List-O-Rama: Tangled Like/Love/Lust That Doesn't Suck

I know, I know... the love triangle is everyone's favorite trope to hate. But sometimes... just sometimes, it's kind of fun/intriguing/compelling.

Here are a handful of like/love/lust triangles that I've enjoyed--seriously.

The "Summer" Series by Jenny Han: Belly, Jeremiah, Conrad

Triangle Type: The Classic - Two Brothers Heart One Girl; Girl Hearts Two Brothers--Yo, It's Complicated!
This series not only features a love triangle (and it's really "love") because Belly really cares about both brothers, Jeremiah and Conrad, and they care about her. Their shared history of summers spent together at the shore makes the complexity of the relationships completely believable--it's achy and the dramatics are irresistible. Read my review here.

Amazon | Goodreads

Cinnamon Rain/Out of This Place by Emma Cameron: Luke, Bongo, Casey

Triangle Type: Two Best Friends Both Love Their Other Best Childhood Friend
The love triangle in Emma Cameron's Cinnamon Rain (Australian Title) AKA Out of This Place (U.S. title, out in May) is achy and beautiful--and it destroyed my soul a tiny bit. There's not a lot I can say about this particular triangle without spoiling the entire novel, but the emotional payoff makes it one of my favorites. Read my review here. 

Amazon | Goodreads

Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi: Juliette, Adam, Warner

Love Triangle Type: Complete and Total WTF Craziness
I don't even know how to talk about this series, but the love triangle is semi-disturbing because one of the corners of the triangle is batshit crazy. And yet, it's hard to completely hate him, because the entire world and situation is pretty much batshit crazy.

Amazon (Shatter Me is $3 for Kindle) | Goodreads

Endless Summer akaThe Boys Next Door/Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols: Lori, Adam, Sean

Triangle Type: Girl Crushes on Brother #1, Brother #2 Crushes on Girl
Jennifer Echols duo of novels about three teens who grew up together wakeboarding on a southern lake is a comedic version of the trope from Jenny Han's series, and a whole lot of fun. These two novels were recently repackaged as a single book, and I actually far prefer the first, The Boys Next Door, which you can still buy on its own with its cheesy cover.

Amazon | Goodreads

The Shifters Series by Rachel Vincent: Faythe, Marc, Jace

Triangle Type: Childhood Friend Lust Triangle Facilitates Personal Growth for All
The triangle in Rachel Vincent's urban fantasy series about, uh, werecats, stretches across six books and the end could have been better developed. However, with that said, what I loved about it was that the circumstances around the two men (they are childhood friends of the main character) vying for the main character's affections actually helps her grow from a somewhat self-absorbed grad student to a confident woman because she has to make choices and own the consequences of those choices. 

Amazon | Goodreads

The Vampire Diaries (TV Show) : Elena, Stefan, Damon

Triangle Type: The Classic - Two Brothers Heart One Girl; Girl Hearts Two Brothers--Yo, It's Complicated!
I've never read The Vampire Diaries books, nor do I intend to, but I am 100 percent addicted to the television show and it is an excellent example of a love triangle done right. There's angst and longing and stabbing and it's all so damn fun and dramatic, you can't help buy get sucked into Elena, Stefan and Damon's mess. Read my post about TVD here.

Dawson's Creek (TV Show) : Pacey, Joey, Dawson

Triangle Type: Two Best Friends Both Love Their Other Best Childhood Friend
I've been recently immersed in an epic journey down the rabbit-hole of rewatching Dawson's Creek for the first time since it originally aired. When I first watched the show, I was in my 20s, so I was very into "smart" things, so I ostensibly watched it to laugh at it. Obviously, I was completely full of shit and was totally wrapped up in the Pacey-Joey-Dawson triangle like everyone else in the world. Pacey Witter forever, y'all, Pacey Witter forever.

Friday Night Lights (TV Show): Tim, Lyla, Jason

Triangle Type: Two Best Friends Love the Same Pretty Girl
Friday Night Lights' Tim/Lyla/Jason triangle is woefully underrated, especially considering how long it lasted and how complicated it was. Tim and Jason loved each other like brothers but only Jason has Lyla, until Jason's terrible accident and Lyla winds up in a grief-driven sex-only relationship with Jason. The whole thing gets so, so messed up, it's absolutely perfect. Plus: {LOOK AWAY IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED!!!} What makes it stand out for me is its realism--ultimately no one gets the girl and they all have to find their own paths to happiness.

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There are a few other promising triangles I've got my eye on.

Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken series could end up being epically disturbed in its triangulation (it's Sarah Rees Brennan, after all) and Maggie Stiefvater's crush polygon in The Raven Boys also looks to be a good one. I've been woefully disappointed with television triangles lately, though I keep hoping for more Rayna, Liam, Deacon on Nashville (I'm not holding out hope--it seems that Laura and I are the only Team Liam folks around). 

What do you say? Are you a hardcore triangulated love hater? Or are there a few you secretly adore?