So I get the majority of my books from NetGalley (the main reason why I have this blog) and because it's free I end up requesting a lot of books that I normally wouldn't try if I had to buy. This ends up leaving me with quite a few DNF or did-not-finish books. And because I DNF I don't see the point of taking the time to make an individual review.
Then I got to thinking, what if I made a post featuring the a list of the books I DNF along with a brief reason as to why (where I can remember), in the hopes of saving someone else out there the time and effort (and money) that they might have otherwise wasted. (I will also update.)
So here you go, a list of some of the worst books I have recently tried to read.....
As of 19/March/2018
Anderson, Quinn - Cam Boy (Murmur Inc 3) : If you want me to read (and enjoy) a book, then don't spend the entire second chapter making me hate one of the main characters!
As of 18/01/2018
Dodge, Lola - Deadly Sweet : I didn't like the writing and after a couple of chapters I found myself hating the MC Anise. She was supposedly 17-18 years old and given her life experiences I would have expected her to act older and more responsible, instead I kept thinking she was 13-14.
Eads, Sean - Seventeen Stitches : A collection of short stories. Boring, frustrating, unnecessarily confusing and pretentious.
As of 28/October/2017
Dranoff, Beth - Mark of the Moon (Mark of the Moon 1) : If you're going to spend the first couple of chapters confusing me by 'being mysterious' then I'm going to give up and put you in the DNF pile.
As of 13/September/2017
McPherson, S. - At Water's Edge : Couldn't even get past the first chapter. The writing was wishy-washy and bad and the main character came across as a weak, pathetic, self-hating girl and if she doesn't like herself why should I?
As of 12/August/2017
Butcher, Jim (editor) - Urban Enemies : I think I underestimated how entwined these short stories were going to be with their original source material. It wasn't helped that at the start of each story there was a preface explaining the original books and how this story fit in. Yes that was helpful, but as I hadn't read 90% of the original stories it just highlighted what I was missing out on. It also highlighted the fact that these were bad guys in a broader story line and reinforced the idea that we should therefore hate them, which meant, for me, that I couldn't be on 'their side' and enjoy them as characters.
Westerson, Jeri - Booke of the Hidden : I don't know why I didn't like this book, all I know is I got about two chapters in and couldn't be bothered anymore. Something intangible just rubbed me the wrong way.
As of 6/July/2017
Lang, Eli - Half : This was a short story that was dragged kicking and screaming into the length of a novel for no good reason. Gave up 1/3 of the way through, skipped to the 'end' and NOTHING had changed/happened.
As of 31/May/2017
Merrow, J.L. - Wake Up Call (Porthkennack 1) : I'm all for expressing accents for authenticity, but the dialogue in this book was just painful to try and read.
As of 23/May/2017
Lynn, Kassandra - A Second Chance at Life : I loved the idea of the premise but not much changed in the first couple of chapters. I don't want to read a book about the heroine getting pushed down again and again and again while the bad guy gets away with shit, only for things to be resolved in the epilogue. Characters = DNF.
Springer, Elyse - Whiteout : Just couldn't get into the story. First couple of chapters were just way too slow to stay interested.
As of 8/May/2017
Richards, Penny - Though This Be Madness (Lilly Long Mysteries 2) : Wrong type of era for my liking, I like Victorian mysteries where as this was set in America in 1881. This was a really annoying time to be a woman and I can't be bothered reading about a female main character who has to constantly fight to stay even with her male counterpart.
As of 22/April/2017
Cox, Matthew S. - Daughter of Ash (The Awakened 4) : Thought I could read this one without reading previous books in series. You can't. The main characters' story is a standalone, but there is no world building/world explanation.
Lincoln, K. Bird - Dream Eater : 57 pages into a book 186 pages long, and I still had no idea what the hell was going on. Just lots of vagueness, which made me confused, bored and annoyed.
As of 16/March/2017
Blocke, C.A. - Sound Proof : really bad writing and stupid unlikable characters.
Heffernan, Laura - America's Next Reality Star : I hate reality shows, but I love puzzle shows and I was hoping this would be a hetero version of Jordan Castillo Price's ''Magic Mansion''. Unfortunately the first couple of chapters were nothing but a typical soap opera story line (lost job, home, bf, etc) done really badly. I couldn't even stick it out long enough for the actually 'show' to start (chapter six!).
As of 20/Feb/2017
Harrington, Anna - If The Duke Demands : There are sooooo many historical romances out there, the story really has to be something different and or very well written to catch my attention. This book was neither. You can tell by the blurb exactly what is going to happen, and I checked the end to see that I was right. Did not hold my interest and I'm not going to waste my time.
As of 25/Jan/2017
Cast, P.C. - Moon Chosen: Tales of a New World 1 : In the first three chapters we are introduced to three different main characters, each with their own 'worlds' and nothing is explained. Throwing a reader in the deep end sometimes works, but not in this case. Just a confusing mess.
Middaugh, Elle - Elemental Secrets (The Essential Elements 1) : Main character is not just a special snowflake, she is the specialist snowflake of the lot.... and she didn't even know it! (though everyone else did for some reason) Typical teenage 'different factions fighting to prove who is the best' with the only thing being original is the fact that by the time I quit (about 1/3rd way through) the main character was already flirting with THREE different guys. That's not an angst teen love triangle, that's a whore. A special snowflake whore, lol.
Ravenwood, Alayna - Eternal Night (The Fates of Betrayal 1) : Confusing. The first couple of chapters jumped between characters who were supposedly in different worlds/realities. Then they all joined up at a school? Sub-plots galore with no explanations in sight.
As of 28/Nov/2016
Blake, Kendare - Three Dark Crowns : Drowning in characters and plot was thin, confusing and full of holes.
Bryson, Kathy - Giovanni Goes To Med School : Boring. Simply boring.
Connor, David & Mulder, E.F. - Two Hearts : Bad writing, main character not explained/written very well and no sign of plot 1/3 of the way in.
Domain, D. Alyce - Dominic's Nemesis : Completely confusing and utterly boring.
Hawke, A.M. - The Cyborg He Brought Home : Don't start a book as if its going to be a full length novel, i.e. introduce/mention unique world building ideas, that are then not expanded on because its a short story!
Henry, Raye - Changes : Bad quality writing.
Hirsch, Joseph - The Bastard's Grimoire : Couldn't get past the first page, writing was too convoluted.
Koch, Daniel W. - The Sorceress and the Moving Mirror : Boring and no world-building/explaining.
Levinton, J.M. - Magical Ties : Didn't like the characters or the writing style.
Loebel, Vicky - Keys to the Coven : The blurb on Goodreads has more information than the first three chapters of the actual book.
Lynn, H.D. - The Corner Store Witch : Very poorly done novella. Seemed more like it had previously been a free internet serial and this book was simply a couple of chapters taken out of it and presented.
McKinney, T.S. - Touchdown : Too much BDSM and manipulated/forced sexual activity.
White, Alex - Every Mountain Made Low : Idea and writing to painful and pointless to bother.
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