It was me, not you. Okay, maybe a little you. Really, we’re both a little to blame.

2018 was actually the first year I gave myself permission to set aside books that just weren’t working out. Normally, I would push through, because I’m not a quitter. We finish what we start, right?! Well, not last year.

You know what? It was actually extremely freeing. Crazy, right?

I enjoyed reading so much more when I realized I don’t have to finish books that weren’t jiving with me. I can finish a book in a day or two, but if I’m not into it, it can take weeks. How many book hours is that wasted? How many books will I never get to read because I spent six days looking at my Kindle thinking, well, you really should . . . and then going to play a game instead because it was far more interesting?

Still, I spent some time, at least, with all these books, and I feel like I should say something. It wasn’t a bad breakup. I promise, it was mutual.

I also want to point out that these books aren’t necessarily bad. They don’t go around kicking puppies and pushing small children down wells, as far as I know. So my DNFing something doesn’t mean they aren’t worth reading. It just means these books weren’t for me. Not everything is. It’s probably my biggest disappointment in life. I’m still working on getting over it.

✦ Aru Shah and the End of Time ✦

I heard so many good things about this book, and I had loved Roshani Chokshi’s The Star-Touched Queen series. So of course I figured I’d love this. That was sadly not the case.

DNF’d at:

35%

What I enjoyed:

Indian mythology! I don’t read enough books based on this culture. Their myths are so rich, and there’s so much going on in their religion, and I just love it. Also, Subala is a fantastic character who deserves a standalone book, and I totally relate to his exasperation at having to deal with two 12-year-olds.

Fatal flaw:

Could not stand the main character. You know that one friend who always wants to be relevant, so they comment on everything in a conversation, regardless of whether they actually know anything about the topic? That’s what Aru Shah felt like to me. She didn’t strike me much as a real 12-year-old, and the references she made felt … clunky. The character seemed a bit all over the board. Plus, not a whole lot happened? Which seems weird, given the world and the fact that everyone might potentially die. It just didn’t feel dangerous or pressing or particularly exciting to me.

✦ The Revolution of Jack Frost ✦

What this boiled down to was really a difference in expectations. Reading the summary gave me The Giver dystopian vibes, and I was terribly intrigued about how the myth of Jack Frost played into everything. What I got was … not that.

DNF’d at:

40%

What I enjoyed:

The characters were really fun, and the playful banter was nice. The mystery was also interesting, and I wanted to know what was going on and how the Snowglobe came to be and who was betraying them, etc.

Fatal flaw:

It felt like there were just things … missing. 40% of the way in and I had no idea how Jack Frost came into play in the story except that the main character was, in fact, named Jack. And they were being threatened with perpetual winter, I guess? Since the idea of Jack Frost was a big reason I picked up the book, I was a bit disappointed. The biggest thing that irked me, though, is that I had no idea what was going on with this world. The characters know they’re in a snow globe (it’s what they call the area they’re in), and they know that certain things (what we would call modern technology) used to exist but no longer do in the snowglobe. They also know that sometimes kids randomly show up out of nowhere. But they don’t know that they’re in a controlled container? The world felt so inconsistent, and ultimately, I set it aside because I was confused.

✦ Daughter of Light and Shadows ✦

This was just … not what I expected. The sex scenes were too graphic for my tastes. I’m just really not interested in all that. I guess I was thinking more along the lines of A Star-Touched Queen with the dangerous, almost fated, romance. This was not that.

DNF’d at:

32%

What I enjoyed:

Scottish lore! I live and breathe for Scottish lore. Not only that, but the main character is a witch from a long line of witches, and man, that’s interesting.

Fatal flaw:

I’m really not a big fan of romance tropes, and this had so many of them, including insta-love. Twice. The characters all felt a bit shallow and not fleshed out, and the main character struck me as pretty self-centered. The final straw came after the (too graphic for me, personally) sex scene when she finished and he didn’t and she was like, ah well, we’ll get you next time, because we’re done here. That’s not cool, man. So not cool.

✦ Daddy, Stop Talking!: And Other Things My Kids Want But Won’t Be Getting ✦

I went into this wanting a light, funny read between some pretty dark books. I have no idea who Adam Carolla is, but it looked like it would be good. In the end, it just wasn’t my sort of comedy.

DNF’d at:

~10%

What I enjoyed:

There were some things that were funny. I did laugh several times.

Fatal flaw:

It felt less like a comedy book involving funny/sarcastic observations about life and more like a really long rant about how unhappy he was with things that he could 100% change. In one breath, he’d bemoan how ungrateful his kids are, and in the next, he would reward them for that behavior by buying them everything they wanted anyway. He was mad that he worked so hard and his wife didn’t and just went off on vacation with the kids. Well, sounds like you either need a new wife or you need to get on the same page about expectations in the relationship. I got tired of the whining and didn’t particularly find any of it all that funny. Different sense of humor, I suppose.

✦ Shelter in Place ✦

My grandmother loved Nora Roberts, so I picked this up thinking it’d be a nice way to connect with her. It didn’t go quite how I thought it would.

DNF’d at:

~30%

What I enjoyed:

Nora Roberts is really good at creating tension and describing action-packed scenes. The book involves a shooting, and man, those scenes were heart-wrenching and so well done.

Fatal flaw:

The characters all felt like cardboard cutout stereotypes, and I just couldn’t deal with it anymore. I kept trying to push on hoping that they would get better, that maybe after the time skip, they would develop personalities as adults, but it never happened. It may have even got worse.

✦ Stalking Jack the Ripper ✦

Everyone seemed to love this and kept telling me I had to read it. So I did. My opinion seems to be a super unpopular one, but I didn’t love it. I actually kept putting it down and picking something else up, and eventually, I just couldn’t bring myself to pick it up again.

DNF’d at:

36%

What I enjoyed:

Nathanial’s sarcasm was on point. It was pretty impressive. I also love the idea of a heroine who not only enjoys dissecting people but also enjoys fashion. Because for some reason, people seem to think the two can’t coexist?

Fatal flaw:

Oh, these characters. Thomas felt like he was trying to be Sherlock, but he didn’t catch me with that charm. It was repeated many times that he was brilliant, but I didn’t see it. He just felt so unnecessarily arrogant. I didn’t feel all that drawn to Aubrey, either, who was almost as bad. The feminism was pushed a bit heavy-handedly, in my opinion, but at the same time she was decrying being treated as less than for a woman, Aubrey was doing incredibly stupid things that, A, proved she wasn’t nearly as independent/wise as she thought and, B, all the great things that she supposedly did were either accidents or handed to her by a man.

What books did you DNF in 2018 and why? Do you intend to give them another shot at some point, or has that ship sailed?