wakes up realizes the whole truth about her rape, Vera setting it up, Arden had been there and bailed instead of helping her or trying and father's brainwashing afterwards and decides to get the hell out of there. Gets all packed up, says her goodbyes...then decides to stay. Stay with her horrible father, stay with her horrible husband to cheated. Why Audrina? Again more fish in the sea. Also, I don't think anyone would object to you murdering Arden (and your father) a bloodshed or let Sylvia do it. 

Edited October 26, 2018 by andromeda331

[Melgaypet]

You forgot Bart! Bart was the absolute best of Cathy's love interests, even if he was her stepfather. I think he was the one she really, truly loved, too. I also think, in the end, she just gave in to Christopher. All her other men were dead, the revenge that had sustained her for so long was done with, she had two children to raise, and he was never going to leave her alone.

[andromeda331]

4 hours ago, Melgaypet said:

You forgot Bart! Bart was the absolute best of Cathy's love interests, even if he was her stepfather. I think he was the one she really, truly loved, too. I also think, in the end, she just gave in to Christopher. All her other men were dead, the revenge that had sustained her for so long was done with, she had two children to raise, and he was never going to leave her alone.

Oh, how could I forget the stepfather she seduced for revenge? 

[Spartan Girl]

On 10/25/2018 at 7:03 AM, andromeda331 said:

VC Andrews had a horrible habit of creating horrible habit of creating horrible love interests From Flowers in the Attic series Cathy's choices are Paul the doctor who took her siblings and her in after they escaped from the attic flirted with Cathy despite the fact she was underage and her warden, then to make sure you know he's a complete asshole he tells Cathy about his first marriage. To a poor woman who didn't want to have sex and was afraid (she was abused in her childhood) so Paul the great man he was raped her, eventually she became pregnant, had their son and demanded he stay away from her. He did choosing to have affairs. His wife attempted killed their son and attempted to kill her, he told Cathy she was dead but she lived in a vegetative state until sometime after Cathy and her siblings moved in. He also choose to send the poor traumatized Carrie away to boarding school and Chris leaving only Cathy with him. Next up for Cathy was Julian, a great male ballerina who was also a complete asshole and abusive. He ended up in an accident that left him unable to dance and he did the world a favor by killing himself. That left Christopher. Her brother. He's a creepy dude who was most likely in love with his mother and then his sister and kept trying to get her to date him and always took it badly when she rejected him. Because he's her brother. He raped her. And again he's her brother. Seriously Cathy, there's more fish in the sea! 

Not to mention the fact that Christopher RAPED her in the first book.  

[Dr.OO7]

On 10/25/2018 at 1:12 PM, Melgaypet said:

You forgot Bart! Bart was the absolute best of Cathy's love interests, even if he was her stepfather. I think he was the one she really, truly loved, too. I also think, in the end, she just gave in to Christopher. All her other men were dead, the revenge that had sustained her for so long was done with, she had two children to raise, and he was never going to leave her alone.

And Bart raped her too, and is implied to have also done so to her mother--when Cathy calls him a rapist he dismissively tells her, "My wife often says the same thing. But she enjoys it, just like you did."

Edited October 26, 2018 by Camille