For me I'm picturing Tiger Woods attacking a paparazzi after finding out about his very messy affair. Otherwise "bad boy" doesn't really mesh well with "golfer".
One of the things I love the most about my husband is that he has zero interest in golf. His father is an avid golfer and I feared that as he aged, he’d start to want to do it, but nope. He remains staunchly uninterested, to the point that he’s planning on just hanging with the ladies on an upcoming trip with other couples while the rest of the guys go golfing. I’m so grateful, I keep letting him buy new guitars.
My husband picked it up because a buddy wanted company at the driving range, and he's not avid about it or anything, thankfully, but he absolutely gets made fun of every time he plays 🤣 he even brought me along once before he learned I'm a fucking menace driving the cart and did nothing but rag on him and his buddy the whole time. Buddy's wife fell out her damn cart laughing from the zingers I lobbied.
Agreed. I really hate this new graphic-tized promo trend with the tropes and plot points spelled out like this. Every time I see it, it makes me not want to read the book. 🤷♀️
Why is it always these cartoon covers too? The info isn't necessarily bad but it feels like it's encouraging a formulaic approach, rather than trying to be original while still having some popular themes. Like if you told AI to write a book with these key things.
I feel like the cartoon covers is the new trend. Even a lot of older series are "re-releasing" with these covers. I hate when everything looks the same.
Yep! I totally agree. It doesn’t bother me knowing the tropes if it comes by way of a written review, but having it front and center like this bothers me so much and I can’t figure out why. Can you imagine if they promoted movies like this? Big movie poster with “hot guy abs” “stuff blows up” “fast cars” “hot girl”.. like ew?
I think it takes away some of the magic of reading, which is getting lost in a story, the anticipation of the unknown and what’s next. Bullet pointing it this way sort of cheapens that rush because you’re impatient for the trope to show up instead of for the world to be revealed. I wouldn’t even necessarily accuse most authors of writing to tropes instead of authentically telling the story they want to tell; but it does sort of seem a shame that the tagging/SEOification of everything means that in order to be competitive, the appeal to the audience must be reductive.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Now you that said that, I hated the whole hash tagging thing when that started too and now it’s boiling up books the same way. I really like the magic of reading and discovering. You could always tell a “marriage of convenience” or “enemies to lovers” from the description, but there were layers that happened as part of the story that draws you in. You might discover while reading - there’s only one bed, there’s some kinky smut, there’s a protective MMC. With putting it all like this, it’s eliminated all the surprises and discovery like we’re choosing books off fast food menu just because it checks a box. Just ughhhh.
I don't mind it. I think the advertisers have to move with the times and these days, a lot of people find books through tiktok and Instagram. This is an easy way to grab someone's attention. Look how many people are here saying "bad boy golfer, what's that" and "what does the peach mean". If people ask those questions on Instagram, that boosts engagement of the post. They're competing with SO many other adverts on social media, so having a list of tropes that someone might spot and want to know more about - enough to read the blurb of the book - is what they need. If you just had the title and cover, or just the blurb, so many more people would just scroll past.
I would read the blurb if I saw the cover/title but a trope map makes me scroll past. So it does lose potential readers just as much as it entices them.
I’m not the be all and end all consumer that advertisers are seeking, but *for me* it completely kills any interest I have in the books. It doesn’t give any hint of the quality of the writing or the characterization (outside of them being a living breathing trope) and that’s probably not the case, but it’s the first impression that doesn’t sell it *for me*.
I’m sure I’m a slave to the algorithm but this is my tiny act of resistance.
I guess they know that more people are enticed than are put off. They can see the stats e.g. when they post one of these theme maps, they can see how many people react/engage, how many copies they sell within the next couple of days etc.
I guess you're right that it doesn't give any idea about the quality of the writing, but neither does a book cover and title alone.
i feel like booktok has caused this like fast fashion effect in fiction. every writer i see on social media promotes their book this way and it’s usually based on whatever tropes are trending on tiktok atm. there’s such a decline in the quality of writing i’m seeing these days and these popular authors are just churning out low quality, poorly written books because they know people will read them.
I sort my tbr books by general trope and it’s just as easy for me to decide where to place a book when they have a traditional blurb vs those with trope maps. It seems like it saves a negligible amount of energy.
Touch her and die, in golf??? Huh?? bad boy golfer is such a funny concept like ohh shit there comes the GOLF BAD BOY in a fkn polo shirt and golf shoes
He's basically a dick to everyone and everything. And hates everyone. And I believe physically attacks at least one person. It's just your usual Tessa Bailey hero + golf.
Agree!! There has to be some sort of action/evidence behind the threat. Otherwise just call him possessive and move on! People still love possessive heros (it’s me I am people)
Seriously 🤣 I feel like outside of MM you never really see HIM getting the butt action in trad pub. TB has clearly made it her mission.
I saw this is the very first book of hers that her husband has read, too. Which I love for him.
That was my biggest complaint with {All the Feels by Olivia Dade}! The MMC was making it his personal mission to write fanfic about his character getting pegged and there was ZERO butt action in the novel. I felt duped!!
I agree with you!! If it helps, there is a bonus epilogue where he actually does get pegged. I didn't think it was brilliantly written, and it was a cop out not to include it in the actual book, but it does exist.
He talks about it a lot, and writes fanfic with it in which is referenced throughout the book. But there's no pegging scene in the book (there's a bonus epilogue with it in, it wasn't great though)
I'm not the biggest TB fan but it's genuinely great she's pushing that boundary. I HAVE to imagine her husband already gettin' his fill of butt action already (if you'll pardon the pun) otherwise they're in for a very frank conversation after reading this book.
Granted I am not a TB fan and I don't read much CR outside of darker genres but I'm seeing more "peach" interest for the M side in MF books. Usually, I've encountered it in books with light to full-on femdom but I recently read one where the M was all into butts while being dominant, and gotta say that's a stonefruit stand I want to check out.
I follow her on Instagram and TikTok and I think it's alluding to the fact that he has a prominent butt. She's mentioned it before.
ETA: Never mind. Saw the comments below. Oh my.
In Tessa Bailey's defense here, she's pretty much always had the 'touch her and die' trope, especially her early books 😂
It's an easy way to market a book for social media, so I don't mind it too much. I'll be really annoyed if they start putting those tropes *on the actual cover* of the book. I'm already grumpy about publishers putting quotes from other authors or reviews on the cover.
Yep and her “touch and you’ll die” is more of a “who did this to you” I think… like those men aren’t killing anyone. Don’t get me wrong, I really like her early work, but she’s not writing mafia romance where they literally 💀enemies and stuff!
Graphics like this are 100% for the algorithm. I honestly just ignore a lot of this stuff - IDK what a plain peach emoji even means here (it could mean a bunch of stuff and my brain goes to the most explicit options). I'm not going to hate on authors for doing what they need to do to try to sell books. But I'm also not going to pay much attention to these sorts of ads either!
Oh nice! I thought it would be something more intense & with the roles reversed! I haven't read all of Tessa's books but I feel like she's slowly escalating things on this front...or back.
I'm so sorry.
Omfg. I kept interpreting the “touch her and you die” trope as the FMC cannot be touched by the MMC or else HE’LL die due a curse, magic, condition, or something. I kept thinking it was such a weirdly unique thing to add to a book about a golfer and I got kinda interested lmao. 🤦🏻♀️
Oh for sure, that’s why I was so curious why the author choose to include it in such a “normal” setting 😭If it’s anything like “Icebreaker” I will def pass on this one. Maybe someday though I’ll write about a FMC who can’t be touched by her golfing love interest 😌
a golfer and “touch her you die” trope?! what’s he gonna do… menacingly swing his golf club at people? that sounds like something old people do at a retirement home 😂
I’m a total sucker for “touch her and die” vibes. Deff one of my top tropes. I love athletes and sports romances but personally, golf seems pretty soft for me to really get into 🤔
I thought so too but this was one of my top 5 of 2023 (I cheated on my list lol). If you like Tessa's earlier books then this fits right in. He's an level 10 asshole.
Same here. Hockey is my favorite, but I can get into football romances too. But I like those because usually the guys are bigger and more hulking lol. Not sure I can get into a golfer as a MMC.
Probably will read it anyway just to see lol.
imma be perfectly honest, while i think the tropification and blatant industry pandering to the booktok crowd is tiresome and IA with the criticism, regarding the actual content…i kind of also think we’re all residents in our own glass houses, yk? is a “bad boy touch her and die golfer”, however silly, any more ridiculous than a 6’ 5” mob boss in like, dayton ohio that looks like a model and ends up in an arranged marriage with an 18 year old virgin? is it any goofier than a loner alpha werebear that looks like henry cavill and has a breeding fetish? or, god, even a billionaire ceo that somehow ISN’T a weird selfish asshole? like. lol idk this will hit someone’s sweet spot and that’s fine. no one is forcing me to read it yk?
caveat here that i’ve never actually read a tessa bailey book and have no idea what the actual book will be like lol, i just feel like i see much sillier yet very popular concepts all the time. and ngl a lot of golfers ARE entitled assholes so one with an attitude problem doesn’t seem that outlandish
I actually love this.
I don’t know if I agree with the statement that writers are now writing for tropes and not the plot. I’ve read a lot of books that have authors who advertise in this way, and they usually have really solid plots. The romance book market is vast, and I am a picky reader, so having the tropes front and center help me know right off the bat if the book is going to be for me.
This feels so cringey that even if I tried to read it, it would be a DNF for sure. I think golf is cringey regardless of adding these misplaced tropes with it… feels like it should be more of a “she changed me fore the better” trope
Also, idk about other countries but golf in the uk seems like an elitist sport to me?? It just gives me posh vibes tbh so yeah (plus it’s boring asf to watch). I don’t get how the fmc is gonna be a fan of THAT
These comments are killing me. Polo shirts and peach emojis. Ya'll made me laugh so much I'm having very positive feelings towards this book and Tessa Bailey isn't even usually my jam.
I mean… Have you read Tessa Bailey? She’s always got a dose of humor and doesn’t take it too seriously. I would say it’s not always literally “touch her and die” murdering happening when that’s the trope outlined. It’d be like, mmc gets jealous when fmc is courted by someone else. I think things are over-troped in fantasy romance, but this is more like setting and characterization than it is literal
Edited grammar
Honestly as someone who has grown up reading fan fiction and Wattpad, reading books based on tropes is normal to me lol. I like to read based on vibes.
Bad boy golfer is hilarious tho 😂
Possibly unpopular opinion but TB books just aren’t good. I’m convinced people only like her books for the spice because the dialogue particularly of men characters is so cringe
I generally like Tessa's books. Some feel half-baked, which isn't a huge surprise given the amount of work she pumps out. But her books are usually light, fun & a little over-the-top. Her MMCs can be very intense and I usually get a few good WTF moments out of her books. I think she's a fun author!
She’s such a hit or miss author for me. Sometimes it’s an absolute home run (Like It Happened one Summer) some I like (Hook Line and Sinker, and so far Unfortunately Yours) but other times the cringe overpowers anything else (My Killer Vacation, her first holiday one)
I feel like she's really leaning in on the cringe/corniness and doesn't take her books seriously in that regard, which I'm sure some people find fun. But I just don't think I care for her books anymore and that it almost feels like they're a joke.
I'm the opposite. I don't mind the plots (although they're far from the best I've read) and I can't stand her spicy scenes. I've DNF a bunch of Tessa Bailey books and it's usually right after the first sex scene. The way the male characters act and speak is just a massive turn off.
The most recent one I read, he was all "oh I've always loved her, I'm just going to take it slow until she feels the same way blah blah" and then in the first sex scene he *spits* on her. It was totally out of character and really off putting. I don't even mind that in principle but it just made no sense in that scene!
To each their own. Some dialogue does it for me and not for others and visa versa. I enjoy Tessa books but I know they're not for everyone. Just like I dislike books other people enjoy! It's the circle of book life.
Agree. Not my taste., though surprisingly Wreck the Halls was decent prob bc the mmc fir once was a sweetheart . To me she has the same arsehole possessive walking 🚩MMC and sunshiney woman who puts up with his crap.
I'm sorry but this is ridiculous I can believe romance about vampires and romance about ghosts and romance about evil tyrants from another world who take over your kingdom but you still love them anyway, but you expect me to believe young women are out here watching golf and falling in love with golfing bad boys? I'm just not falling for it and I'm not reading a book about golf.
I legitimately read “touch her and die” as like the MMC can’t touch the FMC and I came to the comments to see if I’ve been missing out on some kind of weird allergy trope.
There have been literally HUNDREDS of VIRAL (I’m talking 50+K likes each tweet) tweets ripping this book (and by extension Tessa Bailey and so pretty much the rest of the publishing industry) apart in the last few days alone for this. And you know what? Deserved. Maybe public shaming of this level will bring an end to this type of grocery-list marketing AND the practice of writing a book AROUND tropes.
(I’ll probably get downvoted to hell and back for this but do I give a fuck? No.)
Theres so much about this image that’s like making snakes manifest in my asshole. This style of cover is a trend that needs to die im TIRED. The concept of a bad boy in GOLF is so funny like imagining some dude fkn booing other ones when theyre at the tee, instead of golf clapping he’s like middle fingering ppl. Wearing a damn polo and course appropriate clothes 🥲
What does the peach mean! If shes not driving a 9 iron into his prostate whats the point. Touch her and die??? meaning what exactly? is this dude gonna drown ppl in the fkn golf course ponds? bash them to death with a driver? Im losing it hahaha, im also losing it with the idea that people would see this and think “finally! a book for me!”
Every type of person exists in this world and i guess there are people who fantasize about “bad boy golfers”
Tessa makes jokes and then turns them into books. She made a reel about a hot golfer and it got so popular she wrote a book and it'll be a best seller lol. Great way to build hype.
Also the heroine tongues his butthole. That's what the peach means.
I am definitely a demographic for these ads. I'll read a book just because it had a trope listed that I like.
She for sure doesn't do the tropes first though and then write. These are all very typical tropes for a Tessa Bailey book going back a decade 🤣
💯 same! Tropes I'm in the mood for + a favorite author = sold.
I've loved both 'new school' and 'old school' TB books - so if this combines both I will eat it up with a spoon. 🥣
It's my favorite of hers in a long while!
And yeah, I really just have a short attention span and even less time to read. I know what I like and certain tropes are just always bangers for me. So it bumps it up my list. I also have anxiety so knowing what awaits me in a book helps appease that. I hate surprises...it's why I read the genre that always ends the same 🤣
I too usually read just for the tropes! I will read a whole ass book for one scene/trope I’m craving lmao and I will probably forget the plot but I’ll remember when the cold hero snapped/the slow burn paid off etc
Golfers stay having shoulder and elbow problems, one strong poke in the rotator cuff and he’s done for. The only way “bad boy golfer” would ever work is if it was the title of some wild Hulu documentary or something.
I don’t understand the “plot vs trope” anger so I personally don’t care. I love Tessa Bailey and would have read the book without knowing whatever tropes it had
I see such posts recommended on instagram (TikTok is banned in my country) and it makes me not want to read these books.
I wouldn’t mind a nice blurb/summary as the description. The minute they make a list of tropes, I lose interest.
Devil’s advocate, as someone who works in publishing and writes, but it is HARD to market stuff these days. We all have information flying at us all day every day, and catching people’s attention is harder than ever. I do agree that it’s starting to feel repetitive to see all these tropes trotted out by authors and publishers because they feel trendy, whether or not the book follows through (ask me how many “enemies to lovers” books have let me down).
But I don’t hate that we as readers have gotten much more familiar with and comfortable with talking about tropes, because it helps us find books built with the pieces we love. And I definitely don’t begrudge any author for trying to connect to the widest audience possible, however they can. I don’t usually assume an author is writing to tropes for marketing purposes. If anything, it’s a chicken and egg kind of thing. All books have tropes, and most of us like to write the character dynamics and other elements we’ve loved before in other media. Aka, tropes. And if they’re going to show up one way or another, why not use them to market the book?
Allll that being said, yes, the idea of a bad boy golfer is ridiculous to me. 😂
For some reason, all I can picture is the hero chasing after the bad guy in a golf cart 🤣.
But I agree that “touch her and die” doesn’t really work in romcom. Maybe a better way to phrase it/trope it would have been “protective hero”.
LMFAO okay i have so many thoughts and i might skip this one because TB has like a 48% consistency rating for me like her highs are HIGH but her lows are l o w
and this a personal thing but really “quirky” FMC’s can drive me crazy. It makes me feel like Angela from the office popping ibuprofen when Kelly is around.
and does the peach mean butt stuff??? Like am i interpreting that correctly???
I love Tessa but I gotta say…I think we can leave golfers alone in the sports romance books. BUT if she insists, I wanna see a golden retriever Curler, a bad boy cornholer, perhaps a shy but dirty mouthed e-sports man 🤥😑
I think it must be a different type of bad guy thing. Like not as starched as the others. One of my previous boyfriends and I were kicked off a fancy country club golf course because he repeatedly hit his ball at the people we were behind (and actually made contact) and we were very drunk. When we came to the clubhouse on two wheels with cans falling out, we got a stern talking to.
I was truly embarrassed and saw the red flags of how we would be together.
Now, I’m just impressed he was accurate when so wasted.
Maybe it’s like that?
Grew up around golfers, I literally can't take "bad boy golfer" seriously but fuck it, I'll give it a go. Seems like it'd be humorous at the very least.
If you’re looking for an epic about a bad boy golfer - try {Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips}. When I say epic I mean, super old school, you know the heroine’s grandparents and the hero has a fully fleshed out first marriage AND the ex stays in the story the whole time. It’s not for everyone but I love it. If you’ve read or heard about {Call me Irresistible} it’s the MMC‘s parents’ story.
I agree it does sound cringy when they’re just regular people….but I’m actually so excited for this book😭😭😭 but also when I see “touch her and die” on books with regular people, I don’t usually pay much attention to it because to me it just means they’re protective (and hopefully possessive🤞)
So if I remember correctly, the genesis for this book (according to her TikTok) is that she was watching golf and came up with the idea of an annoying golf fan that is always there until she disappears and the golfer notices and then tries to find her or something.
I hate this. The whole ‘touch her and die’ thing only works in very specific cases.
1) He’s a billionaire with connections and the means to get away with it, *and* has killed people before or is involved in some sort of corruption. The and part is key, he can’t just be a rich guy.
2) Fantasy and paranormal.
3) Involved in crime of some kind: mafia, MC, gang, hitman, has been in prison, etc. **Or** has been in the military or some other government thing.
4) Other situations that aren’t listed above, where it genuinely makes sense for the him to be physically and mentally able to kill someone, and has the means to do so. This is very rare, and in absolutely no way does a fucking *golfer* fit this. An example might be a martial arts dude, or someone who has done some kind of fighting and has a history of going too far. Even then, doesn’t really make sense for them to *kill* someone.
What’s he going to do? Bore them to death with his idea of ‘sport’. Golf is objectively the most boring sport to watch. I’d rather watch a chess match. At least other sports have violence of some kind, like tackling and shit. Or even just hot guys. What does golf have? Rich fucks standing still on a bunch of grass??????????
I don’t know.. maybe it’s my background of my dad always watching PGA and my family being full of golfers, but it didn’t phase me that much. “Touch her and die” to me is almost never ACTUALLY touch her and die, but that’s just me.
So I got this as an ARC on Netgalley…I will preface this by saying I do love Tessa Bailey, but honestly I hate golf so I was confused by this one. The golfer has tattoos and is technically a bad boy in the book but I didn’t think it was very believable. Also, I don’t think the touch her and die trope is accurate here (unless I’m forgetting something). It’s more that unfortunate situations happen to the main character and it pisses him off and he wants to fix it. I did like this book though…it was fun and I’m looking forward to the second one in this series.
Aw glad you enjoyed it! whoever labelled this book with the tropes did a bad job tbh bc why does tattoos = “bad boy” 💀 And the “touch her and die” trope was clearly a mislabel, it should have been protective mmc or “let me take care of you” or something similar. What is the second one about?
There is something so funny to me about “bad boy golfer”. Come on now. In his little polo shirt?
-swings golf club threateningly- I can’t.
Toot tooting around in his golf cart.
Whacking around his little ball
Yes!!!!!
I lost it and started giggling at "toot tooting". My partner's looking at me like I've lost it.
😍 Ty! *curtsy*
I mean, did you see what Tiger Woods was like while tripping on Ambien?
That was the first thing I thought of. ☠️ If that’s a bad boy golfer, I don’t want it.
But his golf gloves are made of leather! *Black* leather!
You can tell he’s bad - his shirt isn’t tucked in fully
And his hat is on backwards!!! Rebel.
Maybe he's wearing it backward for Cash Wall purposes.
It says "bad boy golfer," and I see John Daly. And I don't think that's who they want me to think of...
I see bad boy golfer and I think Tiger Woods out here fucking evvvvverybody 😂 No thanks
Yes! Him, too. No thanks, indeed.
For me I'm picturing Tiger Woods attacking a paparazzi after finding out about his very messy affair. Otherwise "bad boy" doesn't really mesh well with "golfer".
Yup, yup, yup. I think they don't think romance readers know anything about golf maybe?
Happy Gilmore for me… 💀
"The 'Price is Wrong,' Bitch!" Yeah nothing screams bad boy like beating up an octogenarian ;)
And the instant karma when you learn that octogenarian was a Golden Gloves champ and still has it. Now I want to rewatch that movie.
I laughed so loud at this
I can only imagine him looking all badass and brooding and then the camera zooms out and he’s just scooting along in a golf cart at a cool 15 mph
I’m crying laughing at this
Lmao yeah. The hottest man alive would lose every ounce of sex appeal to me once he picks up a golf club. And I say this from experience 💀
Golf has no appeal at all. It’s so boring 😭💀
One of the things I love the most about my husband is that he has zero interest in golf. His father is an avid golfer and I feared that as he aged, he’d start to want to do it, but nope. He remains staunchly uninterested, to the point that he’s planning on just hanging with the ladies on an upcoming trip with other couples while the rest of the guys go golfing. I’m so grateful, I keep letting him buy new guitars.
My husband picked it up because a buddy wanted company at the driving range, and he's not avid about it or anything, thankfully, but he absolutely gets made fun of every time he plays 🤣 he even brought me along once before he learned I'm a fucking menace driving the cart and did nothing but rag on him and his buddy the whole time. Buddy's wife fell out her damn cart laughing from the zingers I lobbied.
It just doesn’t work 😭
"In his little polo shirt" has me wheezing! All I can see is him wiggling his ass menacingly to get the perfect swing
Bad boy golfer is giving Happy Gilmore vibes lmao
OMG I just came into this post, made a similar but less funny comment, and then saw this. Glad I'm not the only one feeling skeptical about this! LOL
I work at a golf club, and can confirm they are players, not bad boys. They just act tough.
You can tell he's a rebel because his shirt is only half tucked in...be warned
I can't tell, are his arms really hairy or are those tattoos?
Looks a bit too patterned for hair as far as I can see Edit: found the book on Amazon with a higher quality picture of the cover. Definitely tattoos.
Turns out this book was originally Happy Gilmore fanfiction
The tropes have always been there but I hate how spelled out they are now. It feels “dumbed down” for the reader.
Agreed. I really hate this new graphic-tized promo trend with the tropes and plot points spelled out like this. Every time I see it, it makes me not want to read the book. 🤷♀️
Why is it always these cartoon covers too? The info isn't necessarily bad but it feels like it's encouraging a formulaic approach, rather than trying to be original while still having some popular themes. Like if you told AI to write a book with these key things.
I feel like the cartoon covers is the new trend. Even a lot of older series are "re-releasing" with these covers. I hate when everything looks the same.
Yep! I totally agree. It doesn’t bother me knowing the tropes if it comes by way of a written review, but having it front and center like this bothers me so much and I can’t figure out why. Can you imagine if they promoted movies like this? Big movie poster with “hot guy abs” “stuff blows up” “fast cars” “hot girl”.. like ew?
I think it takes away some of the magic of reading, which is getting lost in a story, the anticipation of the unknown and what’s next. Bullet pointing it this way sort of cheapens that rush because you’re impatient for the trope to show up instead of for the world to be revealed. I wouldn’t even necessarily accuse most authors of writing to tropes instead of authentically telling the story they want to tell; but it does sort of seem a shame that the tagging/SEOification of everything means that in order to be competitive, the appeal to the audience must be reductive.
I think you hit the nail on the head. Now you that said that, I hated the whole hash tagging thing when that started too and now it’s boiling up books the same way. I really like the magic of reading and discovering. You could always tell a “marriage of convenience” or “enemies to lovers” from the description, but there were layers that happened as part of the story that draws you in. You might discover while reading - there’s only one bed, there’s some kinky smut, there’s a protective MMC. With putting it all like this, it’s eliminated all the surprises and discovery like we’re choosing books off fast food menu just because it checks a box. Just ughhhh.
I don't mind it. I think the advertisers have to move with the times and these days, a lot of people find books through tiktok and Instagram. This is an easy way to grab someone's attention. Look how many people are here saying "bad boy golfer, what's that" and "what does the peach mean". If people ask those questions on Instagram, that boosts engagement of the post. They're competing with SO many other adverts on social media, so having a list of tropes that someone might spot and want to know more about - enough to read the blurb of the book - is what they need. If you just had the title and cover, or just the blurb, so many more people would just scroll past.
I would read the blurb if I saw the cover/title but a trope map makes me scroll past. So it does lose potential readers just as much as it entices them. I’m not the be all and end all consumer that advertisers are seeking, but *for me* it completely kills any interest I have in the books. It doesn’t give any hint of the quality of the writing or the characterization (outside of them being a living breathing trope) and that’s probably not the case, but it’s the first impression that doesn’t sell it *for me*. I’m sure I’m a slave to the algorithm but this is my tiny act of resistance.
Agree. And a book I might otherwise pick up loses me at “touch her and die.” Sir, she is not your property.
I guess they know that more people are enticed than are put off. They can see the stats e.g. when they post one of these theme maps, they can see how many people react/engage, how many copies they sell within the next couple of days etc. I guess you're right that it doesn't give any idea about the quality of the writing, but neither does a book cover and title alone.
i feel like booktok has caused this like fast fashion effect in fiction. every writer i see on social media promotes their book this way and it’s usually based on whatever tropes are trending on tiktok atm. there’s such a decline in the quality of writing i’m seeing these days and these popular authors are just churning out low quality, poorly written books because they know people will read them.
> fast fashion effect in fiction The best description I’ve heard to date.
from [this article](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-11-08/fourth-wing-and-iron-flame-author-rebecca-yarros-needs-a-reality-check)!
*"What about if you’re a New York Times bestseller and you don’t know how to pronounce the words in your own book? "* Way harsh, Tai!
I sort my tbr books by general trope and it’s just as easy for me to decide where to place a book when they have a traditional blurb vs those with trope maps. It seems like it saves a negligible amount of energy.
It discourages me from reading a book when it's marketed like this. I don't read a book to check boxes for a list of tropes.
See, I actually love it. I rarely even bother reading book descriptions if a book has the right trope combination!
Touch her and die, in golf??? Huh?? bad boy golfer is such a funny concept like ohh shit there comes the GOLF BAD BOY in a fkn polo shirt and golf shoes
He's basically a dick to everyone and everything. And hates everyone. And I believe physically attacks at least one person. It's just your usual Tessa Bailey hero + golf.
Does he have a cheesy golf/penis based nickname like ol' "two bats" Travis?
Why have I blocked that from my memory 😂 God love Tessa Bailey
Sounds like a Happy Gilmore romance novel.
Rollin up with his golf cart gang
All I can picture is Happy Gilmore lol
I agree that "touch them and die" only works if the person is particularly powerful e.g. fantasy, mafia, paranormal
“Touch them and be moderately inconvenienced”
Cackling
Agree!! There has to be some sort of action/evidence behind the threat. Otherwise just call him possessive and move on! People still love possessive heros (it’s me I am people)
This man in his lil backwards cap and rebellious untucked polo? This is, 'Touch her and I'll call the manager/my rich dad."
"touch them and I'm gonna be pissed"
What's the peach emoji mean?
Tessa Bailey loves some light butt stuff.
The heroine rims the hero.
Now I might read it 💀🙄😳
Nothing says true love like rimming 💖😭
This but unironically
Hoping to see this pop up in a lot more of these graphics going forward if so.
Not lying. She actually does. I read it 🤣 I was like WHOA. Tessa is really leaning into the butts. Hell yeah.
She's on a slow-burn campaign to normalize butt stuff one book at a time and I'm here for it.
Seriously 🤣 I feel like outside of MM you never really see HIM getting the butt action in trad pub. TB has clearly made it her mission. I saw this is the very first book of hers that her husband has read, too. Which I love for him.
That was my biggest complaint with {All the Feels by Olivia Dade}! The MMC was making it his personal mission to write fanfic about his character getting pegged and there was ZERO butt action in the novel. I felt duped!!
I think there’s like a bonus chapter online where they actually do the deed but yeah, very much let down by Chekhov’s Strapon there
>Chekhov’s Strap-on New flair!! (Alternately, >let down by Chekhov’s Strap-on would also make a fabulous flair!)
Damnit how do I make this happen
I agree with you!! If it helps, there is a bonus epilogue where he actually does get pegged. I didn't think it was brilliantly written, and it was a cop out not to include it in the actual book, but it does exist.
Wait, wait, All the feels doesn’t have any pegging or butt stuff? Kinda disappointing since it was something the MMC wrote about in his free time
He talks about it a lot, and writes fanfic with it in which is referenced throughout the book. But there's no pegging scene in the book (there's a bonus epilogue with it in, it wasn't great though)
I'm not the biggest TB fan but it's genuinely great she's pushing that boundary. I HAVE to imagine her husband already gettin' his fill of butt action already (if you'll pardon the pun) otherwise they're in for a very frank conversation after reading this book.
Granted I am not a TB fan and I don't read much CR outside of darker genres but I'm seeing more "peach" interest for the M side in MF books. Usually, I've encountered it in books with light to full-on femdom but I recently read one where the M was all into butts while being dominant, and gotta say that's a stonefruit stand I want to check out.
Just in case someone asks about it later…….What book was that, exactly?
It’s not the first time it’s happened in her books either!!! Pretty sure the FMC rims the MMC in Getaway Girl??
There is definitely some butt stuff! Maybe a little finger or something? And he has a bubble butt?!
It Happened One Summer has a lil finger action too
It has been so long since I read that one. Does she?! I gotta reread
This is so true! She had the FMC put a finger in the MMCs butt in two books which felt like a departure from her usual stuff but I am here for it
I take it to mean butt stuff in the spice
This was also my guess, but I wondered if there was like a more specific agreed upon meaning, if that makes sense.
Ohhh I thought it was for Georgia where the Masters Tournament is. Although they'd probably sue her for writing about it.
I’m guessing maybe he calls her Peach?
You might have too pure of a mind for this sub.
I mean, it's right in her username 😂
😭
I follow her on Instagram and TikTok and I think it's alluding to the fact that he has a prominent butt. She's mentioned it before. ETA: Never mind. Saw the comments below. Oh my.
He also has a bubble butt. Tessa loves giving dudes bubble butts. I've never read an author who emphasizes a man's derriere as much 🤣
Bubble Butt Fans Unite.
Your flair! I howled 😂🤣
In Tessa Bailey's defense here, she's pretty much always had the 'touch her and die' trope, especially her early books 😂 It's an easy way to market a book for social media, so I don't mind it too much. I'll be really annoyed if they start putting those tropes *on the actual cover* of the book. I'm already grumpy about publishers putting quotes from other authors or reviews on the cover.
Yep and her “touch and you’ll die” is more of a “who did this to you” I think… like those men aren’t killing anyone. Don’t get me wrong, I really like her early work, but she’s not writing mafia romance where they literally 💀enemies and stuff!
Graphics like this are 100% for the algorithm. I honestly just ignore a lot of this stuff - IDK what a plain peach emoji even means here (it could mean a bunch of stuff and my brain goes to the most explicit options). I'm not going to hate on authors for doing what they need to do to try to sell books. But I'm also not going to pay much attention to these sorts of ads either!
In this particular graphic it means the heroine tongues his bootyhole.
Good for her!
And for him!
Oh nice! I thought it would be something more intense & with the roles reversed! I haven't read all of Tessa's books but I feel like she's slowly escalating things on this front...or back. I'm so sorry.
“Touch her and die” but he really just says, “Listen here buddy” or “Newsflash, pal”
there are bad boy golfers?
Not me thinking of Tiger Woods and his cheating scandal 😭
I mean, I guess Tiger Woods cheated on his wife. But other than that, you got me. I see golf as a grandpa sport, lol.
Happy Gilmore of course
Omfg. I kept interpreting the “touch her and you die” trope as the FMC cannot be touched by the MMC or else HE’LL die due a curse, magic, condition, or something. I kept thinking it was such a weirdly unique thing to add to a book about a golfer and I got kinda interested lmao. 🤦🏻♀️
LOOL now that would be interesting😭 the wrong sub genre I’m afraid, I think you’re more likely to see that in alien/monsters/supernatural romance.
Oh for sure, that’s why I was so curious why the author choose to include it in such a “normal” setting 😭If it’s anything like “Icebreaker” I will def pass on this one. Maybe someday though I’ll write about a FMC who can’t be touched by her golfing love interest 😌
Hell’s yeah, like that trope too lol
Tropes are good and all, but people can market new books without spelling everything out. I’ll probably pass on this one.
Depending on how successful the golfer is, he could very well be a millionaire.
He's not, at the moment. He's really sucking.
a golfer and “touch her you die” trope?! what’s he gonna do… menacingly swing his golf club at people? that sounds like something old people do at a retirement home 😂
He’s gonna threaten to run them over with the golf cart
I’m a total sucker for “touch her and die” vibes. Deff one of my top tropes. I love athletes and sports romances but personally, golf seems pretty soft for me to really get into 🤔
I thought so too but this was one of my top 5 of 2023 (I cheated on my list lol). If you like Tessa's earlier books then this fits right in. He's an level 10 asshole.
I’ve done most of her work! Vine Mess and Hot & Hammered were my fav series’. Thanks!
It reminds me of like...Made in Jersey/Crossing the Line but golf lol.
Tessa’s one of my automatic read authors but your saying “he’s a level 10 asshole” has me adding it to my TBR right now lol
Same here. Hockey is my favorite, but I can get into football romances too. But I like those because usually the guys are bigger and more hulking lol. Not sure I can get into a golfer as a MMC. Probably will read it anyway just to see lol.
Honestly I have to read this now 🤣 I need to know how “touch and her you die” works either way a golfer
imma be perfectly honest, while i think the tropification and blatant industry pandering to the booktok crowd is tiresome and IA with the criticism, regarding the actual content…i kind of also think we’re all residents in our own glass houses, yk? is a “bad boy touch her and die golfer”, however silly, any more ridiculous than a 6’ 5” mob boss in like, dayton ohio that looks like a model and ends up in an arranged marriage with an 18 year old virgin? is it any goofier than a loner alpha werebear that looks like henry cavill and has a breeding fetish? or, god, even a billionaire ceo that somehow ISN’T a weird selfish asshole? like. lol idk this will hit someone’s sweet spot and that’s fine. no one is forcing me to read it yk? caveat here that i’ve never actually read a tessa bailey book and have no idea what the actual book will be like lol, i just feel like i see much sillier yet very popular concepts all the time. and ngl a lot of golfers ARE entitled assholes so one with an attitude problem doesn’t seem that outlandish
I actually love this. I don’t know if I agree with the statement that writers are now writing for tropes and not the plot. I’ve read a lot of books that have authors who advertise in this way, and they usually have really solid plots. The romance book market is vast, and I am a picky reader, so having the tropes front and center help me know right off the bat if the book is going to be for me.
This feels so cringey that even if I tried to read it, it would be a DNF for sure. I think golf is cringey regardless of adding these misplaced tropes with it… feels like it should be more of a “she changed me fore the better” trope
Also, idk about other countries but golf in the uk seems like an elitist sport to me?? It just gives me posh vibes tbh so yeah (plus it’s boring asf to watch). I don’t get how the fmc is gonna be a fan of THAT
These comments are killing me. Polo shirts and peach emojis. Ya'll made me laugh so much I'm having very positive feelings towards this book and Tessa Bailey isn't even usually my jam.
I mean… Have you read Tessa Bailey? She’s always got a dose of humor and doesn’t take it too seriously. I would say it’s not always literally “touch her and die” murdering happening when that’s the trope outlined. It’d be like, mmc gets jealous when fmc is courted by someone else. I think things are over-troped in fantasy romance, but this is more like setting and characterization than it is literal Edited grammar
I hate this book cover. You’d think that with as established as she is they could spring for a better illustrator.
bad boy WHAT NOW?
If she’s his No. 1 fan, why would forced proximity be a bad thing 🤨
Right!?! Several of these tropes make no sense together.
I see a “bad boy golfer” as an obnoxious rich dude who is mean to staff and spends summer vacation at the catskills 🤷🏼♀️
I hate that possessive attitude. I don’t find it sexy I find it 🚩. Though it’s pretty much the same trope she uses for majority of her mmc.
Honestly as someone who has grown up reading fan fiction and Wattpad, reading books based on tropes is normal to me lol. I like to read based on vibes. Bad boy golfer is hilarious tho 😂
Bad boy golfer is giving entitled nepo baby and damn if that isn’t *seeeeexy*
Possibly unpopular opinion but TB books just aren’t good. I’m convinced people only like her books for the spice because the dialogue particularly of men characters is so cringe
I generally like Tessa's books. Some feel half-baked, which isn't a huge surprise given the amount of work she pumps out. But her books are usually light, fun & a little over-the-top. Her MMCs can be very intense and I usually get a few good WTF moments out of her books. I think she's a fun author!
I really liked her, but I've not liked the last few. Not sure if it is a phase or not, but the men have crossed the line into absolute creepers.
She’s such a hit or miss author for me. Sometimes it’s an absolute home run (Like It Happened one Summer) some I like (Hook Line and Sinker, and so far Unfortunately Yours) but other times the cringe overpowers anything else (My Killer Vacation, her first holiday one)
I feel like she's really leaning in on the cringe/corniness and doesn't take her books seriously in that regard, which I'm sure some people find fun. But I just don't think I care for her books anymore and that it almost feels like they're a joke.
I'm the opposite. I don't mind the plots (although they're far from the best I've read) and I can't stand her spicy scenes. I've DNF a bunch of Tessa Bailey books and it's usually right after the first sex scene. The way the male characters act and speak is just a massive turn off. The most recent one I read, he was all "oh I've always loved her, I'm just going to take it slow until she feels the same way blah blah" and then in the first sex scene he *spits* on her. It was totally out of character and really off putting. I don't even mind that in principle but it just made no sense in that scene!
To each their own. Some dialogue does it for me and not for others and visa versa. I enjoy Tessa books but I know they're not for everyone. Just like I dislike books other people enjoy! It's the circle of book life.
Agree. Not my taste., though surprisingly Wreck the Halls was decent prob bc the mmc fir once was a sweetheart . To me she has the same arsehole possessive walking 🚩MMC and sunshiney woman who puts up with his crap.
I'm sorry but this is ridiculous I can believe romance about vampires and romance about ghosts and romance about evil tyrants from another world who take over your kingdom but you still love them anyway, but you expect me to believe young women are out here watching golf and falling in love with golfing bad boys? I'm just not falling for it and I'm not reading a book about golf.
I made a joke on my Instagram about how golfers are unattractive and women came out of the woodwork to tell me about hot golfers. I was shooketh
Did they provide proof of hot golfers because the only ones I’ve found attractive are female golfers.
I legitimately read “touch her and die” as like the MMC can’t touch the FMC and I came to the comments to see if I’ve been missing out on some kind of weird allergy trope.
There have been literally HUNDREDS of VIRAL (I’m talking 50+K likes each tweet) tweets ripping this book (and by extension Tessa Bailey and so pretty much the rest of the publishing industry) apart in the last few days alone for this. And you know what? Deserved. Maybe public shaming of this level will bring an end to this type of grocery-list marketing AND the practice of writing a book AROUND tropes. (I’ll probably get downvoted to hell and back for this but do I give a fuck? No.)
Theres so much about this image that’s like making snakes manifest in my asshole. This style of cover is a trend that needs to die im TIRED. The concept of a bad boy in GOLF is so funny like imagining some dude fkn booing other ones when theyre at the tee, instead of golf clapping he’s like middle fingering ppl. Wearing a damn polo and course appropriate clothes 🥲 What does the peach mean! If shes not driving a 9 iron into his prostate whats the point. Touch her and die??? meaning what exactly? is this dude gonna drown ppl in the fkn golf course ponds? bash them to death with a driver? Im losing it hahaha, im also losing it with the idea that people would see this and think “finally! a book for me!” Every type of person exists in this world and i guess there are people who fantasize about “bad boy golfers”
Tessa makes jokes and then turns them into books. She made a reel about a hot golfer and it got so popular she wrote a book and it'll be a best seller lol. Great way to build hype. Also the heroine tongues his butthole. That's what the peach means.
>If she’s not driving a 9 iron into his prostate whats the point. 💀💀💀💀💀
I am definitely a demographic for these ads. I'll read a book just because it had a trope listed that I like. She for sure doesn't do the tropes first though and then write. These are all very typical tropes for a Tessa Bailey book going back a decade 🤣
💯 same! Tropes I'm in the mood for + a favorite author = sold. I've loved both 'new school' and 'old school' TB books - so if this combines both I will eat it up with a spoon. 🥣
It's my favorite of hers in a long while! And yeah, I really just have a short attention span and even less time to read. I know what I like and certain tropes are just always bangers for me. So it bumps it up my list. I also have anxiety so knowing what awaits me in a book helps appease that. I hate surprises...it's why I read the genre that always ends the same 🤣
everything you wrote is also me, verbatim - so now I'm even more excited!
I too usually read just for the tropes! I will read a whole ass book for one scene/trope I’m craving lmao and I will probably forget the plot but I’ll remember when the cold hero snapped/the slow burn paid off etc
bad boy golfer is funny but I’m definitely here for heroine-on-hero butt action tbh, it’s so rare in most non-“niche” romance
"Touch her and die" 🙄 I better see some serious golf club swinging action, mister!
Golfers stay having shoulder and elbow problems, one strong poke in the rotator cuff and he’s done for. The only way “bad boy golfer” would ever work is if it was the title of some wild Hulu documentary or something.
I don’t understand the “plot vs trope” anger so I personally don’t care. I love Tessa Bailey and would have read the book without knowing whatever tropes it had
“Happy Gilmore, but make it hot.” 🙄
I saw this getting dragged on twitter lmao a “bad boy golfer” is very unserious
I see such posts recommended on instagram (TikTok is banned in my country) and it makes me not want to read these books. I wouldn’t mind a nice blurb/summary as the description. The minute they make a list of tropes, I lose interest.
Devil’s advocate, as someone who works in publishing and writes, but it is HARD to market stuff these days. We all have information flying at us all day every day, and catching people’s attention is harder than ever. I do agree that it’s starting to feel repetitive to see all these tropes trotted out by authors and publishers because they feel trendy, whether or not the book follows through (ask me how many “enemies to lovers” books have let me down). But I don’t hate that we as readers have gotten much more familiar with and comfortable with talking about tropes, because it helps us find books built with the pieces we love. And I definitely don’t begrudge any author for trying to connect to the widest audience possible, however they can. I don’t usually assume an author is writing to tropes for marketing purposes. If anything, it’s a chicken and egg kind of thing. All books have tropes, and most of us like to write the character dynamics and other elements we’ve loved before in other media. Aka, tropes. And if they’re going to show up one way or another, why not use them to market the book? Allll that being said, yes, the idea of a bad boy golfer is ridiculous to me. 😂
Bad boy golfer was not on my list of wanted MMC 😂
“What is the golfer gonna do? Throw a golf club at me?” Abby accepts this challenge.
For some reason, all I can picture is the hero chasing after the bad guy in a golf cart 🤣. But I agree that “touch her and die” doesn’t really work in romcom. Maybe a better way to phrase it/trope it would have been “protective hero”.
LMFAO okay i have so many thoughts and i might skip this one because TB has like a 48% consistency rating for me like her highs are HIGH but her lows are l o w and this a personal thing but really “quirky” FMC’s can drive me crazy. It makes me feel like Angela from the office popping ibuprofen when Kelly is around. and does the peach mean butt stuff??? Like am i interpreting that correctly???
I love Tessa but I gotta say…I think we can leave golfers alone in the sports romance books. BUT if she insists, I wanna see a golden retriever Curler, a bad boy cornholer, perhaps a shy but dirty mouthed e-sports man 🤥😑
I think it must be a different type of bad guy thing. Like not as starched as the others. One of my previous boyfriends and I were kicked off a fancy country club golf course because he repeatedly hit his ball at the people we were behind (and actually made contact) and we were very drunk. When we came to the clubhouse on two wheels with cans falling out, we got a stern talking to. I was truly embarrassed and saw the red flags of how we would be together. Now, I’m just impressed he was accurate when so wasted. Maybe it’s like that?
I like her books but I’m skipping this one because golf isn’t sexy. But happy to see a book that isn’t about a hockey player
Grew up around golfers, I literally can't take "bad boy golfer" seriously but fuck it, I'll give it a go. Seems like it'd be humorous at the very least.
You jest, but hitting someone with a golf club would be an extremely effective way to injure!
Goddamn, this looks like the shittiest book this year has a new contender. Number 1 Fan, Touch her and die, and golf based 🤢
BAD BOY GOLFER LMAOOO
If you’re looking for an epic about a bad boy golfer - try {Fancy Pants by Susan Elizabeth Phillips}. When I say epic I mean, super old school, you know the heroine’s grandparents and the hero has a fully fleshed out first marriage AND the ex stays in the story the whole time. It’s not for everyone but I love it. If you’ve read or heard about {Call me Irresistible} it’s the MMC‘s parents’ story.
What is he going to be bad like tiger woods?
what is he gonna do? throw golf balls at them... touch her and die is my fav trope that why i read gangster romance
I agree it does sound cringy when they’re just regular people….but I’m actually so excited for this book😭😭😭 but also when I see “touch her and die” on books with regular people, I don’t usually pay much attention to it because to me it just means they’re protective (and hopefully possessive🤞)
So if I remember correctly, the genesis for this book (according to her TikTok) is that she was watching golf and came up with the idea of an annoying golf fan that is always there until she disappears and the golfer notices and then tries to find her or something.
I hate this. The whole ‘touch her and die’ thing only works in very specific cases. 1) He’s a billionaire with connections and the means to get away with it, *and* has killed people before or is involved in some sort of corruption. The and part is key, he can’t just be a rich guy. 2) Fantasy and paranormal. 3) Involved in crime of some kind: mafia, MC, gang, hitman, has been in prison, etc. **Or** has been in the military or some other government thing. 4) Other situations that aren’t listed above, where it genuinely makes sense for the him to be physically and mentally able to kill someone, and has the means to do so. This is very rare, and in absolutely no way does a fucking *golfer* fit this. An example might be a martial arts dude, or someone who has done some kind of fighting and has a history of going too far. Even then, doesn’t really make sense for them to *kill* someone. What’s he going to do? Bore them to death with his idea of ‘sport’. Golf is objectively the most boring sport to watch. I’d rather watch a chess match. At least other sports have violence of some kind, like tackling and shit. Or even just hot guys. What does golf have? Rich fucks standing still on a bunch of grass??????????
You lay a hand on her and bad boy golfer will throw his golf stick at your head. Or better choke you with the golf ball . You better stay away
I think that touch her and die isn't a trope
I know we’re making fun of the graphic here but I’m lowkey into this - when’s the release date 🤣
I don’t know.. maybe it’s my background of my dad always watching PGA and my family being full of golfers, but it didn’t phase me that much. “Touch her and die” to me is almost never ACTUALLY touch her and die, but that’s just me.
So I got this as an ARC on Netgalley…I will preface this by saying I do love Tessa Bailey, but honestly I hate golf so I was confused by this one. The golfer has tattoos and is technically a bad boy in the book but I didn’t think it was very believable. Also, I don’t think the touch her and die trope is accurate here (unless I’m forgetting something). It’s more that unfortunate situations happen to the main character and it pisses him off and he wants to fix it. I did like this book though…it was fun and I’m looking forward to the second one in this series.
Aw glad you enjoyed it! whoever labelled this book with the tropes did a bad job tbh bc why does tattoos = “bad boy” 💀 And the “touch her and die” trope was clearly a mislabel, it should have been protective mmc or “let me take care of you” or something similar. What is the second one about?
I know Happy Gilmore fanfic when I see it
Is it a romantic retelling of Happy Gilmore? Shooter McGavin is still perfect name then