History YMMV / EmpressTheresa

* AngstWhatAngst: Theresa is more annoyed than terrified when she is about to be blown up with an atomic bomb.

* SciFiGhetto: Despite that this is a story of a girl who becomes the host for an alien being that grants her superpowers, and involves such scenarios as all wind stopping, the Earth's axis being messed with to create infinite summer and the entire world being put into a 600-year-long stasis, the author is very adamant that this is not science fiction as he for some reason is openly disdainful of it and fantasy. As such, the work is listed as "Contemporary Women" on Amazon.

** Some have suggested that Theresa is actually mentally ill and the whole story is really a product of her delusions. They tend to back up this theory by pointing out that her claims that thousands of assassins are getting her when they never show up and how she’s TheChosenOne are classic examples of schizophrenic delusions (persecution and grandeur, to be specific). Theresa also mentions having a schizophrenic relative, and people who have schizophrenic family members are much more likely to develop schizophrenia than the general population. This would also explain the book's ''many'' plot holes and inaccuracies.

* ClicheStorm: The plot can be summarized as follows: " A [[BeautyEqualsGoodness beautiful]], [[IdealHero virtuous]] [[PluckyGirl young girl]] becomes TheChosenOne, finds love with [[NerdsAreSexy an intense, manly physicist]], is rejected by everyone, but can't be killed, and saves the world multiple times." Oddly enough, Boutin was trying to avert this. One of the book's main selling points on the website is that it's not like other novels. He also explains that the action doesn't begin until the fourth chapter because it would be cliché to put a flashy, exciting event (read: the hook) on the first page.

* DesignatedHero: Theresa is still treated as an ideal and heroic figure in-universe despite putting the planet under threat of starvation, destroying the North Pole, cursing an innocent lawyer with being unable to use motor vehicles, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking breaking the dress code in a French restaurant]], among other atrocities.

* SciFiGhetto: Despite that this is a story of a girl who becomes the host for an alien being that grants her superpowers, and involves such scenarios as all wind stopping, the Earth's axis being messed with to create infinite summer and the entire world being put into a 600-year-long stasis, the author is very adamant that this is not science fiction as he for some reason seems to hold it and fantasy in utter contempt. As such, the work is listed as "contemporary women" on Amazon.

* ClicheStorm: The plot can be summarized as follows: "[[TheTease A beautiful, virtuous young girl]] becomes TheChosenOne, finds love with [[NerdsAreSexy an intense, manly physicist]], is rejected by everyone, but can't be killed, and saves the world multiple times." Oddly enough, Boutin was trying to avert this. One of the book's main selling points on the website is that it's not like other novels. He also explains that the action doesn't begin until the fourth chapter because it would be cliché to put a flashy, exciting event (read: the hook) on the first page.

** Some have suggested that Theresa is actually mentally ill and the whole story is really a product of her delusions. They tend to back up this theory by pointing out that her claims that thousands of assassins are getting her when they never show up and how she’s TheChosenOne are classic examples of schizophrenic delusions (persecution and grandeur, to be specific). Theresa also mentions having a schizophrenic relative, and people who have schizophrenic family members are much more likely to develop schizophrenia than the general population.

* TookTheBadFilmSeriously: To an extreme degree. Despite the work's ''many'' flaws and questionable choices as detailed on the main page, Norman Boutin was absolutely convinced that he had written a classic work of literature, one destined for greatness, and refused to even consider the idea of the novel being anything less.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Quite a few of the book's critics have noted that the central story, of an average girl gaining limitless power and wanting to use it for good, is a pretty good one but Norman Boutin's writing badly undermines its potential.

* VanillaProtagonist: [[InvokedTrope Invoked]]. Theresa is supposed to be this and TheEveryMan according to WordOfGod. Unfortunately, it's very hard for Theresa to be sympathetic.

* ClicheStorm: The plot can be summarized as follows: "[[TheTease A beautiful, virtuous young girl]] becomes TheChosenOne, finds love with [[NerdsAreSexy an intense, manly physicist]], is rejected by everyone, but can't be killed, and saves the world multiple times." Oddly enough, Boutin was trying to avert this. One of the book's main selling points on the website is that it's not like other novels. He also explains that the action doesn't begin until the fourth chapter because it would be cliché to put a flashy, exciting event on the first page.

* {{Narm}}: As noted on the main page, the ShoutOut to ''Literature/{{Pollyanna}}'', which has the titular character lose the use of her legs after being hit by a car, and said car is driven by a Middle Eastern "terrorist". While it's possible that it was supposed to be [[{{Bathos}} intentional]], considering the other tropes listed on this page, it's more likely this.

* UncannyValley: The official artwork of Theresa, ostensibly drawn by the author himself, fits this description well.

* ClicheStorm: The plot can be summarized as follows: "[[TheTease A beautiful, virtuous young girl]] becomes TheChosenOne, finds love with [[NerdsAreSexy an intense, manly physicist]], is rejected by everyone, but can't be killed, and saves the world multiple times."
** Oddly enough, Boutin was trying to avert this. One of the book's main selling points on the website is that it's not like other novels. He also explains that the action doesn't begin until the fourth chapter because it would be cliché to put a flashy, exciting event on the first page.

* UnintentionallyUnsympathetic: Theresa in spades. Everything she does massively screws up the Earth, she ruins the careers of a lawyer and a politician because they did things she didn’t like, and and barely puts in a 6-hour schedule for ''saving the world.'' Despite this, the book treats her as perfect in every way.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: Quite a few of the book's critics have noted that the central story, of an average girl gaining limitless power and wanting to use it for good, is a pretty good one but Norman Boutin's writing badly undermines it's potential.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The cover shows Theresa wearing a US Military uniform, but said uniform is wrong regardless of what branch it's from. It lists her as a 5-star general[[note]]A rank which is all but officially retired and all holders of which are currently deceased[[/note]], but the uniform doesn't seem to match up with any of the official military general uniforms. She can't be a member of the Marine Corps, which has never had a 5-Star General rank in it's entire history. If she is supposed to be a General in the US Air Force, said outfit is missing a pair of pilot wings. If she is supposed to be a General in the US Army[[note]]the most likely case, given that she's promoted to this rank in the story[[/note]], then the US tags are drawn incorrectly, and in addition, there should be a brass disc present on the uniform below the US tags, and more ribbons should be present. And in the off chance that it's actually supposed to be that of a Fleet Admiral of the US Navy, the color is far too bright[[note]]it would be a very dark shade of blue, if not pure black[[/note]], never mind the fact that the background would suggest she's at either an air force or army base.

* CriticalResearchFailure: The cover shows Theresa wearing a US Military uniform, but said uniform is wrong regardless of what branch it's from. It lists her as a 5-star general[[note]]A rank which is all but officially retired and all holders of which are currently deceased[[/note]], but the uniform doesn't seem to match up with any of the official military general uniforms. She can't be a member of the Marine Corps, which has never had a 5-Star General rank in it's entire history. If she is supposed to be a General in the US Air Force, said outfit is missing a pair of pilot wings. If she is supposed to be a General in the US Army[[note]]the most likely case, given that she's promoted to this rank in the story[[/note]], then the US tags are drawn incorrectly, and in addition, there should be a brass disc present on the uniform below the US tags, and more ribbons should be present.

* TheScrappy:
** [[DesignatedHero Theresa]] herself, who despite routinely screwing up the world in significant ways and is rather bland in personality, is treated as being the second coming of Christ.
** Her husband, Steve is equally hated, due to having little personality aside from being a huge [[CharacterShilling mouthpiece]] for his wife. Not to mention the fact that he had a hand in some of Theresa's most insane schemes.

* BileFascination: About half the reason why the book is so infamous. Nearly any in-depth analysis regarding Empress Theresa eventually becomes pointing out numerous issues with the prose, typos, or plot/character problems. That said, part of this problem may be because of the author himself. See "Overshadowed By Controversy" below.

* AngstWhatAngst: Theresa is more annoyed than terrified during the events in which she is to be blown up by an atom bomb.

* CriticalResearchFailure: It could be argued the various examples of ArtisticLicense are this. Additionally, the cover shows Theresa wearing a US Military uniform, but said uniform is wrong regardless of what branch it's from. Aside from listing her as a 5-star general (a rank which is all but officially retired and all holders of which are currently deceased) for the following reasons[[note]]she can't be a member of the Marine Corps, since not only does said branch not currently have a rank of 5-Star General, but it's never had a 5-Star General in it's entire history[[/note]]:
** If she is supposed to be a General in the US Air Force, said outfit is missing a pair of pilot wings.
** If she is supposed to be a General in the US Army[[note]]the most likely case, given that she's promoted to this rank in the story[[/note]], then the US tags are drawn incorrectly, and in addition, there should be a brass disc present on the uniform below the US tags, and more ribbons should be present.
** She cannot be an Admiral of the US Navy, as said branch wears white caps with black jackets.
* DesignatedHero: Theresa is still treated as an ideal and heroic figure in-universe despite putting the planet under threat of starvation, destroying the North Pole, cursing an innocent lawyer with being unable to use motor vehicles, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking breaking dress code in a French restaurant]], among other atrocities.
* {{Narm}}: As noted on the main page, the ShoutOut to ''Literature/{{Pollyanna}}'', which has the titular character lose the use of her legs after being hit by a car, and said car is driven by [[StrawmanPolitical a Middle Eastern "terrorist"]]. While it's possible that it was supposed to be [[{{Bathos}} intentional]], considering [[ClicheStorm some of]] [[SoBadItsGood the other]] tropes listed on this page, it's more likely this.
* OvershadowedByControversy: Discussions of this book will almost inevitably heavily involve the real-life antics of its author, Norman Boutin, particularly the online drama he was/is involved in. Norman is fairly infamous amongst reviewers and websites that mention the book for his truly insane case of SmallNameBigEgo and CantTakeCriticism, responding to ''every single'' negative criticism to the book in a variety of hostile ways (quoting the Bible, outright attacking the character of critics, dismissing their reviews and them as people, or just straight quoting his own characters as if it is a TakeThat moment to his detractors). This has led to a large troll community dedicated to constantly bothering him and even a wiki where numerous analysis of the book and Norman himself have been done. The comments section of the Amazon listing, of a couple forums, and the comments section of the aforementioned wiki are filled with comments that, even if they aren't Norman and are trolls pretending, come off the same way: dismissive, pretentious responses seemingly designed to insult everybody who doesn't hold the book as the greatest piece of literature ever written. Because Norman treats a scathing and curse-filled review the same as a polite analysis, he seemingly ends up upsetting everybody no matter how they said what they said; all that matters is "they're wrong for not liking it".

* TheScrappy: Theresa herself is easily one of the biggest criticisms of the novel. Primarily due to being a huge example of A DesignatedHero, who despite routinely screwing up the world in significant ways is treated by the story as practically (and sometimes literally) [[CharacterShilling The Second Coming of Christ.]] Her Personality that ranges from [[VanillaProtagonist rather]] [[FlatCharacter bland]] to flat out [[JerkAss unpleasant and unlikable,]] doesn't help matters.
** Her Husband, Steve is equally hated, due to having [[FlatCharacter little personality]] aside from being a huge [[CharacterShilling mouthpiece]] [[SarcasmMode for his oh so perfect wife.]] Not to mention the fact that he had a hand in some of Theresa's most insane schemes.

** Her Husband, Steve is equally hated, due to having [[FlatCharacter little personality]] aside from being a huge [[CharacterShilling mouthpiece]] [[SarcasmMode for his O'so Perfect wife.]] Not to mention the fact that He had a hand in some of Theresa's most insane schemes.

* TheScrappy: Theresa herself is easily one of the biggest criticisms of the novel. This primarily due to being a huge example of A DesignatedHero, who despite routinely screwing up the world in significant ways is treated by the story as practically (and sometimes literally) [[CharacterShilling The Second Coming of Christ.]] Her Personality that ranges from [[VanillaProtagonist rather]] [[FlatCharacter bland]] to flat out [[JerkAss unpleasant and unlikable,]] doesn't help matters.

* TheScrappy: Theresa herself is easily one of the biggest criticisms of the novel. This primarily due to being a huge example of A DesignatedHero, who despite routinely screwing up the world in significant ways is treated by the story as practically (and sometimes literally) [[CharacterShilling The Second Coming of Christ.]] Her Personality that ranges from [[FlatCharacter Rather Bland]] to flat out [[JerkAss unlikable]] dosen't help matters.