Top Ten Things That I Like/Dislike in My Chick-Lit/Romance Books

This weeks Top Ten Tuesday list (weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) is the Top Ten Things I Like/Dislike in My Chick-Lit/Romance books.
I've split this list in half.  Five of what I like, and five of what I don't like.  So hear you go authors, the recipe to write the perfect book for ME!



What I Dislike in My Chick-Lit/Romance Novels

1. Too much flowery language.  I hate it when the characters start sounding like a soap opera.  I need my dialogue to sound like people I would be interested in eavesdropping on.  Not over the top drama queens.
2. Too much gratuitous sex.  I'm all for sex if it moves the story line, but when it's just there and it's over the top, blech.  Gross.
   
3. Graphic sex in a chick lit book.  I just read a book recently where this happened, and it turned me off the whole story.  If I'm reading chick lit, it's because I want a fun, flirty read.  If I wanted to read 50 Shades of Grey, I'd read 50 Shades of Grey.  If I'm reading Jane Green, I want to read Jane Green.
4. Not enough/too many plot twists.  I don't want to go in a zig zag of twists, but I also don't like to be able to predict  everything that's going to happen.
5. Boring characters.  I hate when a romantic story is built on a character who bores me.  When they can't make up their mind, or seem to be content to just let things happen to them.  Those people bore me in real life, so I definitely can't take it in a book.

What I Like in My Chick-Lit/Romance Novels

1. The guy who gets introduced as the last guy that the character would ever be interested in.  It's even better if he seems to be totally unlikeable and uninterested, but as the book progresses, you find out who he really is.
2. A little bit of a sexy scene.  I like to see some romance between the characters, and the longer it gets dragged out, the better.  A kiss can actually be sexy if it's done right.
3. Some of my favorite books have featured a surprise pregnancy in an older character.  Since this is so out of the norm of chick lit (the only kind of romance I like), it's always an attention grabber for me.  See The Opposite of Maybe by Maggie Dawson.
4. I like a smart character who might be a bit dumb in love.  It always makes me feel better when the character in my book is no better off than me.
5. I like a happy ending.  It doesn't have to be the typical happy ending, but I want to know that everything turned out okay.  It gives me hope for the future.

What do you like to see in your Chick-Lit/Romance novels?