My Worst Reading Pet Peeves pt 3
- Jenna Moreci
- Jun 4
- 5 min read
HelloOoOo everybody!
It's time for more of my reading pet peeves. We all have enormous tropes that we don't like. I hate the “fridging a woman” trope. You might hate the “miscommunication” trope. But there are also teeny tiny micro tropes or even storytelling elements that may seem inconsequential to other people, but they drive you up the wall. That's what we're talking about today. I'm talking about the little things I find in books that are so annoying, I might not even finish reading.
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Number 1: The Female Main Character Is Less Than Five Feet Tall, and She Was Written by a Man
Because, of course, she was. I don't have a problem with short female characters. Leila, from The Savior's Series, is 5’3. But I have read so many books written by men where the main female character is itty bitty, almost childlike in size, and those elements are fetishized. She's always less than 5’0 tall. She's described as incredibly petite, small, innocent—a slip of a thing.
Bonus points if the narrative says she's 100 pounds soaking wet. They explicitly state that she has childlike features. They describe her as tiny, girlish, looking younger than her years. And then they sexualize the shit out of it.
It's giving pedophile... Just saying. I call it like I see it. If you want to make the main character short just say she's short. Instead, you're telling on yourself by waxing poetic about how sexy she is for looking like a kid.
I literally came across this in a book just a few days ago, and even worse, the character was a teenager. I've seen this enough that if I read the line “she was less than five feet tall,” I usually just put the book down. I'm done taking chances. Y'all are nasty.
Number 2: The Accidental Pregnancy
This isn't so much a micro trope as it is just a regular normal trope, but it's so bad that it was worth discussing. If a supporting character gets pregnant, that's fine. If there is a time skip over the pregnancy itself, even better. But if the plot hinges on an accidental pregnancy, I’m probably not even going to pick up the book in the first place, to be honest.
If you love babies, great. But my preferred genre is romance, and I don't find pregnancy romantic at all. Swelling feet. Vomiting. Face bloat. Mucus plugs. It sounds like a fucking nightmare.
And even if we delve into other genres, the accidental pregnancy trope just fucks everything up. When I read a post-apocalyptic book and one of the characters gets pregnant, I can't help but question the intelligence of everyone involved. Who the hell is creampieing during an apocalyptic event? Why are you letting someone jizz inside of you while the world is ending? I can't focus on the zombies or class warfare. I'm too busy berating these characters for not pulling out. When you're ransacking drug stores for antibiotics, you might as well pick up some Plan B, too.
Number 3: A Ship That Would Sink
There have been plenty of romance books I've read with an imperfect or mediocre ship. Maybe I only like one of the people involved or the conflict they’re navigating is cliché. Details can be shaky or even stupid, but I can still find enjoyment in the story. Or at the very least, finish it.
I'm talking about two characters who are toxic when they're together. There's infidelity and abuse. There is a long history of shitty behavior spanning years. This is really common with “second chance” romances, which is why it's probably one of my least favorite romantic tropes.
It's especially annoying when both characters are so dysfunctional separately, they shouldn't be dating at all. They need to be in therapy. Obviously, some level of dysfunction is required because stories revolve around conflict. But I still need to believe that this relationship could work, that these two imperfect people could come together and make something special. Nonstop drama isn't going to do that.
Number 4: Torture Porn
Before you call me a hypocrite, I am not shy about fictional violence or gore. I write violence and gore. I've written decapitations, people being lit on fire, all that good stuff! But there's a huge difference between gore and torture porn, and I'm not interested in the latter. Torture porn is when the violence is so gratuitous and nonsensical, it no longer makes sense for the story. In fact, it seems to exist for the sole purpose of shocking the reader.
“But, Jenna, violence IS shocking!”
Exactly. That's why torture porn isn't necessary. I want to make it explicitly clear what I define as torture porn. The only way to do that is to describe a scene that I found so revolting that I literally DNFed the book in the middle of the scene. But I am genuinely scared to describe it because it is so, so gross. If you want to be spared, skip the paragraph below and move on to the next point. You've been warned.
So this guy stabs the shit out of a woman, and then he decides he's going to SA her. So he took off his pants, pulled out his wang, and used her blood as lube for his dong. That is so unnecessary! Who would even write something like that? Please don't ever send a book like that my way. There is not enough bleach to scrub that image out of my head.
Number 5: The Book Opens With an Info Dump
An info dump is when an author plops a whole bunch of exposition in one place. It's usually about the book's world, a character’s backstory, or a history lesson. There is no excuse for opening a book with an info dump in today's literary climate. We all know that exposition can be woven seamlessly into a story when it's relevant. Occasionally, a short exposition dump is needed, but it certainly shouldn't be a book's opener.
I actually appreciate it when a book opens with an info dump because then I know right out the gate that I'm not going to like this book. Opening with an info dump usually signifies that the writer is outdated. They're writing from a playbook that went out of fashion about a century ago. And if their writing style is outdated in one way, it's likely to be outdated in other ways. It lets me know that the book's probably going to be boring. Info dumps aren't entertaining, they're a drain to get through and call me crazy, but I read for enjoyment.
So that's all I've got for you today!
Those are my worst reading pet peeves. Tiny things that just give me the absolute ick. What micro tropes are your instant mood killers? The ones that make you immediately close the book. Let me know!
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Honestly, reading your list reminded me a bit of Escape Road, where the character development is messy, but in a way that feels earned—not exploitative.
My biggest reading pet peeve is when audiobooks have terrible narration! I recently discovered some amazing UK-based audiobook experts who make listening so much better. Now I always check reviews before buying, because bad voices can ruin a great story!