The general obsession with YA amongst (mainly) ladies who are not "of that age" is very odd to me, especially since (within my parameters, at least) these are also often people who spend a lot of their free time reading/making porn. I don't think YA's necessarily or consistently better or worse than stuff putatively aimed at adults, but this elevation of YA as "the next big thing" for all age-ranges is definitely...one of those things that make (me) go "hmmm".

As for the other Collinses, well--yeah, lot of backlash going on, from what I've been reading. Usual issues: Shipping run wild, lack of agency in your main/POV, female character, etc. Some people say they get too traumatic, bleak and depressing, too, but that's not too likely to put me off.:)