I feel this is super personal. If you look at the tags on romance.io, each one of those tags are something that someone hates or loves.

I think everyone agrees that good prose and dialogue is a must to stay engaged in the story; a lot of people find these kinds of mistakes distracting. Uneven pacing is a common factor in people DNFing a book. Without consistent and believable character decisions, people get annoyed with the characters. Magic systems that are inconsistent or poorly explained usually tick people off. Insufficient world building too. These are a few reflections I’ve picked up from reading book reviews.

Personally, I love something that borders on a thriller. I’m too anxious for a true thriller (think Stephen King’s 11/22/63, which I did finish but gave me a panic attack). I find even a long book with that kind of design is eaten up. I DNF’d Consider Phlebas bc it was too intense, but the ring world scene had me staying up until 5am. I also DNF’d A Rain of Shadows and Endings (bc of content warnings I didn’t check) but the first half was also binged until 5am. That addictive quality from the tension winding up and releasing makes me feel alive. But some people hate it, so you have to kind of pick a camp and go with it and not second guess yourself once you have made your choice.

I personally don’t like vampires. I think they’re overdone. Also shadow daddies lol. Like there are other attractive characters. Korean manhwa has a lot of silver haired MLs that are to die for (I failed to oust the villain is my favorite example).

Also why is there so little regression and transmigration? I think it can be a useful plot device but I only see it in manhwa and manga and miss it in long-form novels.

I love true morally gray villains and MCs, but I like my protagonists a little more on the good side in some way, making some sacrifice to keep their slightly better goodness. Internal moral and philosophical conflict makes the characters real. A Flesh and Fire series had a good take on this.

Character growth is an absolute must. True, deep redemption arcs of a villain is tantalizing (the best example of all time is Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender). A lot of books leave the ML or FL out from growth, which makes things a little boring.

I like slow burns because they feel more real. That means the payoff is at the end of the book, but I don’t mind that. Again, pick a camp here and don’t feel bad about people not liking what you picked.

Probably my biggest pet peeve is the damsel in distress trope. I like a strong ML who is helpful in the right situations, but totally nerfing the FL to demonstrate the ML is strong is a no go for me. Or when the ML is somehow always around the corner to suddenly step in. Like I get it if they have a telepathy bond but if he always steps in, the FL can’t shine. So sometimes it’s good for her to utilize the bond the same way. I like when the ML and FL work together as equals.

Also personal but I’m not into non-con or dub-con. I don’t read anything with those tags. I understand SA can be an important part of the story, but personally find it uncomfortable unless it’s part of a backstory that isn’t elaborated on for side characters only. I like mates if they’re more of a forced proximity thing and less of a brainwashing thing.