Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic was submitted by Sia @ everybookadoorway.com, and is Books That Defied My Expectations. I decided to share books I expected to love and ended up DNFing (did not finish) instead. I rarely talk about the books I abandoned partway through, so I thought it would be an interesting change. I won’t elaborate too much on why I DNFed because I hate hurting feelings. In most cases, these books just weren’t for me!
1. Love on Deck by Kasey Stockton (DNFed at 30%)
There were some things mentioned that indicated that either the author has never been on a cruise before or didn’t research what they are like beforehand. I won’t go into all the nitty gritty, but I really struggle when this happens.
2. Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura (DNFed at 34%)
This was one of my most anticipated 2023 releases, but I really didn’t like the characters and the dialogue was extremely corny/cheesy.
3. The Heiress at Sea by Christi Caldwell (DNFed at 15%)
I love a romance on the high seas, but found the writing style to be incredibly frustrating. The heroine is also one of the stupidest heroines I’ve ever read about. The story is way too silly and lacking in all plausibility.
4. What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall (DNF @ 15%)
I am a very character-driven reader, and I couldn’t stand the main character here.
5. The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren (DNFed @ 57%)
I tried so hard, but I just did’t like Fizzy as a main character. I couldn’t connect with her and didn’t care about her journey. This also really didn’t feel like a romance to me.
6. Seatmate by Cara Bastone (DNFed @ ?)
Sicne audible hates letting us know what percentage we’re at, I didn’t mark where I was when I stopped. I LOVED the first two books in this series, but this one just didn’t do it for me.
7. When in Rome by Sarah Adams (DNFed @ 51%)
After ADORING The Cheat Sheet, it’s hard to believe this book is by the same author. I felt no chemistry between the main characters, the same things and the same conversations kept happening over and over again, and Noah’s eyes kept getting more and more obnoxiously green as the book went on. I kept reading about how everyone in this book is so beautiful and so perfect and so pretty, and that was it. It felt very shallow.
8. The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James (DNFed @ ?)
I feel like this might have been a bit too creepy for me? lol. I don’t remember now!
9. An Accidental Odyssey by K.C. Dyer (DNFed @ 39%)
I remember feeling a very passionate hatred for the main character. LOL
10. Then Came You by Lisa Kleypas (DNFed @ 33%)
I. Love. Lisa. But I did not love this book. There’s major consent issues, and some very unlikeable characters.
Feel free to disagree with me, but please be nice! lol.
What books have you read that defied your expectations, good or bad?
Thanks so much for posting these each week. :)
The Book of Cold Cases was surprisingly spooky. I try to avoid those books, but it gave no idnication that it was supposed to be scary until I got to reading it!!
Have a great week!
I listened to the audiobook of When in Rome and although I didn’t DNF I totally get what you mean about the repetition it really irritated me!
I don’t tend to remember the books I DNF’d…or ones I finished but ended up regretting. Even when I check Goodreads it seemed I still rated them higher than I expected when I remember not enjoying it! Lol. Only one on here I’m familiar with is What Lies in the Woods since that’s one I still want to read! Hoping I won’t fall in the same boat as you though as I adore this author!
Here’s my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I have heard a lot about What Lies in the Woods and mostly not positive. Also about When in Rome actually. Personally, I haven’t either heard of, or picked up any of today’s books.
My TTT: https://laurieisreading.com/2023/09/05/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-defied-my-expectations/
Seatmate is one I finished, but it annoyed me. I hated the background noise. It took away from my listening experience. I’m sad you didn’t like Adams’s book or St. James’s, but I get it.
I haven’t read any of these books, but I share your annoyance with Audible for not letting us know how far we are into a book percentage-wise. I switched (mostly) to Libro.fm for other reasons a little while ago, and they show me the percent complete! Makes me much happier.
Sorry you had to DNF all of these. I DNFed 2 this summer, it’s always painful, so I decided to focus on nice surprises for my post today #53 in the iist
I finished THE BOOK OF COLD CASES, but it’s far from my favorite novel by St. James.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I like your take on this week’s topic. I’m sad to hear about Love on Deck. I was hoping to enjoy that book. But I do struggle when an author hasn’t researched a topic very well. Thanks for the heads up.
Add this to the topics list!