As the year is coming to a close, everyone will be talking about all kinds of year end lists – from favorite characters, favorite romances, favorite covers, and favorite books. But I thought I’d start off my 2017 wrap-ups on a more negative note, to get it out of the way first. I saw Cristina @GirlInthePages do a list of her 2017 DNFs and it inspired me to share mine as well. Make sure you go check out her post!
I have DNFd 10 books this year, which I don’t think is a bad ratio having read over 200. Some of these books I’d be willing to give a second chance, and others I definitely would not. Some of these I actively dislikes, while others just bored me and I didn’t feel compelled to read. I usually like to give a book around 10% before I decide to DNF it, but sometimes you know sooner. Here are the books I’ve DNF’d in 2017.
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart | This was actually my second attempt reading this and I’ve decided that this book just isn’t for me. I can’t stand the main character and her nauseating pretentiousness.
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard | This is an instance where I think revisiting the book is a definite possibility. When I started this I just wasn’t connecting at all, so I felt no desire to read it. I think this is a case of reading something at the wrong time.
We Are Okay by Nina LaCour | I was really excited for this because I’ve liked every other book from Nina LaCour I’ve read, but I was so utterly bored reading this one. I was confused about the character’s backstory, so I didn’t care about the tension in the relationship.
Kiss Me, Kill You by Larissa C. Hardesty | I love cheesey paranormal reads. They have such a high entertainment value for me and put me in a good reading mood 99% of the time. However, the characters were so immature, I couldn’t deal with them.
Follow Me Back by A.V. Geiger | I thought this would be a fun mystery but it read so juvenile, the characters were unlikeable, and the romance was forced and unbelievable. It was just a miss all around.
When I Cast Your Shadow by Sarah Porter | I remember being really excited for this one, and then immediately put off by the characters and dialogue. Ruby was frustratingly naive and her father was a psychopath. Ruby’s immaturity really hindered the gritty mystery elements and brought the story down.
That Inevitable Victoria Thing by E.K. Johnston | I WAS SO BORED READING THIS. I actually gave this more of a shot than many others, I almost read half of this book before putting it down, but this is one of those situations where a book just isn’t for you. I’m not a fan of Victorian London at all, but I thought the alternate history of this one, combined with Johnston’s writing would pull me in. Sadly that was not the case.
Good and Gone by Megan Frazer Blakemore | This was a roadtrip story fail. The before and after format was really lacking and the characters were mostly flat. There wasn’t anything majorly wrong with this, but there wasn’t really anything good about it either.
Saving It by Monica Murphy | Another case of immature characters being my stopping point. The writing felt really young, especially for the characters being high school seniors. And there was a lot of repetitive thought that felt like filler.
Losing Brave by Bailee Madison | I just didn’t like the writing in this at all – It was filled with awkward phrases, a weird tone, and an overwhelming cloud of immaturity. I didn’t connect with the main character, so I didn’t care about her relationship with her sister – the central mystery of the story. Just bleh.
What are some books you DNF’d this year? Should I give any of these a second chance? Let me know!
I have heard mixed reviews about a lot of these so I am glad I never picked them up! I am most upset by That Inevitable Victorian Thing. I was excited about it!
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Yeah, it just wasn’t for me. I know some other people really liked it, but it just didn’t care about the characters at all.
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I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who round up my DNFs haha (sometimes it makes me feel like I’m being overly negative, but I also find it interesting to see what didn’t work for others too!) I actually really ended up enjoying Truthwitch but I had to wait about a year after I bought it to be in the proper mood for it. I hope you’re able to give it another chance!
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I recently bought the ebook, and I definitely want to give it another shot. It might be my next fantasy read, whenever I;m in that mood.
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THE YEAR’S NOT DONE YET. I’m hoping there won’t be any DNFs for me, but that means I have to finish Dividing Eden, All the Bright Places, A Thousand Pieces of You book 3, and Because You Love to Hate Me before 2017 is over, plus all those debuts on the list. *fingers crossed*
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oh wait That Inevitable Victorian Thing too–I’ve been stuck on chapter 13 for a while.
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Good Luck!!! and Congrats on not DNFing any books this year, that’s a major accomplishment.
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Follow Me Back is on my TBR, haha. For some reason it makes me even more curious to read it when it’s on someone’s DNF / dislike-list though. It’s always fun to discover whether or not you’ll end up having the same opinion. 😀
I did read We Are Okay by Nina LaCour; it was my first book by that author and I quite liked it so there’s another piece of proof that opinions differ. :p
I DNF’d three books this year – I think. One I didn’t even want to have on my DNF-shelf because I disliked it so much, haha.
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Follow Me Back was fun, but I really hated the characters.
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As long as I don’t hate all the characters, I’m good. Only one way to find out.
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Hope you like it
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