DNF Mini Reviews-- 2 Books That I'm BUMMED Didn't Work Out For Me

I don't DNF a lot, but when I do I usually like to share a little bit about why.  Here are 2 recent DNFs and a mini-review of each one:



1.  How to Hang a Witch (#1) by Adriana Mather

My Synopsis:

Samantha moves to Salem, Massachusetts and finds out that she's related to a man involved in the witch trials... and as it turns out, it's not a popular guy to share a last name with.  She soon meets a group who calls themselves The Descendants (because they're related to the "witches" who were tried and executed) and they immediately hate her guts.  

Sam and a ghost who hangs out in her house find out about a curse that kills off family members of people related to the trials and she needs her enemy's help to stop it.




How Far I Got: 150 pages in

Why I DNF'd: The writing, the ghost, the M/C.  I was SO excited to get this book at BEA.  It was a top priority going in because WITCHES!!!  And SALEM!!!  But ughhh this one was so hard to read.  The writing, I felt, was not up to par.  The main character was constantly in her own head and telling us every little stupid snarky thing she was thinking.  I don't need to know that you thought "Yeah right" and then all the reasons you can't say "Yeah right" to a whoever.  I KNOW why you don't want to or can't say certain things to certain people because I am not stupid.  So please Samantha, stop treating me like I'm stupid.

Let's talk about the love interest(s)-- First off, the neighbor boy (who she meets in the first 2 pages) was a combo of 2 tropes I am so bored of.  1-- Sam instantly acts like she hates him, but it's totally obvious she thinks he's dreamy.  2-- he comes on super strong and tells her he likes within the first 2 conversations he has with her.  UGHHHH- stop telling the girl you like her right after you meet her.  The whole kissing thing was another disaster that added to my frustration.  THEN a ghost romance started happening and I was like ?????  I was fully prepared for maybe witches, but not witches and ghosts.  Just no.

This had the potential to be a favorite book for me.  The setting is awesome, the story has potential, but the writing needs a lot of work.  A lot.



2.  Stealing Snow (#1) by Danielle Paige

My Synopsis:

Snow has been in a mental institution since she was 6, but after a stranger comes into her room and tells her she's a princess, she's beginning to think that something has been kept from her.  When her BFF, and love, Bale gets pulled through a mirror, Snow escapes and finds a carved tree which takes her to a frozen world.

Once there, she finds out that her real father is the king of Algid and that she's the princess that has been presumed dead.  This is important because the king is a jerk and there are 2 prophecies that involve Snow and the fate of Algid.




How Far I Got: Page 130

Why I DNF'd:  The story.  Where the heck was the story??  I wanted to like this so bad!!  You see, I don't read a lot of fantasy, but I want to try to broaden my horizons and read more of it.  I've had luck with retellings, so this was all over my radar!!  Alas, I was just not feeling it.

It starts with Snow in a mental hospital, and that was the only part I liked.  I felt like that world was explained and the characters felt real.  Once she left there it was like an outline took over instead of an actual book.  There was no world, it was just oh you fell down a tree and here you are in Algid... and BTW it's cold here & you are a princess with powers.  And Snow's just like-- are all these guys here single??(cause she crushes on EVERY guy she comes across).  After that random things started happening just to happen.  It didn't feel believable, it felt... lazy?  I don't know where this book goes from there, but I don't really care.  I don't feel like the author took enough time to care about the world, so I'm not going to take time to care to read it.




Have you read either of these books??  I'm usually the black sheep, so don't hate me if you loved these books!!