I want to love every book I buy and read but that doesn’t always happen. I also don’t believe in forcing myself to finish things that I’m not enjoying so I routinely stop reading books and never finish them. These post are for me to talk about why I DNFed a book.

Cleopatra Confesses by Carolyn Meyer is a young adult historical fiction novel about the life of Cleopatra. I originally read this back in Junior High and recently found a copy at a used book store and decided to reread it. Its much too young for me now and what little I read was very boring but I think someone who I the correct age would get more out of it.

Tsarina by Ellen Alpsten is a historical fiction novel about Catherine the Great from her life as a peasant to the Tsarina of Russia. Its well written and very detailed but I found it boring. I received a copy from the publisher through NetGalley but was only able to finish about 30 pages before I gave up. It would be a good read for those interested in this time period or these historical figures.

Fairest of All by Serena Valentino is a young adult Snow White retelling that is from the perspective of the Evil Queen. Unlike some retellings this one is directly connected to the Disney movie version. I read this book initially when I was younger and really liked it. Earlier this year I received a free eBook version and decided to try to reread it. I like the concept of the story but I got about half way though and was very board. I feel like this book and series is good for younger readers but adults might not get much out of it.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows is a fantasy historical young adult book about Lady Jane Grey. I knew that this was a comedic take on historical fiction but I didn’t know when starting the book that it would have so many fantastical elements. I’m a fan of historical fiction and I expected that when I pick this book up but I felt that what I read was more of a fantasy. If that’s what you want then this book would be great but I wanted something that read more historical so I don’t intend to finish this book.

Beach Read by Emily Henry is an adult romance book where a romance author and a literary fiction author who are both having trouble writing their next book end up living near each other and falling in love. I started this book as an audio book and I’m just not in the mood for an audio book right now. I like the premise but I wasn’t liking what I read of it. However, I do think that I will either come back to the audio at some point or try reading it as a physical book. So this is a not finishing for now but I can see myself reading it at some point.

The Name of the Wind is a epic fantasy book written by Patrick Rothfuss which Kvothe the hero of many tales is the owner of the Waystone Inn who works under an assumed name and who many think is dead is found by Chronicler and is convinced to tell his life story. Each book in the series is intended to be one day of Kvothe telling his story which will take three days and will tell the reader the truth of who Kvothe is and why he is know as the King Killer.

I stopped reading The Name of the Wind at 300 pages which is roughly half of the book and I have no intention of finishing this book. Normally, I would not write a review for a book that I didn’t finish because I can’t judge the whole story but considering I feel like most people like if not love this book I feel like I should post some form of a review.

The story started out strong with Kvothe at the Waystone Inn as there was a mystery about the world and the characters the inhabit this world. The world building is good at the beginning informing the reader about the world through conversations and description that don’t involve just info dumping. However, when Kvothe starts telling his story the pacing and anything interesting grinds to a halt. We are given tons of information about his family and childhood which is good for backstory and world building but gives us no character growth or plot. When Kvothe’s family is killed I thought that the story would pick up again but it never did. As for Kvothe as a character his is far too arrogant and experiences no lasting consequences for any of his actions. Not all characters should be likable but I should want to root for them and honestly I wouldn’t care if he lived or died.

Ultimately, I stopped reading the book when I started to hate all of the characters and that the plot felt like it didn’t actually exist. I feel like around 200 of the 300 pages I read could have been removed from the book and the story would not suffer. Though this might not be true if I finished it but I don’t like forcing myself to read things that I’m not enjoying. I do think if the books are ever turned into a TV show or movie that I would like it much more as I would have visuals to connect with.

 

I used to try to finish all the books that I started but as I’ve gotten older I’ve stopped doing that as much. I believe that life is too short and there are so many things that I could enjoy that I shouldn’t have to force myself to finish books or shows if I’m on longer enjoying it. But I still want to talk about why I stopped reading. Sometimes there’s not to say so I don’t want to write full reviews. So here is a list of the books that I’ve recently did not finish and my reasons why.

Bats of the Republic by Zachary Thomas Dodson is a dystopian novel told through letters, recordings, notes, newspaper clippings etc. and while a very cool concept not very I trusting to read. After about 60 pages I had not connect with any of the characters or story so I stopped reading.

Handbook for Mortals by Lani Sarem is famous for the fact that the author scammed her way on to the New York Times bestsellers list. When I bought the book, I knew about the story but couldn’t remember the title or author so I bought it anyway. I couldn’t even get though the first chapter. The story was boring and didn’t grab me, the first person perspective does the story no favors and makes the protagonist annoying and the descriptions make no sense. I have no idea how this book even got published.

The Last Tudor by Philippa Gregory, the fourteenth Plantagenet and Tudor Novel, follows Lady Jane Grey, who was queen of England for nine days, and her two sisters. When I bought this book I thought I would love it as I have loved some of Philippa Gregory’s other books. However, I’m learning that her book are very hit or miss for me. The book is told from Jane, Katherine, and Mary’s perspectives but I barely got through the first 50 pages of Jane’s perspective. I found Jane as a narrator to be far too pious, boring, annoying, and I felt like she hates all the other women in her life. To start the book like this made me not care about the story or any of the characters which almost always stops me from finishing a book. I feel like if you love all of Philippa Greogory’s work or Lady Jane Grey story is what you are interested in than you might like this book but it wasn’t for me. 

Rogues edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois is a short story collection focusing on the concept of the rogue and how the authors featured in the book wanted to play with that concept. It is becoming clear to me that I don’t like short story collections unless all of the stories are either from the same author or from the same series (ex: Doctor Who). Even the stories from authors I like and have read other things from, I just couldn’t get though everything bored me and I’m not really sure why. I like the idea of these types of collections as a way to see if I might like the authors other works but it never seems to work out the way I want it to. I think many people will enjoy these stories and the book overall but the format did nothing for me and because of that I couldn’t get through any of it.