Visual Novels are also known as interactive fiction and can either consist of merely reading with a background image provided for you, or some form of gameplay weaved into the reading. More-so than not, you’ll find yourself getting lost in the stories of these games, and if you don’t like reading, well…you might stay away, as some visual novels consist of 50+ hours of reading.
If you want to know the different types of VNs there are, you can find out more here.