Hello lovely book-lovers! Today I thought I’d give the Nope Book Tag a go, and talk about some of the books and tropes I am not so fond of. Apologies in advance if I trash any of your fave books. I mean no harm, I’m just expressing my personal (slightly saltier than usual) opinions. ❤
Nope Ending: A book ending that made you go NOPE either in denial, rage, or simply because the ending was crappy.
The Peppermint Pig by Nina Bawden. The ending of this book made me so angry, I wrote a whole rant review about it. It does contain spoilers, but trust me, you’ll be sparing yourself so much unnecessary devastation if you choose not to read this book.
Nope Protagonist: A main character you dislike and drives you crazy.
I couldn’t stand Nick OR Amy from Gone Girl. Let’s face it, they’re both atrocious people.
Nope Series: A series that turned out to be one huge pile of NOPE after you’ve invested all of that time and energy on it, or a series you gave up on because it wasn’t worth it anymore.
I loved the first two books in the Southern Reach trilogy (Annihilation and Authority) but I was so disappointed by the third and final book, because I had patiently been waiting for some answers, and I did NOT get any! And I feel like I deserved some, considering this book was almost three times as expensive as the first one.
Nope Pairing: A ship you don’t support.
In all fairness, I’ve only read the first book and half of the second in The Grisha Trilogy, so I do not know who she ends up with, but I can’t bring myself to ship Alina with Mal. Mal is so bland.
Nope Plot Twist: A plot twist you didn’t see coming or didn’t like.
I’m gonna refer you back to The Peppermint Pig. Brutal. (Yes, I know it looks like an adorable children’s classic with that cute piggy on the cover. IT’S ALL LIES! This book will stab you in the SOUL! #stillbitter)
Character action/decision that made you shake your head nope.
I mean, Dumbledore leaving Harry with the Dursleys was pretty sketch…
Nope Genre: A genre you will never read.
I can’t think of a genre I will NEVER read, but genres I’m not the hugest fan of are police procedural crime fiction, historical fiction, and literary fiction. With a very limited number of exceptions, these tend to be the kinds of books that bore me into a slump.
Nope Book format: Book formatting you hate and avoid buying until it comes out in a different edition.
I don’t really like movie editions of books, or book covers with people on them in general. Having said that, the To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before movie cover is super-cute.
A trope that makes you go nope.
I don’t like it when a love interest is what SAVES a character from their problems, particularly their mental illness.
Nope Recommendation: A book recommendation that is constantly hyped and pushed at you that you refuse to read.
Anything by Brandon Sanderson. It’s nothing personal, his books just don’t appeal to me at all.
Nope Cliche/Pet Peeve: A cliche or writing pet peeve that always makes you roll your eyes.
This is a bit of a random one, but I HATE it when writers use the phrase ‘he jerked his thumb’ to indicate that a character is talking about something behind them. It’s just a phrase that makes me cringe, and also something nobody actually does in real life.
Nope Love interest: The love interest that’s not worthy of being one. A character you don’t think should have been a viable love interest.
Ugh, the love interest from DIMILY, I can’t even remember his name. He was SUCH a dickhead. He was cheating on his girlfriend with the mc, and he was just an insufferable, toxic douche in general. Insufferable, toxic douchery is not attractive.
Nope Book: A book that shouldn’t have existed that made you say nope.
I can’t think of a book I hate so much it shouldn’t have existed, so I’m gonna go with Donald Trump’s tweets. HELLA NOPE.
Nope Villain: A scary villain/antagonist you would hate to cross and would make you run in the opposite direction.
I’m pretty sure Naughty John from The Diviners would make me pee my pants with fear.
Nope Death: A character death that still haunts you.
I don’t want to give an actual spoiler, so I’m gonna say the death that happens in The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I don’t think I will ever get over it.
Nope Author: An author you had a bad experience reading and have decided to quit.
I quit E.L. James, author of Fifty Shades of Grey, after reading two of her books. (Why did I read the second one tbh?!) The bit where Ana refers to Christian’s little Christian as a ‘Christian Grey flavoured popsicle” still haunts me to this day. My ‘inner Goddess’ is giving E.L. James a great big resolute:
Did any of these books make you say NOPE? Or did you shake your head NOPE at any of my opinions?! I’d love to hear from you either way! ❤