What causes you to give up on a book?

If the story is too depressing, angsty, dark, or simply upsetting to me somehow. But even than I'll usually inch my way through, when it's just the occasional scene (and since I don't seek out very dark, angsty books, it's rare I'm reading something like that).
Stories that are really winding, meandering and wordy as well as uninteresting. I can deal with wordy if I like the plot or characters, but I have to manage to get to the point where I can be hooked, so when I DNF those it's usually before I even buy the book.

I rarely state that I've given up on a book, but I'm pretty bad about "setting it aside" and not getting back to it. I have a LOT of partially read books on the Kindles that I keep telling myself "I'll get back to that one...". If it's not really holding my attention, or a question about another previously read story is calling me, or a new title that I've been waiting for Forever (it seems) releases. Sometimes I'm distracted very easily. However, it can keep me from buying anything else by that author!

Really Linda? You know, it would probably be shorter to list what I do like.

TSTL characters, that includes impulsive, selfish and / or ignoring the advice of professionals. If your bodyguard tells you to stay put you stay put dammit!
Too much soul searching or mentally reliving the past. Especially when a character lets a past tragedy control their life for years and years into the future.
Characters that apologize constantly or have a martyr complex.
Other man / woman angst. Particularly ex girlfriends who show up preggers.
Most YA / NA / college kids.........even when I was that age and in college I wasn't as stupid as most characters.
Lack of communication angst.
Inappropriate sex. Taking a quick break to have sex while being chased or after days on the run, in the jungle, or bruised and blooded from being fresh from the fight. Take a shower first!
Second chances...remember ladies you dumped him for a reason!
Doormats. H treats the h badly and she continues to make excuses for him.
Billionaires......especially BDSM billionaires.
BDSM.
Graphic torture, rape, abuse.
Kidnapping....IMO it's overused in romance books.
Small towns where everyone knows everyone's business.
Tentacles.........no, just no.
Ridiculous character names.......this is just a pet peeve. It irritates me so much when an author tries to use only gender neutral names in a series. By the 5-6 book It's too confusing. Or simply bizarre names that a reader has no clue how to pronounce. Authors should take note: if your h was born in 1990 it's unlikely she was named Riley, Bailey, Astra, etc. Do a quick google search and pick something from the top 50........and _don't_ shorten it to the gender neutral version.

Geez.....it's a wonder I find any books to read at all. I can handle any of the above mentioned in small doses. However, I've abandoned books because it seemed the author was determined to hit every trigger imaginable. I can't understand why some authors seem to go out of their way to make their books and characters so unrealistic. Excluding PNR, Fantasy and Sci-fi. Even some of those are so unbelievable I have to pass.

I give up very quickly if a heroine is tstl, feisty and I especially dislike foul mouthed heroines with dialogue that seems to be just for shock value. I'm not offended by bad language, I am offended by lazy writing, no real character development. Another reason for a DNF is too much Telling.

I agree, young children that behave like Stepford kids.  I saw this in one of the In Death books by J.D. Robb.  Linda will know which one.  Dallas and Rourke give Bella an elaborate dollhouse when she turns 1.  The kids ooooohs and aaaahs over it.  So unrealistic. A 1 year old would bang around it for a minute or two then move on.  That really ruined the scene for me.

linviolet .............Tentacles?  I've noticed some sc-fi and PNR authors are jumping on the tentacle bandwagon.  The heroes are half man half octopus, squid (calamari, yum!) or kracken. Somehow he's been bio engineered to live in the ocean for one nefarious reason or another. These are romance books so you have to use your imagination about what goes where.  This is one of the tamer examples, and it's KU.  Treasure of the Abyss by Tiffany Roberts   Years ago Kaitlyn O'Connor wrote a book about a bio engineered heroes who could live in the water (no tentacles) and the h was a land dweller.  I thought it was well done.  These recent additions to the sub-genre are just cheezy, IMO.

Mari, I don't remember the exact In Death book, but I know the scene you're referring to. I felt the same way. Maybe Bella's going to be a sensitive? She's that way when Eve has a boo-boo, too.

Remember Cottonwood by R. Lee Smith? They were bugs. Just noticed Cottonwood and The Last Hour of Gann are KU's right now.

~Linda~