Okay does this annoy anyone?  I am reading a book and in the first chapter there are two characters named Lee and Leah?  Huh???????  Wth?  Can't they think beyond the letter L?  Does anyone know a reason why an author would do this?  My brain is getting slower and slower (not to mention my eyesight).  Why couldn't they come up with a name that starts with a different letter, let alone the entire first syllable??

It drives me NUTS.  I just read a book called The Last Child (not a romance, but still on top of the bestseller lists) and I was distracted by Johnny and Jack--best friends.  Grr!

Grrrr, I hate that!!! Johnny and Jack?  Isn't that the same name????!!!

Yes this is a big pet peeve of mine. I realize that in real life if you go into a group of people and shout "Mike" or "Bill" or "Mary" you are going to get more than once response in all likely hood. But a writer should choose to ignore that and give each character different enough names to make it easier to keep them apart.

I think Jack started as a nickname for John although I don't know how they get one from the other.  My Uncle Jack is really a Jonathan Jr.  Nowadays I think there's more boys named Jackson for a first name or just Jack. 

I once read a book about a man working in an advertising agency and EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER had a name starting with J. I kept expecting there to be some kind of explanation or joke, but there never was. It was so weird.

This is something that bothers me about the Rough Riders series by Lorelei James, most of the characters have names that begin with C. I have a hard time keeping them straight.

I would pronounce Lee,  Lee.   I would pronounce Leah   Lee- ah like from the bible.

Even still, lee and leah?  The author obviously took no time to come up with a name.

I just read a romance where the main character had the name Elizabeth.   That is ok, except when every other character in the book had a different nickname for her:  Lizzie, Beth, Liz, Bethie, Eliza.......I was really confused at first.  I think the author thought it was cute or interesting or something.....NOT.