DNF&Y [9]

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 disliked about a book might be something 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!

Love and Other Secrets (The First Kiss

Hypothesis, #2) by Christina Mandelski

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Star lacrosse player Alex “Kov” Koviak has it all. Or so everyone thinks. He’s real good at pretending his life is perfect...until he meets Bailey. The girl challenges him and pushes him and makes him laugh like he’s never laughed before. Their friendship is their little secret, and he’s happy to keep her to himself.

Between school, two jobs, and trying to get into NYU film school, Bailey Banfield has zero time for a social life. But then she meets Alex in her express lane at the grocery store, and their secret friendship becomes the only place she can breathe. She refuses to complicate that with more. No matter how charming Alex can be.

When Bailey decides to film outrageous promposals for her NYU application, she enlists Alex’s help to plan an over-the-top, epic promposal to someone else. Too bad the only prom date Alex wants anywhere near Bailey is him.

For a guy who seems to have it all, he’s about to lose the only thing he’s ever wanted.

Disclaimer: This Entangled Crush contains a cocky lacrosse player in over his head with his secret best friend, unexpected midnight kisses, swoon-worthy slow dancing, and movie-night cuddling that’ll make you ache. You’re going to want an Alex of your own!

"At the door, I peek through the glass to make sure there really isn’t a girl outside waiting for me with a gassy mythological creature."

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product. 

DNF at 53%

Firstly, I had no idea this was the second book in a series. However, the book read well as a standalone, and I was never confused by the story. Secondly, I have a hard time when a single honest conversation can solve everyone's problems. Bailey and Alex like each other but constantly fight their connection because they don't think the other person feels the same way. I was okay with their dance for the first half of the book, but I really thought things would change after they kissed.

Things did not change after they kissed. Instead, everything became more awkward, and they looked for more reasons to justify their silence while wallowing in self-pity. He would make assumptions about her and she would do the same to him. After awhile, I just couldn't do it anymore. 

The story was enjoyable (except for the lack of communication), and the characters were interesting. I originally thought Alex would get on my nerves, but he was a decent guy trying to do the right thing. Bailey is hardworking and determined to reach her goals, while simultaneously trying to navigate her friendship with Alex. They made a good team, so it was even more frustrating when they refused to admit their feelings for one another. 

I also wish the secondary characters had been more involved in the story, because I found a few of them to be really interesting (maybe they have a bigger focus in the previous book?). I enjoyed the setup and the idea of promposals, but the lack of communication really bugged me. 

For a second opinion, check out Sam's (We Live and Breathe Books) review on Goodreads!

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Aru Shah and the End of Time (Pandava

Quartet, #1) by Roshani Chokshi
Narrated by: Soneela Nankani

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Twelve-year-old Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she'll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from their latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty,
traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?

One day, three schoolmates show up at Aru's doorstep to catch her in a lie. They don't believe her claim that the museum's Lamp of Bharata is cursed, and they dare Aru to prove it. Just a quick light, Aru thinks. Then she can get herself out of this mess and never ever fib again.

But lighting the lamp has dire consequences. She unwittingly frees the Sleeper, an ancient demon whose duty it is to awaken the God of Destruction. Her classmates and beloved mother are frozen in time, and it's up to Aru to save them.

The only way to stop the demon is to find the reincarnations of the five legendary Pandava brothers, protagonists of the Hindu epic poem, the Mahabharata, and journey through the Kingdom of Death. But how is one girl in Spider-Man pajamas supposed to do all that?

DNF after two-ish hours 

This was one of my most anticipated reads, so I was really disappointed when it didn't work out. I went into this one thinking it would have a Percy Jackson-vibe, but it's not fair to compare the two.  Also, children are mean. Her "friends" from school were a horrible influence, and treated Aru with disinterest and cruelty. Aru lies nonstop, but if that wasn't bad enough... she's also given up what she enjoys so she can impress kids that will never accept her.

I thought the author wove a lot of rich history and mythology into this story, which I found fascinating, but Aru was just unlikable. She wanted the rich, popular kids to like her, so she sacrificed pieces of herself to do it. Even when they weren't around, she had unkind thoughts about her "sister" and companions. She didn't like it when people whispered about her heritage and clothing, but she was more than willing to pick someone else apart. Bratty is how I would describe Aru.

Maybe she grows throughout the story... I don't know. I didn't stick around to find out. The gods and goddesses were equally as childish, and offered no real incentive for me to continue the story. They've been around for centuries, but kindness is beyond the realm of possibility.

Again, I really wanted to like this one, and I've seen a lot of positive reviews for it (see Nicole's from Feed Your Fiction Addiction), but it wasn't a good fit for me.

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Seeking Fate (The Fated, #3) 

by Brenda Drake

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Fate changer Daisy Layne is nervous about searching Europe for a firstborn son doomed to die on his eighteenth birthday. But she’s the only one who can save him. No pressure or anything. She needs the help of guide Andrei Vasile, who she’s been talking to online for two years. Still, meeting him in person…that’s a whole different story.

Andrei is determined to keep Daisy safe, even if touching her could kill him. At least, that’s what his family has told him about fate changers like Daisy. She’s strong and beautiful, and it’s his job to keep her alive. Unfortunately, what she doesn’t know could kill her.

Save a life. End a curse. And never, ever get too close… 

DNF at 16%

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product. 

Despite being told I could read this as a stand-alone, I just wasn't feeling it. I never felt invested in the story or the characters, and they felt awkward. I'm not sure if awkward is even the right word... but something didn't click for me. I tried reading it over a few days, but then gave up.

I wish some of the scenes had been explained with more details. One minute they're sitting down to dinner, and the next Daisy is wanting to undo the top button of her pants. What happened at dinner? How was the conversation? These were people she'd been communicating with online for years, but we don't get to see how they act face-to-face. Andrei was also praising his grandmother's Romanian cooking, but not a single dish was described. 

Then there was the foreshadowing of conflict... it just appeared out of thin air. I was getting used to the characters flitting from one thought to the next, like they said what they were thinking at all times, but Andrei's sleuthing skills were unexpected and unfounded. It takes him a glance and a quick conversation via text to learn about a secret society some members of his family are a part of, and of course they want to kill Daisy. It was suuuuper random. In the end, it just wasn't a good fit for me.

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The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away

by Ronald L. Smith

Expected publication: February 19, 2019

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Twelve-year-old Simon is obsessed with aliens. The ones who take people and do experiments. When he's too worried about them to sleep, he listens to the owls hoot outside. Owls that have the same eyes as aliens—dark and foreboding. 

Then something strange happens on a camping trip, and Simon begins to suspect he’s been abducted. But is it real, or just the overactive imagination of a kid who loves fantasy and role-playing games and is the target of bullies and his father’s scorn?

Even readers who don’t believe in UFOs will relate to the universal kid feeling of not being taken seriously by adults that deepens this deliciously scary tale. 

DNF at 7%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product. 

I really struggled with Simon's voice. My eyes actually hurt from all the rolling they did. He was really obnoxious and spent way too much time explaining things that did not need to be explained. I understand that some people might not be familiar with the military and how it works, but there were way too many details. He would also repeat information from a previous page, and most of the time it was about something insignificant. 

I think this book sheds a negative light on military families and their children. I'm sure it's not easy for some to move around a lot, but not all families are like that. Some children enjoy moving and having the opportunity to see new things and make more friends. There are also families that request to stay in the same place so their kids can finish school. Simon makes it seem like he was forever scarred by the thought of moving. Again, I'm sure there are people that don't like it, but Simon's version was too unbelievable. I didn't feel sorry for him, or want to understand his feelings.

Also, for a book about aliens, this kid talks about his military childhood nonstop. Additionally, Simon knows really off-the-wall information, but then doesn't know the basics. He was able to describe his asthma and the medication with precision, yet the doctors used "white stuff" when he had an attack. One reviewer said he didn't know what sour cream was (didn't get that far myself), but he can tell you every detail about Area 51.

After a few chapters, I just couldn't do it anymore. I didn't even get to the owls and aliens, which is a bummer. I was really looking forward to this one, and I thought it would be fun to read to my son, but it's going to get a hard no from me. 

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Lulu the Broadway Mouse 

by Jenna Gavigan

Expected publication: October 9th 2018

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Ratatouille meets Broadway in this charming new middle grade novel about a little mouse with big dreams.

Lulu is a little girl with a very big dream: she wants to be on Broadway. She wants it more than anything in the world. As it happens, she lives in Broadway's Shubert Theatre; so achieving her dream shouldn't be too tricky, right? Wrong. Because the thing about Lulu? She's a little girl mouse.

When a human girl named Jayne joins the cast of the show at the Shubert as an understudy, Lulu becomes Jayne's guide through the world of her theatre and its wonderfully kooky cast and crew. Together, Jayne and Lulu learn that sometimes dreams turn out differently than we imagined; sometimes they come with terms and conditions (aka the company mean girl, Amanda). But sometimes, just when we've given up all hope, bigger and better dreams than we'd ever thought could come true, do.

DNF at 7%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product. 

I'm okay with suspending some belief, but not all of it. If you're familiar with the theater and how it works, Lulu the Broadway Mouse might be a good fit, but a lot of the content was new to me. The author also includes a lot of references to past plays, but the only one I recognized was Frozen.

I didn't realize Lulu was going to be working with actual humans, and handing them their fake eyelashes. Her personality was also a lot to swallow. She's very, very peppy. I could practically feel her bouncing through the words.

I do think this is one people will enjoy, but it wasn't my cup of tea. I was unfamiliar with the content and the setting, and the author doesn't really do much to make me feel comfortable with it. Again, it may be more for people that frequent the theater, or have personal experience with it.

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And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness,

Rovina Cai (Illustrator)

Synopsis (via Goodreads): With harpoons strapped to their backs, the proud whales of Bathsheba's pod live for the hunt, fighting in the ongoing war against the world of men. When they attack a ship bobbing on the surface of the Abyss, they expect to find easy prey. Instead, they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself...

As their relentless Captain leads the chase, they embark on a final, vengeful hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of both whales and men.

DNF after a few chapters

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

Admittedly, I've never read Moby Dick, but I do know what the book is about. I'm pretty sure I even did a paper on it in high school (yes, I wrote papers without reading the book first). I thought the author's flipped perspective would be interesting, and I was hoping it would also make the story more relatable.

Unfortunately, I struggled with the whale's point of view. At least I think it was a whale's perspective based on the synopsis and other reviews I've seen. It was really hard to tell when the whale had very human-like behaviors. What whale can strap a harpoon to its back? How would that even work? I know flippers are supposed to be dexterous, but c'mon. After the harpoon comment, a group of whales is pulling a ship behind them, but that didn't make sense either.

The writing is pretty, and I'm sure there are Ness and Moby Dick fans out there that will enjoy this, but And the Ocean Was Our Sky wasn't a good fit for me. If I have to re-read the first part of a book three times, it means I'm not connecting with the story or the characters.

If you would like to see a different perspective, please visit Shannon at It Starts at Midnight!

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Things I'd Rather Do Than Die

by Christine Hurley Deriso

Synopsis (via Goodreads): Jade Fulton and Ethan Garrett are opposites in every sense of the word. Ethan is an all-American poster boy—a star athlete dating the most popular girl in school and a devout Christian. Jade keeps mostly to herself. She abhors joining “things,” hates everyone at their high school except her best friend, Gia, and considers herself agnostic.

When Ethan and Jade find themselves locked in an aerobics room overnight, their confinement forces them to push past the labels they’ve given each other. Jock. Loner. Jesus freak. Skeptic. Golden boy. Intellectual. Amid hours of arguing, philosophizing, and silly game playing, Ethan and Jade learn there's a lot more to the other person than meets the eye.

After that night, life returns to normal and each goes back to their regular lives. Still, neither one can shake the unexpected bond they formed and they can’t help but question what they’ve been taught to believe, who they want to be, and where their hearts truly lie.

DNF after 10%

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product. 

I enjoy books that touch on different religions and beliefs, and I actually thought Ethan would offer a unique perspective we don't often see in YA books. However, I do have a problem when it feels like the religion or beliefs addressed in the story are being crammed down my throat. Jesus was mentioned every other sentence, and even Jade was voicing her opinions. 

At one point, Ethan is trying to sneak up on the robber with a gun, but he's thinking about God. "He doesn’t know you’re going to sneak up on him. Plus, God is with you. He’ll be right by your side. 'The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.' You can do this, Ethan." I would have been okay with that, because maybe that's where his mind goes when he's afraid, but the entire robbery felt unrealistic. The robber barges into a building and doesn't check for other people before demanding money? Then there are a thousand mirrors in the gym, but Ethan remains invisible? How did the robber not notice him until the last minute?

After being robbed and nearly killed: "He looks at me and squeezes it gently [Jade's hand]. “He’s probably just a junkie looking for a quick fix. My church ministers to that type all the time.'"

Wanting to pray after a near-death experience: "Jade no doubt has me pegged as a Jesus freak and is way too cool for things like prayer. I think she and her weird friend Gia are atheists." (How judgey is he? Really?)

When Jade agrees to prayer: "Maybe this is a way to introduce her to Jesus. Maybe this is all part of His plan."

Some reviewers said the story improved after awhile, but it was just a bit too much for me. I understand that Christianity is a huge part of his identity, but I think it could have been presented a little more delicately. I felt like I was choking on a Bible.

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Have you had a good reading month? What was your favorite August read? Let me know!

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