Top Ten Tuesday

#TopTenTuesday: Buzzwords and Phrases

Dini @ dinipandareads41 Comments

We’re back with another Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is: Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book (These words or phrases can be in the title, synopsis, marketing materials, reviews, author blurbs, etc. and immediately pique your interest or immediately make you say “NOPE”. Examples include: fae, forbidden romance, morally grey characters, unreliable narrator, found family, magical worlds, love triangle, marriage of convenience, dark academia, stranded, dragons, dual points of view, starting over, etc.)

I was going to rogue today because my brain is kinda flagging after a long day and of course I’m doing this at the last minute. 🤣 But I decided to give it one big go and well, these are what’s top of mind at the moment!

Want to read it:

If I really sat down and thought about it, I’d probably come up with a better list. As it is, this is what we’re working with:

  • “Cosy” — Anything with the word ‘cosy’ is pretty much a vibe that I rock with. I love cosy fantasies, cosy fantasy romances, and cosy mysteries. Give me all the cosy books!

  • Found or Chosen Family — One of my favourite tropes/elements in a book and if you tell me a book has this in it, it’s guaranteed to wind up on my TBR. Seriously, there’s nothing I love more than a group of people finding and choosing each other, knowing that, through the mess and wonder that is life, these people will always be in your corner. Plus, the dynamic of this group usually comes with a great amount of banter and genuine good feelings. I love it!

  • True Crime — I’m a sucker for true crime and although I don’t read a lot of non-fiction, I do have tons waiting to be read and a lot of them are of the true crime variety. I promise I’m not an aspiring serial killer or anything of the sort, I just really… Enjoy reading about them? 🙃 I find the human element of it all incredibly fascinating. I probably should’ve chosen the criminology route back at uni, lol.

  • Fantasy worlds inspired by any non-Western setting — That’s not to say that I don’t read fantasies set in non-Western settings because of course I do, but I love non-Western settings because these fantasy worlds are rich in vastly different ways. It’s nice and refreshing to see the influences of other cultures, customs, histories, and myths infused in these fantasy settings.

  • Marriage of Convenience or Fake Dating — I love a marriage of convenience or fake dating scenario. Maybe there’s not a whole lot new or exciting to these tropes, but I love the angst, the tension, the will-they-won’t-they or when-will-they moments as genuine feelings grow. It’s a comfort trope for my comfort genre (romance)!

Want to avoid it:

There’s really not much that will make me not want to pick up a book, aside from an author or genre that I won’t enjoy or am too scared of.

  • Love Triangle — Absolutely miss me with this. I know people say that they can dig it ‘if it’s done well’ but no, I just don’t like this kind of angst in a romance because someone is always going to ‘lose’ or get hurt in the process, even if authors write it like it’s “no big deal”. Even worse when they give them a new love interest that comes out of nowhere, but then I think it just cheapens past feelings and also, makes me feel like characters are “settling for second best” because they couldn’t be with the one they truly wanted. I guess I have big feelings about this trope but it’s absolutely a nope for me, lol.

  • Accidental Pregnancy — This is another romance trope that I don’t vibe with. There’s only one book that I really loved with this accidental pregnancy trope and it is one of my favourites of all time (because Lizzie Blake!) but for the most part, most of the romances I read with this have not worked for me. 🤷🏻‍♀️

The next few words/phrases all fall under the horror category which I (mostly) stay away from. It’s weird that in the past year I’ve more horror stories than I ever have in all my years of reading combined, so I guess there is some horror that I can handle. If it’s to do with the supernatural (ghosts, demons—but not like monster romance demons or fantasy demons, lol), hauntings/haunted houses, and possessions (of people, dolls, other items), then it’s a hard pass for me. No, thank you. Next, please.

Can you relate with any of these buzzwords or phrases?

Blog signature that reads: Let's Chat! xoxo, Dini

41 thoughts on “#TopTenTuesday: Buzzwords and Phrases”

  7. Fake dating is super cute! Especially when it’s combined with enemies to lovers, the banter in those is *chef’s kiss*

    Cosy fiction (especially mysteries) is another one I agree with 😍 I blame all those old cosy murder mystery shows I watched with my mom. 😂

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    • Ooh yes, I do enjoy that! But the best (for me) is fake dating + marriage of convenience. I will eat it up! 😍 Banter is always the best in these though, I agree!

      I have so many cosy mysteries on my TBR I need to make more headway with them, haha. There are just too many!

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    • I probably have more unread stories on my list than I have read them. Even with a topic that I “love”, I still don’t read as much non-fiction as I always want to, lol. I totally get not reading it anymore though—life is scary enough! 🤭

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  20. Ooof I don’t think I’ve read any books featuring an accidental pregnancy, but I don’t think it would be a trope I would go searching for. Found family on the other hand, that is one I adore lol… sometimes I love it even more than I do romance.

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    • Unfortunately, the accidental pregnancies are usually as much as a surprise to me as to the characters in the book as I often find that they’re not always explicitly stated in the blurb. I think that’s when it annoys me even more, especially if things are going really well and I’m enjoying the romance beforehand. 🤣 There have been some exceptions but it’s rare. And YES, give me all the found family, sometimes even over romance (esp. in romantasies). If it’s found family and romance? It’s TOP TIER. 🤩

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  21. This is such a fun topic. We share Fantasy worlds inspired by any non-Western setting although I’d also say mythology retellings from those places too. Found family and to some degree ‘cosy’. Cosy mysteries I’m not convinced will be for me but I so want to fall for cosy fantasy novels.

    Oddly I’m drawn to two of your horror avoidances 😂 I have a major soft spot for supernatural and haunted house stories. Even though I’m bound to terrify myself eventually 🙈

    A couple of others that spring to mind for me are enemies to lovers, fae and prophecy. Also banter and angst as your use of both words during this post made me realise they call to me every time 😂

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    • Yes, definitely mythology from non-Western cultures too! Have you tried cosy fantasies before (remind me which ones if so)? My first was Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree and honestly, that entirely sold me on the cosy 💜 Low stakes, low plot, all vibes, haha. Sometimes it’s just what I need!

      Haha, I know the horror I avoid is what you enjoy but yeah, I don’t know. I’d much rather serial killer true crime than supernatural ghosties 🤣 My imagination is way too active with the latter, haha.

      I’ve become a bit leery with enemies to lovers these days as I don’t find myself easily sold on the couples and their dynamic when they’re labelled as such. I don’t know, it just doesn’t feel as “true” to me in many books I read these days but maybe I’m reading the wrong ones 🤣 THAT SAID!!! I can’t believe I forgot to add BANTER to this list because omg, give me all the banter always! 😍

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