2019 saw a bit of a change for me: I've been DNF a bit more! Typically, I have an issue with giving up on, well, anything. This year I decided to stop wasting my own time on books that just aren't my cup of tea. Here are the more recent additions to my DNF shelf--and why.

I don't remember where I left off the last time I posted some DNF reviews and blurbs. So, it's possible I am forgetting some books and including one book a second time. It happens, you know? Now that I'm adding more and more to my DNF pile, I've decided to start keeping better track of what I'm not finishing and still attempt to give said books a nod.

As always, taste is subjective. What works for me, may not work for you. What doesn't work for me, may work for you. I am in no way attacking these books, their authors or fans. It is not that these books are inherently bad, or poorly written, it is merely that they were not my cup of tea.

Evermore by Alyson Noel 

After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school — but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.

Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him. 

Why I decided to stop reading: Evermore has been in my possession for a decade. Well, almost. I love Alyson Noel's work but Evermore is just one of those books that I failed to click with. I felt nothing towards it. Through the years, I've tried to pick it up at least once a year and always get to the same part before putting it down and forgetting about it. Insert sad face here.


Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr 

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in the mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty - especially if they learn of her Sight - and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.
But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King, who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost — regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

Why I decided to stop reading: Side note, this was heartbreaking for me. Kind of like how I felt when I finally read Fallen. I have been wanting to read this book series since high school. I ended up coming across four of these books in a Little Free Library recently so I picked them up after donating some old books of my own. I would have loved it in my teens--for me, it just didn't captivate me. Wicked Lovely wasn't bad, it just didn't grip me. At all. 



Everless by Sara Holland 

In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself. 

Why I decided to stop reading: Although the writing was lovely and the plot was promising, I felt like the execution of the story was too familiar and as though I'd read several variations of it in the past from other authors and other stories. It made it difficult for me to distinguish what I was reading and left me unable to connect with the characters or the world. Everless just wasn't for me and I had to put it down after it began feeling like a familiar routine--a chore. 

The Winds of Heaven by Judith Clarke 

Clementine thinks her cousin Fan is everything that she could never be: beautiful, imaginative, wild. The girls promise to be best friends and sisters after the summer is over, but Clementine's life in the city is different from Fan's life in dusty Lake Conapaira. And Fan is looking for something, though neither she nor Clementine understands what it is.

Why I decided to stop reading: In simple terms? I was bored the entire time. Like Evermore, I'd had this book for SO long and have attempted to read it SO MANY TIMES. But, it just never clicked with me and there's really no going around that. I think that it just wasn't my time for The Winds of Heaven and in the end it just wasn't for me.