15 Dropped Series in 2015

We've all been there. You're reading book one of a series and after closing those final pages you're just not interested in what happens next.

Maybe it's because book one stood so well on it's own you don't want to ruin it. Or maybe it's because things were so ridiculous that you can't imagine slogging through more books. Or maybe there are just other series you care about more.

Either way, you drop the series.

I'm really guilty of reading book one in series (usually trilogies, because YA amirite?) and then never feeling compelled to move on. It's something I've been working on in the last few years, because there are perfectly good series out there that I've dropped for no good reason.

But that's not what this is about today. This is about the series that I am intentionally dropping. I've read book one, or maybe more, in the last year or so and I just don't want to continue. I'll explain my reasonings with each book below...

1. The Young Elites Trilogy by Marie Lu
This was disappointing for me, because I liked the Legend trilogy well enough, but this book was just so soulless and boring. I don't care about what happens next, I skimmed most of the middle of the first book. So I'm out.

2. The Revolution 19 Trilogy by Gregg Rosenblum
Far too juvenile and bland for me. Not interested in more.

3. The Paper Gods Trilogy by Amanda Sun
Ink was just a rehashed version of every paranormal romance I've ever even heard of. The only draw was the Japanese setting and mythos, except we have to have a white girl at the centre of this for some bizarre reason. Also using Hepburn romanization is just too reminiscent of being 14 and writing terrible fanfic and the secondhand embarrassment was too much for me.

4. The Ever-Expanding Universe Trilogy by Martin Leicht & Isla Neal
This cover is just so clever and gorgeous, I'm almost sad I hated this as much as I did. The premise of teenage pregnancies in space was interesting enough, but there was too much icky-ness with dubious consent and girls hating girls, I just can't stomach more.

5. The Immortal City Trilogy by Scott Speer

I didn't really have high expectations for this and I wasn't wrong to feel that way. This book tried to do some interesting things with commentaries on celebrity and capitalism, but it just devolved into more dumb paranormal romance. Pass.

6. The Zodiac Trilogy by Romina Russell

Bizarrely over-complicated but paper thin worldbuilding dragged this book down. It was slow and boring and though some of the characters were interesting, I just don't care enough about anyone involved to continue.

7. The Extraction Trilogy by Stephanie Diaz

I was looking forward to this one, but it ended up being another run-of-the-mill dystopian. The plot was predictable, the writing was bland and again, I don't care about what happens to anyone.

8. The Taken Trilogy by Erin Bowmen

If you've never read a YA dystopian novel before, you'll probably love this. Otherwise, you'll be able to predict nearly the entire thing--and probably the rest of the trilogy along with it. (Try it, I did and then looked up some spoilers and wasn't really wrong.) Pass.

9. The Lies Beneath Trilogy by Anne Greenwood Brown
More actual murderous mermaids and less romance. Again, this devolved into typical paranormal romance and man some of the things that were played off as "romantic" were really gross. Hard pass.

10. The Pledge Series by Kimberly Derting
This was cute and all, but I don't really care about what happens next? I've read a few spoilers for the next book and beyond and I'm not interested in continuing.

11. The Razorland Trilogy by Ann Aguirre
I read both Enclave and Outpost before deciding I was done with this. Outpost got too "because of the apocalypse we've reverted to the old way of doing things, including inferior status for women". No. Come on. This isn't necessary. I read spoilers for Horde and I'm not sorry I stopped reading.

12. The Johannes Cabal Series by Johnathan L. Howard
I was trying something new with this one. I don't really regret it, but it's just that this book wasn't exceptional enough for me to care about wanting to read three more in the series.

13. The Fire Sermon Trilogy by Francesa Haig
Despite it's marketing, this was a fairly typical dystopian tale. The worldbuilding was interesting and the conflict of Alpha and Omega twins skirted the line of being gross and ableist, but it managed to mostly steer clear of crossing it. Again, I just don't really care what happens next?

14. The Juliet Immortal Duology by Stacey Jay
Okay, this one is different. I loved this first book. A lot. It was light and fun and cute. The sequel Romeo Redeemed is more companion novel than anything else. And I'm probably not going to read it. Because I don't need to know what happens. I'm fine leaving this at one book.

15. The Wintercraft Trilogy by Jenna Burtenshaw
I'm waffling on this one. Book one was okay. Simplistic, but entertaining enough. I wouldn't be opposed to reading more. But it's not super high on my priority list right now. And I can't see that changing any time soon.


Phew! That was a lot more than I thought!

Read any of these? What did you think? What series have you been unimpressed with? Let's chat in the comments!

Top 5 Wednesday || Series to Start in 2016

Starting the rejuvenated blogging off right with Top 5 Wednesday! This week's topic is "Series I Want to Start in 2016".

1. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
It's getting to the point that it's almost embarrassing that I haven't read this yet. I own all three of the books. I know I'm going to like it. I keep meaning to read it. What is wrong with me?

2. The Broken Earth Series by N.K. Jemisin
Jemisin's work has been on my radar for a while now. All her stuff sounds really interesting. But I've heard some excellent things about The Fifth Season in particular, and the sequel is coming out in 2016, so!

3. The Captive Prince Trilogy by C.S. Pacat
This one seems to be notoriously difficult to find, so I'm probably going to have to buy it online. Adriana from Perpetual Pages has raved about this book and series--and come on, queer fantasy? Yes please.

4. The Remnant Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson
I got The Kiss of Deception for Christmas last year... so I really need to get around to this. I've heard spectacular things, and the idea of not knowing who is the prince and who is the assassin sounds SO cool.

5. The Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley
Another really interesting sounding series that I've heard great things about. This list is so fantasy-biased anyway, might as well keep up the trend!


There are a ton of series I want to finish in 2016 as well, but that will have to be a separate post!

What are you wanting to start in 2016? Any of these look interesting? Let's chat in the comments!

Well.

Hi.

Listen, I know I've been atrocious about blogging for the last year, but in my defense, 2015 was really hard. I'd just moved, I had all new courses to teach--which were a combination of really academic and really not, both of which are challenging for different reasons. And I kept getting really sick.

But I've still been reading. I've still be watching way too much BookTube. And with all the cool year end videos coming out now, I was really wanting to share some of my thoughts again.

I've archived a lot of collected posts (reviews, challenges, etc) from 2014 so that I can make room for the new-and-improved 2016 versions. I've still been keeping things up to date on my Goodreads profile, so if you're curious, you can check that out.

I know I'm probably screaming out into the void. There weren't that many people following this blog anyway, and I can't imagine many of you stuck around through that indefinite hiatus. But whatever.

I'm here. I'm going to try again. We'll see how this goes.

Review Archive 2014

Here are all the reviews I posted on the blog in 2014.

Alphabet Challenge 2014 Archive

Here is the archive of my 2014 Alphabet Reading Challenge!

Seriously Series 2014 Archive

Here is the archive of my Seriously Series 2014 Challenge!

Review || Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles #1) by Jessica Spotswood ★★☆☆☆

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

I kept setting this book down because it just wasn't really holding my interest. When I thought to pick it up again, I usually breezed through 100 pages or so before setting it down again. 

Not that it was a bad book, but it just wasn't anything super exciting. The premise is really interesting and the world becomes more complex as things get going, but overall things faltered because of mediocre execution.

Cate is an interesting narrator, but she holds up the progression of the story for chapters at a time because of her stubbornness and unwillingness to yield to change. It becomes exhausting at times. And there's a little too much, "everyone knows something you don't know" going on here for my tastes. I don't mind a good mystery, teasing out the unknown from the narrative. But Cate throws up roadblock after roadblock that it's almost impossible to get at those hidden details until they're basically right on top of you.

There are some interesting plot threads that have yet to be tied up, but I'm not sure if I actually want to go through the trouble of reading the next two books in the trilogy or if I'd rather just seek out spoilers on the internet.

Review || Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey ★★★☆☆

Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

3 stars is absolutely too generous for this book, objectively.

The writing, plot and characters are nothing special or memorable. It does not do anything unexpected. It has a huge number of extremely problematic moments.

Objectively.

Subjectively, I gobbled this book up. Light, fluffy and mostly mindless, it was not only exactly what I was in the mood for at the time, but features one of my favourite tropes of all time.

If your blurb goes anything like this, "Character A sworn to protect Character B, but Character B can't remember their past lives together." I am 110% down for your book.

It's an affliction.

I'm trash.

And this book is kind of trashy too. But whatever. I'm under no illusions about it. It's ridiculous, I'm ridiculous, and I had a good few hours reading it.

The end!

Review || The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan

The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan ★☆☆☆☆

Jake Marlowe is the last werewolf. Now just over 200 years old, Jake has an insatiable appreciation for good scotch, books, and the pleasures of the flesh, with a voracious libido and a hunger for meat that drives him crazy each full moon. Although he is physically healthy, Jake has slipped into a deep existential crisis, considering taking his own life and ending a legend that has lived for thousands of years. But there are two dangerous groups--one new, one ancient--with reasons of their own for wanting Jake very much alive.

1.5 stars?

Basically, my reaction to the whole thing can be summed up with this gif:



Because really. Now, I get that Jake not being a likeable narrator is 100% the point. And that's not even what I minded about him. It was more that I don't think Jake's a relateable narrator if you're not male.

A lot of people slag off on this book because it's "literary fiction about werewolves". And by that, they take issue with the pretentious writing. Which, I'll give them, because at first I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get past it. I did, though, because you adapt to it.

But if you're going to criticize this book for being "literary", let's do it because it falls down all the same trappings: horrible representation and characterization of women, tortured male angsting--oh sorry, brooding, sex and drink and drugs just don't do it for me, recycled familial drama. And most bizarrely, insta-love. Which, I'll be honest, I expect to some degree in YA, so it seemed jarringly out of place here.

I'll admit, my interest was peaked with the addition of Tallula, but I mostly spent the next few chapters wishing we were telling her story instead of Jake's. But the way the book ended doesn't make me want to read on despite this. Mostly because I'd want her story, but as told by someone else.

But whatever. I read it. I didn't particularly enjoy it for any considerable stretch. And now it'll go in the 'to donate' pile. There it is. (I'll admit, this was a cover buy anyway and I mostly picked it up to read to see if it was worth keeping around. And it wasn't. So.)