I try to finish every book I start to read, but sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes it’s impossible. Sometimes books are so badly written that it’s an insult to expect me to waste my very valuable time on them.

Other times the book just isn’t working for me, and it’s a waste of my time when I don’t think the book will get better, and when I don’t think I will start to enjoy it, based on the evidence I’ve already read. If I have faith the book will get better, I’ll finish it.

I generally don’t review books I don’t finish because my time has already been wasted in the reading-then-giving-up part, but I’ve posted before about the first five books I gave up on, and seeing as how I recently abandoned my tenth book since starting this blog, I thought I’d showcase the latest five and mention why it is I gave up on them.

The Zero Stars Books

I should have guessed what with Tom Hiddleston’s somewhat spectacular performance of Loki during the massively popular Thor and Avengers films that the Norse god would have some kind of resurgence/guest starring role in genre fiction, specifically urban fantasy and hopefully not paranormal romance.

Yet although I loved the concept of Susan Krinard’s Mist being regular Valkyrie (not often seen in starring roles) this book and I just didn’t click. I really tried and eventually gave up.

“DNF at 25% therefore no rating.

I was really looking forward to this being a story of ‘just’ a Valkyrie, just a regular non-super-powered immortal, not a secret speshul snowflake in disguise.

I’ve been struggling with wanting to continue this for a whole month, and it’s really not for me. I should stop trying to expand my horizons and go back to young adult.”

I really didn’t want to quit L.T. Getty’s Tower of Obsidian because it was one of the first unsolicited requests I got on this blog, but I struggled through 11% and decided my time was too precious to waste on an unedited book.

“After reaching 11%, I am abandoning this book. I wanted to give it a chance for the plot to kick in, but it is simply not polished enough. Why should I waste my time on something that’s not edited correctly? It’s so poorly done in this novel that I have decided it’s one of three things:

1) This book was not edited.
2) This book was edited, but poorly.
3) This book was edited very well, but the starting manuscript was so bad the editor missed all the other errors.

The errors are most notably the incorrect capitalisation of proper nouns and repeating the same word in a following sentence – or even the same sentence.”

I appear to have misplaced my notes on Lois McMaster Bujold’s Beguilement, (seriously my updates and notes are just gone from GR, wtf?) but I can remember pretty clearly why I abandoned this audio book with a very promising premise, character and narrator, and whose author I have read before and hugely enjoyed.

The love interest’s name is Dag.

Wikipedia informs you uncultured swines that a ‘dag’ is a slang term used in Australia “as an affectionate insult for someone who is, or is perceived to be, unfashionable, lacking self-consciousness about their appearance and/or with poor social skills yet affable and amusing.”

But don’t forge this: “The literal meaning is a dung-caked lock of wool around the hindquarters of a sheep – an abbreviation of “daglock.””

I am sorry, but I just couldn’t read this.

Big Girls Do It better by Jasinda Wilder wasn’t going to be reviewed on the blog because I don’t (usually) review erotica (unless it’s from Netgalley).  I’ve been experimenting with erotica, trying to find something I actually like that stars a real woman (or at least something different to your average ‘tiny little thing’) who isn’t obsessed with being dominated by enormous men. I’ve failed so far, but this is the  first one I actually abandoned due to incompetent writing.

“Certainly the worst written of the erotic novellas or shorts I’ve tried. So poorly written I can’t actually tell what’s happening. There is a difference between brevity and poor technique. Pity, because a mouthy plus size gal was just what I was after.”

I then go on to give some examples as to why I gave up because although I’ve read some bad erotica, I’ve not read any that was written in such a confusing manner.

See the examples on my Goodreads review here.

I mostly read Young Adult fiction but I like to spice it up every now and then and try some grown-up stuff, especially since some people don’t approve of a gal in her twenties reading fiction with a teen audience in mind. I’ve been reading some good free werewolf erotica so I thought I’d try Rhyannon Byrd’s Dark Wolf Running, an adult werewolf romance.

But there’s a reason I try to avoid adult fiction. A lot of it is inherently sexist. Some of it is just poorly written. I have no patience with books that aren’t well written.

“Abandoned at 42%.

See updates [on GR] to indicate why I was having such a problem with this novel.

In my opinion it is better for me personally to DNF a book I’m not enjoying rather than force myself to finish it and give it 1 star. It’s better for both the reader and the author.

Any naysayers can exit stage right.”

I think it’s time I gave up on adult romance for good.

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