**My ribbon finally frays beyond repair from tying my long hair back one too many times. I throw it in the waste bin and cut a new strand of ribbon from my roll and gently tie my hair back with the new piece. I grab a satchel full of books and take it to the library on the outskirts of town to donate. I drop the books off to a lady in high-heeled shoes and a dress that reaches her ankles, her brown hair slightly graying at the temples. I leave the bag with her as a donation to use in the library and make my way back home, careful to avoid the cracks in the cobblestone.**

I read a total of 50 books in 2025, and had 4 dnfs on top of that. Not every book is going to be perfect or one you really enjoy, which leads us to today’s post. Since I discussed my top ten books of 2025, now I get to discuss all of my dnfs and a few of my least favorite reads of last year.

Starting with my dnfs:

• The Hurricane Wars – Thea Guanzon

I was really excited about this book. It kind of reminded me of an adult version of Shadow and Bone with the fmc using light magic and the mmc using shadow magic. It seemed like such a great concept for a book but I found myself bored for the 100 pages I read. Nothing was really happening and the idea of the seven moons kept getting brought up which felt repetitive. I think the writing style may have thrown me in this one as well, but I don’t fully remember since I started this early last year. I just wasn’t enjoying it and didn’t see myself changing my thoughts on it so I decided to dnf.

• A French Girl in New York – Anna Adams

This is a ya romance following an orphan living in Paris who wants to be an opera singer. When a video of her goes viral online, she gets the chance to go to New York to sign as a pop singer instead, which also gives her a chance to find her father. This one was the writing style for me. It felt very immature and I could not resonate with how it was written. I gave it a solid chance and could not get invested in the story either. I didn’t find myself caring about what happened next or how it would end, so I thought a dnf was for the best.

• Loveless – Alice Oseman

I had wanted to read this one for a while. This is a coming of age, college story that seemed really good. I had read Radio Silence by this author and didn’t really like it, but figured I would give another book a try. I have realized that I just don’t like Alice Oseman’s writing style. I don’t know what it is, but I find it dry and like I can’t get invested in the plot. Each chapter of this one felt like it didn’t flow properly from the previous, and each one felt separate but the same. I just could not get into it and decided to give up.

• A Novel Love Story – Ashley Poston

This one really hurt. I enjoyed The Dead Romantics and thought the idea of a woman getting stuck in the town from her favorite romance series was so fun. However, the execution didn’t do anything for me. I had no interest in any of the characters and didn’t connect with the story. I was just bored the whole time but kept pushing myself to finish it. I was on this one for a while before I finally decided to put it down. I think I may have even read a book in the middle of this one to take a break, but I don’t think I would ever go back. I would like to try The Seven Year Slip since that one is really popular, but this one was just not it.

I don’t think I would say I hated any of the books I read in 2025. Even with the ones I didn’t really enjoy, I found some things to like about them. But if I had to pick, these were probably my five least favorites.

• Starfall – Melissa Landers

I read Starflight, the first book in this duology, back in 2020 and adored it. It was in my top 5 reads of the year. It was a sci-fi with enemies to lovers and space pirates. It was very different frmo anything I had read and thought it was great. This one on the other hand . . . was not. This book follows two characters we meet in book one, so I don’t know if it was because it was different characters, or because it had been so long since I read the first one, or just because I genuinely wasn’t a fan, but I didn’t really like this one. I was bored and extremely uninterested. I felt annoyed throughout this one too. It did have some good quotes and moments, but overall I wasn’t a fan.

• Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven – Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo

I have read four books in this graphic novel series, and I think I’m done reading them. This is the third, and I read the fourth, Teen Titans: Robin, soon after, and didn’t really enjoy either. I think that this series just changed the characters so much, especially Robin, and I wasn’t a big fan of that. It didn’t really feel like there was much to any of these books as well which makes them a bit underwhelming. I think there’s only two that I haven’t read but I think I’d really have to be in a graphic novel mood to read them. Or intrigued as to what happens next.

• Queens of Geek – Jen Wilde

I so badly wanted to love this one. I had wanted to read it for years and finally got to it. It follows three friends and two romances set at a convention, with one of them being a guest of the con and the other two being her friends who accompany her and check out the convention center. I read this right after I went to my first convention which made it even more special. However, I didn’t actually like this book. I don’t really know what it was, but I just didn’t vibe with the story and wasn’t interested. The idea was so fun but I couldn’t get into it.

• Run On Red – Noelle W. Ihli

This book was one that a family member loaned to me, so of course I gave it a try. It follows two girls who are being followed to a party that eventually turns to an on-foot chase through the woods. I thought this was fine, but I think that the reasoning behind everything was kind of . . . underwhelming? strange? I guess I’m trying to say that it felt like the people pursuing the main characters didn’t have a valid reason or actual motivations. It was just stupid and didn’t fit the story. It’s kind of hard to explain without giving away the end, but you may get it if you’ve read it. Anyway, I wasn’t a fan of the wrap-up and I think the chase made it feel more realistic compared to other thrillers which is something I also didn’t like since it felt too real. Overall, I wasn’t a fan.

• Along For the Ride – Sarah Dessen

I thought this would be a cute ya romance that had that slightly older feel reminiscent of an early Morgan Matson novel, but it was just not one I enjoyed. This one follows a girl who stays the summer with her dad, step-mom, and new half-sister, so while she’s there she explores the beach town with a fellow insomniac in the late hours of the night. I did not really like this. Just like with Queens of Geek, I had wanted to read it for several years and was disappointed when I finally got to it. I was really bored with this one and I didn’t really like the characters. Auden, the main girl, was kind of annoying. I also wasn’t really convinced by the romance, and the writing was a bit dull for me. I really thought I would like this one, but I ended up not enjoying it at all.

I love going through people’s best and worst books of the year. Now that we have discussed our worst, we have officially finished all of the wrap-up posts. Next up we will discuss my February TBR. February actually has a post I am very excited for, so stay tuned for that. It should be up towards the end of the month. Until then, happy reading.

xoxo,

Just another reader