Over the last couple of years, I’ve become much more comfortable with the idea of not finishing books. Life’s too short—and the TBR stack is too tall—to force myself through stories that just aren’t working for me. In this post, I’m sharing some of books I’ve DNF’d (did not finish) in the last couple of years… why I put them down, and what I learned about my own reading preferences along the way. Even if a book didn’t click for me, I still think it can be worth reading—but here’s why it didn’t suit me.
2023
April: Rumblestar by Abi Elphinstone – I’ve dipped into middle grade before due to previously working as a primary school teacher and this one was quite a popular recommendation. I was trying to find some books that I could read to my class but unfortunately this was not one of them. Honestly, I was feeling very bored whilst reading this. I remember getting quite far through and was trying my hardest to finish it but NOTHING was keeping me interested.
2024
January: Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie – I bought this along with the first one in the Poirot series for Christmas as I’d never read an Agatha Christie book before. However, I just was not vibing with Miss Marple or the plot itself. I think I got about 60% into this one and just did not care for the story. I am definitely a Poirot girl!
February: Behind Closed Doors by B. A. Paris – I’d read a book by this author previous to this one and really enjoyed it but I found the characters in this book INSUFFERABLE. After trying this one, I have definitely become more particular about what domestic thrillers I try because I couldn’t stand finishing this one.
February: Diana: In Her Own Words by Andrew Morton – I’ve always been fascinated by Princess Diana, but I just couldn’t get into this book. Perhaps because someone else wrote it, reading felt like a slog. The more I read, the less interested I got, so I gave up.
April: How to Kill a Guy in Ten Ways by Eve Kellman – I was so excited by the premise of this book but it just wasn’t delivering. I didn’t get very far through to be honest but straight from the start I knew I didn’t like the writing style.
June: Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano – I went into this one blind which probably wasn’t the right choice. I’d seen some reviews and thought ‘yeah I’ll give it a go’. After I started reading it I realised that it wasn’t really for me. If I’d looked more into it and hadn’t been gifted it by someone, I don’t think I’d have picked it for myself.
August: Blood Orange by Harriet Tyce – I haven’t got much to say about this one. The plot was weird and I didn’t like the characters. I even skipped to the end after deciding to DNF it (which I never normally do) and was glad I decided not to finish it. I think I went into it expecting an entirely different plot to what it actually was.
2025
January: Dracula by Bram Stoker – I honestly thought I was really going to enjoy this. I’m not really a gothic, horror or classics girly but I thought this book would change that… I understand this a very old written book but I was STRUGGLING and this struggle was taking away from the enjoyment. I tried my hardest to power through but ended up giving up just before the half-way point.
January: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald – Like I mentioned with Dracula, I am not a classics girl but wanted to try and branch out my reading into different genres. Maybe if I had watched the film beforehand I could’ve enjoyed reading this but I just wasn’t interested in the story. I have come to the conclusion… classics aren’t for me.
January: 1:35 A.M. by Scott Cawthon – I’ve never played Five Nights at Freddy’s but my boyfriend owns the first couple in this book series. I wanted to give them a go myself and will admit I enjoyed the first 2 in this series! However, this one just wasn’t hitting the same as the others did so I ultimately decided to DNF this book and the series. I’m not mad though as FNAF has never interested anyway so I don’t feel I’m missing out on much.
February: Til Death Do Us Bard by Rose Black – After becoming a Dungeons and Dragons fan I was on the lookout for books that give me those vibes. In all honesty, the cover and title of this book is what drew me in. However, the storyline just wasn’t doing it for me… I even tried listening to the audiobook as well as reading it physically but it didn’t change my decision to give up.
March: Beauty and the Blade by S. C. Grayson – I thought I would love this as its a Beauty and the Beast reimagining but I did not like the setting, the time period, the characters or even the plot… which is a shame because I love a retelling/reimagining.
March: Carrie by Stephen King – With how popular he is as an author, I wanted to try one of his books and I chose this one because I’d watched the movie before. The book has no chapters which is very off-putting for me and I did NOT like King’s writing style-the language he uses when talking about females. He gets a ‘no’ from me.
April: The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Jacqueline Wilson – I have never read a book from her before but was excited to try this new release that I got from a book event for the school library. However, I felt like nothing was happening in this story… I got well over half-way through and there had only been one mention of ‘the girl who wasn’t there’… I was getting bored the more I read and decided enough was enough.
April: Quicksilver by Callie Hart – I wanted to see what the hype was all about for this book so ended up buddy reading it with a friend over on Instagram. I’ll be honest, I did not make it far through before deciding it wasn’t for me. From the start it did not draw me in and I couldn’t justify committing to and sitting through so many pages.
April: The Baby Dragon Cafe by A. T. Qureshi – Cosy Fantasy? check. Dragons? check. Romance? check. This had everything I wanted in a book and I was so excited to be buddy reading it with a friend over on Instagram. However, the writing felt way younger than I what I expected (quite cringe-worthy in fact) and I ended up not caring about the main characters so decided to just call it quits.
Have you read any of these? Or DNF’d any of them?
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