2023 DNFs
So, in 2023, I started doing a thing. After more than ten years of reading every book I pick up from cover to cover, I finally came to my senses and started listening to the little voice inside my head that says life is too short to be forcing myself to finish books that I’m not enjoying. And it was hard at first, going against my OCD. This was a busy year for me though, and with so much more on my plate, I had much less patience for books that just weren’t grabbing me, so something had to give.
But now that I’ve finally experienced the liberating sensation of being a DNFer, I definitely plan on doing it more! To be clear, just because I DNF a book doesn’t mean it’s bad. It means that, for whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it and saw no compelling reason to continue. For each of the books this year, that determination was made at around 25-33%, enough to safely say I gave it a fair shot. That said, I wanted to make this post anyway, in order to provide some of my commentary. Even though I may have given up on these books, others might find value in them. Perhaps my perspectives can assist you in determining whether these books are for you or not.
I’m also curious, what do others do with DNF’ed books? Do you try to review them or just set them aside and consign them to the void? If it’s a review book, do you notify the publisher? This is brand new territory for me, and I would love to hear people’s thoughts!
I received review copies from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my reviews and all opinions are my own.
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Del Rey (July 11, 2023)
Length: 416 pages
Author Information: Website
This story sounded like a fun take on the classic Cinderella story, but man, was it slow! For a novel whose tagline is “‘Happily Ever After’ is a total scam,” I expected a much more entertaining build-up, but instead, the characters were lackluster and the worldbuilding was non-existent. The Cinderella in this novel isn’t quite who she claims she is, and while I’m sure there’s more to her persona and plenty of secrets up her sleeve, I just didn’t care enough to stick around to find out.
Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Series: Book 1 of Assistant to the Villain
Publisher: Red Tower Books (August 29, 2023)
Length: 342 pages
Author Information: Website
This one may be a classic example of “It’s me, not the book.” I knew going into it that it would be romance heavy, being from Entangled Publishing’s newly launched New Adult SFF romance imprint. But from the quirky title, I thought I would be getting a fun-filled cozy romance fantasy, and to its credit, I think that’s what it tried to be? Rather than a cute romcom-type story though, what I found instead was forced humor that failed to elicit even a chuckle, as well as awkward banter between the two romantic leads. Didn’t sense much chemistry between them either, to be honest, but it seems I am in a very small minority who did not care for this book. If you are into this genre, Assistant to the Villain may be more your speed.
There Should Have Been Eight by Nalini Singh
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Mystery, Thriller
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Berkley (November 21, 2023)
Length: 408 pages
Author Information: Website
I’m disappointed that my first book by Nalini Singh turned out to be a total bust. I’ve wanted so long to read her books, but maybe this wasn’t the best place to start. While I’ve mostly seen her name attached to paranormal romance, mystery/thrillers are more my thing, so I thought I would give this one a try. However, it took way too long for anything remotely interesting to happen, and especially with this genre, I do expect my attention to be grabbed almost right away. It’s too bad, because I thought the setting of a remote mansion in New Zealand’s Southern Alps to be very unique, but unfortunately the story and characters were just too dull.
The BiblioSanctum 
I generally review them and try to explain why I DNF, except if it´s a very fast DNF (at 10% or so), as then I don´t think I´m qualified enough for a fair take.
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Oh hurray! Another Convert! Welcome Comrade, the Revolution awaits you with open arms.
I always rate and review my dnf books. In my opinion, a book I can’t finish is by definition a bad book. The REASONS why it is bad might differ, which is why I still review them. Since I’m beholden to no one besides myself, I can choose what, where and why for dnf’ing. (im)Moral content, poor writing and boredom are the top 3 causes for me to dnf a book though.
I’m going to just stop there. Because I feel very strongly about dnf’ing books and don’t want to put you off, as I am super happy to see you doing this. Plus, you know how I feel about dnf’s because I haven’t kept it to myself in the past 😀
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25% is the point at which I abandon a book if it fails to engage me: there are indeed too many books I would like to waste my time on those that are not my cup of tea. Usually, if I abandon a book at that point, I don’t review it: 25% might be enough for me to say “no, thanks” but it’s not enough to give an informed review. If, on the other hand, I DNF a book when I am much further on with the page count – say, because a certain twist did not work for me, or because the situation and/or the characters have become annoying – then I review explaining the reasons I could not see the story through.
Welcome to the DNF Club! We have cookies! 😉 😀
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I love this post. I’m not sure I DNF’d enough for a whole post, but I may look at my reading closely next year and do more of it. I would say it’s fine to tell the publisher, they certainly understand not every book is right for every reader.
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I know how you feel, I absolutely hate not finishing too! I had to start this year though, because I’m trying to read everything I own before I move. It’s been so hard! It depends on how far I got and if I have anything to say other than I was bored as to whether I review it or not.
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I never believe in ploughing through a book that I’m not enjoying. Life’s too short for that! If it’s a library book or one that I’ve bought, then it just gets consigned to oblivion. If it’s an ARC, then I will try at a different time, just in case I wasn’t in the right mood. If I’m still not enjoying it, then I will review what I’ve read and explain why I didn’t finish it. I do try a bit harder to finish ARCs though.
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First you stop posting every single day, now you’ve stopping finishing every single book. I’m not sure whether I should be more proud of or more worried about you. Maybe both;)
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I don’t review books I DNF. Sometimes I give a few words why it didn’t work for me.
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Yay for you for letting yourself not grind through books that aren’t the right ones! It used to bother me a lot more to DNF a book than it does now so I think you get used to it. I usually DNF one or two books a month but I read a few hundred a year so I tell myself that’s ok. I have a shelf on Goodreads that’s labeled ‘books not finished’ and I label them as read, don’t give them a star rating, and stick them there so I’ll remember that I tried and not end up rebuying/reborrowing. It’s always so interesting to see what other people DNF so thanks for writing this up!
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I like this. I mean, I don’t like not finishing books. I’d love to finish and love every book and I’d love the same for you. But I like seeing what didn’t work for you and I do think it makes sense to put them aside when they don’t. There’s just too much else out there to try to keep slogging through something that’s not working, even if it’s a great book and just not right for you at the time. And yet, I still find it very difficult to do. 🙂
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Ahoy there matey! Thank ye kindly for yer opinions on Assistant to the Villain. I added it to me list a while back. Yer review means that I will certainly not be reading that because it is definitely not me kind of book. I certainly review the books I do not finish. I believe that if I can save someone time then it is worth it. I tend to give books 20 to 25% before abandoning them. I did use to finish every book I started but blogging led me to embrace the DNF. So abandon ship matey and find calmer waters! Arrr!
x The Captain
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I also used to relentlessly grind through every book – not for a few years now though. LIfe is too short. I think everyone’s way of dealing with this is different. I usually give most books a fair chance reading perhaps up to 25-30%. I don’t review them, I totally understand why others do because it can be helpful to others in making a choice about picking up a book or not. I do give feedback to the publisher though to let them know I’ve tried the book and it’s not working out.
Lynn 😀
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Good on you Mogsy!I find DNFs a very healthy habit which nevertheless leaves my feeling a bit guilty 😉 But I can live with a bit of guilt if I get countless hours of my life back and I don’t have to waste them on things I dislike or that leave me frustrated 😉
I do review the DNFs – I feel that’s only fair, bad books or books that didn’t work for me also deserve a review and my opinion is one of many.
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Thanks for sharing your DNF list, Mogsy! I’m glad to see it because I think such lists are helpful and also provide recommendations. I sometimes do a full review for books I DNF if I have enough to say, but these days I just do a list like this to share quick thoughts on the books. It’s helpful for me and might be helpful for others too.
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Yes!! It is SO liberating giving up!
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