Books I have not finished in 2016 #1

Well, well, I thought I was off to a good start for 2016 with not too many books I didn't finish but then I had a spate of 3 in a week! Sheesh! It was not a good reading week. So here you have it, the first batch of books I did not finish this year. Not finishing books always makes me sad, but I've come to learn that not every book is for me and it is better to move on than to keep going and frustrate myself and more importantly, waste precious reading time when there is so much to read and so little time in which to do it all.

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Review: Fallen SEAL Legacy (SEAL Brotherhood #2) by Sharon Hamilton

I tried to give this a fair shot. I really, really did but in a nutshell there was just too much stupid going on.

For starters, I thought the way Ms Hamilton handled the death of Coop's family was shallow and it felt like they were treated more like an after thought rather than something enormously earth shattering than had happened to Coop.

For the most part, I liked Coop and Libby but I did not get far in enough to really form an opinion about them other than the fact that they seemed rather one dimensional as people. I knew a bit more about Coop from his previous mentions in the first book of the series Accidental SEAL but what really got me was the fact that Ms Hamilton could not make up her mind about how tall Coop was. Between Accidental SEAL, SEAL Endeavor and this book, Coop has managed to yo-yo between 6'4" and 6'7" several times. I think Ms Hamilton finally settled on 6'4" but I can't be certain.

Libby had a rather unfortunate encounter with a professor in university whom she trusted which sent her running home and taking a break from her studies. This also seems to be the reason for making her rather gun shy about men in general and questioning her own judgment. Funnily enough, this did not seem to be enough to stop her from falling for Coop right away. Her mistrust of men seems to be rather convenient at times and rather conveniently missing at other times. I'd rather she had more consistent reactions when it came to men in general and had a more cautious build up to her attraction to Coop.

Finally, Libby's father, who is a renowned psychiatrist. What a class A jerk!! I can think of worse things to call him, but seriously, he's supposed to be a great psychiatrist with a deep understanding of the human condition, and yet, when Coop approached him to pay his respects, he was rude, belligerent and an all round douche canoe. Considering what Coop had just gone through, you'd think he'd be more compassionate.

All of that added up to me not having the patience to deal with one dimensional, unreasonable characters.

Sadly, much as I enjoy the narrator J D Hart, and I was hoping this series would give me a nice stock of audiobooks to listen to, I don't think it would be the case. I don't think I'm going to continue with the series. I find the characters in the stories too intolerable.

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Review: Adam (Riding Hard #1) by Jennnifer Ashley

I confess I did not get very far into this story. Westerns and cowboys are not something I read often and this one did not appeal to me even though I adore the narrator, Eric G Dove. I considered powering through the audiobook only to listen to Eric's voice, because yes, I'm THAT obsessed with him, but I couldn't.

Don't get me wrong, I think the story was well written and Ms Ashley is a good writer, but the story itself was not for me. I couldn't get into the characters or the story itself.

Sorry Eric, as much as I love you, this one is a pass for me. I'll catch you in another book. Just know I still love you.

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Review: SEAL's Honor (Take No Prisoners #1) by Elle James

I started this book as an audiobook because I was looking for a new narrator to listen to and Kaleo Griffith was highly recommended.

Gotta say, I didn't take to him much. His voice really didn't do it for me. Top that with the fact that the nature of the story didn't sit well with me, I decided not to keep going with this.

I don't know if I would have liked this story more if I had merely read it rather than tried to listen to it as an audiobook. Not sure. I'm thinking at some point, I might go back and give it a shot at some point to check it out via reading cos I thought the writing itself was good and I don't want to write Ms James off as a writer. That would be unfair when it was the narrator of the audiobook I didn't take to.

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Review: Cold Deception (Dark Mountain #1) by D B Tait

I had heard a lot of good things about this book and was very excited to get to reading it. I'm on a bit of a romantic suspense kick and thought I'd try this out.
For starters, let me tell you what I liked before I tell you why it didn't work for me and I did not finish it.

I loved that the book was set in the Blue Mountains - my old stomping grounds. The descriptions of the streets and the suburbs, the weather, everything spoke to me. It was familiar and a lovely walk down memory lane as I was able to visualize all the streets, the villages and even the views Ms Tait described in her book. When Ms Tait described the road works on the highway, oh my goodness, I lived through it. I've driven up and down that highway so many times while it was under construction, been stuck in those traffic jams she described more times that I care to recall. All of it was so familiar and I loved that.

Why did I not finish the book then? I've never been a fan of stories where either the hero or heroine have recently been released from jail. There is too much negativity stemming from the reason they went to jail in the first place and the wrenching emotional adjustment when released. With Julia, there's so much negativity surrounding her, not only what was going on in her own mind as she dealt with life once again on the outside (10 years in jail changes a person) but also the emotions of her family, the drama llamas from her sister and the negativity of the people in her community. It was difficult for me to read through all that negativity. Every word was laced with so much hurt, recrimination and pain, it was not taking me to a good place.

Overall though, the book is well written. I think Ms Tait should be proud of her writing, that it evoked so much feeling from me. Unfortunately, it was not emotion I could handle living through the entirety of a book at the time I was reading it.

I would definitely try Ms Tait's work again if I knew the work was a lot less dark than this one.

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Review: January (Calendar Girl #1) by Audrey Carlan

I picked up this book because I had heard so much hype about it on social media, albeit all by the author tooting her horn. USA Today list, NYT list, Wall Street Journal list, Today show interview, foreign rights signed in a gazillion countries, etc., etc. I was intrigued. I wanted to see what all the hype was about and why a book about a girl who becomes an escort and "working" with 12 men over 12 months in 12 books is such a hit.

I only managed to get through one chapter of the book. The first chapter was mostly an introduction to  Mia and how she finds herself in a predicament of having to come up with a million dollars to save her father's life after debts land him badly beaten and in a coma in a hospital. It sets up the structure of her new job and what she needs to do each month.

I'm sorry but I could not get past the first chapter. I read a review which was well written and spoke highly of the book but it did not grab me. I guess I am simply not interested in the monthly high priced escapades of an escort. I don't get why this book is so popular, so hyped, has so many reviews.

Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I don't see how selling yourself and your body for an extra 20% cash bonus is not a rather seedy and degrading thing for a woman to do. How is it sexy and fun? How do you respect yourself in the morning or the next day or at the end of the month, month after month, man after man, when you have nothing left of value to sell but yourself? I don't know. Am I being too judgmental? Is this an "honor among thieves" kind of thing which I'm not getting?

I don't know if the book is sexy, or kinky, or sweet, or touching. I don't know because I could not bring myself to keep reading after the first chapter.
I guess I wasn't that curious after all.

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So there you have it. That's all the books I've read this year that have not worked for me.

Tell me, are there any hot buttons that don't work for you in books? Something that will make you shut the book and not keep reading? How many books have you not finished so far this year?


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