Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent DNFs and Series I Don't Plan to Continue


This week's topic is:  Most Recent DNFs and Series I Don't Plan to Continue

I really haven't DNF'd that many books recently, so I'm sharing my most recent DNFs since September of 2019 (Let's be honest, though, that's really just because I wanted an even number of books and I've only DNF'd three this year so far!) I also decided to include a couple series that I've read over the past year that have sequels/continuations coming out this year that I also don't plan to continue.

Books I've DNF'd since September 2019:

The Library of the Unwritten (Hell's Library #1)The Last Human
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
DNF: September 2019
Why: I love the concept and the humor was pretty entertaining, but it almost felt like the author was trying too hard to be quirky and interesting and left out compelling characters and plot. I didn't make it super far into this, so maybe it got better, but I just found myself very distracted while reading this and I realized that it was because of the writing style.

The Last Human by Zack Jordan 
DNF: January 2020
Why: I think this might be one that I could actually finish one day, but at the time I couldn't get into it. It's definitely a weirder one (which is usualy something I love!), but I didn't really find myself caring much about the characters and I found the general plot and world a bit confusing.

Operation Red Jericho (The Guild of Specialists,  #1)The Beginning Woods
Operation Red Jericho by 
DNF: March 2020
Why: I actually do plan to continue this, but for the sake of this topic I'm going to include since it is one that I chose to put down for a while. I found this randomly at a library sale and knew nothing about it, but it has a really neat little red cloth-esque cover and it's a sort of unique shape that makes it look more like a journal. It's a really fun concept and the book itself has some mixed media formats are really interesting, but at the time I wasn't really connecting with the story very well. I think if I restart it sometime in the future when I'm more focused I should enjoy this one a lot more!

The Beginning Woods by Malcolm McNeill
DNF: April 2020
Why: This had one of the strongest and most engaging beginnings! I loved the first hundred-two hundred pages and was so excited about this book... and then something just... flopped. The story got muddled, the descriptions became overdone, and I was confused about where the plot was going. I'm not sure what happened, but I would happily re-read the first hundred pages or so of this one. It's just the rest of it that didn't work for me, unfortunately. Will I ever come back to finish this? Possibly, but I have no current plans to.

Series I don't plan to continue:

Children of Time (Children of Time #1)Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy, #1)Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle, #1)

Children of Time (Children of Time series) by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Why: I was really disappointed to not like this book more. I had such high hopes and I had heard some of the most amazing things about this book and series so far, but unfortunately I just couldn't connect with the story. The alternating chapters between the humans and the spiders were interesting, but at the same time I felt bored most of the time. The writing style was difficult for me to get into and the characters were completely forgettable and uninteresting to me.

Wicked Saints (Something Dark and Holy) by Emily A. Duncan 
Why: This was also a pretty big disappointment. I love the cover artwork and the atmosphere that this book has, but everything else was very... mediocre for me. I didn't really care for the characters, their relationships were a pretty big 'miss,' and I struggled a lot with the plot ad world-building. I don't have plans to continue and I'm not sure I ever care to be convinced to continue.

Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Why: I was really excited for this new series from Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff, but unfortunately something didn't quite click for me. It was interesting enough to where I did finish the first book, but the whole time I think I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be continuing it. I found the characters a bit cliche'd and overtly stereotyped in style, and I also had issues with the plot and world-building. I could possibly be convinced one day to continue, but as of now I just don't plan to.



Have you read any of these books? What are some of your most recent DNFs/series you won't be continuing?


20 comments:

  1. Great list! I enjoyed Children of Time more than you did (which odd, considering I'm terrified of spiders) but I'm still in no rush to read the sequel. I didn't think the humans in Children of Time were that interesting, so I'm not quite as invested in them as I am in the spiders!

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    1. Oddly enough, now that I think of it I think I was more invested in the spiders as well! As someone who is also terrified of them, that really is odd, haha.

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  2. I agree with Wicked Saints. I enjoyed the book to some extent but not enough to read more. But Aurora Rising is one I'll continue, it's fun and over the top and sort of ridiculous, but sometimes I'm ok with that😁

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    1. I think if I start hearing a bunch of positive reviews for Aurora Burning I'll eventually give in and check it out, knowing me!

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  3. Good for you for giving up on series that don't work for your tastes.

    My TTT .

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    1. Thanks! It's hard to admit sometimes and I don't usually firmly say I'm done with them.

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  4. I have such a bad habit of starting a series and then not continuing with it!

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    1. Me too, even if I loved the first book! And then by the time I actually get around to continuing a series, it's been so long I often feel lost and need to re-read or refresh.

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  5. DNF's are always a bummer. :(

    I am kinda curious about The Last Human- love the cover- so maybe I'll keep that one in mind.

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    1. I've heard a lot of people have a lot of fun with it, it was really quirky from what I read!

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  6. Great list
    My TTT is here https://bookloverssanctuary.com/2020/05/12/top-ten-tuesday-the-last-ten-books-i-abandoned/

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  7. Writing style is a huge deal breaker for me. If the way an author writes is too dense, too confusing, too odd, or too whatever, I'm out. I want writing that is clear and flows well.

    Happy TTT!

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    1. Definitely, it's nearly impossible to read a book through when the writing style just doesn't work for you.

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  8. I really enjoyed Aurora Rising, but I also agree with you that the characters were a bit cliché.

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    1. Yeah, I'm wondering if future books will develop them more!

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  9. I haven't read Aurora Rising yet. I'm sorry something didn't click for you in it.

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    1. It was definitely a bummer because I love Jay Kristoff, but sometimes things just don't work I guess. :)

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  10. I've seen WIcked Saints in the DNF pile a lot today. I'll be skipping that one now!

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    1. It does seem to pop up a lot! I'm glad to see I'm not alone, though I'm still glad plenty of other people seemed to enjoy it a lot more.

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