The DNF Round-Up
As all readers know, sometimes a book just doesn’t click. Maybe it’s just not what you expected—or worse, maybe it’s just not working for you at all. Granted, it doesn’t happen to me too often, but when it does, that’s when DNF reviews come in. I’ve found that it greatly helps me process my reading experience to articulate why a book didn’t work for me, not to mention they also serve as a way to share my honest opinions with other readers who might feel the same—or who might actually enjoy the book for the very reasons I didn’t.
Here are the latest books that didn’t quite hit the mark for me and that I ultimately decided to put aside (a couple of these were actually from the tail end of last year).
I received review copies from the publisher(s). This does not affect the contents of my reviews and all opinions are my own.
All the Hearts You Eat by Hailey Piper
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Titan Books (October 15, 2024)
Length: 447 pages
From the start, this one felt off to me. The prose was overly flowery and purple, making the writing feel bloated with unnecessary words. It’s tough to explain, but the intro felt simultaneously drawn out and all over the place. It was also hard to care about the characters, and by the time I set the book down about a quarter of the way into the book, they still didn’t feel fully realized. Any message on solidarity and friendship was completely overshadowed by the book’s aimless structure. Simply put: too many POVs, too much chaos, and too much pointless rage made this one impossible to continue.
American Rapture by C.J. Leede
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Nightfire (October 15, 2024)
Length: 384 pages
American Rapture had such an intriguing premise: as a new virus spreading across the country making the infected feral with lust, our protagonist braves the unknown to reunite with her family. Problem is, the author is not known for sublety. Really, she is not. Being over the top and shocking is part and parcel of the style and experience. But when you are dealing with such weighty topics like spiritual wounds, conflicted identities, and societal collapse, this treatment just feels so gratuitous and flippantly distasteful. This book didn’t feel like a story; the character felt more like Leede’s mouthpiece to deliver a one-sided and heavy-handed screed, and I abandoned ship early when I realized where things were headed.
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Mogsy’s Rating: DNF
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Del Rey (January 14, 2025)
Length: 384 pages
I really really wanted to like this book. That I didn’t DNF it until well after the 50% mark should tell you just how badly I tried, but ultimately it wasn’t to be. With all the comparisons to Studio Ghibli, I was originally all on board, but as any fan knows, their films are diverses in tone and not all of them resonate with everyone. Sadly, while Water Moon had the whimsy and mythological charm down pat, it fell short in the areas that matter most to me: character development and cohesive storytelling. Troubles began with the clunky and overwrought writing style, and further issues came to light when the plot made it more important to focus on the romance. It’s a shame because I wanted to be swept away by the magic but instead I was left disappointed, though Water Moon will undoubtedly be a favorite for many.
The BiblioSanctum 
Boom! Done! BAM BAM BAM!
Now that’s what I’m talking about. DNF those suckers 😉
I am glad you do these little round ups, because it makes you as a reviewer feel much more rounded. Not every book is good and it needs to be said. I’ve said my piece before about honesty and book reviewing, so I won’t reiterate. But keep it up.
ps,
don’t know if it is your site or WP, but it kept asking me to login to leave this comment, even though I was logged in and your site even acknowledged that I was logged in because it showed my name and avater. I’m leaving this through the reader….
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Thanks Stooge. I definitely don’t want to become known as a “recommendation blog” only! And I’m not sure about the login request. Maybe it’s a security feature? It happens to me occasionally too, when I try to comment on other WP sites. But after I do it once, I’m able to comment on other WP blogs without the prompt for the rest of the session.
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Sorry to see you DNFd American Rapture. It really worked for me, but I get how over the top and heavy handed it was in some parts.
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Yeah, Leede as a style, as I’ve learned from Maeve Fly, which I liked. I think it was the combination of the writing and the premise that did me in with this one.
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Oh no, not WATER MOON! I still haven’t read it yet but have a copy from Illumicrate. Alas, not every book is for everyone. I do something similar with my DNFs, but put them in an annual wrap up post (upcoming in February!).
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It might work for you! I hope it does. I was definitely in the minority in my opinions, as the goodreads average rating is very high!
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Ha dang Mogsy I really want to love Watermoon
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I wanted to love it too! Arrrghh! 😀
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I loved Water Moon and yet as I was reading I kept wondering whether others would because I could certainly see how it might not work for everyone. I hadn’t seen it compared to Ghibli before reading and I didn’t really get those vibes, though I suppose I can see why it was compared to that.
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Never read a review of any of them so I guess no loss
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I’m hoping we’ll disagree on Water Moon as I’ve been seeing it everywhere lately and it’s made me really hyped up for it 😂 the first doesn’t sound like it would work for me and I’ve seen a rave review for the second but wasn’t fully convinced by the premise. I think it’s on my maybe list for way down the line as I have so much I’m desperate to get to.
I very rarely DNF books. I was tempted to with my last read but it was an ARC and I was determined to get it done. Thankfully after a rough first 20% it was much better.
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Aww sorry American Rapture didn’t work out. The premise sounds interesting. Glad to see the DNF roundup as always.
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I should do the occasional DNF review – although tbh I don’t have a lot of DNFs – I think I’ve improved at picking the books I will love. Plus I have quite a few favourite authors now.
Lynn 😀
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