Why do you DNF?

Hello all! Since I'm in a soul crushing reading slump while starting classes for next semester, starting a new job and getting far into some dramas, I find myself not being able to post as much. So I'm posing a question to anybody that still reads this blog despite my ridiculous absence.

What is the kiss of death for a book for you?

I've always tried my best to finish all the books that I start. I was very proud of myself last semester for finishing a text book cover to cover which I have never done before. Sure, I've gone through most of the chapters before but I've never just read everything, including the Appendix which had the Constitution and other things in it. But anyways, I'm in the middle of another book at the moment and I'm really thinking about not finishing it. And I asked myself why.

What makes a book so difficult or annoying or whatever to the point where you can't read a single more page?

For this one book, it's the main character. She's weak and has no real personality besides complaining. I understand her situation but in most other books, the main character has some backbone or something that drives her to be something. This girl has nothing. She's a limp noodle and so far has basically done what she has been told to do.

Oh well...fate accepted.

Another difficult thing for me to read is terrible dialogue. When authors try to do vernacular or their language is too stiff, it makes the book arduous and boring. I just want to scream that nobody really talks like that!

I'm struggling to remember other reasons why I quit reading books. Sometimes the main character or the supporting characters drive me crazy. I've quit a book before because it depicted abuse in a way that glorified it or there was excessive slut shaming, body shaming, or other types of ingrained behavior that denigrates women (or anybody for that matter. I hate bullies).

But I'm turning to y'all now. Is there anything that makes you want to hurl books across the room? I'm curious because everybody has different taste and different opinions about this.

Book Review: Within A Dream by Tempest C. Avery

I'm back from vacation so first things first! I gotta put up this review!

Book received in exchange for an honest review through Lovers of Paranormal

I'm going to need some help with this review...



Much better.

I don't even know how to start with this one.

On one hand, there's an interesting premise to the book. 4 teenagers are reincarnations of magical beings and have special powers. Bad people are after them and they have to try to protect themselves and learn more about their heritage and their powers.

On the other hand, it was everything but the kitchen sink when it came to the magical/supernatural beings and I was wondering when it would stop. Shall I list them?

You know it.

1) Witches
2) Faeries/Fae
3) Werewolves
4) Aliens
5) Shapeshifters
6) Reincarnations
7) Voodoo/Hoodoo
8) Celtic Mythology
9) Viking Mythology
10) Some Wiccan incorporated



Some bonus features:

A. Insta-love
B. Insta-love + love triangle
C. Insta-love for secondary characters
D. Hot guy on a motorcycle
E. Evil ex-lover type
F. Absentee Parental Units



The characters and the story was interesting enough but there was just too much going on. Too many histories and stories getting mixed together with far too many magical beings. It works in something like Harry Potter because as far as the first book goes, there aren't major characters that are different beings from different planets. You cannot introduce all of these different creatures into a book without it looking like you are trying too hard.

I liked Lily, the main character, fine though. She wasn't completely helpless and she liked to take charge which was nice. Her love interests both occupied the dark broody boy character which was a little typical but it wasn't a bad description of a relationship. It did feel like it was trying to pull on the Shattered series a bit with the old love interest coming to you in dreams but I was able to overlook that part of it.

But there's one thing that doomed this book for me.

PROOFREAD. NOW.

There were typos or misspellings every ten pages if not more frequently. This book desperately needed some editing and a lot of love because there is absolutely no excuse for spelling "melodramatic" as two words. "Mellow dramatic".



So yeah, real rating about a 1.8 so I'm rounding it up to 2 stars. The saving grace was the interesting idea behind the book but there was just too much going on with not enough editing.