Deal Breakers

I was zipping through Barnes & Noble the other day...yes, really. Not dawdling, drooling or running my index finger along the spines of books. I swear I was only going from point A to B, and the fastest way to get there was through the bookstore. And if you don't believe me, just ask the NSA.

Anyhoo, doggone if there wasn't a table with brand spankin' shiny new inspirational novels 20 steps from the door. Not even kidding.

Still, I was determined. No time. No money. And...wait a minute...is that a new Regency with a gorgeous cover? A peek wouldn't hurt, right? Just a quickie.

Surprisingly, it was. I flipped to the first page. The opening sentence was okay, nothing stellar, but not a turn-off, either. But as I continued to scan the entire paragraph, whoa baby. Did somebody hit a great sale on adjectives, or what? I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt, though, so I flipped to the middle of the book to see if the overuse of adjectives slacked off any. Nope.

Deal breaker!

I set the book down and went on my merry way. Now, that's a good thing for my pocket book and for the woefully sagging bookshelves in my family room. It's not so great, though, for the author and the publisher. And it got me to thinking...

What's a deal breaker for you? What makes you set a book down? Go ahead, be honest. Authors want to know what readers think.