Top 5 Wednesday: Book Trends I’m Tired Of Seeing

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly blogging prompt, created by Lainey, and hosted by Sam from ThoughtsOnTomes. If you want to find out more about the prompt and see the upcoming topics, then check out the Goodreads group here.

This week’s theme is “Book Trends You’re Tired Of”:

“What are some things you are tired of seeing that are trends in publishing? Maybe something that pops up on a lot of covers these days, or the popularity of certain tropes in a particular genre? Let it out!”

These are the trends I’m tired of seeing:

Love/hate relationships

Whilst there is definitely something alluring about a fiery relationship between two main characters, it can start to feel a bit repetetive when every single romance starts with hatred. This has started to feel a little tropey, and at times, actually makes me feel uncomfortable. I don’t want the protagonist to end up with someone who was mean to them at the start of the book!

“This book is going to be the next Twilight/The Hunger Games/Game of Thrones/Gone Girl“

Whatever your favourite genre, there’s a go-to comparison. Not every thriller with the world “girl” in it is going to be the next Gone Girl, and I’m not even sure I would want to read the “next Game of Thrones“. I would much rather a book advertised the things that make it different from all the other books out there, because that’s what’s going to make me love them. Give a book credit for being itself, not the “next” something else.

Love at first sight

You may have noticed I can be cynical when it comes to romance in books. When characters feel “electricity between them” the first time they spot each other, it makes my cynicism so much worse. I prefer to read about chemistry that builds up gradually.

Fantasy book covers featuring hooded characters

Ever noticed that about 50% of fantasy books in any given bookstore feature a hooded assassin/rogue-type on the cover? If not, then now you’ll start noticing. As much as I love the rogue-archetype, it makes it hard to choose a good fantasy when every single cover features the same thing, and I’m sure publishers could be more original.

Servant/captive falls in love with her master/captor

Admittedly, this can make for some great fantasy romance, and I’ve actually got a few books like this sitting on my shelf that I’ve really enjoyed/can’t wait to read. The problem is, that when I went searching for a good fantasy romance book, almost every single book that was recommended to me followed this plot. There’s something a little uncomfortable about how frequently this theme crops up, so I’m hoping it doesn’t dominate the fantasy romance section for too much longer.

Side note: I actually really enjoyed some of the books I’ve pictured in this post. Just because a book contains one of these trends, doesn’t mean I hate it: I just wouldn’t want to read ten more just like it!

What current book trends are you tired of?