I've been wanting to do this category for some time now, mostly because I've been wanting to give a definitive list of series that I definitely won't be continuing as I've officially 'given up' on them.
1) 'Twisted Tales' Series by Liz Braswell ('Reflection' by Elizabeth Lim).
Just looking at these stunning covers makes me imagine cries of outrage from you all! I love villains, fairy tales, retellings and Disney as much as the rest of you! Why on Earth am I giving up on this one? Was my first experience really that bad? The answer is yes. Yes it was. As someone who enjoys fan-fiction, I did NOT like reading half a book of the same Aladdin script I'm used to and another half of weird nonsense. Having said that, I love Mulan and I can see now that 'Reflection' is written by a different author...so maybe?
2) 'Midnight, Texas' Series by Charlaine Harris.
I really didn't like the first book of this series. Not even a little bit. It's a shame that it was my first and only impression of Charlaine Harris so far, as I know that people really enjoy her books but I couldn't stand the MC in this one, his pig-headed attitude towards women, the necessity to over-describe everyone's appearance, and the lack of real story.
3) 'Passenger' Series by Alexandra Bracken.
I couldn't really get on board with this first book. For me, the pacing was all over the place and the characters not so likeable. Though I liked MC Etta's spirit, I liked nothing else about her. Side characters such as Sophia drew my interest more, but didn't get enough page time. And the romance? It screamed insta-love to me and I just rolled my eyes all the way through it! I'd have liked more time travel and less time-wasting from a book that was supposed to focus on the first.
4) 'Soulwoven' Series by Jeff Seymour.
The main thing that I remember about book one of this series is how entirely forgettable it was. It was a vague fantasy quest book, playing to every trope imaginable and while the story was good, I had absolutely no connection to any of the POVs or what was going on at all. I really just didn't care enough.
5) 'Hunter' Series by Mercedes Lackey.
Again - beautiful covers that mask a less-than-average book. The story was a mish-mash of books I've read before, with a lot of Suzanne Collin's 'The Hunger Games' series coming out and a little bit of Attack On Titan! for good measure.. But the MC (I forget her name) was a total Mary Sue! She just did everything so perfectly, and with very little real experience. I didn't understand what was happening really and dismissed it pretty early on.
6) 'Fairytale Retellings' Series by Jackson Pearce.
I wanted to use the gorgeous covers found for 'Sisters Red' and 'Sweetly' for this post, but the first thing this series lacks? COVER CONSISTENCY. Ugh, it's my pet peeve when it comes to books! But that aside, I only got as far as reading the retelling of 'Little Red Riding Hood' before deciding this was not for me, because while it started relatively strong, it became horrendous as the book progressed. Terrible plot, terrible characters and not much in the way of world-building.
7) 'Benedict-Savant' Series by Joss Stirling.
This series is very much Stirling's response to the 'Twilight' series, and when I read book one I actually liked it. It did a few things differently, some better because Sky had a personality and Zed was a bit of a bad boy. But, after reading 'Stealing Phoenix', I've decided that this series is a little young for me and definitely not my thing. The stories are so predictable and tropey, with very little originality and a bit too much romance. The powers are kind of cool, but that's as far as it goes.
8) 'The Queen Of The Tearling' Series by Erika Johansen.
Upon finishing book one, I was disappointed by how mediocre I had found it. I'd heard so many great things about it and became excited by all of the attention it had received! But book two really through it off the track for me, and I'm 100% not finishing this series. Boring story, bizarre world-building and annoying characters do not make this a good read. At all.
9) 'Magisterium' Series by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare.
I had high hopes for this series because Holly Black, a favourite author of mine, was involved. And I didn't hate it. But I won't go beyond book one because it was just a bit too much like the 'Harry Potter' series we all know and love, except not executed nearly as well. It's such a shame! Look at those lovely covers!
10) ''Mancer' Series by Ferrett Steinmetz.
This book really drops you into it's bizarre world, and in some ways that could have been a good thing. Unfortunately, this world has a lot of rules and if they aren't explained then I'm really not going to get it! The MC was the most annoying aspect of it all though, because he was the very definition of self-loathing. He just whined and complained his way through the story and it got a little old after a while.
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