8 Book Series I Won’t Be Finishing

Hello, my fellow Spirals!

So here’s the thing about me when it comes to book series – I just don’t like them. Now I don’t have anything against book series, especially since I used to devour Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments as a teenager. But over the last two years where my reading taste has drastically changed, I can’t commit myself to book series. Mostly because I get sick of the story/plot or the characters after one book. My reason for reading and enjoying all the genres is because I can’t the read same genre consecutively. I always need a change of pace or story.

BUT that doesn’t mean I haven’t read or enjoyed any book series lately. Some of my favorites are Arcs of Scythe Trilogy, The Shiva Trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. I am also re-reading Harry Potter and Percy Jackson.

Anyways all that’s beside the point. In this post, I just want to talk about the book series that I won’t (ever) be finishing and the reasons behind it.

Now let’s get into it!

1. The Shadow And Bone Trilogy (Leigh Bardugo)

Bold move starting with a controversial opinion? Hell yea!

I picked this book up right before the Netflix adaptation was gonna release to understand the hype around it. And while I did fly through the book pretty quickly, to me it barely hit the mark. I didn’t find anything unique or interesting about it. It’s a typical fantasy books with magic and different groups of people training with different powers and a kingdom. Just not something I could vibe with.

2. Get A Life Chloe Brown (Talia Hibbert)

Another controversial opinion. I do not enjoy romance books so this really shouldn’t have been much of a surprise. To me, this book was cliché, cringe-worthy, overly done haters-to-lovers trope. The characters were so unlikeable to me that I ended up skimming most of the end.

Chloe Brown is a chronically ill computer geek who, after a near death experience, decides to ‘Get A Life’ and makes a list of things to do. One of them is doing something bad and she needs a man for the job. That’s when she enlists Redford ‘Red’ Morgan,  a handyman with tattoos, a motorcycle, and more sex appeal than ten-thousand Hollywood heartthrobs, in her mission to rebel. (Goodreads)

3. Firefly Lane (Kristin Hannah)

This is a different kind of reason. I loovveedd the first book of this series (Firefly Lane) and even gave it 5⭐. The book, the plot, the characters and the message were phenomenal.

But here’s the thing: I liked the way the book ended and I feel like it gave me the closure I needed. So picking up the next book, rehashing the same things all over again, stretching the story further just seems unnecessary to me.

This book, at its core, is about Tully and Kate’s friendship over the years. But along the way you get to see so many different aspects of the world, career, ambition, family and love. I was (again) ugly crying at the end and pretty much sobbing into my pillow. (Goodreads)

4. An Absolutely Remarkable Thing (Hank Green)

I really wanted to like this book. Parts of it I did. It has a very unique concept where the main character comes across a statue in New York which later turns out to be aliens. The whole aspect of humans coming together to solve mind problems, cracking puzzles and seeing how social media and internet play a crucial role in it is fascinating. (Goodreads)

But unfortunately this is another case of unlikeable characters and the plot going haywire towards the end. I know many people loved this book but for me it just wasn’t it. 😢

5. Uglies (Scott Westerfeld)

I mentioned this book in my January Wrap Up and gave it 3 ⭐. However, I had previously read this book as a teen as well and was super fascinated by the idea and the story. The reason I didn’t continue it then was because I couldn’t get my hands on the next book and then just forgot about it. Now I am 21 and reading this book just doesn’t do it for me anymore. The writing reads too much like YA which is not my taste at all and I ended up skimming a lot of pages. It’s a shame I couldn’t enjoy it the same the second time.

BUT, I would strongly recommend this book/series to any teens out there because the ideas and thoughts discussed in this book are very thought provoking and important.  It gets you thinking about what we consider as “perfect” or “beautiful” and how society has a predefined set of notions about it.

This book is basically about a futuristic world where people have to get surgically altered into a “Pretty” which fits a specific set of criteria for being deemed “beautiful”. It involves getting plastic skin, crushing or stretching bones, changing your physique and everything. Tally Youngblood can’t wait to turn Pretty but when her new best friend, Shay, escapes the operation and disappears, she is forced to follow her and ends up uncovering dark secrets about the operation. (Goodreads)

6. The Rosie Project (Graeme Simsion)

I don’t remember too much about this book but I remember finding it quite funny and drawing parallels to Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory.

This is a lighthearted, feel-good romance about Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. Now picture this guy exactly as Sheldon, someone who is nitpicky, meticulous and simply not wired for social interactions. He embarks upon The Wife Project where he sets out to find a perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver. Yet, Rosie Jerman is all these things. he is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don’s Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper. (Goodreads)

7. Heartstopper (Alice Oseman)

I saw how the internet raved about this series and picked up the first book. And I know I am gonna be massively hated for this opinion but I really disliked it. To me it just wasn’t worth it. The story was so bleh and short, hardly any dialogues, pages would go by with pictures of leaf fluttering and sounds of winds. I don’t know I just did not like it.

8. Women of Troy (Pat Barker)

Another book I read recently that I quite liked. But I am not interested in reading further about the story partly because the world in this book is so dark and horrifying that I don’t want to re-enter it at all.  I mean Greek myth on it’s own is usually dark but reading the women’s side of the war is literally so hard to read and digest. But I also think it’s crucial for people to read it and understand Greek mythology. I wouldn’t use the word ‘enjoyed’ because that makes no sense in this context. Overall, I took a lot away from this book and that’s really what matters.

The story is basically told through Briseis’s perspective during Trojan War. It depicts the atrocities that Trojan women had to face while being enslaved at the camp, how Achilles really was away from the battleground and how Briseis played a crucial role in the war. (Goodreads)

I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of these series or if you have any other series that you won’t be finishing!

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