Top Ten Tuesday: Series I’m DNF’ing in 2024

As part of my year end wrap up, I decide to include the series I began in 2024 and decided to DNF this year. To simplify things, I’ll be posting the most recent book I read in the series with a link to either my review or the Goodreads page if I did not post a review. This is also sort of an unofficial, off-theme Top Ten Tuesday post!

• Lore of the Wilds by Analeigh Sbrana – The relationships in this book felt forced and there was a reveal at the end that felt like character assassination. While not bad, the ending ultimately left me feeling negatively enough I won’t continue.
• Remedial Magic by Melissa Marr – The insta-lust between the main character and her love interest really didn’t work for me and what sounds like a cozy fantasy romance isn’t all that cozy at all once you learn about the world.
• Hunt on Dark Waters by Katee Robert – I really dig Robert’s Dark Olympus series, but this one was terribly boring and I didn’t like the characters much either.
• How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler – I had a fairly good time with the first installment, but I don’t see the appeal continuing through another book especially since I can only deal with juvenile humor in small doses.
• Assistant to the Villain by Hanna Nicole Maehrer – Genuinely terrible from the first chapters. I didn’t listen to the audiobook long enough to justify writing a full review, but the dialogue was stiff and the main character was an idiot that I generously described as a manic pixie dumbass.

• When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker – I feel I was overly generous with my rating of this after further thought. The plot had too much going on and suffered from pacing issues, plus I don’t actually care what happens next now that I’ve had months to think on it.
• The Gods Below by Andrea Stewart – This started strong, but my interest waned as the book progressed – never a good thing! The worldbuilding is cool but I’m not invested enough to continue.
• Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan – Yes, in my review I was pretty excited about the ending and to check out the sequel. I think this series actually has a lot going for it and this was a compelling start, but ultimately I don’t see myself continuing unless I see some HIGH praise for the sequel.
• We Solve Murders by Richard Osman – This might be my biggest let down of the year simply because of how much I loved the Thursday Murder Club. I had very high expectations and ultimately found this to be a little boring, though I did like the characters. I could be compelled to continue if I see some glowing reviews for book 2.
• The Deer and the Dragon by Piper CJ – This was just bad. There are so many issues here and surprisingly not all of them belong to the main character.

**Many of these are fantasy romance or romantasy books, but it’s a genre I enjoy overall and there is such an influx of new reading material that I like to check out anything that looks interesting. As a result, many books don’t work for me, but I review books whether or not I enjoy them!