This is hosted at Good Books And Good Wine:
Today’s topic is about deal breakers.
I think in terms of books, I don’t have too many deal breakers. There are definitely things that annoy me, but as far as things that make me not want to read a book, or to not like a book I’m currently reading, the list includes:
1. Characters who live for a boyfriend or girlfriend – I don’t want to read about a character that has no life outside of a significant other.
2. Love triangles that seem to exist only for the sake of having a love triangle – Love triangles can work if all three characters are interesting and if I believe in the MC being attracted to the other two. But when the love interests are bland and boring, or are written as complete opposites (e.g. the good guy and the bad boy) with no other personality or characteristics, I can’t stand it.
3. Characters who are ready to declare their love and willingness to die for each other pretty much right after they meet – Instalove is always annoying, but when it’s taken to this kind of an extreme, it’s very difficult for me to enjoy the story.
4. The villain of the story being treated as a love interest – I don’t want to spoil any books, but there are a few I’ve read where the villain is somehow turned into a possible love interest for the MC, usually as part of a love triangle. I really hate that. The villain can be handsome, sexy, attractive, whatever, I get that. But when a character who has been portrayed as the bad person against whom our MC and gang have been struggling is suddenly supposed to be a sympathetic, love-sick character, I can’t deal. I love when a villain is interesting and is given a back story to help me understand more about who the character is and maybe why s/he is that way, but I don’t think that means s/he should be a love interest. I don’t know if I’m properly explaining my feelings on this one, but it has really irked me lately.
There are probably more, but as you can see, they tend to be love/romance related issues. Lust is one thing, but instalove is probably the thing that annoys me the most. What about you?
