Nicely, I simply obtained again from summer season trip and I’m nonetheless making an attempt to make amends for life. Since I don’t fairly have it in me to deal with a full assessment but, this makes it the proper time for an additional DNF roundup!
So, right here we’re as soon as once more. As all the time, these are merely books that weren’t the suitable match for me on the proper time, not essentially unhealthy books. In actual fact, one in all my favourite issues about doing these DNF posts is that they usually spark conversations with readers who ended up loving the very books I couldn’t end. Hopefully, if one in all these titles catches your eye, you’ll have a a lot better expertise with it than I did.
I acquired assessment copies from the writer(s). This doesn’t have an effect on the contents of my opinions and all opinions are my very own.
The Lady with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
Mogsy’s Ranking: DNF
Style: Fantasy, Historic Fiction
Collection: Stand Alone
Writer: Tor Books (Could 5, 2026)
Size: 308 pages
I actually needed this one to work as a result of the premise sounded unbelievable. Set towards the backdrop of Forties wartime Hong Kong, it follows two ladies sure by a household curse whose paths turn into entangled by means of ghosts, vengeance, and long-buried secrets and techniques. The primary half had me intrigued, particularly with its wealthy ambiance and supernatural parts, however someplace alongside the way in which the story shifted in each construction and magnificence, and I regularly discovered myself shedding curiosity. The elevated use of second-person narration by no means clicked for me both, and as a substitute of pulling me additional into the story, it saved pushing me again out. I really made all of it the way in which to in regards to the 80% mark earlier than admitting it simply wasn’t working for me anymore, so it wasn’t for the shortage of making an attempt. Nonetheless, I finally realized I used to be pushing by means of out of obligation slightly than enjoyment, and I promised myself I wasn’t going to try this anymore. Into the DNF pile it went, although it’d discover an viewers with followers of literary fantasy or historic fiction that experiments with distinctive views.
Mogsy’s Ranking: DNF
Style: Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Collection: E-book 1 in The Home of Enamel
Writer: Del Rey (March 17, 2026)
Size: 560 pages
This was my third Ava Reid novel, and truthfully, whereas I made it by means of the primary two feeling they have been comparatively pleasing, possibly I ought to begin accepting that her writing merely isn’t for me. Innamorata follows Girl Agnes as she navigates a world of fallen noble home and forbidden necromancy whereas looking for a technique to restore her household’s honor, however then after all, her trigger will get utterly derailed by the romance. If solely it was simply that, although. As soon as once more, the gothic ambiance and premise instantly caught my consideration, however I discovered myself struggling virtually from the get go along with the creator’s overly flowery prose. It’s true I’ve had comparable points with Reid’s earlier books, however by now my persistence for the gradual pacing and relentlessly overdramatic writing has worn skinny. Most unlucky of all was the very fact I might all the time see the potential beneath the floor, however by no means fairly discovered my manner into the story itself. Different readers may need a greater time than I did, offered they’re prepared to settle in for the lengthy haul.
Evening Objects by Eli Raphael
Mogsy’s Ranking: DNF
Style: Thriller, Thriller
Collection: Stand Alone
Writer: Grand Central Publishing (Could 26, 2026)
Size: 384 pages
Evening Objects appeared like precisely the sort of slow-burning thriller I often get pleasure from. It follows Lenny, who appears again on her years at an elite boarding college the place a friendship with an unique secret society finally led to the suspicious dying of one in all its members. Sadly, by the midway level I felt just like the thriller was nonetheless spinning its wheels, with an excessive amount of time spent on the day-to-day college drama whereas the central intrigue barely appeared to maneuver ahead. This was really chosen to be my poolside learn in the course of the summer season, and unhappy to say, that wasn’t one of the best resolution. I noticed I simply wasn’t invested sufficient to maintain reaching for it between my laps. In a unique temper, I may need been prepared to stay it out and see the place all the pieces was headed, however this simply didn’t maintain my consideration.
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