Sometimes you know right away. Sometimes it takes a couple books. But we've all experienced it: cutting ties with a book series.
Maybe you were genuinely excited for the series and it just wasn't what you hoped for. Maybe you fell for the hype and it let you down. Or maybe you actually loved the first book (or three) but then it took a turn and went horribly wrong. Hey, it happens.
So here are just a few of the series I've quit. And don't go giving me your best pouty face if one of your favorites shows up in here. I'm not hating on the book (well, not always... *ahem*) it just wasn't my cup of tea. Different strokes and all that. ;)
You can see Series I Quit | Part One HERE.
# of Books in Series: 6
# of Books I Read: 2
Welcome to Melodrama Central! Juvenile delinquents? Check. Cheesy dialogue? Check. Over the top drama? Check check. Pair that with main characters who continually make the dumbest decisions ever and you’ve got a hot mess that that induced much eye rolling. The first book was… okay. Yeah the dialogue was a Velveeta cheese-fest (said by girl when guy rescued her from life-threatening situation: “Are you my knight in shining armor?” Yes, she seriously said that.) and main character Darcie made one idiotic decision after another, but there was just enough there to make me pick up the second book. Aaand, that’s where my patience ran out. Another main character that seemed determined to never do the right thing, and an ending that was so tragic that it seemed to be there only to twist the knife further. Yeah, I’m out.
# of Books in Series: 3
# of Books I Read: 1
I read quite a bit of Nora Roberts back in the day and I particularly liked the books/trilogies that had a paranormal vibe. So when I saw Dark Witch I was all over it and felt certain it’d be another winner. Magic, witchcraft, romance, Ireland… what’s not to like? Not. So. Fast. First of all, is was painfully obvious from early on which characters would be coupled up in the three books. The main character accepted everything that was happening (magic, prophecies, an evil entity that wanted to kill her and her cousins) without batting an eye. It was like, “Oh, okay! I’ll learn some neato spells and we’ll show Mr. Evil Demon who’s boss!” Um, no. Flat character, underwhelming plot and a truly underwhelming climax meant I was jumping the track of this crazy train.
# of Books I Read: 1
I read quite a bit of Nora Roberts back in the day and I particularly liked the books/trilogies that had a paranormal vibe. So when I saw Dark Witch I was all over it and felt certain it’d be another winner. Magic, witchcraft, romance, Ireland… what’s not to like? Not. So. Fast. First of all, is was painfully obvious from early on which characters would be coupled up in the three books. The main character accepted everything that was happening (magic, prophecies, an evil entity that wanted to kill her and her cousins) without batting an eye. It was like, “Oh, okay! I’ll learn some neato spells and we’ll show Mr. Evil Demon who’s boss!” Um, no. Flat character, underwhelming plot and a truly underwhelming climax meant I was jumping the track of this crazy train.
# of Books in Series: 3
# of Books I Read: 1
Unpopular opinion time! People adore this trilogy. People love Lara Jean. People are Team Peter or Team Whoever-Else-It-Was. Except me. TATBILB was definitely on the sweet side of YA which is rarely my preference. But the main reason for this becoming a series I quit was Lara Jean herself. She came across as so young and naïve for a sixteen year old that it strained believability. For most of the book I felt as if I was reading from a 12 year old’s perspective and that coupled with the oh-so-sweet and cutesy feel just didn’t do it for me. Au revoir, Lara Jean.
# of Books I Read: 1
Unpopular opinion time! People adore this trilogy. People love Lara Jean. People are Team Peter or Team Whoever-Else-It-Was. Except me. TATBILB was definitely on the sweet side of YA which is rarely my preference. But the main reason for this becoming a series I quit was Lara Jean herself. She came across as so young and naïve for a sixteen year old that it strained believability. For most of the book I felt as if I was reading from a 12 year old’s perspective and that coupled with the oh-so-sweet and cutesy feel just didn’t do it for me. Au revoir, Lara Jean.
Have you read any of these?
What series have you quit?
I love this post!!! I haven't finished the To All the Boys series but still might one day. I don't do series too often because I am so bad with keeping up with them!
ReplyDeleteThanks Grace. :) Same here with the series. I'm a sucker for a good stand-alone!
DeleteI have not read any of these, but I've never been interested in To All the Boys; it always came across as too cutesy for me. hah
ReplyDelete-lauren
www.shootingstarsmag.net
Definitely too cutesy, Lauren. Just not my style... or yours, either apparently. :)
DeleteI love your "quitter" picture that is hilarious, but yeah, I love LJ and hope to read the last book in the series at some point.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely in the minority when it comes to LJ. Just one of those things. *shrugs*
DeleteSometimes quitting is for the best, there are so many books and some series just don't work out long term. I haven't read any of these but I always duck a little when admitting I didn't like, or decided to quit, a popular series. :)
ReplyDeleteI know! You mention you didn't like a series that everyone else loved and you instantly have a horde of people trying to convince you of why you need to try again and read it. LOL
DeleteI always feel so bad about quitting a series or even quitting a book when I'm halfway through. But as Greg said, it's sometimes for the best, so many amazing books still to discover! :)
ReplyDeleteI used to feel similarly but there are just sooo many good books out there that I finally decided to quit wasting my time on books/series I wasn't loving. :)
Deletethis made me chuckle but I can see why these did not work for you, I hate characters that are too stupid to live so I'd probably be in the same boat as you for the first one. I have not read any of them right now.
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness, characters who make dumb decision after decision just drive me insane. It's like, I can't even deal with them. LOL
DeleteLara Jeaaannnnn. I sob. See, I DO understand why you didn't like her but... I promise, I was an actual Lara Jean. I may have been worse, tbh. So I am certain that is why it worked for me hahha. I usually don't do that much fluff either, but I liked it. The others sound really bad though. I was rolling my eyes at the dialogue of the first one too! And doesn't it drive you crazy when a book keeps you on the hook? And then you read the next and it's like... nope, I was right when I wanted to quit!
ReplyDeleteI know, I know! And what's funny is that I was probably more like Lara Jean than not. Maybe a little less mature. But apparently having that experience doesn't equate to me wanting to read about it. ;-)
Deletehaha ok I won't give you my best pouty face [which is like EPIC!] JUST because I'm such an abandoner too! So I can definitely sympathize :) As part of my 2017 wrap up posts I'll be posting about my DNFs as well :)
ReplyDeleteGah! You mean I missed my chance to see the epic pouty face? Man, shot myself in the foot there.
DeleteCan't wait to see your end of year DNF list!
I haven't read any of these, but I did try to read To All the Boys I've Loved Before TWICE, but couldn't get more than a few pages in because meh, I disliked Lara Jean's voice. Like you said - she read as incredibly young and naive + I was SO BORED. Great post, Tanya!
ReplyDeleteVeronika @ The Regal Critiques
Glad to know it wasn't just me, Veronika! When I read To All the Boys I've Loved Before I kept thinking, "Is this supposed to be a middle grade book? Is Lara Jean actually 12?" Ugh!
DeleteI haven't started any of these series but I think I can confidently skip them now. ;) The two series that popped into my head immediately that I quit are The House of Night series by PC & Kristin Cast and the Dark series by Christine Feehan. I got bored with HoN and although so many readers *love* Feehan's series, it didn't do a thing for me. :/
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot of similar feedback about the House of Night series, Brandee. Mainly that the series was incredibly long! I know Feehan's series is super popular but I've never picked it up. Maybe I can skip it now. :)
DeleteI wasn't a huge fan of To All the Boys either, and I doubt I'll complete the series. So you're not alone!!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Finally! Good to know I'm not alone on my feelings for that one, Nicole. :)
Deletelol - I'm a quitter too - and quite proud of it too. I don't want to waist my precious reading time of books I won't enjoy. And almost quit THE COUSINS O'DWYER TRILOGY as well - reading the last book on audiobook helped. :D
ReplyDelete