Every month I'm going to list the books I did not finish (or DNFed) from the last month. I'm trying to do better about giving up on books I'm not enjoying, so I have been DNFing books a lot more.
What if the world holds more dangers—and more wonders—than we have ever known? And what if there is more than one world? From Heather Dixon, author of the acclaimed Entwined, comes a brilliantly conceived adventure that sweeps us from the inner workings of our souls to the far reaches of our imaginations.
Jonathan is perfectly ordinary. But then—as every good adventure begins—the king swoops into port, and Jonathan and his father are enlisted to find the cure to a deadly plague. Jonathan discovers that he's a prodigy at working with a new chemical called fantillium, which creates shared hallucinations—or illusions. And just like that, Jonathan is knocked off his path. Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that calls to mind The Night Circus and Pixar movies, but is wholly its own.
How far did I get? 112 pages
DNF Review
This has been on my TBR for a while. I remember being so excited for this book to come out! I featured it on Waiting on Wednesday! But when the book came out with iffy reviews, I put it on the back burner because it still sounded really interesting.
And that’s the thing, this book does have a really interesting premise! You have a fascinating steampunk world, ability to create illusions, and doorways to other worlds! Sounds awesome! But something was off with the execution. Everything happens to quickly to understand what really was going on. With that, I never understood the characters’ motives. They always acted before a real decision was made. The MC would even do things without thinking. Other characters seemed to either have emotions in the extreme, or no emotions whatsoever. It made the characters feel unrealistic. I kept reading because I heard there were parallel universes, but even that couldn’t keep me reading.
The MC is a teenage boy, which pleasantly surprised me. He has just graduated college early and has inherited his grandmother’s house. 30% percent of this book is just exposition introducing our MC and his backstory. The only fantasy element we see is hints of these odd dreams he had since he was six of a girl named Calienta. I actually liked the subtle fantasy elements and found it quite haunting, but once we meet Calienta, everything fell flat. I expected the story to get more interesting, but instead we get a huge info dump from Calienta, and a character that sounded interesting at first (she is literally called star child) turns out to be a flat monotone character. We also found out that there’s a prophecy which I am just tired of seeing in books.
I wish I wanted to read further because I don’t like DNFing books. Maybe I would’ve enjoyed this if I read it when I got it, but I can’t go back in time and I’m not going to force myself to finish a book I’m not enjoying.
I’m struggling to get into this book. I’ve had this book on my TBR since 2013. I’m trying to clean out my older TBR, so I decided to dive into this book, but I’ve had this on currently reading for almost a week and I am barely making any progress. I find myself disinterested in the story, and maybe that it because not much has happened in the book so far, but I also remember nothing about the first book and I’m not sure if I’m still interested in this book. I’m dnfing it for now, maybe someday I’ll go back and reread book one, but no promises.
This has been on my TBR for a while. I remember being so excited for this book to come out! I featured it on Waiting on Wednesday! But when the book came out with iffy reviews, I put it on the back burner because it still sounded really interesting.
And that’s the thing, this book does have a really interesting premise! You have a fascinating steampunk world, ability to create illusions, and doorways to other worlds! Sounds awesome! But something was off with the execution. Everything happens to quickly to understand what really was going on. With that, I never understood the characters’ motives. They always acted before a real decision was made. The MC would even do things without thinking. Other characters seemed to either have emotions in the extreme, or no emotions whatsoever. It made the characters feel unrealistic. I kept reading because I heard there were parallel universes, but even that couldn’t keep me reading.
The world is about to be cloaked in darkness. Only one can stop the night. Kellen St. James has spent his entire life being overlooked as an unwanted, ordinary, slightly geeky kid. That is until a beautiful girl, one who has haunted his dreams for the past eleven years of his life, shows up spinning tales of a prophecy. Not just any old prophecy either, but one in which Kellen plays a key role. Suddenly, Kellen finds himself on the run through a Celtic underworld of faeries and demons, angels and gods, not to mention a really ticked off pack of hellhounds, all in order to save the world from darkness. But will they make it in time?
How far did I get? 37%
DNF Review
So, I bought this ebook back in 2013. I remember seeing this book during the YA Scavenger Hunt and being so intrigued by it! Even though I wanted to read it enough to buy the ebook, it ended up taking seven years for me to get to it. Which is very unfortunate because maybe I would have read further then. Now I’m an adult and I’m pickier about what books I continue. I’ve read so many paranormal and fantasy YA books that I need something really unique to keep me reading. I think this books does have some unique ideas, it uses folklore not seen often in YA, but it took a while to get to the fantasy aspect.The MC is a teenage boy, which pleasantly surprised me. He has just graduated college early and has inherited his grandmother’s house. 30% percent of this book is just exposition introducing our MC and his backstory. The only fantasy element we see is hints of these odd dreams he had since he was six of a girl named Calienta. I actually liked the subtle fantasy elements and found it quite haunting, but once we meet Calienta, everything fell flat. I expected the story to get more interesting, but instead we get a huge info dump from Calienta, and a character that sounded interesting at first (she is literally called star child) turns out to be a flat monotone character. We also found out that there’s a prophecy which I am just tired of seeing in books.
I wish I wanted to read further because I don’t like DNFing books. Maybe I would’ve enjoyed this if I read it when I got it, but I can’t go back in time and I’m not going to force myself to finish a book I’m not enjoying.
As Charlotte steps through the gate, she has a strong feeling that nothing will ever be the same again.
Moving back to South Carolina after three years away, Charlotte knows she's going to have to face people from her past and adjust to a new high school, but she's completely unprepared for what else waits for her in Charleston.
Drawn through an old garden gate, Charlotte discovers a hidden world where she meets Calvin, a boy to whom she is inexplicably attracted. As Charlotte is pulled deeper into this hidden world, it's up to her older brother Kevin to rescue her. No matter how hard Kevin tries, the rescue depends upon Charlotte fighting her intense feelings for Calvin while mastering a set of abilities that she has only just discovered she possesses.
How far did I get? 35%
DNF Review
This book seems to have an intriguing premise, but it just didn't make it there. I was waiting for the moment when Charlotte goes into the garden, but it turned out to be a let-down. There's very little world-building or descriptions. She is instantly attracted to a man there, and it was just so sudden. From other reviews, I've heard that this is explained later, but it only made me more aware of how flat the characters were.
This book seems to have an intriguing premise, but it just didn't make it there. I was waiting for the moment when Charlotte goes into the garden, but it turned out to be a let-down. There's very little world-building or descriptions. She is instantly attracted to a man there, and it was just so sudden. From other reviews, I've heard that this is explained later, but it only made me more aware of how flat the characters were.
Jarra is stuck on Earth while the rest of humanity portals around the universe. But can she prove to the norms that she’s more than just an Earth Girl?
2788. Only the handicapped live on Earth. While everyone else portals between worlds, 18-year-old Jarra is among the one in a thousand people born with an immune system that cannot survive on other planets. Sent to Earth at birth to save her life, she has been abandoned by her parents. She can’t travel to other worlds, but she can watch their vids, and she knows all the jokes they make. She’s an ‘ape’, a ‘throwback’, but this is one ape girl who won’t give in.
Jarra invents a fake background for herself – as a normal child of Military parents – and joins a class of norms that is on Earth to excavate the ruins of the old cities. When an ancient skyscraper collapses, burying another research team, Jarra’s role in their rescue puts her in the spotlight. No hiding at back of class now. To make life more complicated, she finds herself falling in love with one of her classmates – a norm from another planet. Somehow, she has to keep the deception going.
A freak solar storm strikes the atmosphere, and the class is ordered to portal off-world for safety – no problem for a real child of military parents, but fatal for Jarra. The storm is so bad that the crews of the orbiting solar arrays have to escape to planet below: the first landing from space in 600 years. And one is on collision course with their shelter.
How far did I get? 145 pages
DNF Review
I tried hard to get into this book, I really did, but I just couldn’t do it. This wasn’t bad, it was just boring. The pacing was incredibly slow, and I made it 145 pages in without there being a clear plot. Yes, the book is about Jarra pretending to be a “norm” instead of a handicapped earth girl, but once we reach the setting of the pretense, the only thing leading the reader on was when the others would find out, and that is not enough to create an interesting narrative. I couldn’t see what would happen in the rest of the book, besides Jarra being amazing at Earth digs. I think the concept was interesting, and the world built here was amazing, but there wasn’t enough anywhere else to keep me reading.
I tried hard to get into this book, I really did, but I just couldn’t do it. This wasn’t bad, it was just boring. The pacing was incredibly slow, and I made it 145 pages in without there being a clear plot. Yes, the book is about Jarra pretending to be a “norm” instead of a handicapped earth girl, but once we reach the setting of the pretense, the only thing leading the reader on was when the others would find out, and that is not enough to create an interesting narrative. I couldn’t see what would happen in the rest of the book, besides Jarra being amazing at Earth digs. I think the concept was interesting, and the world built here was amazing, but there wasn’t enough anywhere else to keep me reading.
Brusenna thought it was finished. She defeated the Dark Witch, saving the Witches from imprisonment and death. She found love and a place to belong.
But she was wrong. A new threat merges with the old as the Witches' dark history begins to catch up with them. Only Brusenna knows the extent of the danger and how to stop it, though doing so might cost her everything.
Including her life.
How far did I get? 9%
DNF Review
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