We all seemed to have a recent Did Not Finish read, so we have summarized below:
Mandi:
Bachelor for Hire by Charlene Sands – This book was too cookie-cutter for me. There seemed to be no spontaneity or any character or event that really stood out. The heroine is an Academy Award winning actress who goes back to her home town, but nothing about her felt Hollywood-ish. She could have been any profession. The characters and the story flow just didn’t work for me at all.
The Danger in Daring a Lady by Emma Locke – I’ve enjoyed Emma Locke in the past – I think she has a great voice for historical romance. BUT, this hero and I did not get along. The hero loses a great sum of money to the heroine in a game of cards, and the next day goes to her house in hopes of convincing her to give it back to him. The way he acts though is so..entitled with some whiny immaturity thrown in, that it really rubbed me the wrong way. The more I read, the more he acted this way and it just was not appealing to me. Maybe he gets redeemed by the end, but he is so unlikable, I didn’t want the heroine to end up with him. Which isn’t good when you are reading a romance book.
Kini:
Getting it Back by Elizabeth Harmon – This blurb looked interesting to me as I adore the second chance love trope. Amy and Misha were together two years ago. He dumped her on the eve on her college graduation. Fast forward to now and he needs her help because of his back injury. I threw in the towel at 38% because at this point Amy has already forgiven him and they are back together. There was virtually no groveling. Yeah, that doesn’t work for me. I felt like there was a lot of telling happening and not a lot of showing. I didn’t feel connection with either character. With all of that combined, I felt like this book was not for me.
Sheena:
Ladies Man by Katy Evans– The Heroine spends the entire freaking book in another relationship- even has a lost condom pregnancy scare with the rando dude- who is not the hero. I couldn’t deal. And I love Katy Evans. I also fan girled out when I saw that Tahoe and Gina were finally getting together. My fav will they-won’t they from the Manwhore series…and their story is this weird angsty dynamic that could have been great- had she not had a boyfriend the whole damn time. Yes, I checked and at 85% she had only barely broken things off. I just couldn’t deal.
May:
The Assassin’s Kiss by J.A. Kazimer – This book was a fail from page one. She is engaged and cheating on her fiancé with her husband she’s never divorced, yet broke up with her husband for cheating on her. I can say that it was such an epic mess that I had to skim it to find out what other WTF – ery I would encounter. From twisted family and work dynamics to a heroine who makes phone calls that will obviously be traced and lead bad guys to her… The crazy never stopped.
Sheena, I completely agree about Ladies Man. It was a frustrating read for me because I usually like Katy Evans.
Except for Sidebarred by Emma Chase, I’m in a bit of a slump for good reads lately.
Your May book, The Assassin’s Kiss, is not the book you described. It’s not the same book.
Hmmmm…I think it is the same book. The Assassin’s Kiss by JA Kazimer.
I love these reviews. Not only do I find it interesting to read what didn’t work for the individual reader, but sometimes that’s exactly what I’m looking for, if that makes sense?
Yes! This exactly. DNF for one is gold for another!
I did finish Ladies Man, even though most of it was because I kept waiting for them to redeem themselves. I was bothered by both the H/H behavior lasting so far into the story. After awhile it felt like cheating.