We don’t review every DNF we come across, but we think DNF reviews are just as important as the A ones. So here is a look at what recently didn’t work for us.

May:

This week I read two books that had me DNF within the first chapter. I can’t tell you if either one is horrible, but I can tell you I won’t be finishing them.

The Seduction of Sarah Marks by Kathleen Bittner Roth opens with a heroine in bed with a dude and she has no idea who she is – except she knows her name. He knows who she is but isn’t telling and he used to have amnesia too and… I ran away. The writing was annoying me and I skipped around the book only to find scenes I didn’t enjoy so I did not finish.

How to Kill Your Boss by Krissy Daniels sounded adorable but after two boring and at times confusing short chapters and trying to figure out why the heck I had asked for this book I just threw my hands up and gave up.

Tori:

Virgin by Radhika Sanghani. The blurb hooked me-a young woman offering a frank and humorous discussion about what it’s like to be a 21 year old virgin in the 21st century.  Unfortunately, the blurb was the best part. What I found was an extremely immature, whiny 21 year old who seems to have whiny, immature friends and can’t be bothered to read a book or even google for the information she needs.  Losing her “v-plates” which was annoying all on its own is more important to her then safe sex or finding someone in which to have a relationship with.  Of course you instantly realize that the virginity issue is the least of her problems but I couldn’t continue on to discover if she resolves them or not.

Rival by Penelope Douglas. I enjoyed Bully but this one was just…too much. It left the boundaries of reality and ended up in the realm of “are you serious?” To much over the top emotion. Too confusing of a back story. Too much unrealistic scenes by some very young adults. Perhaps I will revisit this one in the future but for now, I just couldn’t seem to wrap my head around it.

Mandi:

Seven Souls by Elissa Stark. While this one started nice and creepy with a detective who gets told by a little girl she is going to be in an accident – and then is – eventually went down hill. By the 44% mark there was not a hint of romance and angels and demons were being introduced. Maybe those who like paranormal thrillers and not romance would enjoy this one.

A SEAL’s Mission by Rachel Krall. This story and dialogue came across a bit wooden to me. It was very rigid and things happened and then weren’t explained enough. I gave up on this one pretty early – 15%. Just could not get into it at all.

My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas. I’ve seen a lot of good reviews for this one, but I was just too confused to continue with this story. Later I learned there is a prequel novella, so maybe that would have helped. The heroine is from China and is this warrior/ninja type character, who is then thrust into polite English society. The hero is a spy – and had a previous love affair with the heroine which we discover through flashbacks. It sounds very cool, but I couldn’t figure out who was doing what and why. I DNF’d around page 100.