Reads I Quit So Far in 2026

We're not at the end of March and I have quit so many reads. I didn't finish *deep breath in* Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien, Tea & Alchemy by Sharon Lynn Fisher, Domination by Professor Alice Robert, Hidden in Snow by Viveca Sten (with Marlaine Delargy as translator) and, a few days ago, Thirty Love by Tom Vellner. 

Now, I have written blogposts about my decision to quit Wuthering Heights and Fellowship of the Ring. The others, not so much. The first three of these four (Tea & Alchemy, Domination and Hidden in Snow) were impulse audiobook reads that intrigued me, but the stakes were low. I tried, I went "Not my cup of tea", returned audiobooks back to library or Kindle Unlimited and moved on with my life. 

But the last one - Thirty Love - really annoys me. I preordered this and had such high hopes. I saw the cover and read the blurb and went "This is gonna be a good! A steamy MM romance set in the world of tennis. Sign me up!". And I gave it a good go - 44%. But this was just meh, and not exactly what the blurb promised. 

I was expecting heat, passion, longing. Instead I got a slow burn romance. A slow, slow burn. Our two leads were beginning to become more civil to each other (they are tennis rivals after all), but also, this is more weighty than I was expecting: our lead's dad (who is his coach) has MS and there is another medicinal situation, we see homophobia, sexism. 

So yeah, this is a little dry and not hitting that sweet spot for me. It's heavier than I was expect and I want heat, passion, hot yet tender moments. Oh no, am that gif from Grey's Anatomy.

What annoys me is I have several preorders on Audible and Amazon (I know, am a monster) and this is making me second guess myself. Do I still trust myself over my upcoming preorders (Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth, Massif by Garth Nix, The Open Era by Edward Schmit, Andromeda by E.S. McLeod and The Shadow Friends by Tess Gerritsen)? Hopefully not as most of these are from authors I trust, but when you go through a lot of quitting reads/audiobooks, it makes you doubt yourself…

Hopefully, over the next few weeks, I will get my groove back. I do want to try A Court of Thorns and Roses but might hold fire for a niceness in deep with my crime reading… I shall report when I do a reading wrap-up/update! 

I DNFed Fellowship of the Ring

A second attempt of reading a classic this year and second classic I have quit. But maybe the only one I will consider coming back to at a later day. 

As you all know, dearest reader, fantasy is one of my go-to genres, but I have never read Lord of the Rings. I have seen the movies (I rewatched the original trilogy a Christmas or two back - though I have no interest in watching the Hobbit trilogy), but never read the books. To some of you guys, how can I call myself a fantasy reader without attempting to read the Godfather of modern fantasy?

I DNFed Wuthering Heights

I had such plans. Such plans. 

Ok, let me rewind and get you up to speed. Last month, on impulse, I decided that I should be less scared to read classics and make an effort to push myself out of my comfort zone. You see, like most people, classics felt out of reach for some unknown reasons. I wouldn’t be smart enough to understand the delicate butter of why these cough have survived and remained so well-loved. 

So, I went “Just try one. Any one will do”, and I decided to requested several from my library and whichever came first, I would listen to. I requested Dracula, Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights came to me first and so, I went in. 

DNFs So Far This Year

Not sure why lately, but there seems to be a lot of talk online on whether you should rate & review books you quit (DNF = do not finish). I’m don’t really know what camp I’m in as I tend to jump between the two. 

I know, how rude! 

So, because of this, I was looking at the books I quite over the past few months to see if there was a pattern. Whether there was a common thread between the way I kept DNFing books. Maybe because I have outgrown the books and genres. Maybe there was a subject matter involved in the book that made me “nope” out. Or maybe, it was the right book for me, but not the right time…

So, let’s chat about some DNFs and see where that gets us… (and yes, I will put affiliate links to uk.bookshop.org for you all. I mean, just because I didn’t like them for one reason or another, doesn’t mean you won’t. This might be your book!). 

DNFing Juliette Willoughby

It feels like I am always talking about quitting reads/audiobooks lately. Mainly because I had a huge DNF (Did Not Finish) blitz over the summer. And it looks like I haven't stopped going "F*** this!" just yet.

This time, it's The Final Act of Juliette Willoughby by Ellery Lloyd. In theory, this is right up my street. A murder mystery, set in the art world and university, but told in three different timelines (one of which is the artist of a mysterious missing painting). And yet, at 44% and me audiobooking this over the course of several weeks, I decided to cut my losses.

Why, I hear you ask? Because of two reasons.

Another DNF Post

I doin’t often chat about quitting reads on here. I think I am more open about quitting reads or knowing when books aren’t for me, but there is a bit of a guilt and (dare I say it?) shame about quitting a book or an audiobook. I mean, before I started book blogging, I used to quit reads left, right and centre. I had no shame or guilt over it. It might be my mood at the time, the writing, the story, an element or plot twist that didn’t work. There are hundreds of reasons why we as readers quit books or audiobooks. And that’s ok. 

However, when I started book blogging, I felt this guilt over quitting reads and I spent many years reading every books I started and reviewing them. Even if I didn’t like them. 

Now, am more ok with quittting/DNFing. Same goes with writing up my thoughts on every book (I chat about them on social media) on here. But two books I have tried just didn’t work and I wanted to chat about them because these are big deal books. Books I should love but nope, they just didn’t work.

Failing Rereading Chamber of Secrets

STRAP IN LADIES, GENTLEMEN AND HOWEVER YOU IDENTIFY YOURSELVES! 

This blog post is gonna get messy (not sure if in a good way or a bad way, but we shall see!). Allow me to explain. As you all probably know, I am in a huge reading slump. Probably one of the worst I have been in since I started book blogging over ten years ago. This is due to anxiety and other outside forces that I won't get into at the moment, but you would know that, while I am audiobooking and slowly reading, it's become a struggle. 

Now, normally, when in a reading slump, I usually reread a book I love and know inside out. Normally, I reread Sabriel by Garth Nix. But seeing as I reread a few years back and I know it inside out (it's one of my fave fantasy reads), I wanted to reread something else. I was thinking of rereading either The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman or Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling. I decided in the end to reread Chamber of Secrets as I relistened to a few podcasts that's rereading Harry Potter, chapter by chapter, and thought this would be a good idea as, while I know the story well, Chamber isn't my fave book in the series. 

So, I started to reread it. And I stopped as I started chapter eleven: the Duelling Club. 

I have reasons. Reading slump, the fact I disagree with JK Rowling, the fact the world is burning (UK and US politics - I mean, what the ACTUAL F**K?!). But the biggest reason is, while I know this story really well (how many times have I reread this since it was first published in 1999?), rereading this made me be more cynical. Not only that, I looked at certain things and went "If this character did [insert idea here] or just told [insert character name here], then NONE OF THIS WOULD HAPPENS! WHY ARE YOU ALL SO STUPID?!"

*cough*

Sorry. But rereading this made me a little angry and my adult, reading slump brain spotted things that my 12/13 brain didn't.

Reading Slump Made Me Quit This (And Am Not Happy)

I'm not sure how to write this post. It's not a review, but it is up to a point. And I'm treating this as a review on NetGalley as I have thoughts and opinions, so class this as weird write-up so I can explain. 

Ever since I first heard of All for One by Lillie Lainoff, I have been desperate to read it. I mean, an OwnVoices gender-bent reimagining of The Three Musketeers with a lead suffering from a chronic illness, but being a badass and secretly training to be a musketeer and learning about sisterhood, self love and badassery? SIGN ME UP! 

And I liked what I heard. A tad slow-paced for me, but I liked the characters, the slow character arcs and the writing. I really did. So, why, I hear you cry, did I quit this around the 50% mark (after two weeks of listening to this on way to/from work)?

My brain just stopped. I got hit by a reading slump. And I wanted to keep audiobook this. I fasten the reading speed as I thought that might help, but it didn't. I would listen to a few minutes then listen to music or podcasts and I just wouldn't go back. 

I hit a wall and I think with the news being what it has been for the past few years, I'm surprised I don't get hit by reading slumps more often. I think I know myself well enough to know when am close to reading slumps, but this one caught me by surprise. I'm not sure if the news at the moment and my real life/work life has an impact, but here we are. 

Having reading slumps or allowing yourself a break from reading is ok. We need to remember this for ourselves as reading should be a pleasure and. if we're not feeling it or we're feeling out of sorts, we can go away and look after ourselves. 

How often do I write these posts and I never follow my own advice? Maybe that's why am making myself take a few weeks off blogging over Easter as am not feeling that spark I use to and I want to mix it up reading/audiobook over Easter/walking into summer. 

But yeah, on edge of reading slump and it make me not get on with this/made me quit/DNF this and I'm not exactly happy with self. I hope to come back to this. We shall see... 

Trust Your Gut

Question: Have you ever been really excited for a book? Like, really excited for it and you kept putting it off because you wanted to savour it and, once you're ready, you start only to be thoroughly disappointed and annoyed that you spent your precious time and money on it? Well, this is what happened with me and with To Sleep In A Sea of Stars. 

If you go to my Goodreads review, you will see that I had so many, many issues with this and the main reason I powered on through is because I was buddy-reading this with Mo from PaperbackMo (if you're not following him on YouTube, please do) and, as we were both reading/audiobooking, we were chatting about our thoughts and while their words were much kinder than my bluntness, we both felt on the same page with one or two of our issues (pacing, length and needing a good old fashion edit!) 

This is why many of us within the book blogosphere (like I have said before, I use this term very loosely and widely as it covers vloggers, instagrammers, TikTokkers, podcasters, etc) say that if you're not feeling it, you can put the book down and either come back when you feel ready to or you can just quit and move on. There is no shame. Just like there is no shame if you decide to keep reading and see it through. No shame on whatever you decide. 

But what I do want to say is that your brain, heart or gut warn or tell you that this isn't working (whether that be books, TV, films, podcasts, etc), listen to them and make a decision that best suits you. 

DNFing GILDED

It’s not often I do write-ups on The Pewter Wolf Reads about books/audiobooks I quit (or DNF [Did Not Finish]). And if I do, I usually only write my thoughts on Goodreads (mainly because so I remember why I quit or because it’s a review copy and I want to show publishers via NetGalley that “hey, look, I did try and read it. Why aren’t my Did Not Finish review not affecting my Reading Percentage, NetGalley [hint hint!]?”). But mainly, us book bloggers don’t exactly practice what we preach about reading for pleasure and quitting when we’re not enjoying it. Though we are getting better.

But Gilded by Marissa Meyer, I wanted to talk about because while I did quit this around the halfway mark (57%, I believe) and I borrowed the audiobook from the library and had this on double speed (something I rarely do), I do think some of you guys will really like this book. I mean, this is a fairy tale reimagining of Rumpelstiltskin – I already know most of you guys love a good fairy tale retelling.

Serilda is a miller’s daughter who can’t stop telling stories (well, she was cursed by the god of stories and lies). When she is caught out one night, she tells a story to keep herself from getting killed – that she’s out to collect straw so she can turn to gold, she catches the attention of the Erlking who, every full moon, takes her to his castle and demands to spin straw into gold – or be killed for lying. Desperate, Serilda accidently summons a mystery of a young man who can spin straw into gold – for a price. Magic always demand payment. As the two spend time together, they form a connection and wonder why the Erlking wants so much gold. For the Erlking has plans… dark plans and Serilda has found herself at the heart of it.

Now, in theory, this is right up my street. A YA fairytale retelling (with just enough darkness at its heart and yet, a romance to keep things light) with hints of other fairytales (I keep thinking this had dashes of Beauty and the Beast thrown in, and strong Once Upon A Time vibe) with strong writing and other elements that should have ticked all my boxes.

And yet… I quit the book around the halfway mark. Not because the book is bad – it isn’t, and I do think most of you guys will enjoy reading this. But, the book had two issues that didn’t work for me as reader and now that I’m typing, I now realise that these were the same issues I had when I tried to read another retelling from this author a few years, Heartless – a reimagining of Alice in Wonderland’s Queen of Heart: book felt too long and repetition.

I get why: most of the story takes place on night of the full moon so, of course, there’s going to be repetition over how the characters react, their actions and whatnot – hence the issue of length. The chapters of the full moon have to be long and with the story going in the direction it’s going, it’s needs that length. However, this is the first in a series (duology?), so if these issues are here now with me, I sense I’m going to have these issues in the next book. Which then leads to a question every reader ask them when starting a new series: do I want/need to continue?

For me, the answer’s no. But I have read several reviews from book bloggers I like and respect, and their answer is yes. Not every book is going to work for every reader.

But I did try to read this, and there are elements I do like and I will recommend this book to readers. It’s just that this book didn’t work for me, sadly.

DNF Isn't A Bad Thing

We've known each other long enough, haven't we dear reader? We all know that I quit books/audiobooks more ruthlessly than I did when I started book blogging over ten years ago. 

Before I started book blogging, I would quit books or put them down and return to them at a much later date. Then I started book blogging and for several years, every book I started I would finish. No matter if I liked it or hated it. And it's only been in the last few years I have been more comfortable to quit/Do Not Finish (DNF). I would use the rule "Life's Too Short To Read Crap Books" (bit misguided phrasing, as every person's opinion is different. One person "this book's sucks" is another "this book's amazing!", hence why I changed the wording for a year or two, then completely dropped it) to help. And now, I am a bit more ruthless (maybe too ruthless) in quitting a story if something doesn't work with me or not enjoying it. 

There is no right or wrong reason to quit a book. Same goes with TV shows, podcasts and films. During the UK lockdowns of COVID-19 here in the UK, the Other Half and I would start TV shows and then, quite quickly, quit them for one reason or another. And that wasn't a big deal. It happens. Maybe it wasn't the show we were expecting, or we didn't gel with the writing/actors/tone or, in most cases, one of us liked the show and the other didn't. The same goes with books and films and every other form of media. Not everyone is going to like it. It happens. 

I have talked more openly on my Twitter (@PewterWolf) and my Goodreads (goodreads.com/pewterwolf) on why I DNF a book. It's a number of reasons. But there's always a fear to explain why you DNFed and then, the guilt of DNFing. Like you failed and it's shameful. And it shouldn't be. Sometimes, you like a story and others, you don't. No guilt. 

But yes, I quit books. I quit for one reason or another. Some books I DNF because I hated the book. Others I DNF because, while I see the book's qualities, I just don't get along with the book. The latter is the main reason lately why I quit books several books in the past few months. I get why people love them and I know I will push them onto people, but they didn't really work for me in that moment (yes, there are one or two I do think I was in wrong headspace so might try them again in the future). 

I might write a post about some titles I DNF in the future. Might being the word here as I don't want to write a post and it read like I am destroying them. I have reasons and most of them are "It's not you, book, it's me!" (pacing is slow, character issues, triggers, etc). 

DNFing a book isn't a bad thing. It's not admitting defeat, but knowing that the book isn't for you and putting it down so you can find a story that is more for you. But for a long time, bookish content makers have treated DNFing a book as a bad thing, a thing of shame, and it shouldn't. If a story doesn't make you happy, you know yourself the best and you can put it down if it doesn't work for you. Reading should be fun and a pleasure and I think, sometimes, we forget that... 

DNF with pride 💪🏻 if you're not liking a book, don't be ashamed to put it down!

— Beth // Bookish Content Creator (@BooksNest) May 18, 2021

Believathon 2019 - DNFing North Child

I don’t normally talk about books I’ve DNF. I usually have the attitude of “This is my blog and I want you guys to discover books that make you happy, so I’m going to talk about books that I’ve read that make me happy.” and “Life is too short to read books that don’t work for you” (I shorten it in the past to “Life’s too short to read crap books” as a crap book for you could be a OMFG-I-Love-This-Book read). 

But this book I want to talk to you about for several reasons. One: I was reading it for the Believathon readaton. Two: I know you guys love this books and this proves my point that you should read widely when it comes to book bloggers/booktube/etc opinions as EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT AND HAS DIFFERENT TASTES AND OPINIONS!!! And Three: this book is interesting and I can see why this book didn’t work for me but could work for you, dear reader. 

So, North Child by Edith Pattou. Or East, if you live in the US. 

Quick summary of the book before I sink my teeth into chatting about it. 

Told from several points of view, we follow Rose, an unusual girl. She was born facing north and children born facing north travel far from home and will embark on a dangerous adventure. After she and her family make a pact with a enormous white bear, Rose finds herself travelling to a myserteous castle that holds a dark enchantment… and that’s not even half the story… 

This is a weird book and proves that different countries have very different attutides. In the UK, this book is called North Child and can be found the children/middle grade section of libraries and bookshops. In the US, this is called East and can be found in the YA section. But reading what I have read, I understand why the book is placed in both sections. 

Now, everyone I know in the book blogger/booktube world really likes this book and I completely get it. The writing is solid, the story is sweeping, everything about this is good. 

And yet… here I am. DNFing it and talking about it. Why? Because everyone has a different opinion and, you know what, that’s okay. It’s fine. We can get along nicely and be friends, right?

Ok, stay with me here as I’m kinda upset that I got to this realisation of DNFing (why is it I say I will be more brutal on DNFing stuff and sometimes, I am ruthless, and other times, it breaks my heart?). Because for the first few pages, I was on board. I was there! I saw what you all saw. 

But then, around the 250 page mark, something happened and I lost it. I got bored with it. The story dragged and I just couldn’t find the energy nor willpower to read it. I was shocked that a few days ago, I was invested with this story and these characters but now, now I just couldn’t bring myself to care. I was bored, oh so bored!

Maybe it’s my mood, I told myself. It has been stressful at work and I can’t settle to the audiobooks I requested from local library or I bought months ago. I just need time. And so, I kept reading, and that feeling was still there. 

Then, the weekend just gone, I sat down to read it. I got three pages in, then picked up Twitter and, after having a chat with a fellow book blogger who was curious to read, I went “Have mine.” and I felt ok doing that. I was fine DNFing it because someone else was going to read this and love this book as it’s more up their street than mine. 

And that’s ok. This didn’t work for me, but at least I tried to read it and at least I knew when to put the book down and get out. 

Although, I got out a little late. The next book I was planning to read was linked to a book event I’m going to in the next few weeks and, because of this, I don’t feel ready now to read it so, gonna pick up something else instead.

This is why you have to do you when it comes to reading. Reading should be a pleasure, it should be fun and you have to do you. If you want to read books to the end, do that. You want to read this or that and DNF something that doesn’t work for you, do it! Reading should be fun and you should do you. 

Library Audiobooks DNFs

As you guys know, I canceled my Audible subscription earlier this year and switched to my local libraries BorrowBox app as I love a good audiobook. What’s surprised me in using it is, while the back catalogue isn’t as vast as Audible, how I pick certain audiobooks on whim. Sometimes, there are a raging success and others… not so much. And when I don’t get on with these audiobooks, I have no guilt in returning them to the library, no matter if I have listened to a few hours or just a few minutes. 

And because I want to show you guys that I am trying to branch out and try new genres, I thought I would show some of my DNF library audiobooks.

Another DNF Blogpost

I feel like, at leats once a year, I write a blog post about DNF-ing a book. In the past, I have been open about struggling to quit a book/audiobook/eBook since I have become a book blogger (if you want to call me that). 

I feel that, in recent years, I have got a hell of a lot better quitting stories that don’t grip/excite or bring joy to my reading pleasure. Whether that would be within this first 10-15% of the story or, in one case, a good 75ish% in. If there is a gif to describe my attitude, it would a “thank u, next” kinda situation. 

As many of us book bloggers have said in one form or another, life’s too short! 

Sometimes, I would chat about why I DNF’ed a story. Sometimes, it would spark a conversation I want to discuss or rant over. Otherwise, I just want to explain myself as the story I am DNF-ing is such a big book in blogsphere. 

But this time… things are a little different.

Allow me to explain. The title I am talking about is Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. And I have read this once before, back in 2011 when, for some unknown reason, the UK publisher decided to call it The Gathering Dark. 

I read it back then as I was still young and new to book blogger and I wanted to read everything publishers gifted me as I wanted them to like me (I had a big fear back then that if I wrote a bad or negative review, they would remove me from their blogger list and blacklist me. I wish I can go back to younger blog me and tell him that this would never happen). And I read it. I did struggle, but I did read it. And it was ok. Not awful, but not wonderful - it was just ok to me. Making me an odd creature as nearly everyone else who read it loved it. 

Fast forward to now and, with Leigh’s upcoming adult novel, Ninth House, coming out at the end of the year, I kinda wanted to reread this. Just in case my opinions of it have changed. So, when I did a Goodreads poll to decide what I should read next, Shadow and Bone won (I honestly thought Poison Study by Maria V Synder was going to win). So I started to read… and I fell into The Trap. 

I thought it was ok, but soon realised that my opinions on the story hadn’t changed. And I kept going “Maybe if I read one more chapter, maybe my opinion will changed”. So I kept pushing myself a little further, just in case…

Till, at 37% of the book, I just went “I’m done.” and popped it on my DNF shelf on Goodreads. And I feel better over doing this. Basically, I didn’t trust my gut when it first went “You’re not enjoying this, you should stop”. 

You see, opinions and tastes change. That’s fine. And sometimes, rereading a book is a good thing because, if your opinions change or not, at least you know and you can move forward knowing yourself a little better. But you know yourself. If your gut is saying “Nope” to whatever you are reading, it is ok to hold fire on reading. 

So yes, this is another DNF post. And yes, I DNFed something else. And you know what… I’m not going to feel guilty about doing this now. I want to read things that make me happy and if I have to DNF some stories along the way, so be it! 

DNFing The Last Mrs Parrish

I don't like DNFing books or ebooks. I feel like I'm betraying the story and the work the authors put in.

But sometimes, dear reader, things happen either within the book or in the real world that makes you go "I don't want to read this" and so, you put it down and walk away.

And that's, sadly, what I did with The Last Mrs Parrish late last year. Yes, I have held-off telling you guys about it for a while as I wondered if I should tell you guys or not.

Now, before I go any further, mini disclaimer (not sure why am putting this down as it's an unspoken rule on this blog): everyone is allowed to have different tastes. Just because I didn't like this, doesn't mean you won't. You might like this so don't let me "I stopped here and here's why" put you off this book if you want to read this.

Now, before we go forward, let me explain that, I liked the writing and the good chunk of the story. The way I described this to my Other Half was its "bats*** addictive". I mean, why the main character was doing what she was doing and the level of crazy she was putting into her master plan was really compelling. It read a bit like a crazy US drama like Scandal or How To Get Away With Murder. I gobbled it up.

So, I hear you ask, why did you DNF this if it was addictive reading? Well... all throughout the first part of the book, there were tiny breadcrumbs that the perfect marriage - the marriage the main character wanted for herself - wasn't so perfect. That all that glittered wasn't gold. I spotted them very quickly so when we got into the second part, told from the wife's point of view, I was aware and went "Ok, there's might be a physical/emotional abuse here, so be on your guard". And while I saw it, something else happened. An element of another trigger warning happened - a sexual assault - and I won't read that. I have things I will not read and rape is one of them. That is a no go for me.

As soon as I saw that, I went "I'm done. I enjoy the writing, but I don't like this. I'm done."

And what's worse, is that I was a good way into the book. 63%. But I feel that I couldn't enjoy this the way I wanted to now this element was add. I know it was going to be addressed as this book got compared to Gone Girl, The Girl On The Train and Big Little Lies. But this wasn't for me.

So, for my own self, I put it down and decided to read something completely opposite from it.

Now, here's the thing. I liked the writing, I like the crazy within the plot and I feel that some of you guys will like it. I mean, I had the authors on my blog a few weeks ago, that's how much I liked this writing. But I had to take a step back from it due to that and read something else.

Not sure if this puts me in the publisher's bad books but reading should be fun and if you want to read this, go forth and read this!

DNFing There's Someone In Your House

Surprise PICK MY NEXT NETGALLEY READ!!! (Pics of covers in next tweet to help you out!)

— Andrew Hall (@PewterWolf) August 27, 2017

After I binge-read Doctor Jekyll and Mr Seek (review for that not coming out just yet, I decided to ask Twitter what I should read. I wanted something fun, addictive and edge of your seat. You guys voted for this (though it was a very VERY close call. It changed in the last two minutes as it was a two-way tie!).

And I read. I kinda wanted to read this as soon as I heard of it. A nod to slasher-horror movies by an author who wrote Anna And The French Kiss. Ok, that's going to be an interesting fish-out-of-water read. So when you guys voted for it, I was surprised but was "Yes!" at it. It's outside my (and the author's) comfort zone and I wanted something fun and different.

And I read. I got to the first 15/18% into my NetGalley and I realised that this wasn't the book for me.  And seeing that I don't like lie to hiding this from you guys (I want you to know that it's ok to go "Ok, this book isn't for me" or "You know, I am not in the mood for this now. Let me put it down and come back at a later date"), I better tell you why I'm leaving this.

I just didn't click. I don't know if it's the voice or what was happening in tone but, when I started this, I thought it was going to be Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer. I expected it to be tense. I might not be a horror fan, but I like a good psychological scare. But it didn't come across that way. The prologue felt like it fitted this, but it didn't go as far as I was expecting. In fact, we don't see anything. Hell, I'm not even sure we saw the character realise that something awful was about to happen. Then, the genre switches and it went romanic. I get why this switch happened - to build tense and to make us care for these characters - but it felt like a misstep.

The one thing I do like in this is diversity. That is the main thing I approve of, but this book feels like a misstep in advertising. It doesn't feel like a horror/slasher, like I was lead to believe, but a romantic with a serial killer edge.

Now, I am not saying this book is bad. I have read reviews where people have raved about this book. Loved it. But, it's just not for me at this moment in time. And that's ok. Just because I didn't click with it doesn't mean you won't either. You might read it and go "This is good. What was that Andrew guy talking about?!". If you like this, good for you. Read what makes you happy.

Am going to put this down and move on. I will return to this one day when I'm ready. But not yet. I want to blitz my NetGalley eProofs in next few weeks as I can focus on Fate of the Tearling, Origin and The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage at the end of September/throughout October... 

DNFing (For Now) Rubyfruit Jungle

As you guys are probably aware, I wanted to read an LGBTQIA+ book last month. I had big plans for this, but Invasion of the Tearling threw those plans and my plans for this month kinda out of the window.

But I wanted to read a LGBT+ book before I got attacking my Advance Reader Copies and eProofs (my kindle is getting a little angry at me that I haven't read it in MONTHS!!!). And the lovely people at Penguin Platform sent me two books to promote their #PrideBookClub - Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Rubyfruit Jungle. Now, I knew nothing about Rubyfruit Jungle so decided to go into that.

And I stopped after a few chapters. I didn't click with the voice of the main character and... well...  after everything that I have been reading lately (the word am going to use is "heavy") and all the news and awfulness in the world (I fear for humanity and am terrified for future generations), I decided very quickly to put it down and read something fun, silly and a beach/candy-floss read.

And this is ok. It's ok to go "You know what? I'm not in the right frame of mind for this. I still want to read this so, am going to put this on hold and read other things before I come back." And I am planning to go back to this before the year's out. Or I will try.

But this is on hold, for now. Now, to read fun stories and listen to music full blast while I do so!

DNFing Caraval

Ok, you all! PICK MY NEXT READ!!! Have fun!

— Andrew Hall (@PewterWolf13) May 6, 2017

So, as you can see from my Twitter poll as part of my "Pick My Next Read", Caraval by Stephanie Garber won (which is surprise as, after reading Queen of the Tearling [review here, FYI], I thought you guys would pick The Bone Season or the sequel, The Invasion of the Tearling). So, on Sunday, I started this... 

So, I have made it a rule now to chat to you guys on if I ever DNF a book. I don't want you guys to read my blog and go "Oh, he's always so positive about books he write on his blog", which is true as I feel it is important to enjoy what you read. Reading should be a pleasure, something happy and should make you happy. Life is too short to read crap books. 

So, it pains me a lot that I have decided to put Caraval in my DNF pile. It pains me as I had such hopes for this. 

Now, before I go further, I am not saying this book is awful. I'm not. I have read and watch a ton of reviews where people are singing this book's praises. And I have read and watch a ton of reviews where people are more judgemental. This book is very much a marmite read, from people's reactions (I always like these type of books, truth be told). 

But I have decided to put this on my DNF (for now) pile. Notice I say, for now. Will explain in a tick. 

But my reasons for putting the brakes on this reading experience. The first was I wasn't enjoying reading this book. I am still in that heavy-fantasy reading mood. I want to read fantasy that has an edge or a bite to it. Hence why I kinda wanted to read The Bone Season or Invasion of the Tearling (as well as a few others). It's very difficult when you're in that headspace, I find. To jump from one extreme of one genre to the other end of that genre. It's jarring. 

There are other reasons linked to my brain going "Where's the meat" to this story. But the main thing I thought while I was reading the first 100-odd pages was "This would have been an awesome middle-grade book". I kept thinking that this was written as a middle-grade story - the style and the ideas just fitted middle-grade for some reason in my head - but, somewhere along the way of writing/edit, they tried to YA it by adding a possible love interest (it felt like it was going to go down the insta-love/lust route). Why, oh why, do we need another insta-love story in YA novels? I thought we were done with this troupe!  

Now, I do want to come back to this. I'm not DNFing this completely. There is potential here for me liking this story. I want to see what happens as people have opinions on this and I think, once am out of my heavy-fantasy reading mind space, I might like this. So, I'm not DNFing it completely (not now, anyway. Ask me in a few months time as I might change my mind), but I'm in no rush to return to it. Maybe when the second book in the series is published next year (this might be a series/duology)... 

So, I'm putting this on hold and, as I don't want to veto this vote, am going to try and read the runner-up of the poll, The Bone Season. Hopefully, this will go down better for me. 

DNFing Guarding Mr Fine

As you guys are aware, I don't DNF that often. But am become far more ruthless with deciding to DNF something or putting it back on TBR pile (physical or kindle) and returning to it at a later date. Like I say to you guys, life is too short to read crap books (well, crap in your opinion. Everyone's opinion is different and, now more than ever, we need to be respectful and kind to one another). This, sadly, is a DNF for me.

Now, like always, I am not saying this is a bad book. This just isn't for me. I have seen reviews on Goodreads of this book and people loving the very Not-Safe-For-Work of it (for those curious, we have swearing with the first paragraph of chapter one and we have gay sex in chapter two. It's like the first episode of Torchwood when it was first launched on BBC Two and BBC Three. It did this so viewers knew that this Doctor Who spinoff is not for children). This is one of the reasons I requested this on NetGalley. It's adult LGBT romance with a thriller edge to it - what more could I ask for when trying to branch out and try new things?!

Now, while I am all up for adult reading, I have two reasons for DNFing this (and one is more important than the other).

The first is this book is the third in a series and I believed that this could be read as a standalone. While you probably could read this as a standalone, within chapters three and four (I gave it four chapters so around 20% of the story), you had a lot of important thrown at the reader which might be linked to the previous stories. Maybe I'm wrong and I'm jumping the gun on this, but feeling overwhelmed, information-wise, isn't the greatest start.

The second and (probably) my main reason why I DNF is the I kept getting confused/muddled over the main characters. One is Seth and the other is Rick. You think I would keep them separate and know which one is a CIA agent and which one is the US consul general. Nope. I kept getting them confused. I kept having to stop and go "Which one is Seth again? Is he Rick? Do I need to go back and reread?". I don't mind getting confused over plot (this is a thriller after all), but characters...? Nope - not going to do that. I want to enjoy the thriller/romance and this was going to be ruined with me, double checking who's who! This isn't an episode of The Blacklist or Line of Duty, where I mistrust every suspect bought to me!

So, am putting this on my DNF list and moving on with my day. And, hopefully, I will be reading something gripping by the time you read this... Hopefully...

DNFing Red Queen

As you guys know, I'm not a big lover of DNFing stuff. But, I am becoming more ruthless when I decide that am going to cut my loses with something I'm not clicking or loving.

And sadly, Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard is the latest.

Now, before most of you who love this series grab your flaming torches and pitchforks and come after me, let me just say I am not saying this is a bad book. It isn't. I know most of you guys really like this series and I get why from what I listened to. But I just didn't click with it. Or I did, but I would lose interest with it.

And it my main reason why I stopped. I just lost interest.

Red Queen had moments I really liked and would go "This is going to be good/interesting/how unique" but then something else would happen and I would go "That's very cliche/urgh". I would keep jumping back and forth between these two feelings.

And then, something exciting happened. At first, I was "Now, we're cooking" but within a chapter, I lost interest. I just lost it... and I'm not sure why.

I think it's a mix of things: I kept flip-flopping over how I felt over the story, finding time to listen to the audiobook, private life went a bit loopy as did work. But after a while, I listened to it and thought "I've lost it. I've lost that spark to keep going with this. So... why am I pushing myself with this when I have a ton of other audiobooks (which are for review and I bought myself) to listen to?"

So, that's why, if you have been following me on Goodreads/Pinterest, it's move from "Currently Reading" to "DNF". I might return to it one day. Maybe. But not yet.