DNF ARC Review: Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto

Author: Michelle Modesto

Genre: Young adult, western, fantasy

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Publication Date: February 2, 2016

384 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Balzer + Bray for letting me read this!

I had to DNF this one, you guys. I tried. I really did. But it just has too much going on. I spent almost all of the time I was reading confused, and that does not make for a good book for me. Before I wrote this full review, I posted this GIF on Goodreads in an attempt to sum up my feelings and it still stands true.

There is so much going on right away – you’re just thrown into this world of vampires and mechanical human parts and all kinds of stuff – but you don’t really know why the world’s like this. It’s just a weird and unsettling world that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. And most of those things don’t seem to add much to the story, if I’m honest.

I do want to point out that I know A LOT of people really loved this book, and I’m mostly in the minority here. I do think there are people who will love this story (and the premise was really cool), but in the end, it just wasn’t for me.

DNF Review: Placebo Junkies by J.C. Carleson

Author:  J.C. Carleson

Genre: Young adult, contemporary

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: October 27, 2015

304 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Knopf Books for Young Readers for letting me read this!

Unfortunately, I had to DNF Placebo Junkies. After a few days of not reading it, I had no desire to pick it back up. It’s not that the book isn’t good, because the concept is super interesting, but I didn’t care about any of the characters. I don’t think pitching the book as being similar to Trainspotting was a good idea either – possibly because that’s such a classic or because it just didn’t feel like that book to me. Placebo Junkies was confusing. I do think there will be some people who like this one, but I’m just not one of them. The book felt like it tried too hard in parts, and I didn’t relate to Audie nor any of her other lab rat friends. A lot of what I read also felt really unrealistic.

The bottom line: Not for me at all, but I wouldn’t rule it out if it sounds interesting to you.

DNF Review: Hunter by Mercedes Lackey

Author:  Mercedes Lackey

Genre: Young adult, fantasy

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: September 1, 2015

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

Shout out to the wonderful Emma at Miss Print for sending me this ARC.

Man, I wanted to like this one so much more than I did. I tried. I really did. But after putting it down a couple of times and not really caring if I picked it back up, I finally DNF-ed it. This is why:

• The writing style is really strange. The MC keeps addressing the reader but you’re never really sure why/who she’s even talking to. Is she telling her story to someone? Breaking the fourth wall only works occasionally and it didn’t here. Plus, wtf is up with the weird combinations of words like “certain-sure”. Just, why?
• Info dumping out the bum. I didn’t get very far into this one; I’ll admit that, but it’s because there was SO much info dumping without any real explanations for WHY things were the way they were or WHAT she was actually talking about that I got SUPER frustrated. In the end, I found I didn’t really care about the characters, the world, or anything that was happening.
• Some of the descriptions felt lazy. Instead of coming up with her own words to describe a creature or a marking on a character, Lackey would say “You know that Jabberwocky thing from Lewis Carroll? Yeah, it looks like that but longer.” I’m not kidding. That’s not a direct quote, but it’s close.

The bottom line: I loved the idea behind this one and I was excited to read a story about dragons, but the writing style was weird, there was a lot of dull info dumping right off the bat, and in the end, I just didn’t care about it. I may try again later, but I doubt it.

DNF ARC Review: Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond

Author:  Stephen Emond
Genre: Young adult, contemporary
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Publication Date: August 11, 2015
384 pages, hardcover

Check out the full synopsis on Goodreads.

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Roaring Brook Press for letting me read this!

I wanted to like this one. I really, really did. A diverse love story with super cool black and white illustrations throughout? Doesn’t that sound like a perfect book for me? I thought so too.

Walter’s never been in love, until he meets the little sister of one of his best friends and the two hit it off instantly. When Walter’s dad is caught in a race scandal at work, the two of them start getting called out at school for their relationship. Will love prevail?

I loved Walter and Naomi’s banter; they were absolutely adorable. But I found myself getting a little bored of the story. I told myself to keep going, it’d get better. When it didn’t, I put Bright Lights, Dark Nights on hold for a couple of days to read something else. When I finished that, I thought about going back to BLDN, and I honestly just didn’t care enough about the characters to want to. I’m not really sure what it is that I didn’t like. I liked the two main characters and the illustrations, but I just didn’t care about the story. I think it might’ve been because it was set from Walter’s perspective only. This is one of those cases where I think the story could’ve done with more than one perspective – maybe from Naomi’s?

I DO think people will like this one. The theme in BLDN is really relevant right now. The two main characters are interesting, funny, and super adorable. This is one of those books that I can definitely see myself trying again in the future. I’d be interested to see how the story played out.

The bottom line: Interesting concept, maybe not so great execution. I was a little bored and not invested enough to want to continue. But you should give it a shot if you like diverse contemporaries that are relevant to the current issues in our society.

Rating: No rating for a DNF.

DNF Review – Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross (ARC)

Tear You Apart by Sarah Cross is a Snow White retelling that was really intriguing at first, but I just couldn’t finish it. Reasons below.

Author:  Sarah Cross

Genre: YA, fantasy, fairy tales, retellings

Publisher: Egmont USA

Publication Date: January 27, 2015

384 pages, hardcover

NOTE: I was provided with an e-ARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Egmont USA for letting me read this.

Tear You Apart is set in a strange town called Beau Rivage that is full of the Cursed – people who’ve had curses places on them by malevolent fairies, each curse repeated over and over. So you have past Snow Whites and Cinderellas and Sleepy Beauties. It’s a seriously cool concept and I was really intrigued by it. Viv is a Snow White; she knows that her stepmother Regina (WHYYYY would you give her the same name as the OuaT queen??) will eventually order her best friend Henley (given the Huntsman curse) to kill her. I LOVED Beau Rivage, overflowing with curses and princesses and evil stepmothers. It reminded me of Storybrooke from Once Upon a Time, which was a plus. I could have really loved the fairy tale retellings but I couldn’t finish.

But there were a lot of things I didn’t like:

– The absolutely volatile relationship between Viv and Henley. Viv is jaded and horrible and she toys with Henley’s heart and if he were to want to kill her, she’d definitely be the reason why. She pushes him away for something he might do but then turns right around and cuddles with him. She got on my last nerve and is a big reason I stopped reading.

– I liked Henley at first – he was just trying to love Viv – but his obsession with her was creepy and weird.

– The darkness given to the story was really cool. BUT why does that have to come with abusive, clichéd relationships (can you say love triangle?)?? The characters are shallow and unlikeable on top of that. Strange that Tear You Apart has great world building and horrible characters.

I ended up taking a break from this book 50% of the way through to read something else in the hopes I’d want to finish it after. When I finished that book, I had no desire to pick Tear You Apart back up. And that right there is the reason I had to DNF this one at 50%. We all know that hardly ever happens for me, so I’m really sad about this. It’s also my first DNF review on the blog. I wanted to love this one so much, but I couldn’t do it.

I’m pretty sure I know what happens at the end anyway.

The bottom line: DNF’ed a 50%. I can definitely see some people liking this one. The retelling is interesting and Beau Rivage is a cool place. I just couldn’t get past the relationships and the MC.