Sadly...setting aside {DNF reviews}

Aw. Sad cupcake.  Even sadder, I've had a few recent books that I just couldn't bring myself to finish. Ever sadder, still--these three were a few of my most anticipated books this year. Here I give you my latest DNF report:

Firstlife by Gena Showalter:
read to page 190
This one had such an interesting premise: the afterlife has been split into two factions and people must chose an allegiance to one side or the other during their "firstlife". I couldn't wait to hear more about these after life worlds. And I gave this one a fighting chance--stopped at page 190! But in those 190 pages, there was very little about the two worlds. What there was an abundance of was violence, really brutal torture, mental cruelty, and a lot of confusion---and for what? What was the real reason for people needing to choose a side so early in life or being tortured into making a choice?  I didn't much like any of the characters, and I couldn't get behind any of the main character's reasoning. So I finally gave up.

A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro

read to page 85

So, so sad that I couldn't get into this one. It started out okay; we meet Jamie and Charlotte and she's very aloof and Sherlock-like and he's intrigued by her because of their family's entwined history. And then suddenly they jump into a mystery where they're both suspected. And then,...well I don't know, I just sort of inexplicably lost interested in both of them and their plight. The mystery just didn't grab me and I didn't much care for either of them. So disappointed because I was so highly anticipating this one since the day I first heard about it. 

Stone Field by Christy Lenzi
read to page 108
Stone Field is one that I really tried with. Why? Because I actually really enjoyed the writing for the most part. Beautiful writing, lyrical prose---it had the feel of the old romanticized classics. But oh, the instalove.  Generally I don't mind if love moves a little fast--heck, it's YA and these are teens with raging hormones, right? BUT she finds a strange man naked in her field and suddenly their obsessed with each other? She's instantly claiming she can't stand to be apart from him?  And a few days later she actually says to her friend she's in love with him. That's a bit too much for me. Plus, aside from some family drama and a little racial tension, in 108 pages, not much happened besides all the slightly obsessive talk about the mysterious stranger. I tried...but it just wasn't for me.

*        *        *        *        *        *      

I don't DNF books lightly, and as you can see, I try to give each one a pretty fair chance to grab me.  But sometimes it just doesn't work. Not every book can be for every reader, it's the sad truth.

Are there any books you've reluctantly set aside lately?

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It lets us all gush about what soon-to-be released books we are jumping-up-and-down excited for.

A Study in Charlotte

by Brittany Cavallaro

hitting shelves March 1st, 2016

from Katherine Tegen Books

The last thing sixteen-year-old Jamie Watson–writer and great-great-grandson of the John Watson–wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s enigmatic, fiercely independent great-great-granddaughter, who’s inherited not just his genius but also his vices, volatile temperament, and expertly hidden vulnerability. Charlotte has been the object of his fascination for as long as he can remember–but from the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else.

Then a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Holmes stories, and Jamie and Charlotte become the prime suspects. Convinced they’re being framed, they must race against the police to conduct their own investigation. As danger mounts, it becomes clear that nowhere is safe and the only people they can trust are each other.

Equal parts tender, thrilling, and hilarious, A Study in Charlotte is the first in a trilogy brimming with wit and edge-of-the-seat suspense.

My thoughts: SO...this book has the great-great grandkids of Holmes & Watson and a clever play-on-words title to boot. My need for this book is a given. :)