I have to admit that while pregnancy, bad boy, and falling for your [insert “off limits” guy here] stories aren’t my cup of tea, it’s clear that they are pretty popular and generate a lot of reads. However, like any story, popularity doesn’t automatically give them any immunity to criticism.
In my opinion, the problem isn’t that they are based off an unoriginal idea - it’s extremely hard to find a story of which the basic premise has never been done before in all of literature.
The problem is that between the basic idea, the characters, the dialogue, the plot, the plot “twists,” and the endings, these stories are usually completely lacking originality through and through.
I’m not against cliches or tropes if they are executed well. I AM against stories that are a useless cycle of cliches that ultimately culminate in an equally predictable ending.
For example, The Hunger Games (let it be clear that I’m definitely not choosing this because it’s the pinnacle of literature, it’s literally just the first thing that came to mind): It would be foolish to say that Suzanne Collins invented the idea of a dystopian society, or events where individuals fight to the death, or splitting up society into different sectors/districts, or class division between the rich and the poor, or love triangles, etc. She obviously appropriated these themes/motifs/cliches/tropes from plenty of authors that came before her. However, the direction she went with the story, which includes the depth of the characters, the plot twists, and more, are what made her books unique.
My point is, a story doesn’t have to be 100% original. If you choose to write a story involving pregnancy, that’s fine. I personally won’t read it but does my one read really matter? Just don’t create a carbon copy of every other pregnancy story on the app. Make it yours.