I never thought it would happen and I never even saw it coming but…
I am not liking YA romance novels anymore.
There, I said it….I am sad about it because I really enjoyed them but I think I am just not feeling it anymore. My taste has changed a lot over the past year. I still enjoy MG books but something about YA books has been making me DNF more than I would like, so I believe I just am over the romance in a YA. I find myself enjoying more sweet romance stories, adult like ones. Historical Romance and cute second chance romances, even a good holiday read. So let me explain briefly what I mean…
I love YA Fantasy, Paranormal, Horror, Dystopian, Steampunk, etc. I just can’t do the romance ones like straight boy meets girl, boy and girl piss me off. I guess now that I am older the issues they are going through don’t really relate to me anymore and my old lady wisdom (well I’m not that old) is more annoyed by how they are acting then actually able to enjoy the story. So I am pushing aside any YA Romance I planned to read and get to the stuff I think better suits me and my mood at the moment. Will I ever go back? Maybe. You never know, I notice readers are easy to change what they like to read, if you are like me, mood reading plays a huge part of it. I think now I am more interested in more mature books (did I really say that?) I like the Historical Romance and Hallmark type romance. I am looking for that sweet romance with a cute fun story. Boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married and live HEA! I have been exploring more in the Romance area, finding a few that seem to have sparked my interest and I have a feeling this might be something that might grab hold of me for a while. I’m not saying my blog is going to go away from YA, I do still like the ones I listed above (with more story and less romance) but I think the romance ones that you haven’t seen in a while on my blog are going to go away completely.
Sometimes I wonder if that is what has caused my slump of reading to begin with. Since I was forcing myself to read stuff that I just don’t seem to be interested in anymore. Now that I figured it out, I plan to go with my gut from now on and just read what I feel I want to read at the moment. I never really thought I was a mood reader, until this year. Unless it’s just me getting older and knowing what I enjoy more.
So I ask, Are you a mood reader? Have you stopped reading a genre recently after realizing it just wasn’t for you anymore?
Thanks for stopping by
Have a great day and Happy Mood Reading!
ox
I know exactly what you mean! While I haven’t DNF’d anything in a while (like a month) I have been reading some books and thinking “I should have loved this, but I really didn’t” but they’ve had everything in them that I’ve liked previously! I think it is a mood reading thing…I went through a phase last month where I just read high fantasy books, couldn’t even deal with urban fantasy or paranormal cause I just wasn’t in the mood!
Mood reading is so weird, I actually believe that the moment I am in a MG mood but reading a book that is YA because I really want to read the book. Us readers are a strange bunch 🙂
Such a mood reader!!! I have never cared for the YA romances but I liked the thrillers, horror, paranormal, fantasy but right now it seems like even those are not doing anything for me. Maybe the thriller and horror cause I am in that mood but very few. I have made a genre turn to the mystery/thriller/horror and I am not even interested into romance right now unless from a favorite author!
I’m definitely a mood reader and I hop around from genre to genre. I feel like I’ve gone through periods of time where I read primarily one genre and I always got really burned out. So now I keep my genres varied. But don’t feel bad. I went through the same thing with YA romance. You’ll circle back around, I’m sure. 🙂
I go through genre phases – for a while I didn’t really touch fantasy/paranormal – which is like MY genre because I just wasn’t in the mood. Don’t force yourself to read things – reading is supposed to be fun!
I’m a genre hopper. I tend to read one genre almost exclusively until I get tired of it. I’ve been through romance (adult), mystery (adult), and true crime before I started reading YA. I started out with mostly dystopian YA but shifted to contemporary romance awhile ago. I’m not tired of it yet but I am reading more MG as well as YA horror and mystery and the occasional dystopia, so I’m branching out a little more than I usually do. And I want to like more NA but haven’t found much that appeals to me other than a few authors.
YA Horror seems to be one of my favorites at the moment. I don’t mind the romance in that if they have it. I just love the way it is written. MG will always be a favorite. It is so far from real life and so much fun because it’s like anything goes.
NA I think the only books I have read that I loved is Elle Kennedy. Her Hockey guys series is hilarious and spicy. She actually got me wanting to read more like her books. Now that I think about it I have one I need to get too 🙂
I like YA dystopian also but it sort of scares me but usually they are really good reads and the romance sort of works because it’s not really in a true HS type of angsty setting.
I’m not much of a mood reader but I do go through spells where stuff just doesn’t work for me. I struggle with YA romances as well. I don’t mind YA books in general but one that just focuses on a romance just doesn’t interest me. For me I always assumed it was because I had kids in the same age range as the main characters and so I was looking at romances between 16 – 18 year olds from the parent perspective which isn’t particularly romantic!
I agree I also don’t mind the general YA but it is hard to read books when you have kids the same age. I can’t read any books that the MC has the same name as my kids. It kind of makes me put them in their place.
I definitely have my moods when it comes to reading. Sometimes I like fantasy stuff because the contemp is just too mundane, sometimes I want a little or a lot of spice in my romance so I turn to erotic romances, and other times I just want a light and cutesy read so I turn to YA. Usually after I take a break from a genre that’s wearing me out, I can go back to it after a few months or so.
I have noticed a lot of readers seem to be mood readers, except my sister who only reads time travel romance, drives me nuts because I feel like she is miss out on so much 🙂
I don’t review erotica on the blog but I do enjoy reading it when I am looking for spice in my romance. I love the hallmark movie type reads, they always are so light and fluffy and fun to read 🙂 I can switch back and forth but I am not sure if the YA is something I want to read again but you never know, if the mood strikes maybe 🙂
I know what you mean, I go through phases when I can’t stand the ‘young love’ with all the drama and jealousy… I can recommend a lot of adult romances to you, though, and I would be a liar if I said it didn’t make me happy to share stories by Jill Shalvis, Lori Foster and others with you in the near future, Michelle. {{{hugs}}}
I think I get most of my recommendation from you on your blog lol. You do have great taste in what I think I need to read now 🙂 I am forever stalking you and think you and Brandee add more books to my TBR than anyone else 🙂
My mood changes all the time like that as well. Sometimes I don’t read a genre for months or a year and then slowly pick up a few of them up again. I have read a few good YA contemporary romances, but never really read a lot of them.
I do like contemporary romances, but I have to be in the mood for them. Nowadays I seem to be in a cozy mystery and paranormal romance mood, but I don’t doubt next month it’s something else again. I would recommend Joanne Rock, Karen Rock and SJ Pajonas their adult romances, they are some of my favorite adult contemporary romance authors.
When I was younger I loved a good Historical Romance and then switched to YA but really never went back. After reading just one I realized how much I enjoy them. I have heard of those authors and I would love to read them one day. I think maybe I will go back but for now I think I will stay with what I want to read instead of reading what I think I like to read lol
I stopped reading Contemporary not long after I dove into the deep end of Paranormal. I’m not saying I won’t read a Contemp. ever again because I have hit one here and there, but the bulk of my reading is Paranormal followed by Fantasy, Sci-Fi and just about everything else. lol
I do enjoy Paranormal and Fantasy, when it comes to YA and I don’t mind the romance in those but full romance I just can’t seem to do. Sometimes I am in the mood for something more adult with monster sometimes I am not 🙂 Just Reg YA I just can’t seem to get through anymore.
Yeah, I can’t do YA/NA I work with late teens/early 20s, and their conflicts just don’t typically resonate with me.
I think that is also happening with me. I just feel like I am older than the issues they have and sometimes they just annoy me.