Thursday, August 12, 2021

Books I have not finished 2021 #3

My books I have not finished has slowed down a great deal. I say this because I have not been DNFing as many books recently. I think part of it is because I've been careful about picking books I know I will enjoy reading and therefore would less likely be a DNF. Plus, something I've been doing recently is when trying or attempting to try a new author, I've been posting in book groups and asking what people think about the book first to see if I'd read it. I'm finding this really helps me when I decide to try something outside of my comfort zone. I did that with a book I was interested in recently that was branded as a dark romance, and turns out after asking about it, it was more of a light grey which worked for me.

So without much further ado, here's some books I have not finished recently.


Legacy by Rachel Robinson

Review: Legacy by Rachel Robinson
I had every intention of finishing this story but then it looked like there was a strong case of other woman drama (which was confirmed when I skipped to the end and read the last chapter) and that was it for me. If there's one thing (okay, there's lots of things, but...) I can't stand and try to avoid is other woman drama. To be fair, the hero, Luke starts off as a player and early on in the book, he's breaking up with his latest eff for the moment. I should have known there was going to be drama there since she did not go quietly and kept trying to contact him. As for Aarabelle, she's one heck of a tough woman who is soft on the inside after being hurt and cheated on by a lying ex so she's got some scars she's dealing with. For the most part, Luke and Aara have a fairly open relationship and they discuss things like an adult when they do get into a tiff. I didn't mind the way their relationship developed but everything felt very clinical mostly because of Ms Robinson's writing style. It's clipped and precise, and I don't feel drawn into the story or connected to the characters. I did keep going till the whole other woman thing cropped it's ugly head which was at the 70%-ish mark. I kept reading mostly because I wanted to know more about Aara being the first woman to be admitted as a Navy SEAL but the focus of the story was more on her relationship with Luke and a lot less about being a Navy SEAL though there's a (very) little bit of that. I'm guessing that there is a mission and something goes wrong, because there's mention of a recovery for Aara when I was reading the last chapter but it was not enough to let me know what happened. I don't think I'm invested enough to go back and read all about it to find out though. Reading this book felt a bit like hard work. The words and pacing didn't flow well.


Uncorked by Delta James

Review: Uncorked (Tangled Vines #1) by Delta James
I liked the idea of a shifter romance set in the vineyards but this story didn't draw me in. I read about 20% of it but I struggled. I also didn't like the case of mistaken identity that was going on and it was taking way too long to resolve. I finally decided to give it up.


Mace by Maryann Jordan

Review: Mace (Lighthouse Security Investigations #1) by Maryann Jordan
I got this book because an ad for it I saw on Facebook intrigued me. Sadly, while the ad was intriguing, the book was not. If I had to pick one word to describe it, it would be "slow." It was slow to start, with a lot of backstory and when I got to 20% of the book and it still hadn't gotten to the point of the story, I decided I was done. Aside from that, I didn't particularly enjoy the writing style either. It didn't pull me in and make me want to keep reading. I felt there was a lot of telling while the author was setting up the backgrounds of everyone and putting everything in place for the crux of the story. There are too many books and stories waiting for me to read these days. I'm not going to spend my time on something that's slow and not holding my attention.


Mr Taboo Daddy by Aria R Blue

Review: Mr Taboo Daddy by Aria R Blue
Someone recommended Ms Blue as a potential author to read for someone who likes Jessa Kane's books. I ADORE Jessa Kane's books. She's one of my favorite authors. Sadly, Ms Blue's book missed the mark for me. It started off with plenty of potential but it didn't engage me and it veered off in a direction that I didn't particularly enjoy. I was hoping to find another author like Jessa Kane to enjoy but alas, Ms Blue is not it.


Faithful by Hope Ford

Review: Faithful (Whiskey Run #1) by Hope Ford
I didn't like the heroine. The more I read, the more I didn't like her. Everything about her was negative. From her self-image to the way she viewed men. I get she got hurt and felt used and cheated on. She's had a hard run of things, but yeah, her negativity overcame my sympathy for her. The first 30% of the book was all about her negativity. She had a depressing inner dialogue and attitude. No.


Breed Her Hard by B J Mann

Review: Breed Her Hard by BJ Mann
This book is written very much in the same vein as one of my favorite authors except this one is a lot longer. A LOT LOT longer. And I'm not one for long books anymore. I don't have the patience for them. So while I enjoyed the book I felt I wanted it to go a lot faster and to get to the point. It's got all the things I love in a book of this sort. Super possessive, alpha hero. Sweet, innocent heroine. Insta-love. Obsession. Possession. Some daddy kink. I thought I'd be able to handle the length of the book given that it's all the things I am currently loving in the books I read, but alas, no. It's too long. I think From now on, I'm better off just avoiding long books to save me the grief of having to DNF them.


Puppy Love by Katelyn Beckett

Review: Puppy Love (Her Secret Menagerie #1) by Katelyn Beckett
I saw an ad on Facebook for this book and thought it sounded cute. Werewolf puppy bites human, turns her into a werewolf. Then come the consequences. It was cute. And I loved that Sadie was an animal rescuer, but sadly, the book didn't hit the mark. There wasn't enough to keep me interested and the writing in general seemed bland. This is the second book I've read in a row where I thought the writing didn't have enough oomph to keep me interested. Maybe I've been spoiled by all the Jessa Kane and Dani Wyatt books I've been reading recently since they pack a punch. Maybe I'm just in a weird mood. Who knows? Anyway, I kept putting the book down. I even stopped right in the middle of a sex scene. That's just unheard of for me. I love a good sexy time scene but this one didn't do it for me. The scenes seemed to blend into each other without any real direction and even 40% into the book I had no idea what was the point of it all. As cute as this one was to begin with, it kinda fell flat in the execution.


Hunting Ember by Milly Taiden

Review: Hunting Ember (Pride of Alphas #1) by Milly Taiden
I've been sticking to a lot of favorite authors with my reading recently soI've been making an effort to broaden my reading to new-to-me authors and so far I'm not having much success. I think I've read some of Ms Taiden's books in the past and have enjoyed them so I thought I'd try her latest offering since I'm on a shifter binge. Sadly, this book didn't pack the punch I was hoping for. It felt a bit bland and lacklustre even though it was a sweet and romantic story. Just no oomph. And then we got an entire chapter of the heroine's inner monologue where she's asserting her need to be independent and railing at the hero who was trying to keep her safe after she's received several death threats. She's stubborn as hell and while being stubborn is not necessarily a bad trait, being so stubborn that you're willing to put your life in danger and to ignore the advice of the person protecting you, to me that's just sheer stupidity. I'd been debating giving up on the book for a fair while and when I got to that chapter with that inner monologue of her being stupidly stubborn, I was done. Lordy!!!


The Right Man by Michelle Mankin

Review: The Right Man (Once Upon A Rock Star #1) by Michelle Mankin
Imagine my shock when I read the opening scene of the book and the hero is having a foursome with some groupies, snorting coke, and drinking booze. The whole scene is debauched and sordid, but that's one aspect of the rock and roll lifestyle. Then we switch to the heroine and she's a down on her luck hooker. I didn't get to the part where they meet because their backstory didn't work for me. I'm generally not a fan of rock star romances and this one opened with the worst of that world front and center in my face. It didn't appeal to me enough for me to want to keep going and it seemed like a story that was going to have a lot of drama and angst to it. I was originally attracted to it because this book was touted as a modern retelling of the Cinderella fairy tale and that's one of my favorite fairy tales. Maybe this one is a little too modern for my rather delicate sensibilities. I read romance to escape and to enjoy the fantasy but this one had too much harsh reality to it and themes I'd rather not explore. This would teach me to stray from my tried and true authors and go off exploring.


Cyclone by Janie Crouch

Review: Cyclone (Linear Tactical #1) by Janie Crouch
I wanted to read this book/series because I'd heard a lot of rave reviews for it. This author is hugely popular and gets recommended all the time with a large following. Alas, this book didn't do it for me. I struggled to get into it and the opening made it seem like the whole book was going to be a struggle between the hero and heroine. Also, I rapidly discovered it's a second chance romance, one of my least favorite tropes and this one looked like it was going to be messy. I tried giving it a proper go and just couldn't find myself getting into it. Too much drama and past angst that I needed to wade through and I wasn't up for that. I think I'm going to pass on this one.


DNF

So there you have it. That's what I've not liked recently.

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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2 comments:

  1. I can't remember when I last dnf'd a book. No hot buttons as such why I wouldn't finish, or even start. On average books I read are about 300 pages, although the longest this year was 550. Actually probably a bit less as it included a short story from an anthology. But it wasn't paginated so I had to guess. I do wish authors included page numbers. Several others were over 400 pages, but were all fairly quick reads, with one exception.
    Gill

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    1. My DNF books tend to run about 10% of everything I read, so it's not terrible. I get sucked into trying a lot of new things and a lot of times those don't work. I'm trying to do that less now.

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