DNF&Y [3]

DNF&Y is used to explain why I gave up on certain books, and what about them just didn't work for me. What I didn't like about something, might be what you love, so it helps to share your thoughts even when they're negative! If you would like additional information, please click on the DNF&Y tab at the top. If you want to join, you can link up at the bottom!

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Without Merit by Colleen Hoover,
Candace Thaxton (Narrator)

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Not every mistake deserves a consequence. Sometimes the only thing it deserves is forgiveness.

The Voss family is anything but normal. They live in a repurposed church, newly baptized Dollar Voss. The once cancer-stricken mother lives in the basement, the father is married to the mother’s former nurse, the little half-brother isn’t allowed to do or eat anything fun, and the eldest siblings are irritatingly perfect. Then, there’s Merit.

Merit Voss collects trophies she hasn’t earned and secrets her family forces her to keep. While browsing the local antiques shop for her next trophy, she finds Sagan. His wit and unapologetic idealism disarm and spark renewed life into her—until she discovers that he’s completely unavailable. Merit retreats deeper into herself, watching her family from the sidelines when she learns a secret that no trophy in the world can fix.

Fed up with the lies, Merit decides to shatter the happy family illusion that she’s never been a part of before leaving them behind for good. When her escape plan fails, Merit is forced to deal with the staggering consequences of telling the truth and losing the one boy she loves. 

DNF after the first hour of the audiobook.

I actually tried to listen to this one twice, but it just wasn't working for me. I didn't connect with Merit, and I thought the family dynamics were a little too strange. The mom lived in the basement, the dad and his new wife shared a room upstairs, and they all lived in an old church that was purchased out of spite... even the sibling relationships seemed off. 

Merit was able to miss school and what... no one noticed? Sleeping and looking for trophies seemed like a poor alternative to going to school. The school made a phone call that was briefly mentioned and never addressed, but it seemed like a lot went unacknowledged in this book. A living, breathing person moved in and Merit didn't notice for an entire week.

I really thought their mom needed help, or someone to talk to that wasn't online or related, and staying shut away in the basement seemed wrong. I understand that she had a legitimate problem, but that means she needed assistance and not avoidance. 

I've heard so many wonderful things about Colleen Hoover and her books, so I don't want to give up on the author! I just couldn't finish Without Merit. If you have another suggestion, let me know!

If you would like to read a more positive review, check out Jessica's (Peace Love Books) review on Goodreads!

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All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater,
Thom Rivera (Narrator)

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Here is a thing everyone wants: a miracle.
Here is a thing everyone fears: what it takes to get one.

Any visitor to Bicho Raro, Colorado is likely to find a landscape of dark saints, forbidden love, scientific dreams, miracle-mad owls, estranged affections, one or two orphans, and a sky full of watchful desert stars.

At the heart of this place you will find the Soria family, who all have the ability to perform unusual miracles. And at the heart of this family are three cousins longing to change its future: Beatriz, the girl without feelings, who wants only to be free to examine her thoughts; Daniel, the Saint of Bicho Raro, who performs miracles for everyone but himself; and Joaquin, who spends his nights running a renegade radio station under the name Diablo Diablo.

They are all looking for a miracle. But the miracles of Bicho Raro are never quite what you expect. 

DNF after the first hour of the audiobook.

Maggie Stiefvater has always been hit-or-miss for me. I loved The Raven Cycle. I devoured that series and already want to read it again! Shiver is another one of her books I enjoyed, but The Scorpio Races wasn't for me (even though I loved the concept). I'm on a Stiefvater seesaw! 🤣

All the Crooked Saints started out okay. There are three people driving around trying to boost their signal for their personal radio station (and avoid detection by the police), but as soon as I started to settle into their rhythm and learn their personalities, I was in someone else's head. Then another and another... it was like the perspective bounced around without a reason and definitely without warning. I never really knew where I would be next.

Aside from that, I didn't really relate to these characters individually. I was never with any one person long enough, but they also didn't stand out. I may have felt differently if I had kept reading this, but maybe not. Maggie is always so creative with her books and their settings, and I wish I had been able to like this one more.

Get a second opinion from Brittany over at The Book Addict's Guide!

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Blue Window by Adina Gewirtz

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Five siblings fall through time and space into a strange, unkind world -- their arrival mysteriously foretold -- and land in the center of an epic civil struggle in a country where many citizens have given themselves over to their primal fears and animal passions at the urging of a power-hungry demagogue.

When siblings Susan, Max, Nell, Kate, and Jean tumble one by one through a glowing cobalt window, they find themselves outside their cozy home -- and in a completely unfamiliar world where everything looks wrong and nothing makes sense. Soon, an ancient prophecy leads them into battle with mysterious forces that threaten to break the siblings apart even as they try desperately to remain united and find their way home. Thirteen-year-old twins Max and Susan and their younger siblings take turns narrating the events of their story in unique perspectives as each of the children tries to comprehend their stunning predicament -- and their extraordinary new powers -- in his or her own way. From acclaimed author Adina Rishe Gewirtz comes a riveting novel in the vein of C. S. Lewis and E. Nesbit, full of nuanced questions about morality, family, and the meaning of home. 

DNF at 10%

I received ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

This was very similar to The Chronicles of Narnia, and even had it's very own Susan and Lucy (though the two are not related in this book). Blue Window is about a group of children (siblings) that fall into another world via a window. This new place is scary, unexpected, and filled with... I don't know what, because I didn't get that far.

I know I didn't read much of this book, but I had a lot of trouble separating the different characters. I also kept getting confused and had to re-read certain parts to figure out what was going on. One minute they're at the kitchen table eating breakfast (there were a few things going on), and someone mentions going to school. The next sentence everyone is already home from school and doing various activities. 

Where are their parents?? They're mentioned a few times, and the mom shows up with orange juice once, but then just disappears. I feel like there should have been more interaction with the children, since the oldest is only 13. It wasn't just the parents that vanished in the middle of a paragraph. The other characters seemed to flutter around without a purpose, too.

I really loved the synopsis for this one, but I just could not get into it. The random additions from an exile, or the exiles, were odd and didn't seem to fit with everything else. I'm sure that perspective would have tied in later, but I was already confused without trying to decipher their cryptic words.

The flow of the story was weird, the way the information was presented was confusing, and I didn't connect with any of the characters. I did like Susan's fondness for words, but their application to the story seemed forced. I might look for this book once it's published, because maybe these kinks were ironed out after I received this review copy. It just had such a promising, interesting concept. I'm still a little curious about where they landed, and what's going to happen to them, but not enough to read it as it is.

If you want to read another review, try Jackie's on Goodreads!

Have you read any of these? What did you think?