DNF pile

I wrote a post about negative reviews, and how I don't review if I don't finish, and a very wise blogger pointed out that knowing what a blogger doesn't like can be valuable to publishers and authors too. I think that it also helps my readers build trust that I am not just slapping good ratings on everything I read. I have a knack for picking what I will lack based on synopsis and reviews, but that even fails. Then another blogger mentioned she did a did not finish post and I thought it was a great idea. So, here we go:

Anything to Have You by Paige Harbison

Nothing should come between best friends, not even boys. ESPECIALLY not boys.
Natalie and Brooke have had each other's backs forever. Natalie is the quiet one, college bound and happy to stay home and watch old movies. Brooke is the movie—the life of every party, the girl everyone wants to be.
Then it happens—one crazy night that Natalie can't remember and Brooke's boyfriend, Aiden, can't forget. Suddenly there's a question mark in Natalie and Brooke's friendship that tests everything they thought they knew about each other and has both girls discovering what true friendship really means.

Source: Harlequin Teen via Netgalley

I did not like how Brooke talked about Aiden at the beginning and couldn't figure out why she would stay in a relationship with him unless it was a plot device.
I only had Natalie's point of view and I didn't like her. This would have been pivotal because I am going to have to love the main character to get over her sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend.
I knew this was a perfect storm for disappointment.

stopped at: 2%

That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of this books and what you loved about it.

Positive Reviews:
Electively Paige
Dandelion Wine




Second up:

Blindfolded Innocence (Innocence #1) by Alessandra Torre

source: netgalley

I got to 10% and it just wasn't for me. There was no hint of romance yet except the "prologue" and she talked entirely too much about the monotony of her first week at the new office. There wasn't anything extraordinary about her to make me NEED to finish this book or invest in her character. 

That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of this books and what you loved about it.

Positive Reviews:
Must read books or die
Passion Book reviews






Song of the Fireflies by J.A. Redmerski

New York Times bestselling author J.A. Redmerski brings us a stunning and heart-wrenching new novel about a couple who find each other in their darkest moment.
Since they were kids, Elias Kline and Brayelle Bates have been inseparable. When Bray moves to South Carolina, separating the two for the first time, they both at last realize that their innocent childhood friendship has developed into something much more. So when Bray finally returns to Georgia—and to Elias—things between them couldn’t be more perfect…until one fateful night changes everything.
Desperate not to go to prison for a terrible accident, Elias and Bray decide to run. As they try to make the most of their freedom, the two find themselves relying on a rebellious group of people who tempt the duo into a wild and daring new life. But they can’t run from their troubles forever.
As the consequences of their past catch up to them, the couple must finally face reality. Even if they can make it through the unimaginable, Elias knows the truth about Bray’s painful history, and in the end he may not be able to save Bray from herself…

stopped at: 8%

I wanted to read this one because I enjoyed her other new adult series the edge of never, and I really connected with the characters and the romance.
But unfortunately, I didn't connect so much with these characters. I don't think for the beginning I got enough of Bray's point of view to like her, she just seemed to uncaring and like she didn't care about Elias. I know she and him told me it was her past, and she really did care for him, but I was mostly in his head, and saw how much he hurt.
I really wanted to fall in love with Elias as well, but something about his voice and narration didn't do him justice, and he sounded distant.
That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of this books and what you loved about it.

Positive Reviews:
Way Too Hot Books
A Book A Day





 Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

source: Random House

Stopped at page 30

I wanted to read this because I liked the premise of telepathy. Maybe I should have gathered from the cover or synopsis but it was too mean girl type book. I also could NOT get over the "we". I need a main character to connect with, or even two, because I sure love a dual perspective especially the guy and girl from a relationship. But the "we" did this or "we" did that was something else all together, and not the writing style for me. 

It might have even worked if I wasn't thrown all these names at once without an anchor. I couldn't keep the names and the we's and their stories seperate. 

That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of this books and what you loved about it.

Positive Reviews:
Anna from Goodreads
V's Reads

Death Sworn (Death Sworn, #1) Expected publication: March 4th 2014 by Greenwillow source: Sent

Cypess, Leah *

Stopped at Chapter 3
Why?
I didn't connect to Ileni. She was sassy one minute and then seemingly deathly afraid and cowering the next. I didn't really think this was the best starting place, either should have been action or along her journey a little bit so I can get to know her before she is in the cave--which gives me little sense of what this fantasy world is like. It also just seemed too slow getting started and catching my attention, and since I didn't request, I decided to stop.
 That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.

Positive Review:
Eater of Books
Dark Faerie Tales
Fiction Fare

Searching for Beautiful

Dawn, Nyrae *

Stopped at 11% after skimming since 8%
I wanted to read searching for Beautiful because it had all of the elements that I normally love in a story. There is a hint of pregnancy, of loss of a parent, the cute boy next door romance. Unfortunately I just couldn't connect with Brynn. I think that I needed to get a better sense of her character and their relationship instead I think that I was thrown into her story at a really hard time for her, and it was hard to feel for her since I didn't know her.
 I also don't think that the before and after worked for me in this one, I was just getting to get a feel of her and then I see her before the character growth or before the big problems.
 That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.

 Positive reviews:

My Guilty Obsession

Imagine a World

Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira

It begins as an assignment for English class: Write a letter to a dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain because her sister, May, loved him. And he died young, just like May did. Soon, Laurel has a notebook full of letters to people like Janis Joplin, Amy Winehouse, Amelia Earhart, Heath Ledger, and more; though she never gives a single one of them to her teacher. She writes about starting high school, navigating new friendships, falling in love for the first time, learning to live with her splintering family. And, finally, about the abuse she suffered while May was supposed to be looking out for her. Only then, once Laurel has written down the truth about what happened to herself, can she truly begin to accept what happened to May. And only when Laurel has begun to see her sister as the person she was; lovely and amazing and deeply flawed; can she begin to discover her own path.

Publishes in US: April 1st 2014 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux 
Genre: YA contemp
Source: MacMillan
Series? No

Buy it:
IndieBound ›
Amazon ›
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Books-A-Million ›
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Author stalk away: ~site ~twitter ~facebook

Stopped at 5%

    I wanted to read Love Letters to the Dead because it sounded like it would be an emotional story about Laurel healing and figuring out who she was. Besides the cover really catches my eye which doesn't hurt. 

    I guess I was expecting something different though from Love Letters, and it is probably all my fault. I expected maybe a letter here and there, but that is the complete format of the book. And that is not my thing. I have a hard time connecting with Laurel and it felt like she was projecting a voice that really wasn't her, because we tend to put a better foot forward on paper, to someone else, even if they are dead. 

   The obsession with Sky bothered me to, all we had was a glance and his looks. While I will admit I love a man in a leather jacket, there felt like there needed to be more. 

That isn't to say that the writing is poor or the characters are poorly constructed, it's personal on my end.
I'd love to see if you have a great review of any of this books and what you loved about it.

Positive Reviews:
Syncronized Reading
Social Potato