I usually try not to be judgey when it comes to a book, because I know that the author put a lot of time and effort into it.  But sometimes, there are things that just can’t be forgiven.  For me, those are:

  • Grammatical mistakes.  I’m more strict about this in a finished copy than I am in a review copy.  If you expect me to spend my hard-earned money on your book, I expect it to be thoroughly edited.
  • Excessive angst.  You know when the couple has every reason in the world to be happy, and then something minor from like eighteen years ago comes along and they break up for the eleventh time?  I can’t handle that.  Stop it.
  • Misogynistic attitudes.  It’s okay for a character to be misogynistic, but not the author.  There are a lot of facets to this one, but it usually comes down to slut-shaming the MC.
  • Entirely unrealistic situations.  I can suspend my disbelief to a certain degree, but sometimes it gets out of hand.
  • Plot holes, continuity errors, inconsistency.  It was snowing five minutes ago and now they’re tanning on the beach?  How and when exactly did the MC transform from a bumbling fool to the sexiest guy on the planet?  She’s taken his shirt off how many times?
  • Plagiarism.  This should go without saying.  I once read a book that was clearly just Mean Girls set in England, down to every last scene.  Stop it; you’re better than that.

These are the things I can’t put up with.  Do you have anything on your list, or do you just go with the flow?