Reacting to YOUR Bookish Icks (things you HATE in books) // Taylor Swift, Miscommunication, & More

[@pardonthisbookaddict]

Adult books should not be in the YA section. Also, YA books should not be in the middle grade section.

[@lunawolf6288]

I so agree

[@jessicalucker131]

Another word that authors LOVE to use is incarnate. I don’t mind, it’s just definitely something I see a lot, sometimes even multiple times in the same book!

[@AmandasBooktopia]

So many here that I agree with! I always love hearing the responses that you get. So glad you put up mine with the cliffhangers. If the next book takes forever to come out I always have to reread leading up to it. I would love to see you do this again sometime. I’m sure I can think of more.

[@alaynathompson5507]

I so agree about the boys of tommen!! I was searching for books 3-5 at my local B&N and could NOT find them. I finally asked someone to help me and they were in the YA section. I was like ??? There is language and triggers and some spice sprinkled in. Definitely needs to be in the adult romance section.

[@brandierose6930]

I definitely agree but I also noticed that the books were published under a young adult imprint, so that probably has to do with it being in the ya section more than the content.

[@lee-annep8318]

I'm not a fan of a lot of pet names either. Babe, baby girl, etc.

[@sherrylldominique4990]

Kitten, babygirl and daddy really drive me crazy 😂

[@miyayume_eclectic_dream]

🤣Good to know I am not the only one. I was at second chappter as he called her "pet" and "naive" [in terms of she is a virgin] and I dropped the book so fast.

[@ChrislynReadsWithPugs]

Omg! Yes! The word UNDULATE is in soooooo many books! I also saw Murphy talk about this! And now I can’t unsee it! It’s always there staring at me! 👀 It’s almost unsettling! 🤣

[@lost.in.prose.]

Agree with quite a few!

[@maeflower1020]

Hello from the Isle of Man 🇮🇲, love your videos and book reviews ❤

[@cierahernandez9982]

book cover style changes half way through the series. of more than 4 POV in one book. Like not one series if its a series and it changes POV over a few characters that's fine but in one book having 7-8 different POV is just confusing.

[@Georgia7Pap]

The "big girl panties" was mine. I've noticed a few expressions that are used ALL THE TIME. That's the one that bothers me the most though. The others are: When the couple touch for the first time and they feel like it's lightning... Come on authors... find something else to describe that feeling. I prefer it when instead of lightning they feel goosebumps or chills. That's more normal right? Who even knows how lightning feels? Anyway.... the other one is when they are about to have sex and the heroine says "please" but then she thinks to herself "I don't really know what I'm begging for exactly". If it's a historical and she is a virgin I understand that she doesn't know that she's about to orgasm. But if it's a contemporary it really bothers me. I just don't believe that in this day and age with the internet women don't know what's coming even if they're virgins and haven't experienced an orgasm before. Anyway.... the big girl panties really bothers me. I recently even read one where the heroine was thinking about the hero and she said "he needs to put on his big boy panties and come and talk to me". I mean COME ON....

[@Melodys_Inner_Circle]

Totally agree with the ick that Adult books should not be in the YA section. There is an assumption that YA means PG13. If it would be rated R in the theater, I feel it should be in the adult section. The ACOTAR series is in the YA section of my library. I checked, and they did put Silver Flames in the adult section, but still, I feel they should be in adult for sure. I think this is because the first one was marketed as New Adult, but once the series continued and they were republished with the new covers, they were published as Adult.

[@rouxleneoosthuizen7810]

As a very conservative person, I usually buy from the YA section. I bought the whole ACOTAR series bundle from the YA section with no idea of the spice level and was wildly surprised. Luckily I am 24, but still.... Since then, I started watching book reviews on KZbin😂

[@natasagajic1061]

I noticed A Court of Silver Flames being shelved in the middle grade and YA mixed SFF shelf at my library, next to the Throne of Glass books 😳 But then Crescent City books are shelved among adult fantasy. So why the heck is Silver Flames shelved there, I have no clue 😳

[@lunawolf6288]

Swiftie here I got to the part with Taylor swift and I Don’t think so but I guess I haven’t seen too many books with taylor swift lyrics

[@liezllovesbooks]

Same Jess half my Spotify songs from book playlist I love them

[@markreadsbo]

English/British accent being sexy, which one there are so many, just listen to British sports, movie, or music being interviewed Think saying USA accent being sexy, is it a Boston, New York or Texas amongst others.

[@Kat-cu9zp]

My ick is historical romances that ignore the reality of the time period they are set it to the point of ridiculousness. I get some historical inaccuracies and modern sensibilities, but some of the books I have read seem to completely ignore reality in regards to the time period they are set in. I hate it when a FMC in the Regency period romance establishes a relationship with a MMC, chooses to have her first time with him before marriage, but afterwards acts surprised when he proposes and intends to marry her. She then refuses to marry him, because she only wanted to give him her first time and just expected him to walk away afterwards. Because he is not a creep, he then has to spend the rest of the book convincing her to marry him until right at the end she magically agrees to marry him. It can work, but most often, it feels very contrived and like a way to shoehorn modern ideals into the book, to show how liberated she is and include premarital spice. Trying to write an innocent FMC who expects casual intimate encounters with the MMC in the 1800's, usually comes off like she is a twit and has lost touch with the reality of the time period.

[@Kat-cu9zp]

I just want to be clear that it is not premarital spicey times that I find unrealistic, but the specific case of an innocent heroine who suddenly decides to give her innocence to a guy because "she wants to be with him just once," but then suddenly objects to marrying him for no actual reason, except, we shouldn't just marry because it was my first time. This is usually paired with a story where she has to marry to secure a future for herself and or her family. Which makes it all the more unrealistic when she decides to sleep with him, just because, and is suddenly surprised and objects when he intends to marry her. I'm sorry, you are telling me that this innocent FMC in the 1800's intends to not just have casual spicey times, but her intent is to take control of her body and give herself to the MMC, because he is so wonderful and not like other men. Yeah sure, that seems like something a real person of that time period would do, really.

[@sherrylldominique4990]

I recently realized that I don’t like books that heavily focus on the past in present books. Happens so much in second chance. It has to really be done correctly

[@laurenwhitaker17]

If you’re a fan of dog-earring your pages, try magnetic bookmarks. They’re a game-changer.

[@BecxReadz]

I've been keeping track of the nicknames/ endearments for the books I read this year. There are some crazy ones. I never pay attention to the playlists, it's just an added page in a book I don't need. I wouldn't mind it so much if like the song was incorporated into the story where it belongs. Like have a little qr code on the page you want the song to go with, otherwise it's just a list of songs in one spot and I'm never going to listen to them 😂

[@Charley070]

I think all of the overused pet names in almost every book that’s been coming out is my biggest offender. Its not cute and can come of infantilizing. Major ick!

[@ayragon]

❤ 📚 ❤

[@yaelsbookthoughts9792]

Not a fan of the 28+ year old virgin. I feel like being a virgin is glorified, like, if she's a virgin she is pure and has standards... while in real life, a person with no experience by that age has to be pretty lonely and frustrated. Also - non-consent scenes are an automatic DNF for me even if she's "wet" - reminds me too much of how lawyers try to discredit women in rape trials. It's a hard no for me.

[@natasagajic1061]

One of my biggest bookish icks are female protagonists who are mean and verbally vicious/borderline abusive, but the author thinks and makes all of the other characters act toward that character like they are precious baby angels who can do no wrong (glaring at Feyre & SJM for popularizing this 😡). The dissonance between what I think about the character and what the author wants me to think drives me up the wall. Also, "not like other girls" makes me break out in hives. Hehehe, I didn't expect wild Merphy to appear at the end! 😁

[@user-rp8ql6hw7h]

My big time ICK is too much swearing! I don’t mind swearing here and there, but OMG every other chapter is way too much! Especially when all of the characters do it. If there is swearing it has to be done right. The authors that use swear words to show toughness in the characters just turns me off as a reader. Matter of fact, it does the opposite for me and it shows signs of weakness in the writing and in the characters, but that is just my preference. When characters swear too much I think the characters were uneducated and the characters didn’t know how to handle stress at that specific pressure in the book. I rather see sarcasm replace swearing. I absolutely love Fourth Wing and Iron Flame, but the author used so many times the s word and so many times the fu** word it made me cringe. However, I am going to finish the series and I have pre-ordered the final book just to finish the series. Will I pick up another book from that author probably not.

[@woodlandlady7011]

You love Taylor Swift who farts💨 into a microphone?🤮

[@lunawolf6288]

This is for swifties happy August swifties 🩶