What I will and won't read

A small part of my Jane Austen retellings/sequels collection. (Credit: Me)

I've talked a lot about my penchant for YA books over adult books. But I just realized that there are certain tropes or aspects of a plot that I'm particularly drawn to -- those things that all I have to do is read the synopsis and I'm all: SOLD.

Some of these I look for in TV shows and movies, too, though I'm more able to suspend my disbelief for TV/movies than for books. I'm not a big fantasy book person, for example, but I'm willing to go along with, say, "Merlin."

Anyway:

Book turn-ons

Victorian England + swoony couple
 = gold. (Credit: Barnes & Noble)

• Victorian England.
• Edwardian England.
• Regency England.
• Okay, just England.
• Dystopia. Except post-natural-disaster societies, because those just scare me. (Read: "Ashfall." Or don't because it might freak you out and/or depress you.)
• Retellings of "Pride & Prejudice," "Sense & Sensibility" or "Persuasion."
• Jane Austen stories but from an alternate perspective -- like P&P from Darcy's POV or "Persuasion" from Wentworth's. Swoon. 
• Sequels to Jane Austen books. (Do you sense a theme here?)
• Mysteries in which the heroine and hero butt heads but ultimately join forces to solve the case (and fall in love because obvs they're meant TO BE). See Deanna Raybourn's Julia Grey mysteries. Brisbane is my non-Austen book boyfriend.
• A teenager with a tragic past that she/he somehow overcomes.
• Road trips.
• Ghosts or demons. This one applies mostly to YA fiction.  Not a supernatural romance fan.
• Motley group of disparate personalities who band together.
• Continuing series that involve different characters in each book. See the "Pink Carnation" romance series by Lauren Willig. Addicted.
• I'm a sucker for nonfiction books on: basketball, World War II, Jane Austen.

Book turn-offs

• Angels. Ugh. Demons, I'm apparently okay with, but angels and seraphims, etc., are a whole other ballgame.
• Fairies/fae. I like the show "Lost Girl," which involves fae, but I cannot read books about these magical folk.
• Depressing stories. This from the girl who loves "The Fault in Our Stars." But rarely do I want to read sad books.
• Chick lit books that involve middle-aged -- divorced or "spinster" -- women who usually work in PR or some kind of communications job. Too close to home? Who knows. 
• General fantasy books. I'll admit: I hated "Wrinkle in Time" and "The Hobbit" in school. Still do.
• Alternating perspectives. Not my fave literary device. Rarely do I enjoy it. The most recent is probably is the awesome "The Scorpio Races" and "Winter Town." 
• Supernatural twists on classics. "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" was novelty fun. I'm not that interested in reading others.
• Horror. I'm not huge about reading scary books. Who wants to be scared before going to bed? 

So there you go. If you find a book that incorporates every one of my turn-ons, let me know! Although maybe I should branch out and read different things....