You wanted to read the book, you were excited to crack it open, you came into it with good faith and anticipation… but you ended up dnf-ing it. Which book and why?
Mine was The Maid by Nita Prose. It was for my book club and looked like a fun murder mystery. Instead I got instant manic-pixie-dream-neurodivergent-girl vibes, and I noped out before the crime scene was even found.
If the start of the book is off putting there’s a good chance I’ll dnf right there. I hate prologues(books should start on chapter 1 or with a forward from the author) and weirdly formatted starts to books are never my cup of tea. I say let the reader get comfortable with your world/characters/writing style before breaking out the italicized text or awkward margin spacing