Monday, December 31, 2018

DNF&Y [12]

DNF&Y is used to explain why I gave up on certain books, and what about them just didn't work for me. What I disliked about a book might be something you love, so it helps to share your thoughts even when they're negative! If you would like additional information, please click on the DNF&Y tab at the top. If you want to join, you can link up at the bottom!

There were no DNFs for me this month! Yay! I love it when that happens. What about you? Were there any books you just couldn't finish this month? Let me know!

A few of my December favorites:
  1. Love ร  la Mode by Stephanie Kate Strohm ⋆⋆⋆⋆
  2. Phoenix Unbound (Fallen Empire, #1) by Grace Draven ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆
  3. The Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight Trilogy, #1) by Katherine Arden ⋆⋆⋆⋆
  4. Firefly (#1) by Greg Pak ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆
*Share your DNF&Y post! Please leave the direct link to your DNF&Y post and not just your blog's URL. Thank you for participating and happy reading!

35 comments:

  1. Whoo hoo! I love this! DNFs make me sad. I must prefer reading about books you enjoyed. Glad you like Love a la Mode. I am a HUGE Strohm fan, and her books are always so cute and fun, Love a la Mode included.

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    1. I prefer reviewing books I've enjoyed! Unfortunately, that's not always the case. It's one of the things I like about this post -- all the DNFs in once place, so it's like ripping off a Band-Aid.

      Love a la Mode was wonderful! It was also my first Strohm book, so I'm looking forward to reading her others. Which book would you suggest starting with?

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  2. YAY to no DNFs. I can't wait to get to Love a la Mode.

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    1. Woohoo! I love it when this feature is empty. ;) Love a la Mode was a really fun, enjoyable read. I hope you're able to get to it soon! <3

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  3. Yay for no DNF's! Hope you have a wonderful New Year and less DNF's than this year. ;)

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    1. Less DNFs is always great! It means the books are good. ;) I hope you New Year is lovely! <3

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  4. I don't have any DNF's this year but I cam close a few times.

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    1. Wow! That's awesome! Are you really selective about what you read?

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  5. I had 8 DNFs for the year, but none in December. :)

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    1. Eight isn't too bad! I think I had seven in a single month once -- oof!

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  6. Yay to a great month of reading! I enjoyed Love a la Mode, too!

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    1. Yes! Love a la Mode had wonderful characters and a sweet story. I really hope we see more books with the same setting and different characters. :)

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  7. It's a good month when you don't have to put anything down because it just isn't working... The Bear and The Nightingale has been on my TBR for a long time now and I just haven't gotten to it yet... it's reassuring the number of fantastic things I've heard!

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    1. The Bear and the Nightingale was wonderful! The mythology was interesting and was explained in a very beautiful way. The beginning is a tad slow, so stick with it! Once Vasya gets older, things really start to pick up, but there are a lot of important details in the beginning.

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  8. Hooray for no DNF's! That makes for a good reading month. I very rarely DNF but it still happens. I did have one in November with This Is Kind of an Epic Love Story. I had such high hopes. *womp womp*

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    1. Bummer! I've seen some meh reviews for This is Kind of an Epic Love Story (what a mouthful, yeah?), so it's still on my list. I'm just not itching to read it right now. If there's an audiobook, I might try that and see how it goes. I'm sorry it didn't work for you! Are you finding more time to read now that you've settled in?

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    2. Eh, it's been one thing after another. Settling into the new house, decorating, Thanksgiving, Christmas, working full time... gah! Hopefully things will fall into more of a steady routine now that the holidays are over. :)

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    3. I've forgotten what a steady routine looks like! Hah! I just try to read when I can, and I'm always thankful for audiobooks -- even when it's only a few minutes in the car. <3

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  9. No DNF's- yay! Always a good thing. :) I didn't read much in December due to holiday stuff, but maybe in January I'll pick up the pace. :)

    Happy New Year!!!

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    1. I always read and blog less in December! There's just too much going on! And this year we had the move, so I really haven't had much time to read. I'm sure things will start to settle down soon, though these kids don't make it easy. ;) I hope your holidays were wonderful! Happy New Year!

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  10. Ugh the dreaded DNF. They make me sad. I haven't read any on your list but I have heard of a few.
    2017 and 2018 brought me the same DNF lol. I tried to read the book twice before finally giving up. It was Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King. He's one of my favorites so I didn't want to give up, but I could not make it past a few chapters each time.

    Happy New Year and happy reading in 2019!

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    1. Stephen King is always hit-or-miss for me! It's been a few years since I've tried one of his books, but I do think they translate into good movies. The Dark Tower was his, yes? I'm sorry Mr. Mercedes didn't work for you! Hopefully your next King will be better. :)

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  11. I wasn't able to finish The Knowing by Sharon Cameron in December, so I'm going to read it in January (hopefully)!

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    1. Hmm -- I haven't heard of that one! I hope you're able to finish it this month! Happy New Year! <3

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  12. That's so exciting you didn't have any DNF last month, yay you! I don't know if I dnf per se......I'll try new authors through Kindle Unlimited and if I don't like the book in the first few pages or 10% at the most then I stop. So maybe that is a DNF lol. If so, then I had 5 last month which is a record high. Usually I'm super picky about what books I pick up, but I'm attending a book signing in February. There's 25 authors attending and I'm trying to read a book by each of them. A few of them aren't what I would normally pick up. But I hoped they would work and unfortunately they didn't.
    Jen @ Star-Crossed Book Blog

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    1. Haha -- I would call those DNFs! You started the books, but then decided not to finish them for one reason or another. ;) I think my highest DNF month was 7 or 8. I could be wrong! Sometimes the books aren't clicking, and I don't want to spend my time reading something I'm not enjoying. I've started being more and more picky when it comes to review requests, but it's always hit-or-miss. I hope you have a lovely time at the book signing! Those are always so much fun! I recommend a rolling cart (if you don't already have one). I stupidly used a backpack last time, and I still have phantom pains in my lower back. <3 I'm sorry some of your recent reads aren't working for you, but there's always the next book!

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    2. Thank you so much! I actually got one when I went to RT last year and it was a lifesaver! It's amazing how heavy books can be lol. With Rachel Van Dyken being at this signing I'm probably bringing at least 10 books for just her to sign lol.

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    3. Nice! I brought way too many books to the Origin Event, so my back was aching halfway through. I should have known better after attending BEA for two years (many years ago), but I guess having children made me forgetful, haha. I thought I could do it (and in heels!) and was sorely disappointed when it didn't work out. I just wanted to sit down and not move, so the two hour drive home was actually a relief!

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    4. I don't think I've read anything by Rachel Van Dyken… what would you recommend?

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    5. OH I WORE HEELS TOO! When I went to RT. Love it lol! I'm probably going to wear some comfortable boots to the signing in February since it's always freezing that time of year in San Francisco. But heels and boots are just so cute, sigh.

      So I really, really loved Dirty Exes by RVD. But here's the thing....it involves a love triangle. And sometimes that's the kiss of death in a book if it's not done correctly imo. But this one? I liked both guys. That has never happened before. And then I settled on one and hoped that's how the book would work out. So if you want something emotional, a little different and laugh out funny then give that one a try. I know Chelsea loved The Matchmaker's Playbook and I'm probably going to pick that one up next. :)

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    6. Hah! My feet were killing me on the drive home! Thankfully there were no blisters, haha. Yes! Boots! I love fall and winter, because it means I can dive into my boot stash. ;) Hmm -- I'm always iffy about love triangles, but I'm not completely opposed to them. Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series had a good one! I never could choose between Puck and Ash! I'll see if my library has a copy of Dirty Exes. I've heard of The Matchmaker's Playbook! Let me know how it is. <3

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    7. For Iron Fey I was 100% Ash. I loved him and his seemingly cold heart the minute he stepped on the page lol. Will do!

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    8. I really liked Puck! He was her friend long before she knew Ash, and his feelings developed more naturally. Ash was cold (hah) and evasive, but he did grow on me towards the end of the first book. I'm 100% okay with her choices, but there was always something about Puck that I found really intriguing. Puck and Ash had some of the best banter!

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  13. I want to DNF the ARC I'm reading right now, but I don't DNF review books. ๐Ÿ˜

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    1. Why not? I'm curious! I don't continue reading anything that I'm not enjoying, and that includes my review copies. It's why I do this feature! I only want to read books that I like. I always post my reviews and then send the author/publisher an email explaining why the book didn't work for me, but that I also appreciated being allowed to read an early copy of their book. They've been understanding so far!

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