How do you feel about romantic subplots that aren’t necessary to the main plot? (Especially in books aimed toward teenage audiences)

Question

I always find it kinda annoying to have an unnecessary romantic subplot, as if a story needs romance to appeal to readers. 🤷‍♀️

Answer

Depends on what you mean by subplot. Is it an off again/on again relationship that is meant to serve as "drama"? Or is it an unrequited love that is used to show "character growth"? If it's using romance as a crutch to pad the word count or make it more "interesting" then I'm not into it. But if it's actually vital to the story (like Clary and Jace; she wouldn't have been introduced to the shadow world when she was if she wasn't initially drawn to him) or just "background noise" (like Percy and Annabeth; their relationship develops along with their story, but is never fully relevant abd never a plot device unless one of them is sacrificing themselves for the other) then I can deal with it and/or actually enjoy it. It can be done well, but it can also be done very badly.

Answer

If it helps develop the main character and doesn’t distract from the plot then heck yeah

Answer

Fuck I meant to tap on “depends” Jesus 😑

Answer

Sometimes I’m ok with them and then other times I’m like “it doesn’t need to be there, so why is it there?”  and I get annoyed because a lot of what I read has unnecessary romantic subplots

How do you feel about romantic subplots that aren’t necessary to the main plot? (Especially in books aimed toward teenage audiences)

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