Hi folks. Usually my girl Glass is here with you to post about Bookish Problems but this time you're stuck with me.
Some of you may know that NA is one of the genres that is a big no-no for me and I decided to tell you why. As you can see from the title it's all about cliches and here are some of them.
1. Angel and devil (in disguise)
So you know how the story goes. We have an innocent, nerd and perfect girl aka angel and a player and bad-boy aka devil type of characters here. Out of all NA books I have read maybe two were different, but that's it. This wouldn't be such a problem if it didn't happen so often. Basically girl is in need of saving and look she manages to ruin guy's devil disguise and of course he is an angel too.
2. Dark and disturbing past
Another ingredient for a perfect NA story, many might think. I usually really love books that deal with some issues and traumatic things but it's not like you don't guess what's going on before it happens. It sometimes is really serious and tough issue but the problem is that they always make it perfect and not nearly hard to deal with. You know a guy can always fix everything.
3. Rich guys
Oh yes! Somehow all guys in these stories are extremely rich and drive such amazing cars. It's not that I have something against rich people, but it's rather stereotypical. Girls, put on your big girls pants, find a job and take care of yourselves. Sure all couples should be in this together, but it ain't one way street.
4. DRAMA!
Adding drama to the story is not such a bad thing, especially when it's unpredictable as it really moves the plot in different directions. But adding more and more drama for no reason at all is just another reason to annoy the hell out of me. Like everything there should be a balance.
5. Insta-love
The last thing I'll put on my list is another thing that almost always appear in NA stories. Old good insta-love. When you start reading a NA story chances that the first two characters (male and female) will end up being in love. You don't have to read the blurb. Well, it's not predictable. Not at all.
What do you think? Do you find some other cliches that annoy you? If yes, please share! Also if by any chance you know of a NA book that hasn't got these things, I'd love to hear about them!
Happy reading,
This is true. This is very true :P Most of the NA books I have read have a hint of one or more of these, and some have all of them. It's typical. It's like these are the ingredients for a 'good' NA book. I wish I could just change it.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI hope they will. Thanks, Sandra :)
IzbrišiI have to admit insta-love really annoys me. All consuming love does too. The whole story centers just around those two people after they meet, like they don't have a life when the other isn't there! :?
OdgovoriIzbrišiIndeed. It's annoying. Thanks, girl :)
IzbrišiKinda yeah. To ALL the things, LOL. I find that the drama is often the result of dark and disturbing past and the insta-love, but really, who cares? Not me. I just avoid it ;)
OdgovoriIzbrišiJessica @ Rabid Reads
LOL Me neither. Thanks, Jess :)
IzbrišiI hear ya. I just ended up skimming a third in a series that I loved the first two and her other works. So I don't know this is a symptom of getting burnt out or if I wasn;t feeling the new characters
OdgovoriIzbrišiI'm sorry to hear that. Thanks, Brandi :)
IzbrišiI CAN'T PROPERLY EXPRESS HOW MUCH I AGREE. Okay, I haven't read any paranormal NA, so I don't know about the first one, but everything else is so true.
OdgovoriIzbrišiNot everyone has this deep, dark past full of secrets. Some people CAN live normal lives, so why is NA full of dark, brooding characters? Haha, so true about the rich guys as well. Not just drama, but a lot of angst. There isn't insta-love all the time, but it's pretty much insta-lust/insta-attraction. >_<
Indeed, girl. We all had terrible parents or we're not interesting otherwise. Thanks, Aimee :)
IzbrišiI agree. I have tried some NA, and some of it is good, but a lot of it falls into the good girl/bad boy pattern. Or the "two damaged people with dark secrets" pattern.
OdgovoriIzbrišiThanks so much for stopping by! Jen @ YA Romantics
Thank you, Jen :)
IzbrišiThese are exactly the same reasons why I am so hesitant to read NA. So many in this genre are so... black and white, that it feels like everything there is a rehash, especially with the angel vs devil/black vs white/ innocent vs naughty thingie. Like, goodness, can it be even more predictable?! The insta-love is grating too, and it drives me up the wall every time. No, no matter what justification, I can't just accept it, as I want a more... believable romance.
OdgovoriIzbrišiGreat list and reasons, love! You hit the nail on the head with these!
Faye at The Social Potato Reviews
I don't think it can. Thank you, dear :))
IzbrišiYup, I hate all these cliches too. It's so convenient for money to come into play and the insta-love and dramatic romances completely ruin the story for me. Great post, Tanja!
OdgovoriIzbrišiThank you, Keertana :)
IzbrišiAgh, all these clichés I hate seeing in any story, whether it's NA or not. I want to write one which is different from all of them, but I would also like to write a cliché one just one time, to see what it's like xD But one thing I will never like is insta-love. Which is probably why I didn't like Romeo and Juliet too (I know... not NA xD) But I do like the movie which is Zephaniah's version of this :D
OdgovoriIzbrišiCheck out my non-spoiler review of City of Heavenly Fire: http://olivia-savannah.blogspot.nl/2014/06/city-of-heavenly-fire-book-review.html
I haven't though about Romeo and Juliet but yeah that is true. Thank you, Olivia :)
IzbrišiI completely hear you on your points but since I am drawn to these type of stories I usually don't mind but I admit, lately I have been getting bored and fed up with them as well. :(
OdgovoriIzbrišiSo sorry to hear that. Thanks, Ali :)
IzbrišiTanja! It's been SO LONG. Sorry I haven't been commenting recently; between just getting back from my hiatus and getting into the rhythm of blogging again, I haven't had much time to comment on many blogs. :( But I think things will be much better now! Now on to the post...
OdgovoriIzbrišiYup, totally with you about how I steer clear of NA books as well. I've just read too many that let me down consistently, so I'd rather just give up on the entire genre than put myself through more eye-rolling and torture. Seriously, what happened to creativity?! I've seen enough bad-boy/good-girl relationships to last me a lifetime. And it's so unrealistic how the bad boy (who most likely is a womanizer and sleeps around a lot) is willing to drop all his "bad habits" just for this ordinary girl. Talk about going through a 360 personality change. O_O
2. LOL -- so true. Mostly it's the guy who has the dark and traumatic past, but I've read some where the girl has it, too. No, wait, most of the NA books I've read have main characters who BOTH have dark secrets which stem from disturbing pasts. *eye-roll* I mean, it's a nice way to spice up the story, but don't make things overdramatic, please.
4. The most common way of creating drama is when the girl and guy have a huge fight and the girl can't stop thinking about him, and he can't stop thinking about her, and their friends begin to notice, and they both try extremely stupid and ridiculous things to try to get back with each other. It's annoying as heck and silly. But yeah, if the drama is unpredictable, then I'm totally for it! Just as long as it isn't too much, you know?
5. I just can't convey how much I hate instalove with words. You'd have thought that authors would've learned their lesson by now, that instalove is a HUGE no-no, but nope. They haven't, and they still continue doing it. *sigh* Just stoooop.
These are mostly the reasons why I prefer sticking to sci-fi and fantasy genres, haha. I've read some good NA (Katie McGarry's novels and The Sea of Tranquility), but most of them are just sucky. Great post, though, and it's so good to see you again! <3
Firstly, it's great to have you back Meg! :) I cannot wait to discuss more with you. About everything else you said I COULDN'T AGREE MORE!!! We stick with fantasy ;) Thanks, Meg :)
IzbrišiI like the IDEA of NA. Before it became this "thing" you could find books with college aged characters, etc. that were great books. I haven't really read any of the new NA books coming out in droves because they do sound all the same. I think it gives a bad name to NA though. Sometimes, some of these "stereotypes" can work...it just needs a really good writer and a great story.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI LOVE the IDEA of NA, but sadly it's rarely well done.
IzbrišiI loathe cliches and girl you totally got them all right here! I don't know why NA needs to have any of these in their stories, to make a supposedly "good" read?? My biggest peeve is the insta-love though. Gahhh...I can't stand stories where both characters see each other and want one ash others pants within the first 5 seconds of their eyes meeting. WHO DOES THAT IN REAL LIFE???!! It annoys me. Don't get me wrong, if its done appropriately and makes me swoon like a little girl with a lollipop, I'm all for it (Cause you know a girl can dream and all that! LOL), but it HAS to be done just right. A lot of NA books don't do it right. I've read a few awesome NA books, but the ones that feature everything you mentioned above usually didn't end up on my fav list.
OdgovoriIzbrišiFabulous post, Tanja!!!!! MISS YOU GIRL!!! <3
~ Maida xxx
I have no idea! But it always happens in books. LOL I'm cool with dreaming but they behave like it's the thing, not dreams. Thanks, girl! Miss you too!!! :)
IzbrišiI don't like all these cliches too. I can't read a book with insta-love for sure. Also overly drama can ruin the story. The only NA which impressed me is Unteachable.
OdgovoriIzbrišiI haven't read that one yet. But I'll soon. Thanks Ini :)
IzbrišiI haven't read a lot of NA so I can't tell but I had some whith all the points you said and some without but well I think I read like 4 NA books so it's not a lot.
OdgovoriIzbrišiThanks, Melliane :)
IzbrišiYes, this is exactly what I hate with both YA and NA, that's why I read so little of either. There are always exceptions, but mostly they follow this pattern. Ugh.
OdgovoriIzbrišiYeah, sadly it's like that. Thanks, Jo :)
IzbrišiOh yes, I resisted NA for the longest time because of the exact tropes that you mention. BUT. I have read a handful of really great NA titles which showed me what this category could be! So now I'm much more open to finding new ones...although I'm still suspicious of about 90% of titles I hear about, hah. I don't blame you one bit for being wary.
OdgovoriIzbrišiWendy @ The Midnight Garden
There are some really good ones, but sadly it's those 10% from what I could see. Thanks, Wendy :)
IzbrišiI'm with you on these tropes. I used to enjoy them when NA first came about to be, but now, I'm just plain bored. It's why I don't read many NA books these days unless it's by a favorite author or is refreshing like the book I reviewed on the blog today.
OdgovoriIzbrišiWhat bothers me the most though is the angsty drama or the overly dark pasts these days. I feel like these otherwise important issues have become so trivialized. Instead of caring for these characters, I'm left feeling rather numb and unaffected as evil as that makes me sound.
Great post, Tanja!
I enjoyed it at first too, but now I'm just staying away. That happens to me too. Thanks, Nick :)
IzbrišiSo many cliches, WHHHYYY?! I'm not a fan of NA either, I pretty much detest it. They all follow the same formula so once you've read one you've read em all, haha.
OdgovoriIzbrišiExactly, or at least majority of them :)
Izbrišigah
OdgovoriIzbrišii dont know
i keep giving this genre a shot, but honestly... eh.. i still feel like it's adult, cause 90% of it is porny anyway so... yeah
but those cliches are pretty much on the spot.
LOL Yeah, that's true too. Thanks, Lily :)
IzbrišiAgree! Agree! AGREE!!! This is such an apt and perfect post, Tanja. I couldn't agree more, dude. I mean, I've experienced this a few times with NA reads- I can read just the first page and tell you where it'll go and trust me, that is NOT AT ALL good. Predictability is boring and it's such a constant in NA. I'm still on my on again/ off again relationship with it, but I mostly lean towards off these days. Fabulous post, girl!
OdgovoriIzbrišiSarika @ The Readdicts
I'm so happy that you agree with me. Now you see why I'm scared to pick up NA books. Thanks, Sarika :)
IzbrišiI forgot that!! Great one, Heidi :)
OdgovoriIzbriši