August and September DNF

Two in one, because I was a bit busy at the end of August with University prep. and such. These are books that I did not finish for a good reason to do with the book. Basically this is me explaining why I couldn't finish certain books.

Icons by Margaret Stohl
This one ended up in the did not finish pile for a couple of reason. I didn't like, or really care about the main character (I have forgotten her name). She was kind of annoying and quite dull, but outside of that I didn't much care. The story line was difficult to follow, possibly because I hadn't been drawn in to it. What I know of the plot came mostly from the book jacket- I didn't really get a hint of it in the book, the way the ideas were presented was kind of convoluted and unclear.  I just barely made it to the introduction of the love interest, who didn't remotely interest me as a character.

Embrace by Jessica Shirvington
I knew this one was going to be if-y, just because I have a minor angel prejudice, but after reading and enjoying Angelfall (review here), I was willing to give another angel book a try. So I pulled this one off of the shelf at the library. From the start the heroine bothered me, and her friend bothered me and the love interest bothered me. The way the angels were described disinterested me. Violet just isn't the sort of heroine that I enjoy reading. She seems very shallow, and I've never really liked reading about boy-crazy girls, who will try anything to get a boy's attention, and was easily swayed by her friend's opinions. Maybe that is how a lot of teenagers behave, but I personally couldn't connect to her (I am a teenage hermit, possibly). Maybe she develops as the story progresses, but I couldn't stick her out. The writing, while not bad, didn't captivate me, and the plot seemed pretty formula (and I usually deal with, and even enjoy, slightly formulaic plots, but the characters couldn't carry it). I don't even thing I finished the first hundred pages.

The Rose Throne by Mette Ivie Harrison

I wasn't crazy about this one to begin with, but I enjoy fantasy, so I decided to give it a go. I didn't end up finishing it. The magic in this world seems... kind of unexciting and not explained as well as it could have been, and the princesses themselves were sort of flat as characters. I couldn't keep track of their names, and it sort of felt like they were both desperate to have a love interest of some description, which is not the way to find someone you actually like. I didn't get very far into this one.

Overall there weren't actually too many that hit the DNF pile for any clear reason- sometimes I just forgot I was reading  book and then it had to go back to the library, or I didn't have the time and/or inclination to pick it up. Others I kind of dragged myself through or numbly continued reading even though I wasn't really enjoying them.

Books That I Finished, Though I Struggled A Bit:

This one I finished, actually, though I feel like there was a little bit of browsing toward the end. I really disliked the main character's mother- as in, when (spoiler alert) she left near the end after the pageant stunt, I hoped that she wouldn't come back.

Another one that I made myself finish. I feel like there could have been more of the madness mentioned on the cover. The love story part made me feel almost uncomfortable- it was a weird relationship in a lot of ways- very possessive. I did finish it, though I more dragged myself most of the time. I think a lot of aspects could have been made clearer, and the story could have lost some elements to make room for the fleshing out of others.

That about wraps it up for now. Let me know what you thought of these books. Did I get a good measure of them, or did I miss something super-spectaular.