2024 DNFs: Part 1
This year I made the resolution to stop treating DNF like a bad word, setting aside books just aren’t grabbing me because life is too short and the TBR is too long. And well, I’ve never been one to do anything halfway. We’re only into March and I already have a handful of abandoned books.
Keep in mind though, 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 most books, that determination was made at around 25-33%, enough to safely say I gave it a fair shot. That said, my commentary is meant to provide feedback because even though I may have given up on a book, others might find that it works for them. Perhaps my perspectives can assist you in determining whether you’ll enjoy it or not.
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 (February 13, 2024)
Length: 352 pages
I had such high hopes for this one, but after the the initial rush, the momentum fizzled and I couldn’t muster up much interest for the main characters or the plot. I did enjoy the writing style which was very readable, and it was the prose that initially captured my attention. However, for a novel described as a heist story, the energy was lacking. After almost a hundred pages in and we were going nowhere fast, I decided to throw in the towel.
This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Quirk Books (January 16, 2024)
Length: 304 pages
This book had an incredible premise inspired by the true events of the Dyatlov Pass incident in which nine hikers died under mysterious circumstances in the northern Ural Mountains in 1959. Unfortunately, after several false starts where I found myself rereading the first few chapters multiple times, I finally realized it was the writing style that did not work for me. Alternating between a matter-of-fact documentary-type prose and some of the more abstract dreamlike sequences threw me for a loop, and the POV switches also proved too confusing and annoying. If you’re a fan of the concept behind movies like The Blair Witch Project though, this might be one to check out.
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Science Fiction
Series: Book 1 of Frontlines: Evolution
Publisher: Brilliance Audio (January 1, 2024)
Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
DNFing this one actually broke my heart a little. There was nothing inherently wrong with it; in fact, it was quite action-packed and entertaining. The problem was, I also knew it wasn’t going to amount to anything more than that. Having greatly enjoyed Marko Kloos’s Palladium Wars series, I had expected a similar caliber of epic space opera intrigue and complexity. To be clear, there’s absolutely nothing wrong about a dystopian surival story about a girl and her dog, and dog lovers are sure to love this one, but at the time I was hankering for something more impactful.
The BiblioSanctum 
I am all for DNFs (although not that great with them myself ;)) – life is too short for bad books!
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Not too good within them myself, but striving to give my moods more attention and care 🙂
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Welcome to the DNF Club! 🙂
Sometimes we have to admit that a book is not the right fit for us and we need to move on…
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Exactly, I think I have been forcing myself too much.
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You have inspired me to try one of these posts, since I have a few DNFs myself. Sorry to hear about This Wretched Valley, I’ve been hearing good things from other readers.
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Yeah, it was definitely a mood thing. I just wasn’t feeling it, though I think it would have worked better if I’d been in a different frame of mind.
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I like seeing this type of post! It’s weirdly freeing to share DNFs, even the ones you don’t read enough of to review. I might do my own post soon!
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It feels pretty good, and I always try to share some positive insights because with all books YMMV
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I’m still terrible at DNF’ing but I absolutely think it’s a good idea. The Frame-Up caught my eye when I first saw the cover and title because I was a picture framer for many years, though I’ve no clue if that would have improved my chances of enjoying the story. 🙂
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Haha it might. I was excited that it was a heist book, but that part didn’t really pan out like I thought.
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I decided quite a while ago that life is too short to make yourself complete a book that you’re not enjoying. I seem to DNF very little these days which I think is because I’ve become a little better about making the right book choices for myself (fingers crossed for that). I like this post though, I rarely post DNFs but perhaps I should – it doesn’t have to be negative after all.
Lynn 😀
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The ggoal for me is to reach that point! I just need to be pickier and better at choosing the books I know I will like, and that will involve not getting distracted by all the shinies 😅
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Im terrible at DNFing books too but you’re definitely right about lite being too short to read things that you’re not really into. I feel like I’d struggle with abstract, dreamlike sequences too.
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I’ve definitely learned to be choosier with the books I request, and I know dreamlike abstract magical realism type books are ones that tend to give me trouble!
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*applauds*
DNF is the way
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I’m slowly getting used to the idea!
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I definitely learned to DNF at some point. There are a couple of books I didn’t DNF until over 75% in (and if I can drop it at that point, there’s something seriously wrong!)
Glad you found your way to move on to books you’ll enjoy more
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Oof, I’d definitely find it hard to dnf at such a late stage! Fortunately usually by a quarter or third of the way through I feel I have a book’s number 🙂
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I have to really, really dislike the book, like, its making me angry to continue reading to and I just don’t care. It has rarely happened, but I can’t say I regret dropping any book that makes me feel that way. Wished I had DNFd them quicker 😀
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