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It's not that long ago that I did a few posts concerning settings I want to see more of so I'm not repeating it. I'm doing ten settings I mostly stay away from.
1) Schools
Books with a school setting tend to lead to star crossed soulmates, 'The One', instaluv, love triangles, relationship angst, teen bullies, new kids getting picked on, girls obsessed with boys and clothes and makeup...no thanks!
2) Haunted Houses
I do love horror but it's rare for me to buy many haunted house books as ghosts aren't my favourite thing in the genre. Most haunted house books I read are slow burners that take a while to get into the story which doesn't suit me as a reader and sometimes not much really happens. It needs a great blurb to get me to pick up this kind of book.
3) Asylums
Most of my ventures into asylum fiction have not gone well. They often seem to have plots that are confusing or just plain weird, and I don't like books where I'm wondering WTAF is going on. I tend to avoid these books now.
4) Victorian Britain
For all I love my History, this period does not greatly excite me other than Jack the Ripper if the book is done well. My bugbear about it is the way women are mostly going to tea dances and minding their manners to find a husband, and I don't find any of that interesting. It takes a good blurb for me to read this time period.
5) France
No I don't hate France or the French but I do get frustrated by authors who set the book in France, have characters talking French and NOT telling the reader what the heck they are saying! I really hate that! This would apply to other countries and languages too. If you are writing for an English speaking audience, let us know what everyone is saying!!!
6) Post-Apocalypse
You know I love my apocalypse books right? I love seeing the apocalypse hit and how characters deal with pandemics, EMPs, zombies and other things. I hate going to start a book that is like ten or thirty years after the events when everyone lives in wastelands like Mad Max or in super strict walled communities. I want to see the apocalypse, not get the odd thought or memory of it from characters.
7) P.I office
I'm not a great fan of following a P.I or cop as they investigate a crime, whether paranormal or not. I get bored when countless witnesses are interviewed and when there is a ton of police procedure and following people and stakeouts and so on. I've read too many like this to get excited by these plots.
8) Unfriendly Towns
I am so not a fan of books where the new person or family move to a town or village where the locals are hostile and unfriendly for no good reason, or we have dumb/racist cops or other nasty people or religious cults. These books tend to get DNFed quickly if this drags on.
9) Fae Courts
I'm not a huge fan of the Fae in books as they tend to be unemotional killers and bad guys most of the time. I don't like books set in their Fae Courts with humans who venture there being used, abused and killed and everyone being nasty.
10) Grim Dystopian Future Worlds
I used to read a ton like this and I found a lot of them were so gim that they sucked the life out of my reading joy! Having the heroes battle never ending evil governments while having a nice romance or continual conspiracies and being hunted by government agents and on the run...I got tired of reading this kind of thing for the most part unless a blurb sounds great.
I don't have the best luck with Fae books. I've read a few that worked for me, but on the whole, I try to stay away from them. Schools don't always work for me either.
ReplyDeleteI'm not a Fae fan for sure. I did like one by a favourite author, Sonya Bateman-Wrong Side of Hell. Schools just yell 'teen angst' at me!
DeleteI like your spin on the topic! I stay far away from police procedural books. Police work and investigations don’t interest me at all.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I just find those police procedure books very repetitive. It just seems to be constant interviews with witnesses and suspects and the cops bitching at each other!
DeleteI'd like to read some excellent books set in a haunted house or asylums but I'm 100% with you on the rest of these.
ReplyDeleteI know I'll be missing out on a lot of good ones but each one I seem to pick just doesn't suit me! I do have a couple that I hope turn out to be better!
DeleteI tend to avoid schools and haunted houses too, for pretty much the same reasons as yours. I also usually steer clear of anywhere which is depicted as looking too pastel on the cover. I'm not a big fan of cosy teashop mysteries or chicklit
ReplyDeleteI certainly stay away from anything chicklit! I even hate saying the name, ugh! Horror is such a wide ranging genre so I guess it's no surprise there are bits that don't suit me-I don't go for the weird side of horror at all!
DeleteA few of those are mine as well. Boarding schools specifically, P.I. books boooooore me and the fae annoy me because nothing is ever as it seems so it can be flipped around whenever the plot requires it.
ReplyDeleteI guess one for me is small towns with super nosy people. That drives me nuts lol
Karen @ For What It's Worth
Yes these boarding schools for the special ones do get a bit repetitive for me! Small town nosy people are a bit of a pet hate! I can't imagine not having any privacy from stickybeaks!
DeleteI stay away from Fae courts...and the Fae in general...too. :D (But I do love a good haunted house story...or one set in a spooky asylum.)
ReplyDeleteFae characters rarely seem to be characters you can like!
DeleteI have read a LOT of books set in Victorian England. I think a lot of those books were steampunk too.
ReplyDeleteyeah, not my favourite time period or genre! I did like The Beast of London though.
DeleteOoh, I love haunted house horror. There definitely needs to be more!
ReplyDelete~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum
Not really my kind of thing I'm afraid!
DeleteI don't have the best of luck with Fae books either. Not sure why, but they usually don't work for me. There were a few that did.
ReplyDeleteThey are often more miss than hit! Sonya Bateman was an exception for me because her Fae characters were less cold and were likeable!
DeleteI agree on quite a few of these - though I did my paranormal experience books where investigators go into old asylums and homes and such.
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing better than settling down to a new book in a favourite genre that has a favourite setting or theme...it is so comforting!
DeleteHmmm... I think the only one's here I'm in 100% agreement with are, erm, only asylums. *shrug* :)
ReplyDeleteI know there will be good books in these categories that I'll enjoy but I don't have time to hunt them out from theaverage ones. I will read the odd one here and there though if the story sounds really good.
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