I dislike when I can tell the section of the book the author thought of first. Of course there’s always a genesis of a project. Maybe they thought of the ending and had to figure out how to get there; or they wanted the climax to take place in a church; or the beginning image was something they couldn’t get out of their heads.

That’s fine. But when I can tell the author was focused on a section or an act and then the rest are weak. I’m not sure how I can tell, and maybe it rarely happens because most authors understand how to hide this, but it bothers me when it’s catchable.