Hi, lovelies! I haven’t done this in a while, but that’s mostly because I didn’t really have a significant list of books that I DNF’d last year. But this year, I’ve been pretty ruthless with my DNF’ing and I actually have a long list to share. I don’t really like to talk trash about books, but I thought it would be fun to share what books I started and chose not to finish. These books won’t really be on any other lists or any of my stats, so I thought I’d give one post of books I didn’t like in 2021.
Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Klune
I was really bored by this story. After loving his 2020 release, I was excited about this book. The premise sounded interesting, but I was bored and genuinely didn’t like the main character.
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
I honestly tried so hard to read this one. I got an eARC from NetGalley and tried to read it three separate times. I also tried to listen to the audiobook after the book was published and I just wasn’t invested in the story.
The Last Graduate by Naomi Novik
After only sort of liking the first book, I thought I’d give this one a try because I did actually really like the audiobook narrator. But this story felt almost identical to the first book and I definitely didn’t like that book enough to essentially read it twice.
Shadowsong by S. Jae-Jones
After loving the first book in this duology, I was pretty surprised to find that I just didn’t care at all about anything that was happening in the sequel.
Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things by Margie Fuston
I really wanted to love this book but it just wasn’t holding my interest. I borrowed it from my library and ran out of time to finish it. I didn’t care enough to renew it. I might pick it up again for spooky season next year, but this year it just wasn’t holding my interest.
Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I hated both of the main characters a surprising amount. I wasn’t going to suffer through a story about characters I didn’t care about at all.
I Am Margaret Moore by Hannah Capin
I made it like 30% into this eARC from NetGalley and I just had no clue what was going on. After reading some reviews and seeing that many readers felt the same way and that it never got less confusing, I chose not to finish the book.
The Push by Ashley Audrain
I DNF’d this book around the 200 pages mark. There’s a scene where a baby dies and it was horrible. But we live the mothers grief and that was just too much for me. I’m currently pregnant, so the story overall was having a negative impact on my mental health and I made the choice to DNF even thought the story and writing absolutely had me hooked. Shout out to my sister in law who gave me all the spoilers about the rest of the book and answering all my questions that I still had.
These are the books that I DNF’d that stand out the most to me. There are a few others that I DNF’d but they were mostly because I wasn’t interested in the first couple of chapters and I’d gotten the books for free from a family member so I wasn’t super worried about DNF’ing and unhauling. Did you DNF any books this year? Share which ones in the comments!
Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.
classyxbookreviews.wordpress.com 
Ooh Under the Whispering Door surprises me!
I did finish These Violent Delights and Velvet was the Night, but I can see why they are on this list!
I thought I would love all three of those! I could have pushed through probably but I’ve been pretty ruthless with my DNF’ing this year.
Vampires, Hearts, & Other Dead Things was a favourite of mine this year, oh no!
I definitely think it was a me thing. I might try to reread it again next year.