Is the story cliched?

Use this forum to discuss the August 2021 Book of the month, "Chameleons" by Onyx Gold
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Kira Bonita Reece
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Is the story cliched?

Post by Kira Bonita Reece »

Zia first met Bryce in the typical 'elevator scene'. At first she tries to avoid him, but he tries to pursue her. Is this another cliched story? Does the author stay true to Zia having anxiety disorder? What are your thoughts?
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Vishnu Priya B
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Post by Vishnu Priya B »

I agree that the romance and even the fact that Zia has an anxiety disorder seems cliched. However, I wouldn't agree that the whole story is cliche. For example, Zia receiving the manuscript and getting obsessed with the author and the mystery surrounding that part of the story is unique.
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Post by BookBoyP »

I would not say the story is clichéd pe se, because in all honesty this kind of meeting is rare in so many books. And although it happens in real life rarely it was nice to see how the author was able to create a master piece.
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Novela book
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Post by Novela book »

Some scenes always come as cliche, but it doesn't mean the whole story gets affected. I agree this story has some cliche, how they meet and how she gets interested in the author. But as a whole, this is an amazing story to me.
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Post by Amanda Dobson »

It does seem a little cliche but as far as the overall story goes you need some cliche moments to make the story plausible. If you think about it some of the scenes real people have lived.
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Post by Ayindelaw »

The story as a whole is definitely not cliched, but the scenario you described could pass for being cliched. Although I don't think I'd notice it in the context given.
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Post by Reader Chavez »

I think the story has some cliche moments. But, I thought that Zia's anxiety disorder was a nice change from most stories. I think her actions represented well her disorder, and it makes the character more relatable.
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Fahad Afroz
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Post by Fahad Afroz »

Novela book wrote: 03 Aug 2021, 04:15 Some scenes always come as cliche, but it doesn't mean the whole story gets affected. I agree this story has some cliche, how they meet and how she gets interested in the author. But as a whole, this is an amazing story to me.
You are right, all stories from same genre do have some similarities (that's why they are the same genre) and they might sound cliche but it really depends upon the author on how she crafts it to fit the needs of the story.
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Post by Brandy_Nyongesa »

The story in some parts of the book has been clinched. This does not take away the awesomeness of the book. I think books within the same genre tend to share some aspects. I wouldn't mind the clinche when need be.
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Post by Eriny Youssef »

I've noticed that one way or another, you will always find a cliche or two in any new story. What's important is how they manipulated this cliche and how the story progressed in other parts. But I agree that the elevator first meeting is overused in general.
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Post by Precious DA »

Most stories like this usually have some similar scenes. The above situation can be said to be cliched as the 'bumping into each other' situation, but the book in it's entirety cannot be said to be cliched. The author managed to produce an amazing work.
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Post by Unsullied »

I agree that the elevator story is cliche and predictable but this book is far more than that. The author played around with ideas and created a magnificent book. Zia and Bryce's story progresses uniquely throughout the book.
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Post by Ruchi Raina »

I think that some of us live for those few cliche sequences in a book. I mean there are so many romance novels that it's hard to write a romantic scene which has already not been portrayed in another book. So I think, overall, it was a good book and Zia's anxiety, too, was well depicted.
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Post by malik khaizran »

Story characters live in the same world we live in and of course, they use elevators, visit the restaurant, watch movies and meet new people in these places. We cannot call it cliché. What matters is that how the writer describes that event and I find that meeting unique.
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Post by Black Jewel »

I do not feel that this story is exactly cliche as a whole, but there are always bound to be scenes that cliche in and of themselves, due to the fact that almost every scenario possible has been covered multiple times in untold numbers of stories. I don't have much experience with anxiety disorders personally, so I cannot honestly say yes or no if the author remained true to it with Zia, but I will go out on a limb and say most likely the author did.
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