30 Days of Books: Day 8

Day number 8 of the “30 Days of Books” challenge… You know the drill, now it’s time to spill! Okay, that was lame. I won’t say things like that anymore!!

30 Days of Books: Day #8

Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise…

Okay, I guess it’s not really a “plot device” so to speak, but I hate it when I read books where it seems like the author is (what I believe is) trying too hard. There are many ways that I’ve seen this happen in books and it’s just such a shame because it ruins a perfectly good story for me.

The one that comes to mind the most is Shatter Me by Taherh Mafi – I know there are a TON of people out there who really loved this book and thought Mafi’s prose was beautiful, expressive, and creative. I, however, felt like I was reading one long poem with metaphors and similes that didn’t quite make sense and the excessive use of strikethrough was really distracting for me. I actually chose not to keep reading the book because it was so distracting and took away from a plot I was actually really interested in reading.

Another book that comes to mind is Murder is Binding by Lorna Barrett – I felt like the ending was overly dramatic and it kind of came out of nowhere. Along with a weird twin story, an overly eccentric sister, and complete personality change in a male lead, it was all just too much for me. It didn’t completely ruin the story for me, but it was enough to leave me with a bad taste in my mouth.
Sometimes cozy mysteries get really carried away with some of the characters or situations because they’re supposed to be a little silly – But taking it to the extreme really ruins a good book for me! I’m expecting it to get a little goofy, but I still like stories to be believable.

I really don’t want to slander books, especially when I know other people are out there enjoying them, but those are just two examples that come to mind immediately. Oh well. Happy Friday, all!