I’m currently reading The Duke and I and the author is constantly using the word “acerbic”. I had never heard of the word before now and had to google the definition. The word has shown up so much that I’m tempted to go through the book and count its appearances lol.
Have you noticed any authors having favorite words that they use page after page?
“Smirk.” It’s usually an automatic DNF.
It’s a lazy trope to have the love interest lean against the doorway and give the protagonist a smirk. And it’s worse when they do it over… and over… and over again.