Surviving the Slump

 

So, in my recent review of Air Awakens by Elise Kova, I mentioned that it saved me from a serious reading slump. At the time, that was true. Sadly, the slump has returned. I finished up Frozen Tides by Morgan Rhodes two days ago and nothing I have read since has stuck. I keep picking up books and putting them right back down. And I really can’t figure out why. They can’t all be bad, right? Some of them even have rave reviews on goodreads.

I decided that It might help claw my way out of the slump if I wrote down what was bothering about each of the books I am trying to read. Maybe not, but hey, it’s worth a shot, right?

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard – I was really excited for Glass Sword. Red Queen wasn’t the best book I have ever read, but I really enjoyed it. The palace setting combined with magic training and a dash of court politics made for a really fun and easy read. I was expecting Glass Sword to have a similar feeling. Unfortunately, I am half way through it and it’s really dragging. The tone is so different from Red Queen. We’ve left the palace for the outside world and we’ve left all of the fun behind. Mare feels hollow now that her Mareena mask is gone. Cal should shine now that he is out of Maven’s shadow, but he just falls flat on the page. I really wanted to like this one, but I am considering adding it to the DNF pile.

Ice Like Fire by Sara Raasch – Snow Like Ashes was another one of those fun and fast paced YA Fantasy reads. It was slightly formulaic, but enjoyable none the less. I picked up the sequel immediately after finishing it, hoping that I would devour it as well. That wasn’t the case. I thought Ice Like Fire would show us more of Winter, this place of legend. And it does start there. But then sets off on another world journey that seems to make the plot inch forward. Having Meira and Mather in separate places means the addition of  separate POV chapters, and the shifts are jarring and a bit distracting. I find myself wanting to skip Mather’s chapters all together. Please give me a reason not to DNF this one.

Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin – This book was not really in my wheelhouse. But, people were raving about it on Goodreads and I was looking for something a little out of my comfort zone. So, I bought it. To be honest, I was really enjoying it… until I suddenly wasn’t. I don’t know what happened. I only have 88 pages left in this YA Alternate History, but I just can’t pick it back up. I don’t know if it was the back and forth between past and present or what, but something really threw me off. It may have been the fact that I marathoned The Man in the High Castle on Amazon. Nazi overload? But 88 pages really isn’t all that many, right? I need to just suck it up and finish it. I might even like it when I’m done.

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner – This one was an impulse read. I had just finished Illuminae and I really wanted more YA Sci-Fi. Turns out this one isn’t as Sci-Fi as I wanted it to be. It’s more of a survival epic. The Space opera bit is over a quarter of the way in and then it’s all romance and survival. I am really not sure if that is my thing. Maybe I should have read the synopsis a little better before I decided to dig into this one. Oh well. Now I need to decide if I am going to give it another shot or just move on. Jeez, it sounds like I am looking for relationship advice, doesn’t it? But really, has anyone else read this one? Did you love it? Hate it? If someone wouldn’t mind convincing me, I’d be forever grateful!

Ok, so those are my general opinions on the books I keep failing to read. It’s kind of depressing, right?

Can you help me out here, guys? Convince me to stick with these books. Tell me why you loved them. Forward me your reviews. Or tell me why I should move on. Hell, give me suggestions on other things to read. Anything to get me out of this rut.

Thanks in advance!