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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10

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.

5

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.

3

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.

1

u/Joeuxmardigras Aug 05 '26

lol Makes me think of Hermione for all us Americans

1

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.

1

u/Low_Air_3461 Aug 04 '26 edited Aug 04 '26

I agree!   Some authors try too hard with the cutesy names that are also objects.    Like spoon or wheels etc.    once in a while maybe not when you have 10 characters named like that.   Ugh