I usually know within the first few pages whether I want to keep reading. But sometimes the first chapter doesn't work and you find something underneath. I read the chapters first. There is so much more information in the chapters than in the synopsis, and I only use the synopsis as a guide if I like the writing. It's the writing that will shine through.
Summarys are never as interesting as the meat of it.
J.C. Very poor writing skills, a poor grasp of basic English structure and grammar. And cliched plots, something that's seen over and over again. For example, many historical plots are cliched and one of the tricks is to make what we've seen hundreds of times before seem fresh. There's nothing better than reading a partial that's so exciting and intriguing that you hate to wait for the mail to read the rest. I'm also excited by characters that dance off the page, and writing that's clean and easy to read, writing that doesn't stand in the way of the story.