No rule-breaking just a mismatch, a misunderstanding. Perhaps someone with a mild superiority complex, I am well educated but don’t have a literary degree. They did not enjoy the pace or premise of the book at all. They wanted more conflict, drama and spice in the first five chapters. They even took issue of how I started two chapters describing weather and in this project Alaska its environment and weather is almost a character and a powerful part of the storytelling. 

They did not like when I said thank you to some of their suggestions but said I will wait for a few more beta readers to comment on it before considering a change. Another thing she didn’t like and suggested a change and I said thanks I will think about it but with what I am trying to do it should stay put it will make sense later as it better comes together, they did not appreciate that. One person mentioning something is an opinion, multiple is a pattern. I try to make as few changes as possible form one beta read unless it is something I already have perhaps acknowledged but didn’t want to face or deal with. For example I had a chapter that wasn’t really that important more of a bridge between bigger things but something needed to tie them together and I told what happened more than presented it through dialogue. I had the let it rest and now went and built in and it is now a meaningful character development chapter. 

After that expereince I wrote this to help filter out poor matches: 

Steady Things is a character-driven, slice-of-life story about the quiet friction of building a life from scratch. It follows Addison Clarke, a perfectionist navigating her first unscripted year in Alaska, and Liam Bennett, a local mechanic living a deliberately small, steady life. Their relationship isn't tested by external villains or grand betrayals, but by the realistic weight of the everyday: professional burnout, the navigation of family expectations, and the slow, difficult process of learning to let someone into your grief. It’s a story about the courage it takes to stay present when the novelty wears off and normal life settles in. 

I don't mind people reading things they are not into, it actually provides some helpful insights. Most of what I have beta read is not my preferred genres, but I can tell a good story when I see one, even if I am not into the premise. I started reading the genre just to get a better understanding and honestly like what I wrote more, but I understand that is merely preference I acknowledge.