Mix of Genres

Use this forum to discuss the June 2018 Book of the Month"The Girl Who Knew da Vinci" by Belle Ami
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Kibet Hillary
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Re: Mix of Genres

Post by Kibet Hillary »

bookowlie wrote: 06 Jun 2018, 15:19
KristyKhem wrote: 06 Jun 2018, 11:55 Mixing genres is a strategy to make a book more appealing to a wider range of readers. In most cases, people will pick a book based on cover design and blurb. If the blurb (or plot summary at the back) contains at least one genre that they like, in most cases, they will end up buying it. Personally, I always like a bit of romance in books :D
I agree that many authors try to include a mix of themes or genres to attract more readers. That's why I think so many mysteries include a man and woman who are thrown together to solve the mystery - for example, a detective and a reporter, a reporter and a missing person's family member, etc. Of course, there is always a romance that winds up blooming along the way.
This is true. The mix brings attracts many more readers and also enables the book to be captivating to a majority of the readers. I believe it is the way to go as long as the primary purpose of the book is not lost along the way.
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Post by Zain A Blade »

I like your analysis. True for me too, the mystery was overshadowed by the excessive focus on romance - cheesy romance at that. I guess the romance/erotic genre may not be the author's strength. The historical aspect was certainly a plus, it's the winning part of the book. The paranormal almost screwed it up - a big minus for the book. Perhaps paranormal in the sense of psychic intuition could have succeeded, but I think past life regression was just too much.
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Post by Kendra M Parker »

bookowlie wrote: 01 Jun 2018, 09:06 There is a blend of several genres in this book - mystery/thriller, history, romance, and paranormal. Are there too many themes? Does one theme stand out more than the others? Did any of the themes make you like the book more...or less? The historical elements from the 1400's and WWII really kicked the book up a notch. I think the romance element overwhelmed the story since there were romances in so many different time periods. I also think Angela and Alex's romance gave the book a cheesy feel, considering the more serious hunt for the painting.
Since I would define a theme as a lesson the book wants to teach or point that the book is trying to make, I would not say that there are too many themes here. The themes that I’m seeing are along the lines of “true love stands the test of time.”

As for mixing a few too many genres, I think the author has done a pretty good job with focusing on her main genre of romance and weaving in a bit of the other genres to spice it up. If you approach this as a romance novel, it pretty well follows the general “rules” for that, and I think it would play well with those who read a lot of romance. It’s not centered as much in the other genres, so it could be a bridge for stepping into those.
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Post by strawberrysab »

Even if I love romance in general, in this case I think it kind of ruined a bit the book. The title, the cover, the sample, it all gave me an idea of something between history and art, which didn’t lack but ended up not being primary.
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Post by SereneCharles »

Books with variety of themes are more interesting to read (my personal opinion). So, no, there aren't many themes in this one. Nevertheless, from what I've read so far, I think the paranormal stands out more.
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Post by Jillpillbooknerd »

I personally do not like historical fiction so the added genres of Mystery and Paranormal really changed my outlook on this book. I went in thinking that I wouldn't like it that much but I really ended up liking it!
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Post by Ana-Maria-Diana »

I think that the mix is of genres is what makes the book interesting. It had to have romance even if at times it seems a little bit too much, but overall it is welcomed. I believe that if the author would accentuate more the action and the mistery of the painting it would have felt that the book tried to copy a little from Dan Brown`s book. I think the author made the right call and the book resulted to be interesting.
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Post by Londera »

I think most books, at least the good ones, need more than one theme. This prevents the book from being one dimensional and adds richness to the story
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Post by Emilyflint »

You know when there are a lot of genres, nirmally it can be confusing but when written right, I don't mind it. Having a bit of romance thrown in can help break up the book a bit
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Post by Aohanlon86 »

Sarah Tariq wrote: 01 Jun 2018, 14:04 I think history and romance are two prominent themes of this book. The other ones are supporting themes.
I agree. The history and romance complement each other
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Post by NRoach »

Whenever you mix things you run the risk of getting the balance wrong, and I think that's definitely what happened here. By including so many different elements, the author set herself up to fail because there's no way to juggle so many things in just one book.
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Post by P Reefer »

cristinaro wrote: 04 Jun 2018, 07:15 Since the author used three temporal lines, I wish she developed all of them more rather than simply focusing on the love stories of the three couples. From a certain moment onwards, I had the feeling of a much too predicatable romance in which all you were doing was to expect the next steamy scene. The hunt for the missing painting could definitely have been more elaborated. In this way, the historical and mystery elements could have added more weight to the book.
I too found that the element of surprise was lacking in the build-up of the romance and characterization.
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Post by Kibet Hillary »

The statement above is true. There is always the risk of making an incorrect mix but from the sound of things here, I think that the author was able to achieve the right mix and it also makes the book captivating to a wider audience.
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Post by palilogy »

I don't think there are too many themes sometimes that aids the complexity and enhances the novel. No story or book is perfect though, there will always be suggestions or things that could be been done or focused on more/differently or not at all.
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Post by Libs_Books »

bookowlie wrote: 06 Jun 2018, 15:19
KristyKhem wrote: 06 Jun 2018, 11:55 Mixing genres is a strategy to make a book more appealing to a wider range of readers. In most cases, people will pick a book based on cover design and blurb. If the blurb (or plot summary at the back) contains at least one genre that they like, in most cases, they will end up buying it. Personally, I always like a bit of romance in books :D
I agree that many authors try to include a mix of themes or genres to attract more readers. That's why I think so many mysteries include a man and woman who are thrown together to solve the mystery - for example, a detective and a reporter, a reporter and a missing person's family member, etc. Of course, there is always a romance that winds up blooming along the way.
I'm happy with a mix of genres, and agree that a touch of romance can brighten up a book. However, I'm not keen on paranormal stuff. I guess I'm picky - I don't mind people slipping through time in a sci-fi sort of way, but I found paranormal stuff incredible, as a general rule. My willing suspension of disbelief collapses.
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