MY LEAST FAVOURITE BOOKS SO FAR (AND DNFS)

Like with having favourite books, there are going to be books that I don't like. That's all part and parcel of reading. There have been a few books that I've not liked this year for one reason or another and there have been books that I simply did not finish (DNF). In this blog post, I share with you all the books that didn't quite make the grade. 

Just to preface, these are all my opinion. If you loved any of these books, happy days. They simply weren't for me. Also, I'll try to keep spoilers to a minimum. 

  

THE TOLL - NEAL SHUSTERMAN

This book was rather disappointing. I loved 'Scythe' and 'Thunderhead' ended up the most amazing cliff-hanger that I've read in a long time. The Toll had a lot to live up to. I enjoyed the book for the most part but there was something about it that made me crave more. There were parts where I was listening intently to the audiobook and there were parts where I was simply bored. I wanted more from this book and as a result, it's on this list. It was disappointing when compared to the other two books in the trilogy. 

A DISCOVERY OF WITCHES - DEBORAH HARKNESS

I had such high hopes for this book. My best friend loved this book series and she kept telling me to read it. It was even recommended to me by a former colleague because she knew that vampires and witches were right up my street. The first 200 pages were exciting as I got to grips with the world. Then once the romance kicked in, I began to hate the book. I hated the way that Diana and Matthew were so infatuated with each other and inseparable once they gave into their hearts. Barf. They became the complete antithesis of themselves once they were in their relationship - Diana cried herself INTO tears when Matthew wouldn't let her come with him to check on her apartment in Oxford. I hurt my eyes because I rolled them that hard. I quit reading this book with 100 pages to go because I couldn't take these characters any longer. I couldn't take all of the wholly unbelievable reveals about Diana; oh she's this, and she's that and actually this too and that as well. Oh, brother!

THE WRECKAGE - ROBIN MORGAN-BENTLEY

I 'read' this book because Emilia Fox is one of the narrators for the audiobook. I quit it at about the half-way point. I couldn't take these characters any longer. I hated the male lead character. I did not care at all for the narrator that did his chapters. It sounded to me as if he was just reading aloud in English class because the teacher told him to read this passage. I didn't like his character at all. I found his character to be creepy. I didn't find the book to be particularly well written and I didn't find the audiobook to be well directed. I was waiting for the characters to have 'comfort sex' on a couch. When it started to happen, I knew that I had called it, and when Emilia Fox's character said, 'Don't you find me attractive?' I knew that that was the last straw for me and I quit. I even felt that Emilia Fox's performance as the narrator was sub-par compared to her other audiobooks. I had just listened to the Jackdaws and Melmoth audiobooks and those performances were incredible compared to her more recent performance in The Wreckage. Not good. I simply did not like it at all. Poor characters, bad writing, bad audiobook. 

AURORA BURNING - AMIE KAUFMAN & JAY KRISTOFF

One word: Kal. Oh, my lord, do I hate that character. I read the prequel, 'Aurora Rising' just before jumping into 'Aurora Burning' and I severely disliked Kal in it but he became even more obnoxious and annoying in the second book. I hate characters that obsess over a love interest and that is what Kal did. For a character that is supposed to be the brawn, he's a fairly pathetic brawn. It read as if his brains were in his trousers. Every other character in the book beyond Auri and Kal were wonderful, but those two? I could've easily done without. This book was so disappointing. 

CITY OF ASHES - CASSANDRA CLARE

I hated this book because of Jace and Clary. I actually hated them throughout the original trilogy. This entire book seemed to be these characters trying to find reasons for how they can be together when they know that it's wrong - they believe that they are brother and sister but they're in love with each other. SO GROSS! I enjoyed the storyline of the book but these two characters absolutely ruined it for me and I could not understand how young adults loved this book series so much when these characters whole-heartedly believed that they were siblings.

THE ONCE AND FUTURE KING - T.H. WHITE

I read this because I wanted to read a book featuring the character, Morgause. The first book in the omnibus is 'The Sword in the Stone' and is basically what Disney used as the basis for the animated movie with a few tweaks here and there. Morgause features in book two and then dies. She always dies so that's not a spoiler. It wasn't until book 3 which is 'The Ill-Made Knight' where I began to get sick of the book. I hated Lancelot and Guinevere. (For this post, I'm spelling her name like that). They are not a Romantic couple nor are they a romantic couple. They are adulterers that sleep with each other behind Arthur's back. Lancelot has wanted nothing more than to be a knight of the Round Table and be best buds with King Arthur. He accomplishes that but falls in love with Guinevere but still ends up sleeping with his best friend's wife. Arthur knows that all of this is going on but as long as he doesn't see it, he's fine with it. WHAT? No! I couldn't take these characters anymore. I hated them. I hated Merlyn. I had to stop reading the book at page 535.