In my stack of library books was a couple newer fiction releases, one from a best-selling, award-winning romance author. The novel was book five in a series.
In the novel (maybe 45K words), the author used the points of view (POVs) of the heroines in the four previous books in the series. The first chapter was completely written in omniscient POV because all four previous heroines are in the scene. Did the author not want to settle on a POV in the scene so the readers wouldn't assume the main character was one of them?
Next chapter/next scene was in the heroine's POV. Next chapter/scene was the hero's. As the story progressed, between the two lead characters' POV, the author interjected the POV of one of the four previous novel heroines. Since I hadn't read the other books in that series, I didn't care about these women and their woes. My guess is the reader who has enjoyed another glimpse into the live of the heroine she came to love.
If that wasn't distracting enough, far too many times the author stopped the present-moment action of the scene to explain something to the reader. Examples include what happened in previous novels, information about the lead character's past, or what the character was going to do the next day. Poor quality of writing. Yet it was published . . . and it sold.
Do your standards as a consumer lower after a "product" becomes your favorite?
I bet you are like me and have said something like:
"Yes, this isn't the best _____ that _______ has written/produced/made/built/released/sold, but _______ is still my favorite ______."
Why do we do that?
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