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Book reviews: DNF season
Aug. 2nd, 2025 11:36 amIt's been DNF season this year, I swear. In addition to most new acquisitions just not sounding good, I've been DNF'ing so many new releases that I don't think the industry knows what a good story is anymore.
Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge
YA, fantasy
DNF 30%. It got off to a promising start, and the idea of a "fantasy F-One" story hooked me. But for a book pitched about phoenix racing, there is very little phoenix racing in the first third of the book, after the first chapter.
The characters just kind of…bored me. The title, dedication, and Iron Widow comp made me wonder if Kel was supposed to be a Wu Zetian-esque rage-filled female lead, but she came off as just a girl with a short temper. The enemies-to-lovers arc also bored me, because Kel and Coup (hate that name, by the way) seemed to hate each other mostly because of each other’s…personalities. Coup keeps saying Kel is self-righteous, which we never actually see on page. Kel hates Coup for pulling off risky maneuvers during races, which, fine, but she also seems to hate him because of his cocky personality. Their sniping got tiresome to read, really fast. There just isn’t enough of a compelling basis for their mutual dislike for the enemies-to-lovers arc to work at all.
Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz
YA, thriller
I loved the idea of a detective boarding school and a fake murder mystery turning real, but the pacing of this book was just so slow. The murder doesn't occur until about 20% of the way through the story, and the first 20% isn't used to set up the murder mystery, but rather just to show the main characters going about their daily lives. It felt kind of unnecessary. Especially since so much of the drama is centered on Dulce and Emi's friendship becoming tense because they both have feelings for Zane, which is not a conflict I enjoy reading about.
I get that Dulce has anxiety, but I'm getting kind of annoyed at how passive her character feels—it's Emi who has to pressure her into taking actions investigating the mystery, otherwise Dulce would be not doing anything. It's just not fun to read.
Immortal Consequences by IV Marie
YA, fantasy, dark academia
I'm 7% of the way through the book and already thinking "Is it too early to DNF?" I mean, if I were reading a physical or ebook copy, I would have DNF'ed already; it's only because I'm listening to the audiobook that I'm even considering continuing to see if it gets any better.
The first two chapters of this book were literally Infodump: The Novel. Basically nothing happens except the characters infodumping world details that still made no sense after all the explanations. Also, the Wren/August relationship is one of my least favorite MF relationships ever: cocky, eternally smirking boy constantly makes fun of uptight girl. I HATE that kind of relationship (especially knowing they're definitely going to end up in a romance later). I don't find it romantic, fun, or interesting to read in any way. I also found it so cringe the way at least two love interests (August and Olivier) keep referring to their eventual love interest by romantic endearments WHEN THEY AREN'T EVEN IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP YET AND CURRENTLY HAVE NO ROMANTIC CHEMISTRY. (August calls Wren "darling" and Olivier calls Emilio "my love".) SO CRINGE.
Of Flame and Fury by Mikayla Bridge
YA, fantasy
DNF 30%. It got off to a promising start, and the idea of a "fantasy F-One" story hooked me. But for a book pitched about phoenix racing, there is very little phoenix racing in the first third of the book, after the first chapter.
The characters just kind of…bored me. The title, dedication, and Iron Widow comp made me wonder if Kel was supposed to be a Wu Zetian-esque rage-filled female lead, but she came off as just a girl with a short temper. The enemies-to-lovers arc also bored me, because Kel and Coup (hate that name, by the way) seemed to hate each other mostly because of each other’s…personalities. Coup keeps saying Kel is self-righteous, which we never actually see on page. Kel hates Coup for pulling off risky maneuvers during races, which, fine, but she also seems to hate him because of his cocky personality. Their sniping got tiresome to read, really fast. There just isn’t enough of a compelling basis for their mutual dislike for the enemies-to-lovers arc to work at all.
Very Dangerous Things by Lauren Muñoz
YA, thriller
I loved the idea of a detective boarding school and a fake murder mystery turning real, but the pacing of this book was just so slow. The murder doesn't occur until about 20% of the way through the story, and the first 20% isn't used to set up the murder mystery, but rather just to show the main characters going about their daily lives. It felt kind of unnecessary. Especially since so much of the drama is centered on Dulce and Emi's friendship becoming tense because they both have feelings for Zane, which is not a conflict I enjoy reading about.
I get that Dulce has anxiety, but I'm getting kind of annoyed at how passive her character feels—it's Emi who has to pressure her into taking actions investigating the mystery, otherwise Dulce would be not doing anything. It's just not fun to read.
Immortal Consequences by IV Marie
YA, fantasy, dark academia
I'm 7% of the way through the book and already thinking "Is it too early to DNF?" I mean, if I were reading a physical or ebook copy, I would have DNF'ed already; it's only because I'm listening to the audiobook that I'm even considering continuing to see if it gets any better.
The first two chapters of this book were literally Infodump: The Novel. Basically nothing happens except the characters infodumping world details that still made no sense after all the explanations. Also, the Wren/August relationship is one of my least favorite MF relationships ever: cocky, eternally smirking boy constantly makes fun of uptight girl. I HATE that kind of relationship (especially knowing they're definitely going to end up in a romance later). I don't find it romantic, fun, or interesting to read in any way. I also found it so cringe the way at least two love interests (August and Olivier) keep referring to their eventual love interest by romantic endearments WHEN THEY AREN'T EVEN IN A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP YET AND CURRENTLY HAVE NO ROMANTIC CHEMISTRY. (August calls Wren "darling" and Olivier calls Emilio "my love".) SO CRINGE.
