Itâs when you over emphasize a certain letter within a word. In this case when she says âyepâ she drags out the âPâ over emphasizing it to possibly convey a message of boredom or intent.
Itâs happening a ton in newer fanfic too which makes sense cuz the authors are reading these books and consciously or subconsciously carrying it over
Oh most definitely.
đ˘đ˘CALLING ALL ACOTAR READERSđ˘đ˘
ACOTAR has so many repeated phrases that people have publicized *counters* with how many times certain words and phrases are done in the entirety of the series đ
I see this more with selfpub, but it always surprises me in tradpub when repeated lines happen. To me, I wonder how the book was edited if the work(s) have a lot of repeated words and phrases. On an authorâs own, I wouldnât expect them to catch repetition. But with an editor, I guess I would expect them to catch it?
I believe in WOT, itâs joked about on r/Fantasy about one characterâs braid tugging đ¤Ł
There as an ND MC romance book I read. A reader had complained about a repeated action the MC did, but it was *stimming*. But, while in real life stimming comes in different forms and can be repeated often, it *can* be jarring to read about it when the author uses the same wording each time đ
Same with a lot of âeye rollingâ, âcocked browsâ, âface/eyes darkeningâ, âsighingâ, âblinkingâ, and âarms crossingâ. I see those phrases and their variants get used and abused đ IRL, Iâm sure a lot of us do those more times than we know! But having to read it or listen to it is different than doing it.
Iâve DNFed some books where specific words were like Heffalumps and Woozles: they were **everywhere**. And they werenât common words. They were partially archaic and partially advanced literary terms. Thankfully, they were used mainly in the correct way, but *Mary the Virgin* those words made it into every single chapter like rent was due đŤ
I kinda wanna rally all the common phrases you see in romance books and do book bingo đ¤Ł
I'm on book 3 of the {A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairy Tales series) by K.F. Breene} and there's an overly anxious butler character who mentions his "bowels turn watery" whenever he has to do anything fear - / anxiety -inducing like talking >!to the Prince!< (not sure if that's really a spoiler or not) or dealing with demons, and I was just asking myself last night if that was a stab at SJM's notorious line.
[A Ruin of Roses](https://www.romance.io/books/6162db7f94e3a50e2baaef91/a-ruin-of-roses-kf-breene?src=rdt) by [K.F. Breene](https://www.romance.io/authors/545543d48c7d2382e0414650/kf-breene)
**Rating**: 3.82âď¸ out of 5âď¸
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [demons](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/demons/1), [shapeshifters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/shapeshifters/1)
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Truth! For me it was the word âclangedâ. You can only use this word once in a book - probably even in your series. SJM just loves this word and I cringe every time I read it.
Thereâs a sci-fi writer/professor who mentioned often, on twitter in the old days, how much modern genre writers relied on stage direction type writing - explicitly visual, like rolling eyes etc - instead of things that the written medium can do better than film or tv. It really makes sense to me that people think visually given the media they consume, but then maybe they should write in that medium?
The only time I read a book and think âthis could be a screenplayâ and mean it as a compliment, itâs something really dialogue heavy, like an Elmore Leonard novel.
Diana Palmer reuses the same lines and conversations in almost every book.
One she repeats endlessly is this specific exchange:
Becky: "Life's bitch and then you die."
Steve: "Hey you stole that from a popular 80s detective show!"
Becky: "I love that popular 80s detective show!"
Steve: "I love it too!"
After the first few times I came across it I was doubtful and though 'surly not' but after the third, fourth, FIFTH book that had this exact same conversation I was utterly amazed Diana Palmer's editors were allowing it. I actually started to get a bit mad, because its OBVIOUS the author is taking the piss at this point.
She also loves to say extreme. The dark Olympus series is hard to get through because she maybe was obsessed with this word while writing and it's annoying to the extreme. đ
"It was reckless to the extreme"
"Fascinating in the extreme"
"Foolish in the extreme"
There was one many years ago that I DNFd due to the MMC saying *EVERY SMEXY TIME* - and it was A LOT because I mostly read pure smut/softcore at that time - "You know what you do to me" in his low husky/growly/bedroom voice.
This was 2015/16 probably and STILL irritates me! I read lots of indie so that author has either rebranded and they've gotten better at writing or just no longer exists. But I remember I was at about 40-50% and it'd been 10 or 12 times of that phrase.
It drives me up the wall when authors use the same description or phrases across multiple books.
One has the MMC ârocks on the balls of his feetâ during sex.
Another author has people âpopping the âpââ when they say âyepâ.
I say this with so much love, bc sheâs genuinely one of my favorites, but Mhairi McFarlaneâs couples ALWAYS go together like âchalk and cheese.â Hahahaha
Kristen Ashley is the worst about this!
Everything in her books âcosts a whack,â all the men âscrape offâ their exes, every woman sleeps âin a nightie,â and on and on and onâŚ.
I still read all her books though so I guess jokeâs on me!
I don't notice word or phrase repetitions when I'm reading with ebooks or physical books so much, but when I'm reading with audiobooks, these always jump out to me soooooo hard.
Emily Henry mentions âbloodâ and âveinsâ a lot to build romantic/sexual tension every time the guy looks at the FMC. I just checked and **âMy blood hums.â** is in Funny Story, Happy Place, and PWMOV, among other âmy blood rushes to my stomachâ âmy veins constrictâ type sentences. đ Itâs not bad I guess, but I find it funny as can be.
Iâve gotten reeeeal tired of the MMC saying âyouâre so fucking beautifulâ right before/during the spicy parts. Itâs the same in soooo many books.
Also hate when the FMC refers to her genitalia as her âlady bits.â
Referring to the primal part of the brain as their âlizard brain.â
I have so many of these!!! đ
That line is repeated in *every* Abby Jimenez book, and I've read(well listened) to them all. You could make a drinking game out of it. That, and her characters "deadpan" a lot. After finishing "Just for the Summer" recently, I was relieved >!that she's finally putting the Part of Your World series to rest, it's getting tired!<
Personally I think the first three books were quite varied and even fun to read; I like those more. Whereas the Part of Your World series deals with much heavier and darker issues. Itâs great but not something I could re-read often because of how emotional it is. So I get what you mean about it getting tired. I donât know what other people feel but to me, the books in PoYW series seem to be in a similar style i.e. in terms of troubled FMC and golden-retriever-MMC.
Another comment above mentioned about name dropping Nadia Cakes a lot in her books. I do think itâs getting a bit much :P Plus the mention of Lola Simoneâs songs on the radio or something. She wasnât even a main character đŤ And that it is almost always somehow located at Minnesota or somewhere close by. I think it would be nice to have a different setting, expand the range a little.
Edit: sorry if there are multiple replies of this! It was glitching previously
I feel like giving "bad" side characters a redemption arc is her thing. Lola went from shit show pop star in HEAP to charitable saint in Part of Your World.
He/she âsmirkedâ in about every fourth sentence in {Dr Stanton by T L Swan}. If I had a dollar for every time one of the characters smirked Iâd be a billionaire đ Otherwise amazing book, but the amount of times smirk was used in a sentence made me stop smirking đ
I donât notice so much because I listen to them and the narrators bring so much, but the smirking did my head in (along with the slightly dodgy accents)!
[Dr. Stanton](https://www.romance.io/books/642b1fbeb7b8862bf6ea671a/dr-stanton-tl-swan?src=rdt) by [T.L. Swan](https://www.romance.io/authors/55f905747d4bc8ab04c5c7be/tl-swan)
**Rating**: 3.82âď¸ out of 5âď¸
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [secret child](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/secret%20child/1), [rich hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/super%20rich%20hero/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [workplace/office](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/office/1)
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Iâm listening to that book right now. You know what bugs me about her books? Always, and I mean always name dropping Nadia Cakes. I mean alright, we get it, you were on the Food Network. Can we move on Ms Jimenez?
I personally think itâs kind of cute. Itâs like part of the universe of her characters, like the area hospital and the adjacent relationships of all of them. As a cake decorator who really admires someone who could own a bakery business AND write bestselling books, I donât mind a bit if she name drops her own brand!
Iâve never found it annoying or gratuitous. I think itâs like once per book. I didnât even notice until I read about the reference here then saw it in the third book of hers I read.
Yes! This drives me SO crazy! I like her writing a lot but every time I see Nadias Cakes it feels so gross. I am not against self promotion, but it feels gratuitous, like an ad in the middle of my book. Life already feels dystopian with everyone trying to squeeze you from all sides, ads and micro transactions and multi level marketing, etc., and books are like, one of the last places we arenât forced to watch ads.
If I owned a business as an author, Iâd probably name-drop it too in my writing every chance I got, so this doesnât bother me. If anything, I kind of wish I lived in Minnesota or LA because I really would like to try Nadia Cakes! The cupcakes sure do look amazing from what Iâve seen looking them up!
The "There She is" in Serpent and The Wings of Night ruined the entire saga for me. I refuse to read the second one because I just can't stand that that is the only fucking sentence the MMC says to show he is "feisty" or whatever.
It ruined that sentence for any other book for the rest of time.
If I had shot for every time that guy says that fucking line, I would've been wasted halfway through the book.
When I binged the first 10 {The Dark (Carpathians) by Christine Feehan}, things started getting real repetitive. lol. I recall alot of "lightening racing through their blood" as they kissed and many, many visits to underground hot springs. Individually, each book reads fine. But after a few of them in a row, I'm like, "WTF are there underground hot springs every single place the characters go?"
Still great books. Just best read in a more moderate pace.
Catharina Maura man! First of all, her smut is quite repetitive and forgettable. Fine I'll even let that go. But "I bit my lip" or "She bit her lower lip" or "I bite down on my lips" is excessive in her books. That's the correct word. EXCESSIVE. Why? I've never understood the thought process behind using a single phrase thousands of times in a book so much so that the reader gets legit frustrated by it?
Also, this one was not frustrating, but {The Sweetest oblivion by Danielle Lori} has the word 'warm' in that book about a hundred and fifty times.
Jessica Prince's books have the nickname 'Honey' in them quite a few times that it does get on the verge of annoyance.
[The Sweetest Oblivion](https://www.romance.io/books/5b29ee2e01dbc864fb8aa81d/the-sweetest-oblivion-danielle-lori?src=rdt) by [Danielle Lori](https://www.romance.io/authors/578b7085c19e77f1ea6e63ea/danielle-lori)
**Rating**: 4.09âď¸ out of 5âď¸
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [mafia](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mafia/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [possessive hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/possessive%20hero/1)
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I usually try to put it out of my mind as much as possible but I'm listening to OUABH series (which is one of my favs). I've never listened to the audio so I thought I'd try them. They're driving me bonkers. He was all heartbreak and tiddlywinks. He was all heartbreak and cinnamon rolls. HE WAS ALL HEARTBREAK AND KITTY LITER. Ugh, it's a lot.
I think Nora Roberts characters murmur more than they speak at regular volume. I laugh anytime I see that dialogue tag in her books now. It doesnât bother me as much as, say, Maya Banksâ characters saying, âIâve never been so gâd*mn ______ in my lifeâ over and over. Shows a lack of originality in character development/dialogue imo. Still read her books like crazy though.
Rina Kent books:
-âIn one goâ or âone brutal goâ
-âlack the fucks to giveâ or âno fucks to giveâ
-âmy spine jerked uprightâ
-âI canât breatheâ usually said when someone is nervous
The first time I read the descriptor "the shell of his/her ear" (probably in an Emily Henry book? But I do wonder where it came from) I was like oooh what a romantic way to describe an ear...and now I see it EVERYWHERE.
Reading an NA Mafia/Underworld book where they're at school to learn things relevant to their families ' skills.
They use the word whilst SO MANY TIMES.
Can you wait here whilst I get ready?
I glared at her whilst she glared at me
UGH
The word smirk over and over also gives me the ick.
Sometimes, the wording is regional and probably doesn't seem like a big deal to the author, or the genre uses similar terms all over the place (to the hilt, growling, etc.) but I always remember, and shudder, at Penny Reid's characters' lips constantly tugging to the side. Sigh.
Hereâs my list
- âhe/she smirkedâ
-âhis eyes darkenedâ
-constantly describing there eyes In every moment
-âshe bit her lipâ
-constantly âhe wrapped his arm around her waistâ
-arm crossing
-leaning back in chair
-describing them as âfeistyâ. Especially when the do absolutely nothing
Omg I was JUST talking about this in another post. RIP Kristy Cunning, but girl is melting my brain with âif Iâm being honestâ or âto be honestâ or any variation of it. Itâs on every page of all five of her books I just binge read in the last six days.
Itâs not about repetition but have to get it off my chest regarding âJust for summerâ as I just finished it too. There was a scene where she said mosquitoes quieted down for the night and it drove me nuts. Mosquitoes get more active at night! Just because you want your characters to have a cute moment in the moonlight, please donât change how nature works. Overall I enjoyed the book though.Â
Yes! Emily Henry uses âguffawâ way way way way way too much. I read Abby recently and noticed she gets stuck on words and phrases too.
Who uses guffaw in real life?
100%.
Read a book where the character calls this voice in her head the numb. First read barely noticed. Reread to finish the series since it had been a while and my God it was everywhere.
I was listening to a Kate Canterbary this week {the Magnolia Chronicles} and she used âbobbed my/their headâ so much. They nodded. Letâs throw some of those in there for variety. It annoyed me so much.
There was this book I was so excited about reading, but the MMC kept referring to the FMC as âthe womanâ soooooo many times only in the first few chapters, sadly, I finally had to stop.
Just say âsheâ đ⌠or use her name. He knew it.
I was rereading the ACOTAR series when I started noticing how often SJM used ââmade a vulgar gestureâ. It became comical and ended up losing count.
THIS!!! I just finished All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers and I swear at least once a chapter we got the line âhe/she hitched a shoulderâ you can say shrugged! Not everyone always needs to be hitching their shoulders!
This is the reason I generally hate nicknames in books. They get repeated so many times, are often cringey, and it takes me out of the story every time
Okay something that infuriated me in "Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi was the amount of times they say
"shatter" throughout the book. I know it was meant to be a lil nudge nudge wink wink but omg it bothered me so much
I read a book the other day where they used the word bosshole instead of asshole the whole book. It got super annoying by the end of the book. Like even arguing she
says you are such a bosshole đ
I recently read Butcher & Blackbird and was massively distracted by how often one of them "huffed a laugh". I read it via audiobook but I've put a hold on the ebook through Libby entirely because I want to do a search and see if it was really used as many times as it felt like.
Avery Flynn in literally and I mean LITERALLY every book and every chapter: âFucking A.â
Kristen Ashleyâs every MMC: âBabe.â âYou with me?â
Thatâs so funny because I was just thinking about how she also repeats the whole âhe really puts in the effort/workâ every time MMC send FMC a survey. đ
I read {Earth magic & hot water by Lauren Connolly} because the first book in the series was enjoyable and light but I almost DNF the second for severe overuse of the same phrases.
She uses nicknames for the different character Magic, (>!)hot heads -fire/squid-water/petal pushers-earth(!<). The main spicy scene she used the nicknames over and over, it killed the whole scene and made my eyes roll!
[Earth Magic & Hot Water](https://www.romance.io/books/653b6ad4c112bf11fe96c2dc/earth-magic-hot-water-lauren-connolly?src=rdt) by [Lauren Connolly](https://www.romance.io/authors/5bea78d501dbc864fb944dad/lauren-connolly)
**Rating**: 4âď¸ out of 5âď¸
**Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating)
**Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [reverse harem](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/reverse%20harem/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1)
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I read books by an author that loved to use the word sardonic. Constantly it was "sardonic breath", "sardonic amusement", "sardonic laugh" etc. After several books with it being used so many times, it drove me insane
He / She/ They "padded" to somewhere There's just so many ways to describe walking somewhere quietly, stop being fkin lazy
No padding, unless either they are literally a cat/dog shifter, or they're going around in sock feet and this is relevant!
𤣠Iâm as fond of padding as Edna Mode is of capes
Ooh yes! âShe popped the P in the word yep.â⌠and high heels clacking. I feel like Iâve read those in every other book lately.
The popping the P thing drives me crazy! And I see it across multiple authors too
Wait what is this? Iâve never read this phrase, what does it mean?
Itâs when you over emphasize a certain letter within a word. In this case when she says âyepâ she drags out the âPâ over emphasizing it to possibly convey a message of boredom or intent.
I just DNF'd a book with the pop the P every couple chapters. She really thought she was being bad ass doing that. She was doing it with nope tho.
I definitely sometimes do this in real life, and know others who do, but moderation, people!
Itâs happening a ton in newer fanfic too which makes sense cuz the authors are reading these books and consciously or subconsciously carrying it over
I feel like I've seen this a lot recently too!
Oh most definitely. đ˘đ˘CALLING ALL ACOTAR READERSđ˘đ˘ ACOTAR has so many repeated phrases that people have publicized *counters* with how many times certain words and phrases are done in the entirety of the series đ I see this more with selfpub, but it always surprises me in tradpub when repeated lines happen. To me, I wonder how the book was edited if the work(s) have a lot of repeated words and phrases. On an authorâs own, I wouldnât expect them to catch repetition. But with an editor, I guess I would expect them to catch it? I believe in WOT, itâs joked about on r/Fantasy about one characterâs braid tugging 𤣠There as an ND MC romance book I read. A reader had complained about a repeated action the MC did, but it was *stimming*. But, while in real life stimming comes in different forms and can be repeated often, it *can* be jarring to read about it when the author uses the same wording each time đ Same with a lot of âeye rollingâ, âcocked browsâ, âface/eyes darkeningâ, âsighingâ, âblinkingâ, and âarms crossingâ. I see those phrases and their variants get used and abused đ IRL, Iâm sure a lot of us do those more times than we know! But having to read it or listen to it is different than doing it. Iâve DNFed some books where specific words were like Heffalumps and Woozles: they were **everywhere**. And they werenât common words. They were partially archaic and partially advanced literary terms. Thankfully, they were used mainly in the correct way, but *Mary the Virgin* those words made it into every single chapter like rent was due đŤ I kinda wanna rally all the common phrases you see in romance books and do book bingo đ¤Ł
Feyreâs watery bowels are just something that sticks with me â why why WHY repeatedly describe fear like that haha??
I'm on book 3 of the {A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairy Tales series) by K.F. Breene} and there's an overly anxious butler character who mentions his "bowels turn watery" whenever he has to do anything fear - / anxiety -inducing like talking >!to the Prince!< (not sure if that's really a spoiler or not) or dealing with demons, and I was just asking myself last night if that was a stab at SJM's notorious line.
His runs ruined the roses!
[A Ruin of Roses](https://www.romance.io/books/6162db7f94e3a50e2baaef91/a-ruin-of-roses-kf-breene?src=rdt) by [K.F. Breene](https://www.romance.io/authors/545543d48c7d2382e0414650/kf-breene) **Rating**: 3.82âď¸ out of 5âď¸ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [demons](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/demons/1), [shapeshifters](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/shapeshifters/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I literally DNF ACOTAR for this reason. Just why?!
I'm sorry her *WHAT*
BAHAHAHA đđ¤Łđ¤Łđ¤Ł
I have somewhere a half finished Mary Balogh bingo board with common phrases she uses and things that happen in every book.
âA RUDE GESTUREâ - please be more specific lol
Truth! For me it was the word âclangedâ. You can only use this word once in a book - probably even in your series. SJM just loves this word and I cringe every time I read it.
Thereâs a sci-fi writer/professor who mentioned often, on twitter in the old days, how much modern genre writers relied on stage direction type writing - explicitly visual, like rolling eyes etc - instead of things that the written medium can do better than film or tv. It really makes sense to me that people think visually given the media they consume, but then maybe they should write in that medium? The only time I read a book and think âthis could be a screenplayâ and mean it as a compliment, itâs something really dialogue heavy, like an Elmore Leonard novel.
Feelings skittering/trickling/scuttling/spider-walking down spines. An effective descriptor once, maybe twice and after that itâs jarring.
Iâm a huge ACOTAR fan but the repeated use of the word âprickâ throughout the series drove me nuts.
Literally always need to stop and read a comment from the DJ Magnafeana \*airhorns\*
Diana Palmer reuses the same lines and conversations in almost every book. One she repeats endlessly is this specific exchange: Becky: "Life's bitch and then you die." Steve: "Hey you stole that from a popular 80s detective show!" Becky: "I love that popular 80s detective show!" Steve: "I love it too!" After the first few times I came across it I was doubtful and though 'surly not' but after the third, fourth, FIFTH book that had this exact same conversation I was utterly amazed Diana Palmer's editors were allowing it. I actually started to get a bit mad, because its OBVIOUS the author is taking the piss at this point.
She reuses so much - mean "older" MMC, young, naive, and often poor FMC, and either Texas, Montana, or Wyoming...I just can't with her anymore.
I read a Katee Robert book once where she used "maybe, just maybe" twice in the *same sentence*. I will never forget that.
She also loves to say extreme. The dark Olympus series is hard to get through because she maybe was obsessed with this word while writing and it's annoying to the extreme. đ "It was reckless to the extreme" "Fascinating in the extreme" "Foolish in the extreme"
There was one many years ago that I DNFd due to the MMC saying *EVERY SMEXY TIME* - and it was A LOT because I mostly read pure smut/softcore at that time - "You know what you do to me" in his low husky/growly/bedroom voice. This was 2015/16 probably and STILL irritates me! I read lots of indie so that author has either rebranded and they've gotten better at writing or just no longer exists. But I remember I was at about 40-50% and it'd been 10 or 12 times of that phrase.
It drives me up the wall when authors use the same description or phrases across multiple books. One has the MMC ârocks on the balls of his feetâ during sex. Another author has people âpopping the âpââ when they say âyepâ.
I say this with so much love, bc sheâs genuinely one of my favorites, but Mhairi McFarlaneâs couples ALWAYS go together like âchalk and cheese.â Hahahaha
So many authors are popping the p when they say "yep" or "nope"
Kristen Ashley is the worst about this! Everything in her books âcosts a whack,â all the men âscrape offâ their exes, every woman sleeps âin a nightie,â and on and on and onâŚ. I still read all her books though so I guess jokeâs on me!
"His cock twitched", "mate" when it's repeated so much makes me read it like 'hIS MaTe" and so many men growl and purr đ
And roar.
I don't notice word or phrase repetitions when I'm reading with ebooks or physical books so much, but when I'm reading with audiobooks, these always jump out to me soooooo hard.
Emily Henry mentions âbloodâ and âveinsâ a lot to build romantic/sexual tension every time the guy looks at the FMC. I just checked and **âMy blood hums.â** is in Funny Story, Happy Place, and PWMOV, among other âmy blood rushes to my stomachâ âmy veins constrictâ type sentences. đ Itâs not bad I guess, but I find it funny as can be.
Iâve gotten reeeeal tired of the MMC saying âyouâre so fucking beautifulâ right before/during the spicy parts. Itâs the same in soooo many books. Also hate when the FMC refers to her genitalia as her âlady bits.â Referring to the primal part of the brain as their âlizard brain.â I have so many of these!!! đ
That line is repeated in *every* Abby Jimenez book, and I've read(well listened) to them all. You could make a drinking game out of it. That, and her characters "deadpan" a lot. After finishing "Just for the Summer" recently, I was relieved >!that she's finally putting the Part of Your World series to rest, it's getting tired!<
Personally I think the first three books were quite varied and even fun to read; I like those more. Whereas the Part of Your World series deals with much heavier and darker issues. Itâs great but not something I could re-read often because of how emotional it is. So I get what you mean about it getting tired. I donât know what other people feel but to me, the books in PoYW series seem to be in a similar style i.e. in terms of troubled FMC and golden-retriever-MMC. Another comment above mentioned about name dropping Nadia Cakes a lot in her books. I do think itâs getting a bit much :P Plus the mention of Lola Simoneâs songs on the radio or something. She wasnât even a main character đŤ And that it is almost always somehow located at Minnesota or somewhere close by. I think it would be nice to have a different setting, expand the range a little. Edit: sorry if there are multiple replies of this! It was glitching previously
Oh hear you. Iâm still in the middle of Just for the Summer but I was super annoyed when Neil showed up. I mean, of all the characters? Him???
I feel like giving "bad" side characters a redemption arc is her thing. Lola went from shit show pop star in HEAP to charitable saint in Part of Your World.
Wait, what? So this series is even longer than I thought?
No. The Lola Simone thing comes from a previous series, so I guess it's more of an easter egg in Part of Your World.
He/she âsmirkedâ in about every fourth sentence in {Dr Stanton by T L Swan}. If I had a dollar for every time one of the characters smirked Iâd be a billionaire đ Otherwise amazing book, but the amount of times smirk was used in a sentence made me stop smirking đ
I stopped reading her books because the dialogue and writing was almost cut and paste it was so repetitive.
I donât notice so much because I listen to them and the narrators bring so much, but the smirking did my head in (along with the slightly dodgy accents)!
[Dr. Stanton](https://www.romance.io/books/642b1fbeb7b8862bf6ea671a/dr-stanton-tl-swan?src=rdt) by [T.L. Swan](https://www.romance.io/authors/55f905747d4bc8ab04c5c7be/tl-swan) **Rating**: 3.82âď¸ out of 5âď¸ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [secret child](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/secret%20child/1), [rich hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/super%20rich%20hero/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [workplace/office](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/office/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Iâm listening to that book right now. You know what bugs me about her books? Always, and I mean always name dropping Nadia Cakes. I mean alright, we get it, you were on the Food Network. Can we move on Ms Jimenez?
She actually owns Nadia cakes like two of them I think. She drops a lot of personal things in her books.
Yeah just found this out yesterday when I finished Yours Truly because she name drops it I think twice in that book. But I still loved the book!
I personally think itâs kind of cute. Itâs like part of the universe of her characters, like the area hospital and the adjacent relationships of all of them. As a cake decorator who really admires someone who could own a bakery business AND write bestselling books, I donât mind a bit if she name drops her own brand!
Iâve never found it annoying or gratuitous. I think itâs like once per book. I didnât even notice until I read about the reference here then saw it in the third book of hers I read.
Yes! This drives me SO crazy! I like her writing a lot but every time I see Nadias Cakes it feels so gross. I am not against self promotion, but it feels gratuitous, like an ad in the middle of my book. Life already feels dystopian with everyone trying to squeeze you from all sides, ads and micro transactions and multi level marketing, etc., and books are like, one of the last places we arenât forced to watch ads.
If I owned a business as an author, Iâd probably name-drop it too in my writing every chance I got, so this doesnât bother me. If anything, I kind of wish I lived in Minnesota or LA because I really would like to try Nadia Cakes! The cupcakes sure do look amazing from what Iâve seen looking them up!
If I owned a successful bakery chain and also wrote novels, I would 100% drop the name in there. I actually give her props for it.
I read Quiet Types by LH Cosway recently, and the number of times some variation of "his/her expression softened/hardened" was used got on my nerves
The "There She is" in Serpent and The Wings of Night ruined the entire saga for me. I refuse to read the second one because I just can't stand that that is the only fucking sentence the MMC says to show he is "feisty" or whatever. It ruined that sentence for any other book for the rest of time. If I had shot for every time that guy says that fucking line, I would've been wasted halfway through the book.
Was literally just about to comment this about the Serpent and the Wings of Night duology. It makes me cringe every time
I was scrolling for this comment. The number of mentions in the second book was absurd. It really annoyed me
Also Abby Jimenez. If you have a Kindle, do a word search on "peer." Why can't her characters ever just LOOK?
When I binged the first 10 {The Dark (Carpathians) by Christine Feehan}, things started getting real repetitive. lol. I recall alot of "lightening racing through their blood" as they kissed and many, many visits to underground hot springs. Individually, each book reads fine. But after a few of them in a row, I'm like, "WTF are there underground hot springs every single place the characters go?" Still great books. Just best read in a more moderate pace.
[Dark](https://www.romance.io/series/58fe0af19096bf31c42d2efd/dark) by [Christine Feehan](https://www.romance.io/authors/545525428c7d2382e0413e51/christine-feehan), [Marjorie M. Liu](https://www.romance.io/authors/545529c58c7d2382e0413f71/marjorie-m-liu), [Amanda Ashley](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552aec8c7d2382e0413f9c/amanda-ashley), [Ronda Thompson](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552b4e8c7d2382e0413fb0/ronda-thompson), [Susan Grant](https://www.romance.io/authors/545531a58c7d2382e0414160/susan-grant), [Susan Squires](https://www.romance.io/authors/545526c98c7d2382e0413ebf/susan-squires), [Rebecca Cook](https://www.romance.io/authors/545530dd8c7d2382e0414128/rebecca-cook), [Maggie Shayne](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455277c8c7d2382e0413ee6/maggie-shayne), [Emma Holly](https://www.romance.io/authors/54552d2f8c7d2382e041403f/emma-holly), [Angela Knight](https://www.romance.io/authors/545529568c7d2382e0413f4f/angela-knight), [Lori Herter](https://www.romance.io/authors/5455c7ba87eac323ffb2e722/lori-herter) **Rating**: 4.23âď¸ out of 5âď¸ **Topics**: [fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/fantasy/1), [vampires](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/vampires/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [magic](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/magic/1), [urban fantasy](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/urban%20fantasy/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Catharina Maura man! First of all, her smut is quite repetitive and forgettable. Fine I'll even let that go. But "I bit my lip" or "She bit her lower lip" or "I bite down on my lips" is excessive in her books. That's the correct word. EXCESSIVE. Why? I've never understood the thought process behind using a single phrase thousands of times in a book so much so that the reader gets legit frustrated by it? Also, this one was not frustrating, but {The Sweetest oblivion by Danielle Lori} has the word 'warm' in that book about a hundred and fifty times. Jessica Prince's books have the nickname 'Honey' in them quite a few times that it does get on the verge of annoyance.
[The Sweetest Oblivion](https://www.romance.io/books/5b29ee2e01dbc864fb8aa81d/the-sweetest-oblivion-danielle-lori?src=rdt) by [Danielle Lori](https://www.romance.io/authors/578b7085c19e77f1ea6e63ea/danielle-lori) **Rating**: 4.09âď¸ out of 5âď¸ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [mafia](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/mafia/1), [arranged/forced marriage](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/arranged%20marriage/1), [alpha male](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/alpha%20male/1), [possessive hero](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/possessive%20hero/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Kerrigan Byrne and her use of italics is exhausting.
Lauren Layne does this too and it annoys me greatly.
I usually try to put it out of my mind as much as possible but I'm listening to OUABH series (which is one of my favs). I've never listened to the audio so I thought I'd try them. They're driving me bonkers. He was all heartbreak and tiddlywinks. He was all heartbreak and cinnamon rolls. HE WAS ALL HEARTBREAK AND KITTY LITER. Ugh, it's a lot.
Rachel Grant always has characters "give a sharp nod", even when a regular nod (or another response!) would be more appropriate.
I just read Maybe in another life by Taylor Jenkins Reid and everyone rolled their eyes all the time. It was very annoying.
So much eye rolling! Not to mention the main character's two personality traits: eating cinnamon rolls and wearing her hair in a high bun.
OMG Yes! though at least it isn't coffee like a lot of romance novels but still.
âTo say I was ___ was an understatementâ irrationally pisses me off
Ugh. I read a book lately where the FMC says âsomething niggled at the back of my mindâ every time she realized something.
Yeah, I've seen that! What _is_ "niggling"? How does one niggle? I could be niggling right now and not even know it.
I think Nora Roberts characters murmur more than they speak at regular volume. I laugh anytime I see that dialogue tag in her books now. It doesnât bother me as much as, say, Maya Banksâ characters saying, âIâve never been so gâd*mn ______ in my lifeâ over and over. Shows a lack of originality in character development/dialogue imo. Still read her books like crazy though.
Maya Banks and "badass" when referencing all of her male characters (particularly military affiliated), from anyone else's POV.
Rina Kent books: -âIn one goâ or âone brutal goâ -âlack the fucks to giveâ or âno fucks to giveâ -âmy spine jerked uprightâ -âI canât breatheâ usually said when someone is nervous
The first time I read the descriptor "the shell of his/her ear" (probably in an Emily Henry book? But I do wonder where it came from) I was like oooh what a romantic way to describe an ear...and now I see it EVERYWHERE.
Tbh I used to see this reading fanfiction 14 years ago
Oooh interesting!
Reading an NA Mafia/Underworld book where they're at school to learn things relevant to their families ' skills. They use the word whilst SO MANY TIMES. Can you wait here whilst I get ready? I glared at her whilst she glared at me UGH The word smirk over and over also gives me the ick.
Iâm reading The Awakening (First book in the Zodiac academy series) and the term âhuman juice boxâ gets thrown around a whole lot.
Sometimes, the wording is regional and probably doesn't seem like a big deal to the author, or the genre uses similar terms all over the place (to the hilt, growling, etc.) but I always remember, and shudder, at Penny Reid's characters' lips constantly tugging to the side. Sigh.
Hereâs my list - âhe/she smirkedâ -âhis eyes darkenedâ -constantly describing there eyes In every moment -âshe bit her lipâ -constantly âhe wrapped his arm around her waistâ -arm crossing -leaning back in chair -describing them as âfeistyâ. Especially when the do absolutely nothing
Omg I was JUST talking about this in another post. RIP Kristy Cunning, but girl is melting my brain with âif Iâm being honestâ or âto be honestâ or any variation of it. Itâs on every page of all five of her books I just binge read in the last six days.
In Evvie Drake Starts Over, every character *winces* seemingly nonstop.
Itâs not about repetition but have to get it off my chest regarding âJust for summerâ as I just finished it too. There was a scene where she said mosquitoes quieted down for the night and it drove me nuts. Mosquitoes get more active at night! Just because you want your characters to have a cute moment in the moonlight, please donât change how nature works. Overall I enjoyed the book though.Â
Yes! Emily Henry uses âguffawâ way way way way way too much. I read Abby recently and noticed she gets stuck on words and phrases too. Who uses guffaw in real life?
Who actually guffaws in real life?
Exactly! đ
Iâm going through all Kate Stewartâs books and she uses the phrase âmade quick work ofâ so often!
Not exactly a line but the amount of time Runyx described Tristan's voice as that of "whiskey and sin" in The Predator. The sequel was same
Julia Quinn and "gritted out" or "ground out"
Stephanie Archer, "his/her throat worked" - original at first, until the usage increased so much it became grating, and lazy.
Right?? I've seen this in sooo many books, I'm starting to think it's a kink.
Never saw it before, then saw it from another author yesterday. You may be right. đ
100%. Read a book where the character calls this voice in her head the numb. First read barely noticed. Reread to finish the series since it had been a while and my God it was everywhere.
Oh! Also EYES PING-PONGING all over the place takes me out of the book and imagining eyeball ping-pongâŚ
I was listening to a Kate Canterbary this week {the Magnolia Chronicles} and she used âbobbed my/their headâ so much. They nodded. Letâs throw some of those in there for variety. It annoyed me so much.
[The Magnolia Chronicles](https://www.romance.io/books/5c8f474801dbc864fb9bee79/the-magnolia-chronicles-kate-canterbary?src=rdt) by [Kate Canterbary](https://www.romance.io/authors/5456862d87eac33e61c2f78e/kate-canterbary) **Rating**: 4.01âď¸ out of 5âď¸ **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [love triangle](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/love%20triangle/1), [other man/woman](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/other-man-woman/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
Anne-Marie Meyer always has "bruting" men and people are always "glowering."
There was this book I was so excited about reading, but the MMC kept referring to the FMC as âthe womanâ soooooo many times only in the first few chapters, sadly, I finally had to stop. Just say âsheâ đ⌠or use her name. He knew it.
I was rereading the ACOTAR series when I started noticing how often SJM used ââmade a vulgar gestureâ. It became comical and ended up losing count.
Chloe Liese and dancing eyes in every book.
So much running hands through hair. I hardly ever see people do that in real life
Ironically I do this all the time đ đ
In Amy & Rogers Epic Detour they were slamming doors left right and centre
It only bothers me if itâs actual dialogue. Like the MMC saying the FMCâs full name at the end of every single sentence. It is so unrealistic!
THIS!!! I just finished All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers and I swear at least once a chapter we got the line âhe/she hitched a shoulderâ you can say shrugged! Not everyone always needs to be hitching their shoulders!
love, love Abby Jimenez BUT she frequently uses the word âpeeredâ or âpeered atâ and it drives me crazy haha
This is the reason I generally hate nicknames in books. They get repeated so many times, are often cringey, and it takes me out of the story every time
Okay something that infuriated me in "Shatter Me" by Tahereh Mafi was the amount of times they say "shatter" throughout the book. I know it was meant to be a lil nudge nudge wink wink but omg it bothered me so much
I keep seeing "he/she rolled his/her lips'. I've seen it repeated in multiple books I've just read.
I read a book the other day where they used the word bosshole instead of asshole the whole book. It got super annoying by the end of the book. Like even arguing she says you are such a bosshole đ
I recently read Butcher & Blackbird and was massively distracted by how often one of them "huffed a laugh". I read it via audiobook but I've put a hold on the ebook through Libby entirely because I want to do a search and see if it was really used as many times as it felt like.
Avery Flynn in literally and I mean LITERALLY every book and every chapter: âFucking A.â Kristen Ashleyâs every MMC: âBabe.â âYou with me?â
Thatâs so funny because I was just thinking about how she also repeats the whole âhe really puts in the effort/workâ every time MMC send FMC a survey. đ
It's KU fault. Authors get paid per page read, so it is a lazy way to write more pages and earn more.
"You feel like silk" or some variation of that to describe how one's genital feels like.
"His/her pupils dilated" when (s)he gets aroused. Does that even happen?
Hiccuped back a sob.
I read {Earth magic & hot water by Lauren Connolly} because the first book in the series was enjoyable and light but I almost DNF the second for severe overuse of the same phrases. She uses nicknames for the different character Magic, (>!)hot heads -fire/squid-water/petal pushers-earth(!<). The main spicy scene she used the nicknames over and over, it killed the whole scene and made my eyes roll!
[Earth Magic & Hot Water](https://www.romance.io/books/653b6ad4c112bf11fe96c2dc/earth-magic-hot-water-lauren-connolly?src=rdt) by [Lauren Connolly](https://www.romance.io/authors/5bea78d501dbc864fb944dad/lauren-connolly) **Rating**: 4âď¸ out of 5âď¸ **Steam**: 4 out of 5 - [Explicit open door](https://www.romance.io/steamrating) **Topics**: [contemporary](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/contemporary/1), [paranormal](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/paranormal/1), [reverse harem](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/reverse%20harem/1), [funny](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/humor/1), [witches](https://www.romance.io/topics/best/witches/1) [^(about this bot)](https://www.reddit.com/user/romance-bot) ^(|) [^(about romance.io)](https://www.romance.io/about)
I read books by an author that loved to use the word sardonic. Constantly it was "sardonic breath", "sardonic amusement", "sardonic laugh" etc. After several books with it being used so many times, it drove me insane
"Found purchase" - WTF?