Top Ten Tuesday: Book Deal Breakers

Today's Top Ten Tuesday is about words or topics that make you NOT want to pick up a book. I like this topic because it's as important to know what you don't like as what you like! Here are my deal breakers, although I'm willing to make exceptions if I hear enough good things about a book from people I trust.


1. Horror or graphic violence. I honestly don't understand what's appealing about this.

2. Erotica. Especially the 50 Shades variety.

3. Animal cruelty. I had to read Crime and Punishment in my senior year of high school, and I still get upset if I think about the scene when the horse is whipped. It traumatized me so much that I don't remember anything else about the book.

4. Cheating. Do NOT show me one or more main characters who are unrepentantly cheating on their significant others and expect me to root for their Epic Love.

5. Pre-Renaissance history, or a fantasy world that evokes it. I'm just not very interested in more ancient time periods, though I like Biblical fiction when it's done well.

6. Love triangles that aren't organic to the plot. I've enjoyed plenty of books with formulaic love triangles (prime example: the entire Sunfire series - I loved it as a teenager and would totally read them all again). But nowadays I'm not interested if I can tell it's purely a plot device to sell books. I mean, today's teen girls probably think something is wrong with them if they're NOT the focal point of a love triangle.

7. Free verse or poetry. I'm eh about it unless it's really great.

8. Romances with supernatural or mythological beings. Like most people who responded to this prompt, I've enjoyed it in small doses but am officially burned out. I think the only untapped market left is centaurs. 

9. Intense depravity with no redemption or hope. IMHO, this constitutes a lot of modern Serious Literature and is a big reason why I read so much YA.

10. Boring cover. I know this is really superficial of me, but it's true. How many stock photos of faceless girls in gauzy dresses are out there? Can we please try some new things?


Feel free to chime in with your own book deal breakers!

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