I have only read one book by CoHo and it just wasn’t for me. I don’t enjoy her writing style or her “romance” storylines. The editing isn’t my favorite, either. That being said, I won’t read anymore of her books but I also don’t judge people who do enjoy her. I am a huge fan of Sarah J. Maas, who also gets a lot of flack from people. I say read what you like and people who judge you for it can stuff it!

It's book reader elitism. There is always an author and fandom that people feel the need to incessantly criticize or put down so that they feel better about themselves. I've personally seen that many of the criticisms are from people that don't even typically read her genre, so their criticisms of her work are literally what other people love. Colleen writes specific types of books for specific audiences, and she clearly excels within that niche. People will read Verity because they saw it marked as a thriller but there is no way one should expect an actual thriller from Colleen. I don't know. I feel people should do their research before randomly buying books because they saw it on best seller list.

Yes, she sometimes punches above her weight by trying to incorporate genres/topics that aren't her forte, but out of everything she has published I don't see how books like Verity and that one about domestic abuse mean she is a terrible author overall or her readers aren't smart or sophisticated.

In Anna Karenina Levin and Kitty line is pretty romantic and ends in a happy marriage. Sure, there are a few unsuccessful romantic lines there, but they can be happily ignored.

It’s misdirected frustration.

It’s a bit much that her books are so popular when they’re such drivel - but that’s a societal issue not a CoHo issue. There are plenty of books I’ve read that were way worse than Verity, but what ground my gears a bit was how HYPED it was.

Also, some of her stans can be very stanny.

Because, even in Victorian England, a gun is sus. Forensics might not be able to determine who the gunman was (though Sherlock probably could tbf), a gun still says 'hey this person was murdered' rather than 'hound attack'.

And before that fifty shades and before that sparkly vampires

From what I’ve gathered is that she’s not a very good writer but is also one of the most popular writers right now because of tik tok. Her books are front and centre on displays in book stores, she’s on the bestseller list etc. I think that normally when a writer is mediocre/bad and not very popular most people just let them be but when they get to this level of fame, they are bound to be scrutinized and people will talk shit about them.

That seems to be your issue, not the author's.

You've certainly got everything figured out

Moment of Truth, by Kasie West. Sustained, by Emma Chase. I read few romances but thought it fit to comment because I like these books which was unlikely.

I think her prose is passable. I tried to read one of her books for the first time - forgot the title - and I thought there was a big chance I would be a regular reader of hers. I Dnfed her book pretty quickly. I am now annoyed with her, because I cannot understand her appeal. And that makes me feel left out. I don't hate COHO but I am irritated by her fandom. I can only shrug and move on.

I should have clarified - I'm a lesbian, so yep, also a woman. :D

Cat Sebastian, btw, is great. She writes primarily LGTBQ romances, with lots of diverse characters (racially, developmentally, bodily), and she's freakin' funny besides. I tend to really enjoy her stuff.

I find most M/F romances extremely alienating, in that I can never relate to the female characters. But People We Meet on Vacation was the exception, and it was also a lot of fun.

Personally, I am not her marketed audience and I don’t care for her writing style. Yes, her writing is mediocore at best. Yes, there are better writers out there. Yes, her works do normalise toxic relationships and a lot is marketed as being ‘romantic’. However, I am not gonna shit on people reading it. We all started somewhere and these snobs are the ones who don’t care for literature but more of being ‘not like others’. Leave them and you enjoy what you enjoy as these things come in cycle. Twilight, grey and now her…it’s always going round and round.

Her sudden and extreme popularity thanks to opaque algorithmic recommendations doesn't help either. There are plenty of bad authors and plenty of problematic authors, but they generally aren't getting weirdly glowing TikTok endorsements, Instagram posts, etc., etc.

A few years ago, it was Sarah J. Maas.

I read one where the killer did kill the main character. Only it turns out that she wasn't, obviously. Because the book kind of would have ended at that point.

No, it wouldn't be weird. I've seen people do that and sometimes I did so myself. Our book club has grown considerably and each meeting is attended by 20+ people. At this point most of the talk is done about personal news and especially children, though (I have nothing to contribute) and not so much about books, unfortunately.

Stapleton also thought he was superior to EVERYONE and especially all the local yokels. I really don’t think he thought he would be found out and if he was he wouldn’t be convicted. The dude was nuts and made me suspicious of anyone who catches butterflies. “Butterfly net? Yeah sure. Bet you have a starved hellhound hidden somewhere.” 🤣

Ar the epilogue Holmes is asked about Stapleton being an obvious culprit regardless of the dog due to him living under a false name nearby, and Holmes pretty much answers "Yeah well oopsie, who knows?".

I always thought it was because Stapleton was a relation and would have inherited the estate if Sir Henry died. So it would be easy to point fingers at him if the death was obviously murder. If Sir Henry died of fright/heart attack and then suddenly Stapleton is found and inherits then it’s a story for the society columns. If Sir Henry was shot and suddenly Stapleton inherits that looks like motive and TADAA even Inspector Lestrade could find the murderer. 😆

💖I love you guys

Because they are popular.

Hitchhikers Guide The Tao of Pooh Sirens of Titan / Player Piano

Ah, I get that. It was just my theory as to why ppl hate her specifically. I think a lot of ppl who talk about bad tropes in books (romance especially) need to be more consistent with their call-outs, tho. And I dont think that anyone who enjoys them is necessarily in the wrong or doesn't understand, even teens. As long as it's acknowledged (like in ur example) ppl should be allowed to like what they like.

Thank you so much. I'm a woman and not gay but I've found gay romance books to be one of the best written and healthiest out there. Or at least the healthy ones are easier to find.

It's a real "Dan is Gossip Girl" twist.