1. When the book cover has nothing to do with the story. There’s been a trend especially in the YA genre with book covers having pretty girls all dressed up in beautiful ball gowns. Okay, I get it. Marketing. But come on, I automatically assume that there’s going to be some part in the book where the heroine actually wears a ball gown which almost never happens.
2. I have a love/hate relationship with love triangles. But it depends on the dynamics of the people involved. I do think it’s fun when another guy vies for the main girl (or girl for guy) just as long as the main relationship isn’t truly jeopardized.
3. Whiny female characters who can’t think and fend for themselves.
4. Of course, everyone’s favorite: ridiculous synonym typos like their/they’re/there, except/accept, discreet/discrete, etc.
5. Overly protective book boyfriends. Protective boyfriends I like, but obsessive on the other hand I can’t handle.
6. When authors throw in big words which are unnecessary just to sound clever. Not all of your readers are going to be able to figure out what the heck that means. And not all of us have a dictionary or thesaurus handy. Heh.
7. Characters who lack depth. And on that note, underdeveloped characters.
8. Stereotypes. An obvious trend especially those books with high school themed story lines.
These are just some of the things on the top of my head. Forgive me for blogging at 7AM. Excuse me while I get my quick caffeine fix.
