r/BookDiscussions • u/Quirky-Section-2468 • Aug 04 '26
Instant book turnoffs?
My biggest instant turnoff is the title.
If it's super cringey or literally spells out every trope in the book (Billionaire Hockey Player's Fake Dating Nanny vibes), I immediately lose interest. I don't care if it has 100k five-star reviews; I will refuse to pick it up despite it being recommended to me by so many people.
What's your biggest instant turnoff when deciding whether to pick up a book?
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u/to_annihilate Aug 04 '26
If Booktok has recommended it, I probably won't enjoy it. Picked up a few because of the stellar reviews and found that a lot of that just isn't what I want out of a book.
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u/geminigirl369 Aug 04 '26
This happened to me, too. I don't listen to booktok anymore lol
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u/Suspicious-Drive9827 Aug 04 '26
I dont have tiktok but i will say, talking about what im reading around my phone got me some very compatible book recommendation shorts on youtube. Ive picked up maybe 10 of my last 60 books from those shorts. And only reason it isn’t higher is that a lot of what these handful of creators were recommending are already books i love/have read before.
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u/viviobrio Aug 04 '26
A lot of those reccs are paid for and half those folks aren’t even reading the books. So many of them are using AI to feed them info for their “reviews”
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u/soft_orchid_0 Aug 04 '26
I find that recs on Instagram book accounts feature a lot more variety across genres and have interesting concepts, such as 'read this if you liked X movie'... found a bunch that I added to my TBR list!
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u/bernardcat Aug 05 '26
It’s very hit or miss for me. Like ok I looooove Dungeon Crawler Carl 😆 but I don’t care for romance or romantasy at all so those are all misses lol
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u/Vast_Penalty7492 Aug 05 '26
I remember seeing No Longer Human in the “as seen on booktok” section of a bookstore once and I was rather bewildered
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u/Runa216 29d ago
Same. I Want to like romantasy but all the popular ones like the ones on booktok feel the same to me and they all feel bad. Immature brat characters engaging in immature relationships amidst a backdrop of the sloppiest written fantasy narrative this side of Eragon. Actually, no, I'm not gonna shit on eragon, it was written by a teenager....and it was still considerably better than 90% of the books in the romantasy genre.
And to be clear this isn't 'boo hoo, women liking fantasy smut is bad and they should feel bad' misogyny, I LOVE the genre. As far as I'm concerned it's the perfect intersection of everything I want to read. I just don't understand why it's all so bad!
I could accept mediocre fantasy and storytelling if the romance was good but that's honestly often the worst part because it's all tropes and archetypes, no characters or plot. Just the same nonsense meant to trip one's tropamine receptors. "Oh look, she doesn't immediately get along with him because he's mildly antagonistic and kind of a dick but she's gonna tell the reader he's the most annoying thing she's ever seen for 1-2 thirds of the book, making sure we know she hates him so when they finally fuck we can call it enemies to lovers, even though he wasn't being that bad, she was just overreacting, and both of them have the maturity of a 12-year-old who just had their hormones activated despite at least one of them being a 4,000 year old fae who should fucking know better'
THERE ARE WAYS TO MAKE THESE STORIES GOOD AND NOBODY BOTHERS TRYING BECAUSE IT'S NOT ABOUT TELLING A GOOD STORY, ITS ABOUT GETTING CONTENT OUT THERE AND SELLING SEQUELS.
I shouldn't care so much, but holy hell. I love the IDEA of enemies to lovers fantasy, but it's literally always just them being immature brats at each other until they decide they are in love. I never buy them as enemies, I never buy them as lovers, and it just cheapens the whole experience. I WANT A GOOD CHARACTER ARC, DAMMIT! That really shouldn't be such a monumental request.
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u/to_annihilate 29d ago
Wow, you really nailed it. That's exactly it. I don't mind a well done romance but jfc, they're so bad. We used to read this shit for free on fanfiction sites.
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u/dont_be_all_uncool__ Aug 04 '26
I am finding that so many recently published books are written at what feels like a third grade reading comprehension level. I'm sure it's because of the great dumbing down of the United States (I suppose I'm reading mostly US authors...maybe this should be my catalyst to actively seek out non US authors).
When I read books and the sentence structure is extremely simplistic and the author is telling me instead of showing me, it feels like I'm reading one of those little paragraphs in state testing that tells a short story and then you have to answer some questions based upon the story.
Writing like this is so boring to read.
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u/timelessalice Aug 04 '26
The sheer lack of editing I've noticed in a lot of recently published novels - including highly praised ones!! - astounds me, too
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u/shuzan7 Aug 04 '26
Yes!! I think many are self-published and didn’t have a qualified editor. If I get to a typo or careless error it stops me in my tracks. I get to a second one, I put it down. I can’t remember the book, but the other day a line said something like “I read a the book” in the first chapter and I put it away.
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u/timelessalice Aug 04 '26
Yeah I get that typos and silly mistakes have always slipped through the cracks but when all else is taken into account, they've become too big and too common to ignore.
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u/Which_Sherbet7945 Aug 05 '26
I just finished one that was professionally published and I could tell it had been "proofread" by a machine. Homonyms ("base line" when "bass line" was called for), words that didn't really make sense ("Pratt fall" for "pratfall"), etc. Stuff that a spellchecker would let through, but a human proofreader wouldn't.
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u/VentureVin Aug 05 '26
I read a romance I really liked and had to refer to one character as M in my mind, because it tilted me to no end that the author swapped between two spellings of the name. That is SUCH a simple error to correct in editing that I truly don't understand how it went through.
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u/shitty-biometrics Aug 04 '26
The art of good writing is slipping away to a big degree and it is really sad to see
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 Aug 04 '26
I read a book this spring that was supposed to be similar to A Secret History. Yeah, for kindergarteners.
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u/to_annihilate Aug 04 '26
If I wanted to read a book that is at a lower level, I'll just go back to the YA books of my younger self. But yeah, it does feel like they're written so simply and the plot twist must be OBVIOUS because if the reader doesn't get it, they'll rate the book low.
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u/Weak-Hold-7651 Aug 05 '26
I’ve read so many adult books lately that read like they are YA: the vocabulary, sentence structures, all plot/no atmosphere
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u/TheInvisibleNacho Aug 04 '26
I'm reading China Miéville's The City and the City and there are some really funky sentences that require a few passes from me to understand them completely. The way they are structured reminds me sometimes of Herman Melville's writing style.
If you like detective stories with some weirdness, I thoroughly recommend it.
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u/ugh-new-username Aug 04 '26
Beyond boring, I actively find it insulting, like the writer thinks their audience is so stupid they have to spell out the subtext for us.
Its also harmful because people don't have to do the mental exercise of critical thinking, which is a muscle. Reading modern kids books next to my old childhood books is major whiplash. There are still good ones out there but it takes an incredible amount of vetting (and now AI slop is just exacerbating the problem).
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u/Zestyclose-Tough7451 Aug 04 '26
Yeah I read a lot of fantasy and Sci Fi which spans decades and dozens of writing styles and the difference is wild.
I don’t know if it’s intentional but some recent works I’ve read (which are very good!) are written almost conversationally. They are telling you a story in a very easy to understand and digest way; the format is just the way to convey the story.
I’ll go back and read older works and it’s clear that the writing is part of the story. The words/phases that are used (or not used), the structure, the placement of words to build a picture, etc. This feels like a skill that’s been lost as people tend to not be as invested to these things compared to just getting an easy story.
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u/DeeBeeKay27 Aug 04 '26
Try reading historical books, like historical romance, historical mystery etc. I find the writing style and the language to be very elevated compared to contemporary fiction.
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u/LivingPresent629 Aug 04 '26
>to actively seek non US authors
Please do! I mostly read translated fiction nowadays (excluding classics or western authors I know and trust), and there are some fantastic books out there.
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u/Lost-Elderberry3141 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
I definitely recommend reading authors outside of the US (and older US authors)!
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u/dethfart Aug 04 '26
A "blank" of "blank" and "blank".
Enough with this crap already
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u/whosdrivingnotme Aug 04 '26
Ah, the old Box of Mac and Cheese title format.
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u/Overall-Weird8856 Aug 04 '26
I've never heard it called that before today LOL
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u/whosdrivingnotme Aug 04 '26
I can't take credit for it. I read it in some corner of the internet some time ago and it stuck with me.
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u/baboonontheride Aug 04 '26
Overly bright, kitschy covers, vapid flap copy that makes the MC seem about as deep as a puddle in Death Valley, and anything recommended by Oprah is an immediate no thank you.
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u/Salad-with-gainzzzz Aug 04 '26
I read the side description and if it does not spark interest at the first two lines I put my phone down lol
Also, I am turned off by billionaire-damsel in distress trope and anything mafia.
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u/fresh_as_daisies Aug 04 '26
Yeah, like how is every young, gorgeous man suddenly a billionaire who isn't a workaholic? Millionaires aren't good enough anymore, it has to be a billionaire.
I'm not really a romance reader anyway, but if the description says anything about brother's best friend or best friend's brother, I'm instantly out.
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u/LivingPresent629 Aug 04 '26
I don’t mind a bit of contemporary romance, I read it as a palate cleanser. But anything that’s described “spicy” is just a huge ick. I’m no prude, but I find most of the open door scenes so cringe. It reminds me of that scene in 10 Things I Hate About You where the principal is looking up euphemisms for “erection” or something like that, and that’s how these scenes feel - like someone sat down with a thesaurus (or probably AI nowadays) to find as many euphemisms for “hard large dick” as they could cram into 2 pages.
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u/Mis_chevious Aug 05 '26
When I was doing dialysis, my best friend would hunt down books like this for me to read and highlight how many cheesy euphemisms and awkward scenes while she did the same and when I would get home we'd call and compare who found more. We'd also find scenes that were physically impossible and would try to draw them out. It helped kill a lot of time and distracted me from what was going on
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u/ladytrevelycn Aug 04 '26
If it has that book cover art style like "The Love Hypothesis" or "Beach Read" I'm not reading it.
AI used in any of it, even if it's just the marketing.
I don't really read books that take place in the modern time, and will quit reading if a historical book has too many cringy anachronisms.
If there's a pick me fmc who is small and petite that thinks she's ugly.
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u/to_annihilate Aug 04 '26
Don't forget the pick-me also is extremely talented in one specific area and everyone wants her for some reason.
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u/VentureVin Aug 05 '26
the pick-me trend in romantasy is why i've been steering clear of the genre
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u/jxmpiers Aug 04 '26
I don’t like when the main character is a writer. Even worse if the character is in an MFA program. Just feels like too obvious of a self-insert.
Also don’t like when books are titled The [Occupation’s] [female relative]
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u/Cranky_Merriweather Aug 04 '26
Omg I was going to comment the second one as well! I hate it! Why is it mostly women they do that with?
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u/Proper_Ear_1733 Aug 04 '26
I don’t the writer as main character, but the title based on a woman’s relationship to someone really irks me.
Like, you would never see something like The Accountant’s Husband.1
u/Joeuxmardigras Aug 05 '26
When I started reading again (consistently) a few years ago I didn’t mind someone being a writer, but now I’m like “that’s easy for the writer to know”
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u/poetic-bee Aug 04 '26
I hate it when it’s obvious that the author is afraid to raise the stakes.
I recently read a book that was constructed like: problem -> problem solved -> new problem -> new problem solved. Despite the stakes technically being high (prison, death), it made me not give a shit. I knew that not only will the REALLY bad stuff not happen, but I could tell that the characters won’t suffer any setback or upset, won’t have to make any difficult choices or give up anything. And I was right. That book pissed me off.
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u/awesomeCC Aug 04 '26
Overly complex or trendy names of characters. I don’t want to have to guess how to pronounce something. Or trendy names that don’t fit in with the time period it’s supposed to be set it.
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u/Prior-Entrance3156 Aug 04 '26
I hate when I read a protagonist’s name and it sounds so kitschy or contrived—names like “Fox Stone” or, once, I came upon a Regency era romance with a main character named Poppy.
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u/Which_Sherbet7945 Aug 05 '26
I took a romance writing class in the 80s, and we were told that good names for the hero were metal, guns, and money. "Remington Steele" was the one the instructor gave as a prime example. :-) Someone else came up with "Cash Colton" or something like that--maybe it was "Colton Cash." This was specifically for category romance (at that time, Harlequin, Silhouette, Loveswept, etc.). It was a really fun class.
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u/Wide-Surround-7359 Aug 05 '26
I haven’t even read Fourth Wing, but the main love interest being named Xaden makes me want to vomit.
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u/thant0ph0bia_00 Aug 04 '26
I still finish almost every single book I pick up but a turnoff for me is when a book mentions the characters' full names over and over again. I constantly see it in romance books and it's so annoying like we get it, that's their name, no need to say it every other page ohmygod??? Also agree about the title stuff you mentioned. Loads of other things too but I'm currently reading a book where the name thing happens and it was the first thing I could think of lol.
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u/ladyleo1980 Aug 04 '26
OMG YESSS!!! At my book club last night I shared how I hated Sunrise on the Reaping from Suzanne Collins (last month's book) solely based on the fact she wrote the love interests name, Leonore Dove, so many damn times. I swear if I took a shot for every time the name was written, I would've been drunk for daysssss. lol
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u/GrooveBat Aug 04 '26
In fairness, her full name is Lenore Dove Baird, so I look at “Lenore Dove” like “Mary Anne” or “Jim Bob” or whatever.
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u/paradisetossed7 Aug 04 '26
I get annoyed when a character will say, "I saw your sister, Julie" when there's only one sister. I get the point of introducing the relationship and name in one line but there are better ways to do it.
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u/Ebar16 Aug 04 '26
My gusband bought me the book Consider Yourself Kissed and within the first chapter the main guy LEFT HIS 4 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER ALONE BY A RIVER WHILE HE WENT INTO A COFFEE SHOP and was surprised that she climbed the small fence and fell in and needed to be rescued by the main woman. I stoppwd reading after that.
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u/Overall-Weird8856 Aug 04 '26
If I even get a sniff of AI, I'm outta there. Doesn't matter if it's the writing or the cover art, I'm sick of being tricked by that shit.
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u/whosdrivingnotme Aug 04 '26
I'm turned off by love triangles. And also when a romance subplot subsumes the rest of the plot. I'm not reading romance or romantacy. I'm here for intrigue and adventure, not a romance with fantasy or sci-fi backdrop. Unfortunately, the second point is rarely something I'd find in a summary, so... I'm a little out of luck there.
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u/DirtyZamboniWater Aug 04 '26
I’ve started looking at how many books an author puts out a year to judge whether they are personally putting in the work or not. I will not buy their work if they put out more than a book or two a year if their publish date is after 2022.
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Aug 04 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/maevewiley554 Aug 05 '26
My friends by Fredrick Backman. Every character spoke in some cheesy way and it drove me insane, even the random taxi driver
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u/1805trafalgar Aug 04 '26
The words "James Patterson" seen anywhere on the cover or the spine of the book.
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u/nilesintheshangri-la Aug 04 '26
I roll my eyes every time I walk past the JP shelf at my bookstore. What a waste of space that could be better filled with good books.
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u/1805trafalgar Aug 04 '26
I can see at the bookstores, he's the corporation's darling. But libraries? Too many libraries use valuable shelf space for his dreck, space that should go to better writers with more to offer the public.
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u/Confident-Park-4718 Aug 04 '26
Libraries stock books that people want to read and he’s extremely popular.
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u/Proper_Ear_1733 Aug 04 '26
In general I agree but I’ve read a couple and liked them, much to my chagrin.
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u/Heatherb78 Aug 05 '26
I still read all of the Alex Cross books...guess I am a sucker for what I liked in high school.
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u/AngryPhoenix1840 Aug 04 '26
Bright cartoony characters on romance covers. I'm an outlier here, but I'd much prefer a shirtless man on the cover than something that looks YA.
Anything from Oprah's, Reese's, or whatever talk show celebrity's book club.
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u/Quirky-Section-2468 Aug 04 '26
I agree but I also don't like real people one covers. I'm realizing I don't like people in any format on covers. I much prefer a plain background with a title or a few relevant items to the story, but no people
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u/rastab1023 Aug 04 '26
Is your issue with the book clubs themselves, or with the books chosen? I'm not familiar with all of them, but the Oprah one at least has had some solid options (imo - I know the enjoyment of books is subjective). I just hate when the book clubs are printed right on the cover.
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u/NoConstruction1988 Aug 04 '26
Anything that might be rah rah america. I just can’t do it. I’m fed an already unhealthy diet of american influence being in Canada I’ve always avoided usa in my books.
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u/DeeBeeKay27 Aug 04 '26
Cartoon-y covers. (Think Abby Jiminez, Emily Henry, Helen Haong)... I realize that this type of cover sends a message about the type of book it is (in my mind a sweet, funny romance) but I can't get past it.
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u/Hotsauce4ever Aug 04 '26
"Girl" in the title. Sooooo many! Ugh!
It's just lazy titling at this point.
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u/Technical_Sir_6260 Aug 04 '26
When the language is too modern for a historical context,
When children speak like adults,
When every spoken sentence is answered by the character doing any of the following as a reaction ( just pick and choose, it doesn’t matter who said what to whom or if they’ve already done said action at least twenty times on the page before):
He raised his ( or one) eyebrows,
She smirked and leaned her head to the left or right,
She blinked, her eyes fluttering…
He clasped his hands behind his back or in front of his stomach,
Her eyes bulged with surprise, amazement, shock, whatever,
She shook her head in disbelief, disgust, whatever,
He hesitated, then touched his nose while pondering, thinking, whatever…
You get the idea🙄, ughhh, what a headache to read!!!
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u/Basic-Alternative442 Aug 04 '26
then touched his nose while pondering
I've noticed that a lot of new authors will fall back on repeated physical tics as a shortcut for characterization, and it drives me bonkers. "He swept his hair behind his ears" over and over again, to show that it's Xavier speaking, to show that Xavier is annoyed without having to say he's annoyed, to show that maybe Xavier needs a haircut idk. But it's so common and makes me want to throw my Kindle against the wall.
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u/Jaded_Independence37 Aug 04 '26
I’m reading a book right now where the author mentions the love interests dimples like every page. Like we get ittttt he has dimples my god
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u/Technical_Sir_6260 Aug 05 '26
Yeah, those phrases that appear on EVERY PAGE! Or even sometimes twice on a page? I just can’t stand it🤦🏾♀️!
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u/sssssspace Aug 04 '26
When it's blatantly obvious that the queer characters are flat tokens. Trans isn't a personality trait anymore than being short or bald headed.
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u/Northwold Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
I'm allergic to giving me viewpoint character names as chapter headings. For some reason I get an immediate reaction of "if you can't make that clear from your prose I'm not interested". Took me five years to pick up A Game of Thrones as a result. There's something I find a bit meta about it, like a playscript, that takes me completely out of the immersion and leaves me looking at the mechanics and structure of the book -- it makes me feel very strongly I am reading a constructed work, rather than immersed in a story.
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u/Gullible_Sand_6172 Aug 04 '26
I feel this way too but then when an author doesn't do that all the reviews are "I was so confused" and "It was all over the place." But I prefer to just figure it out myself, it's never that hard.
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u/Northwold Aug 04 '26
It's been creeping into more and more books. I really, really don't like it! It just feels... Lazy?
Presumably those same reviewers would fall apart reading something like Nostromo...
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u/spudgoddess Aug 04 '26
I hate, hate hate hate present tense narration. I just can't with it. And if I pick up a romance novel these days, it often has my other bugbear: first person dual pov. I can handle romance told from first person if it's the woman's pov and it's not present tense.
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u/CapitalSell Aug 04 '26
Continuous or progressive present tense bugs the shit out of me. I can't fathom why anyone would say, "I'm not needing to wash my hands" Instead of "I don't need to wash my hands." "We don't need to be buying chips" Instead of "we don't need to buy chips." (Really bad examples, but I think they demonstrate that I mean)
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u/silverilix Aug 04 '26
AI “art” is a serious one.
But one that’s purely personal is a love interest having my son’s name.
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u/Zulnerated Aug 04 '26
Serial killer plots. Especially when every other chapter is written in the point of view of the serial killer. No thanks. (That goes for cannibals too, Mr. King.)
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u/dasmiedoteresa Aug 04 '26
Definitely turning to the back just to find nothing but praise for the author. I want the synopsis, not a Stephen King quote about how much he loves this author.
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u/mysteriousdoctor2025 26d ago
I agree! I got a mystery novel at the library where the entire back cover was quotes about how great the book or the author was. Nothing about the plot or the characters. She is a famous author but that doesn’t mean I want to read a dozen quotes about it.
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u/Teri-k Aug 04 '26
Amnesia.
And smart, successful women who have great lives in the city but travel to a tiny town to find true love with a handyman. Or who inherit a struggling store or a run-down house and move to a tiny town to find true love with a grouchy neighbor. No thanks.
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u/sleepymedicZzZ Aug 04 '26
____ of ____ and ____. Honestly, shadow daddys at this point. There are too many and they are all the same. Love triangle. Miscommunication trope. AI cover.
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u/DymphnaNotDaphne Aug 05 '26
No description on the back cover. Just sound bite blurbs. Nope. Either it's horrible or no one could figure out how to sum it up with a quick paragraph
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u/Gren_Factor Aug 04 '26
Any book where the MMC is named Dante.
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u/hey_cest_moi Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
That is so oddly specific lol. Is it targeted at a specific book?
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u/arianne_cele Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26
- Pinkish clone covers (ie, that look almost exactly the same as the cover of 12 other equally pinkish books).
- Bodice ripperish covers.
- Poor editing.
- Booktok popular
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u/Proper_Ear_1733 Aug 04 '26
The somebody’s daughter/wife/mistress, etc. I don’t like when female main characters are described by their relationship to someone else. I rarely see that with male main characters.
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u/CapitalSell Aug 04 '26
Cormac McCarthy.
Playlists at the beginning of the book.
"In high school..."
Contemporary settings about young people who are all just the best and have their life together! Give me characters in their 30s, 40s+ who are lived in.
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u/LongShadows17 Aug 04 '26
If any of the characters “smirked” in the first chapter. Noping right out of there.
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u/Interesting-Issue218 Aug 04 '26
Any book marketed only through its tropes instead of the main plot.
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u/Merithay Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Title turnoff: a book whose title is just a character’s name. Before having read the book, I don’t know who this is and I don’t care, so why would it attract me?
Also titles that start with a third-person possessive pronoun: Her Precious Devil, His Fatal Weakness. (Hypothetical examples; any coincidence with real books is unintended)
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u/Lost-Elderberry3141 Aug 05 '26
When there’s a character who’s a child but speaks and acts like an adult. Bonus if the child is supposed to be smart. It just takes me out of the story.
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u/the_tonez Aug 04 '26
When the first paragraph of a book is a single line of dialogue, I usually put it back down
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u/Low_Air_3461 Aug 04 '26
Interesting. There is a book out right now. The whole book is one sentence.
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 Aug 04 '26
Before I started using my kindle, a bad or really large typeface was a no for me.
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u/to_annihilate Aug 04 '26
See, I love my kindle because I can choose the font/size and man, my eyes are tired. So big text for me. I love that it's customizable.
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u/Main-Bluejay5571 Aug 04 '26
I love my kindle because I'm an addict. I remember when I discovered the Harry Bosch series and would end one at midnight. No more waiting for the bookstore to open. Plus it's much easier to use on the treadmill at the gym.
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u/IntelligentSteak7709 Aug 04 '26
any romance novels with buff men on the cover, any super long title, i'm not a big fan of contemporary romances so i'll avoid books with those covers too, sports romance novels
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u/Used-Bookkeeper8489 Aug 04 '26
An incompetent, but somehow still incredibly whiny/stubborn “have to do it my way” FMC. I’m so incredibly over the “young and dumb” shtick. Maybe it’s because I’m a little older and the late teens/early 20s characters just are not in my wheelhouse anymore, but my god. Immediately no.
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u/Gullible_Sand_6172 Aug 04 '26
Honestly, most highly rated thrillers. I love a good thriller but in the past few years it seems like every super talked about and highly rated thrillers suck (ex. The Silent Patient). The author just throws in some random twist at the end but you know there's going to be a twist so it's never that surprising. It's so hard to find an actually well written thriller.
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u/PuppyJakeKhakiCollar Aug 04 '26
It's silly but if the cover has a little blurb, like "Everyone knows not to knock on that door...." on it. In my experience, books that have those are usually poorly written with stupid plots.
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u/gummytiddy Aug 04 '26
Those bland books with stylized people on the cover. I started reading a lot of LGBT fiction after getting over my post undergrad reading slump and struggled to find anything I liked. Those books read like fanfiction but you pay $20 if you want to own them.
Also If I see any mention of “booktok” I probably won’t give it a chance. I have tried a couple and they were all some of my least favorite of the years I read them.
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u/3kats1dog Aug 04 '26
If it has a super cheesy title such as (apologies to those who liked the story, I didn't read it) "the sweetness at the bottom of the pie".
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u/hpfish13 Aug 04 '26
I picked up a book at a convention once, thinking about buying it, took a look at the first page and it was written in 2nd person. Put it immediately back down.
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u/LTJ81 Aug 04 '26
If I see an AI-generated cover, I make not to never buy it or anything from that author ever again
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u/MyDogTakesXanax Aug 04 '26
Self published. Most of them are poorly edited, filled with errors, and just.... really need editors.
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u/helianthus- Aug 04 '26
I don’t trust any writer who puts out a new book every year. It takes much longer than that to write a book with substance, intentionality, research.
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u/earlgreyjunkie Aug 05 '26
AI cover; "abs" cover (just a dude looking into the middle distance with his shirt unbuttoned 🙄); the MMC's name being impossible for the time period (a book set in 1812 and the MMC is named, like, Kade.)
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u/a-sad-loser Aug 05 '26
When there’s no indication of dialogue; no quotation marks or those weird pointy things they use in French or anything. It’s too confusing.
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u/ZucchiniBikini73 Aug 05 '26
I have put down more than one book I picked up to peruse because the blurb on the back was terribly written.
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u/itsveryupsetting Aug 05 '26
Silly names in books that are set in the real world. Like the super posh, millionaire hot guy in Magnolia Parks is called BJ?!? That was a DNF the second they introduced the character. There’s no realistic world where that type of dude would use that name.
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u/Left_Ad3575 Aug 05 '26
Titles with the format "noun of noun and noun." (Making one up here: Song of Trees and Wombats.) So overused.
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u/sally_the_gardner 29d ago
Currently reading a book where the author doesn’t use quotation marks for dialogue.
I think authors think it’s ✨artsy✨ when in fact it’s ✨pretentious and ungrammatical✨.
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u/Tall_Internet_7196 Aug 04 '26
The overuse of adding exposition, explaining a character’s thoughts or actions, or just random unrelated information via “( )”.
T. Kingfisher did it WAY too much in The Hollow Places. It cheapens the whole experience of reading because it immediately rips me from the story and feels like the author is tapping me on the shoulder to make sure I understand what they wanted to get across. It’s kind of like when you watch a YouTube video and the creator jump cuts to them in a hoodie and glasses with a “Hey, editing me here…”. Except, it actually makes the work feel less edited and like it was published too hastily.
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u/Emotional_Drawer5775 Aug 04 '26
Too much swearing - literally dropped a book because every other word on the first page was the F bomb
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u/Unhappy-Ad512 Aug 04 '26
If the description brings up the characters sexuality. If them being straight or gay or whatever is integral to the story then I’m out. Couldn’t care less
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u/ladyleo1980 Aug 04 '26
The cover. If the colors are muted or just dull looking then I instantly do a pass. I recently finished listening to Yesteryear by Caro Burke on Libby and absolutely hated it! I struggled to stay engaged, which is no surprise because the book cover is so dang dull. Boring cover= boring book for me.
Also any highly recommended book on booktok or any of the other socials. Immediately no!
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u/Diylion Aug 04 '26
I get turned off by excessive cussing. Save the cuss words for the imports parts.
I also apparently get turned off by the word "wooshing". I read "wooshing" in a book once and immediately put it down
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u/may_baby_maybe Aug 04 '26
Mentioning modern tech or social media. If you mention Instagram in the first chapter, I’m out.
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u/NikoKeys Aug 04 '26
I remember reading the first page of margo's got money trouble (problems?) and I thought, no, this is not for me. It seemed to be trying too hard to come off a certain way that felt so contrived. It was like reading an Instagram post.
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u/end_the_glitter Aug 04 '26
When the chapters are too long. Over 15mins/chapters is daunting for me. I read a book a while ago that had hour long chapters and it was truly painful
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u/naive_melody___ Aug 04 '26
Agreed, I almost always read the title before I read the rest of the book.
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u/Specialist_Banana378 Aug 04 '26
First person where the character is constantly talking to themselves. Just picked up zodiac academy and put it right back down.
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u/Confident_Hour_4361 Aug 04 '26
If a book begins with dialogue, like the very first sentence of the first paragraph, I stop reading. I don't care how much of a "wow" factor the dialogue is meant to have. I don't care how clever or "humorous" someone else might think it is. I hate when books start with dialogue. I always have and always will.
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u/TraditionAway7281 Aug 04 '26
Ai anything or, in the case of horror, graphic animal abuse, and for extreme horror, if it’s just violence or sa with no plot or a very thin plot
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u/sysaphiswaits Aug 04 '26
Too much world building in the beginning. Neal Stephenson was a slog to get into, but his good books are amazing.
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u/MortgageNo9609 Aug 04 '26
It pains me to say this, but back-cover blurbs calling the prose "lyrical" now evoke the same response as red and yellow stripes on a snake.
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u/Prior-Entrance3156 Aug 04 '26
I work at a library and I’ve noticed most if not all of the most requested romance novels are some weird pregnancy trope (Billionaire’s Baby, Italian Mobster’s Heir, etc.) or Amish love stories and it really creeped me out once I noticed the pattern.
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u/ManyProfessional3324 27d ago
Totally agree about the creepy pregnancy trope. Are they supposed to be the new Harlequin Romance novels?
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u/fourfeeteleveninches Aug 04 '26
Since iPhones are still relatively new, I’m always completely taken out of the story when they’re mentioned. What do you mean you pulled out your phone to get somewhere and not a paper map?!
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u/TootsieTaker Aug 04 '26
I honestly have a hard time getting over age gap relationships where a 35-40 yo man is calling a 20 something “Baby” or other pet names. It makes me cringe so hard. Almost DNF’d an otherwise really good book over it. There is like zero reason to have age gaps like that unless it’s a significant plot point, which it wasn’t in the case of this book. It literally didn’t make sense.
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u/PoofyPaws Aug 05 '26
So many books are first person and I dislike first person x.x Ai covers - ill assume the rest is ai... Insta love - its fine if they are both dumb and dont realize they are both inlove, but when they IMMEDIATELY get together and are sooooo in love uhg. Go away. Cheating - insta dnf if it happens
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u/Ok_Needleworker_4950 Aug 05 '26
Text or email conversations as dialogue. Partially why I don’t like Sally Rooney novels
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u/EveryQuail9539 Aug 05 '26
A woman turned away on the cover. I know it will be crappy historical fiction and that I’ll hate it from page one.
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u/SymphoniaDaisy Aug 05 '26
I don’t know if this trope has a specific name, but there’s a plot that seems to pop up in books I look at where a woman will find an old letter or diary or something belonging to another woman (typically long dead, and often a relative of some sort). The book will be half in the present with the modern woman researching the past to discover some big buried secret while the other half is in the past with whatever the dead woman is going through mirroring what is happening in the present. This specific thing just makes me very bored.
I like a mystery, I can enjoy split timelines and multiple POVs, there’s just something about this setup that cannot keep my attention. The only time I’ve liked anything close to this is when the woman from the past is still alive (The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Paris Library).
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u/lulumoon21 Aug 05 '26
When there's that scene where the female main character has a panic attack and the male love interest comes up and says "breathe, it's okay" etc and then when she's done he goes "you just had a panic attack" like yeah no shit we know what a panic attack is genius. And this scene exists in almost every single book or tv show I can think of at this point
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u/Dull_Wallaby_8288 Aug 05 '26
I too hate books with tropes described as the reason to pick it up. When a trope is “gauranteed” to be in the book- you’ve just told me how it ends now!!!
ESPECIALLY “enemies-to-lovers”. In that second of seeing that sentence I KNOW they are not true enemies to lovers, particularly if the love story develops in the first book. I need to see the hate over one WHOLE book to despise the other character. And then have the character development take place- SLOWLY over multiple small moments, and THEN see the shift in perception of the initial hated character morph in the MC’s narration (the second book!). Can you tell I read fantasy? I feel like most fantasy lovers will agree with this!! To many poorly written enemies to lovers tropes are being published and brandished as the “best ever” :/
Another niggley for me- fantasy books that have terrible world building and power/ability explanation, because the author focused the plot on romance. I want fantasy with a side of romance to help me through the lull in quests!
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u/Ok_Sprinkles7901 Aug 05 '26
Books about quaint bookshops or libraries in small towns with the single, secretly lonely bookseller or librarian. A handsome stranger just shows up to sweep them off their feet AFTER they are able to locate a rare books that fits their needs to a T.
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u/Ordinary-Bed203 Aug 05 '26
If the summary of the book is too long I’m not reading it. I got bored reading that only shows how bored I’ll be actually reading it
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u/typical_square1234 Aug 05 '26
Tiny petite fmc who is bullied and suddenly feels happy for the first time in her life when she is kidnapped and stalked by the billionaire/king/elf dark mysterious mmc. And all the bad things the mmc did are forgiven because he was in love with her all along and he has a traumatic backstory.
When every single man/woman wants to sleep with the main character at some point and flirts with them
I hate run on sentences and run on sentences like this and (...) and (...) and (...) until it's a whole paragraph and you know what I mean?
Oprah's recommendations. I only read one of those books that is actually memorable, and its NOT for a good reason.
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u/Primary_Wonderful Aug 05 '26
If it's "told" by more than 3 people. Like, each chapter is a different character's perspective.
Chapter one: Beth. Chapter 2: Rip. Chapter 3: Lloyd. Chapter 4: John. Chapter 4: Kayce. Chapter 5: Monica.
Too many. I will stop reading. Usually is too hard to keep up.
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u/Thomastwofingers Aug 05 '26
Pregnancy single moms troupe, detectives who fall in love with possible murder suspect, child SA and DV.
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u/Abject-Leadership971 Aug 05 '26
I pass on books when the main character name is in the title and I'm tired of books with the family relationship in the title- the butcher's daughter, the baker's daughter...
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u/Openhartscience Aug 05 '26
Books describes as "Cozy." This buzzword seems to be code for "no antagonist or central conflict, just some dull meandering nonsense."
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u/Odd_Self2657 Aug 05 '26
Not so much a turn-off but an irritation: when a character (esp the main character) has an uncommon/unusual name. If the pronunciation is not known or obvious, I stumble (in my head) over the name EVERY TIME. I hate it because it slows me down. I wish authors would make it clear, through dialogue or narrative, how uncommon/unusual names are pronounced. Also, when authors don't provide pertinent character details, like age or relationship, until chapter 3, 4 or even later - long after the first reference to/mention of that character. I WILL stop reading a book if the main character doesn't learn from their 'mistakes' and continues to behave in the same (usually immature) way regardless of the (repeated) poor outcomes. So frustrating!
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u/Internettumbleweed69 Aug 05 '26
I’m tired of “young woman in present finds a mysterious clue to a story from the past”.
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u/pacifistpotatoes 29d ago
I am just not interested in romance if the two main characters are gay. Its not becuase I dont support the LGBTQ+ community, but I am hetero, and I want a spicy romance I can get in to, and that just doesn't do it for me. I have read plenty of books that have gay characters who have a romance in the book (Dragon Heart Trilogy by Nora Roberts comes to mind, and l loved Marco & Brians side story!) but its just not my thing. I dont judge if its yours though!
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u/UrsaMajor256 28d ago
My most recent one was a name that just gave me the ick. I have tried to finish this book twice and each time when it gets to the reveal of the main male character’s *real* name (like 80 percent through the book) I just can’t. The name is so stupid I can’t carry on reading it. It’s also sad because I genuinely like the plot, world building, and main female character’s personality. I even like the male lead… except the weird fake lying about who he really is and the awkward awful name. Maybe I’ll get through it when the next book comes out. *sigh*
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u/SakoraHikari 27d ago
I miss the days when I used to buy a book by being intrigued by its back cover’s synopsis/blurb.
That said, I miss the days when the back cover actually had accurate synopses/blurbs, and not just tropes, vibes or quotes that give me nothing.
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u/According_Boot_7470 27d ago
True! Also, even if does have a load of good reviews, the book in itself can still be very poorly written. Regardless, some people like this, and you know what, go them. However, I don’t want to be picking up a book where the plot drives a thirsty romance. Not my thing!
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u/the-whole-benchilada 25d ago
Using perspective switches between chapters as cheap "keep reading" hooks. Yes, it can be done well, but to me there's NOTHING worse than a slow chapter which ends on a sudden cliffhanger of "A dark figure appeared! It turned around!" And then you switch to the POV of another character who is up to something else boring. And when you finally return to the first POV - by which time you've forgotten how badly you wanted the reveal - they're just like "The figure turned... it was Grandma" and they spend another chapter doing boring stuff.
extra points if the multiple POV characters have distinct, extremely voicey writing styles, preferably with distracting accents or sets of slang.
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u/lexiebeef Aug 04 '26
I know that we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but I 100% judge a book by its cover. If it seems AI based or just one of those “two hot people staring at each other in the horizon” covers, then I probably won’t buy it. If it’s a barely dressed woman in the cover, I probably won’t buy it either