Let me tell you my story on why I started to loat one specific, well acclaimed diverse book.
There was a time when I was looking for LGBT books to read. I came across one described as “gay, enemies to lovers, one character is a Latino man, has a diverse cast”.
On another post, the book was recommended again, this time the OP stated it was about politics. About an English prince and the son of the American president. That combined with the “enemies to lovers” tag always being presented made me want to read it, cause it seemed right up my alley as a gay man interested in such themes, even though most recs and reviews were vague at best.
If you know your LGBT books, you know I’m talking about Red, White and Royal Blue. No hate to those who enjoyed the book, but I’ll use this as an example on why such vague pandering recommendations suck.
The book was the most badly written, non character developed thing I’ve ever read. And I not only tolerate Twilight, but enjoy it, so this shows you I’m not incredibly picky with my content if certain things interest me (with Twilight, said things were vampires and Jacob).
Your pandering of “it’s gay!! Gay lovely romance!!!” led me to read a story where yes, it’s gay alright. But it wasn’t the slow burn love you promised, it was the two characters just fucking every few pages. The MC was developed enough at first, but had little to offer after you read more. His princely love interest? I can tell you he’s a gay royal nerd, but not much more. In fact, I don’t even remember his name, he felt more like a side character than anything.
Enemies to lovers? They were never enemies to begin with. I urge you all to learn the difference between an enemy and a rival. On the first third of the book they are already friends and intimate. Your pandering tag wasn’t even accurate.
Diverse? Yes, it was diverse, plenty of different ethic characters. Where being “ethic” (using the word vaguely here the same way y'all do) was pretty much their only defining trait. You’d think writing a political driven story mostly centered around the USA would show its diverse cast as humans rather than post cards, or make their backgrounds relevent beyond the empty shell the story gave them, but no.
Oh, and politics? The author had a lack of understanding of British and European politics, which showed. The USA they created was idealised too, and that WOULDN’T be a problem in my eyes, since you can change reality in fiction. But instead of discussing the nuances and making the characters learn each other’s systems, the author forces their views as the most righteous down your throat without an ounce of subtlety or thought engaging process.
All in all, the book didn’t sell what you tagged it as. The solution? Instead of using pandering tags, where even one shot fanfic authors manage to be more specific with… Just put a summary. “Feel good fiction centered around USA politics, where two men (British Prince and the son of the American President) who start out on the wrong foot find a relationship with one another. Not the most fleshed out in character, but it’s good for a warm read if you enjoy it. Politics get too much paragraphs at times, so if you’re a fan of that, this book is also good for you.”
It doesn’t spoil anything, and I might have still read it and hated it, but at least it tells me what the book will be about.
As a member of the LGBT community, I don’t give damn if a book has gay characters or trans characters if the plot isn’t up to my tastes. You won’t catch me reading a fluffy, non-conflict 400 pages long flowershop au no matter how good it is. So instead of using diversity as a pornhub tag, why don’t you start viewing different people as people and realize there’s more to them and their story than bland “black, gay, modern world” tags?
You guys see people who are white, cis and straight as the default. You see anyone else outside of it as an exotic fiction tag. You can’t phantom the idea someone being gay or non-white tells us nothing about their character or the story they are in. So you think such tags are enough for the majority of the population, when they, in fact, aren’t.
Rant over.