Review: Recent DNF's

I don't normally write reviews for books that I don't finish, however that is all that I seem to have lately! Maybe it's just a slump, or maybe I am just not picking any good books! I have been in the mood for Contemporary Romance lately, and I am just striking out left and right. 

Act Like It by Lucy Parker

DNF at 20%

This book was a TTT find for me, and the synopsis totally sounds like it would be up my alley.  In fact, it reminds me a lot of one of my favorite Susan Elizabeth Phillips books, What I Did For Love. But honestly, as I was reading it, I had a hard time connecting with the characters, and a lot of the jargon and descriptions was just so overly British, that it kept pulling me out of the story. And of course, I know that the book is set in London and the author lives in New Zealand, so I really can't hold it against the book. It just didn't flow very well in my head as I was reading it. Not to mention, there was a lot of awkward sentence structure and quite a few grammar mistakes even in the tiny bit of the book that I read. I know I am in the minority in this, but the lack of connection to the characters or the story made this a DNF for me.

Blind Reality by Heidi McLaughlin

DNF at 13% 

This one makes me kind of sad, because I love the premise. I think it sounds like such a fun read! But it was just such a miss for me. I would like to state that I am an ardent fan girl. I squee and get ridiculous over actors with the best of them. I know that I would probably be just like Joey was in the beginning, when finding out she was married to her biggest celebrity crush. But oh my goodness, it was so annoying to read. I think I am well adjusted enough to know the difference between a crush and real love, and it seemed like Joey had a lot of expectations right off the bat, and then was disappointed when they weren't met. And honestly, I just couldn't stand another minute of her fangirling. Then when I read the description to the sequel, I knew I had to bow out of this one.

First Star I See Tonight by SEP

DNF at 53%

 

This one legitimately breaks my heart. I LOVE Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Even more than my love of her, I love her Chicago Stars series. I was so absolutely stoked when I found out that she was revisiting the Stars world. It was amazing news! And when I started this book, it was the best thing, and seriously, like all of SEP's books, it felt like coming home. Her heroines are always feisty and smart and strong, and her heroes are always hot and protective and strong. It's almost always a good time guarantee. But this book, man. I don't know what SEP was thinking when she decided to have Middle Eastern characters play a role in this story. It just so impossibly stereotypical and awful. I had to give up before I got even more angry at her and before she could give us one more "Well, here in America..." proclamation. Seriously, this one was the biggest of them all, and that makes me impossibly sad.