Read or Avoid?

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I was reading a blurb for an interracial romance on Amazon.com, and it occurred to me to pose this question to ya'll. There is an element or plotline that you just don't like in a possible read, or you read the blurb and you feel your blood pressure going up. Will you read that book anyway, or pass it by?

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

For me, it depends on some of the reviews and ratings by "every day" readers. I sometimes think that those blurbs don't do the books any justice.

[A.M.]

No, I don't purchase books with plot lines or element that will upset me or I'm not comfortable reading about. Especially now that I'm having to live on tighter budget.

[Arch , Mod]

I don't normally read blurbs to book. I've read the blurbs to Dark of Night and of course Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann.

Where can I find book blurbs on Amazon?

[A.M.]

Arch, the blurb should be on the book page before you get to the reviews. But I've notice lately a lot of books don't the list blurbs for the newer books.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I usually pass it by, unless, someone convinces me I'll like the book regardless, it's by a proven author that is in my top ten, or it's part of a favorite series.

What are some plots that fall in the avoid arena for you?

[Yolonda]

Some blurbs can be misleading. I've read some that made the story sound interesting and once I bought the book I wanted my money back.

[A.M.]

The 'I've got a secret so big it could possibly destroy the world as we know it and that why we can't be together plot'. Then it turns out it was much ado about nothing and waste of my money.

[Chaeya]

I don't like heavy books on issues like poverty, slavery, books about struggling in the ghetto, child abuse, sex abuse, spousal abuse, serial killers. I grew up close enough to the ghetto so I don't need to read about it or be reminded about racism when I have to live with it every day.

I read books which take me away from this normal, mundane b.s. I have to live in every day. I want fantasy, historical fantasy, science fiction fantasy, paranormal. That's me.

I have read books of author friends which are regular Romance because I wanted to show my support and I believe I've given them fair reviews, so I'm not completely a hardbutt in that category, but if I don't know the author, I'm not going out of my way to buy the book.

[Arch , Mod]

Brenda aka A.M. Wells wrote: "Arch, the blurb should be on the book page before you get to the reviews. But I've notice lately a lot of books don't the list blurbs for the newer books."


Thanks Brenda. I usually don't read the blurbs. If I write a review for a book on Amazon. I write it and submit it. I might check out a few of the other reviews.

[Arch , Mod]

That's why I am firm believer in checking a book out from the library before buying it. Then in my case, I don't mind spending 25 cents on a paper back book, who's back cover and/or prologue has caught my attention. If the book turns out to be a bomb for me, I can always donate it to the salvation army or goodwill store.

[TinaNoir]

I tend to avoid books that have anything to do with a child abduction or abuse. I get angry if the blurb or summary doesn't allude to the fact that a child abduction or child abuse is a major part of the book and I'll not finish the book.

I am kind of sick of the super, uber wealthy heroes who rescue the poor, struggling heroine (who is too proud to take his help of course). I tend to like my heroines/heroes to be solidly middle to upper middle class. I really enjoy books that feature characters who run the gamut from working class people to sophisticated, well educated urbane professionals. This is my preference is any contemporary, not just IR.

And I am sick, sick, sick of stalkers. I will put a book down in a hot minute if it has a stalker.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I pretty much avoid most if not all:
*fling, hook-up, friends with benefits turns to love, one night stand plotlines
*players, womanizers, maneaters, battle of the sexes (who can seduce who first)
*love triangles (torn between two lovers), including menage
*ghetto, hood, inner city plotlines
*H/h previously married years before and now back in each other's life
*Secret baby (older than toddler age--it's infuriating to me that a woman would keep this knowledge secret)
*intergenerational sagas
*antebellum/Civil War setting
*not overly fond of mistress storyline (I have a bunch of Harlequin Presents that I shoved in the back of my bookcase b/c of this reason)
*historical where innocent virgin heroine chases rake hero
*cheating, infidelity, adultery (even if they were estranged)

[Arch , Mod]

The book that I am reading right now is about the heroine looking for a co-worker, who is a homosexual.

I don't read same sex stories.

I'm happy that the book doesn't focus on the missing man and another man.

I'm reading strictly for the hero and heroine.

And Danielle and I tend to think alike, I don't have to retype her above list.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I also dislike when the H or h acts as though being with the h or H is 'slumming' or it's an issue because they are not suitable or social equals. It hits my anti-snob button instantly.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

I agree with Chaeya on the serial killer and slavery plots, and Brenda on the big, terrible secret and we can't be together plot.

[Arch , Mod]

I don't care for triangles. I don't want the heroine to be seeing two men and don't know who she wants to be with. That's goes for the hero seeing two women.

[A.M.]

I am also not a fan of the older woman/too much younger man plot. I once picked up book by an author I liked where the hero was tens years the woman junior, turned out she used to babysit him.

[A.M.]

Arch wrote: "I don't care for triangles. I don't want the heroine to be seeing two men and don't know who she wants to be with. That's goes for the hero seeing two women."

I agree Arch, don't give that I love you both crap, just make up your mind already.

[Davina]

Love triangles

Books that pander too much to women (that is, making everything in her favour, making her always right about everything, the hero is her servant or lap dog or some such nonsense). This is usually a style favoured by an author and I normally don't find out about it until I've read a couple of the author's books.

Multiple partners in one go, MM, FF

1st person (though there are exceptions)

Overly promiscuous male (or female) leads who have a very casual outlook on sex.

Big misunderstandings

I can just about stomach anything, but gruesome and graffic detail of sexual abuse (like in Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tatto) or abuse of any kind creeps me out.

Violence, but particularly violent female characters and when authors portray such behaviour as cute, acceptable or within the heroine's right. Thankfully, I don't encounter this too often.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

If I see "Torn between two lovers," I won't even pick up the book. It took me the longest time to read Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas for the reason that you don't know which guy she ends up with. Finally, after much convincing, I just read it last month, and she's in my top ten of authors.

[Arch , Mod]

Brenda aka A.M. Wells wrote: "I am also not a fan of the older woman/too much younger man plot. I once picked up book by an author I liked where the hero was tens years the woman junior, turned out she used to babysit him."

I couldn't read a story like that.

[Arch , Mod]

I can deal with a Sophia/Dave/Decker situation.

Dave was the winner.

[new_user]

Hmmm, good question. My limits vary. There are some tropes that I usually dislike but will read if it's recommended highly by friends. They vary in degree all the way up to "This book is bloody offensive, and you can shove it where the sun don't shine." There aren't many of those, LOL.

I tend to dislike promiscuous heroines, i.e. a heroine who samples more than one hero, or other tropes that smack of female fantasy, like a strong heroine with a fawning or weaker hero. I don't like battle of the sexes plots, like you mentioned either, Danielle. At the risk of sounding snobby, it's juvenile. I don't care for intergenerational either, just a personal preference.

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

I have issues with promiscuous heroines and heroes too. Promiscuity just takes away from the romance. I also don't care for a book, where the plot seems to be centered multiple, graphic sex scenes that don't serve the story in any way. Like the hero and heroine are running for their lives, or battling to save the world, but they have to stop and have sex. I find that so silly.

[Arch , Mod]

Michelle wrote: "I have issues with promiscuous heroines and heroes too. Promiscuity just takes away from the romance. I also don't care for a book, where the plot seems to be centered multiple, graphic sex scenes ..."

I know what you mean Michelle.

How come bullets aren't flying their way, when they are having sex in the woods?

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

Arch wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I have issues with promiscuous heroines and heroes too. Promiscuity just takes away from the romance. I also don't care for a book, where the plot seems to be centered multiple, gr..."

LMAO! That's exactly what I'm talking about. There's one particular series that's hightly rated. I've read the first 2 books, and that kind of thing is happening all the time. I'm so disappointed that I bought the entire series from the used bookstore. I keep it bagged and near the door, always ready to trade it in. Everytime I make up mind to do so, another one of my GR friends gives one of the books 4 or 5 stars.

[Michelle, Mod with the Bod]

I'm all for strong females, and "girl power", but I also don't care for plots where the heroine isn't balanced well. You can be tough, and sweet at the same time. I like that heroines can take care of themselves, and even the hero if need be. But when they're mean, and distant, and the hero still turns into a lapdog wannabe, I just get disgusted. If the heroine is sweet towards the hero, why is even attracted her?

[new_user]

Yeah, really, that just makes me think the hero has no self respect, LOL. Likewise if he just waits for her to choose between him and another man while she's "sampling" both.

[Yolonda]

I can't stand the torn between two lovers plots. Puhleeze.

I was flipping through a historical romance in a Borders recently and couldn't bring myself to buy a book for that reason.

The heroine was married to the love of her life. He is supposedly killed (military). She marries his best friend. Several years later the original husband shows up. Now the heroine is torn between the two men. I won't say who she ended up with (I flipped to the end). She also had sex with both men while working thru her dilemma. Too much drama for me.

[Chaeya]

I wouldn't care for a lot of this stuff either which is why most of the books I read tend to be fantasies, i don't encounter these issues too much.

I don't mind promiscurity if it fits with the story. I particularly like harem stories, courtesans, brothels and so on. I just feel particularly fond of them since I've had past lives in that situation. One of my favorite movies was "Dangerous Beauty."

I also don't mind older woman and younger man because its one of my fantasies that when I get older (starting like now), I told my husband I'm gonna find me a nice young stud one of these days. I just may explore that in a story.

Ha ha ha.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

Michelle wrote: "I'm all for strong females, and "girl power", but I also don't care for plots where the heroine isn't balanced well. You can be tough, and sweet at the same time. I like that heroines can take ca..."

You said it, Michelle. Agree with stories that are mostly sex with thin layers of plot.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

Loni wrote: "I can't stand the torn between two lovers plots. Puhleeze.

I was flipping through a historical romance in a Borders recently and couldn't bring myself to buy a book for that reason.

--I know which book you're talking about. I will never read that book. I remember a Lyvrle Spencer book I started with a similar plot. I gave up on it.

[Yolonda]

Eugenia wrote: "I like to see a blurb about a book but I have to noticed too that there have been some books without blurbs. I sometimes get books based on review but it has to be a well thought out and written re..."

Me too, Eugenia. And one thing that will keep me from an author is when they tend to write stories where the characters basically hate each other throughout the story and suddenly admit their love in the last couple of pages. I don't consider that character development and it turns me off.

And if I see it in the blurb, it will likely cause me to place the book back on the shelf.

[Chaeya]

I can't do the hate thing or game thing either. I agree with Eugenia, if I don't like you, I don't like you. I bought a couple of romance books based on the blurb which mentioned nothing about "hatin'." One book was so bad I almost used the "c" word a few times and if I was the guy, I would have just thrown her overboard the ship and kept going. These were long ago, so I will page a bit through the book before I buy it.

I don't like borrowing books from the library. I can't remember to return them and I always wind up paying late fees to the point where I could have bought the book. I get so busy, I just forget. I buy books, mostly to support the author, then I donate them if I don't keep them. Gives me more to write off at the end of the year.

[Arch , Mod]

I like tension between the hero and heroine. Yet, I want them to really like each other. Not "I want to kill you, give me the knife." and then a page before the book ends. "You are the love of my life."

Give me good tension. Not necessary sexual tension.

I love writing tension. Sometimes, I want to see the hero make the heroine so mad that she wants to throw him off a bridge and vice versa.

[Chaeya]

Okay, I do admit them wanting to kill each other is cool sometimes, but just not through the whole book.

[Arch , Mod]

Chaeya wrote: "Okay, I do admit them wanting to kill each other is cool sometimes, but just not through the whole book."

In my story Trespassing, the hero Cop is forever threatening to kill Sanjar.

He kidnapped her.

He threatens her and flirts with her at the same time.

[Chaeya]

Oh, I didn't mean literally! Ha ha!

[Arch , Mod]

Chaeya wrote: "Oh, I didn't mean literally! Ha ha!"

lol

[Chaeya]

I'm the same way. I've had a few books that I went out and bought people a copy because I didn't want to lend the mine. I don't like to borrow books because I borrowed this guy's book once and didn't get the opportunity to give it back. He sat there and made me swear I'd return it too. I felt bad because I tried to return it but it wasn't like me and his roommate were really close. I just never got the opportunity to go back over there again because she was so busy.

[Sharon]

Arch wrote: "Chaeya wrote: "Okay, I do admit them wanting to kill each other is cool sometimes, but just not through the whole book."

In my story Trespassing, the hero Cop is forever threatening to kill Sanj..."

He kidnapped her??

[Sharon]

My library doesn't carry 95% of the books I read

[Arch , Mod]

Sharon wrote:"He kidnapped her??"

Yes.

[Sharon]

Eugenia wrote: "Sharon wrote: "My library doesn't carry 95% of the books I read"

My city library doesn't but King County has an amazing county library system and I was astounded by how many IR romances they had..."

That is a good library!
Maybe I can suggest that to my area libraries :)

[Sharon]

Arch wrote: "Sharon wrote:"He kidnapped her??"

Yes."

Arch wrote: "Sharon wrote:"He kidnapped her??"

Yes."

what in the world??

[Arch , Mod]

Sharon wrote:"what in the world??"

You can find Trespassing on my group. I have to add my latest chapters to my group.

[Danielle The Book Huntress , Sees Love in All Colors]

It's a great story. :)

[Arch , Mod]

Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "It's a great story. :)"

Thanks for saying that.

[Chaeya]

Kidnapping can be fun. Where's that story, Arch?