Heeeeyyyyyy!!!! I’m back again! And it’s time to bring you all my year-end lists for 2025! To start, I’ll be sharing all the books I DNF’d in 2025.
Generally, I don’t count books I stop reading within the first chapter or so as official DNFs. Therefore, I read a significant portion of each of the books mentioned below. However, I make an exception for books I DNF within the first chapter that I had major issues with so I can discuss them. This is the case for one book on this list.
For this list, I will be discussing my DNFs in the order I read them.
Lucy Undying by Kiersten White
I have DNF’d every book I’ve ever read by Kiersten White. I don’t know why I keep giving her chances, but I think I’ve finally run out. Her writing style just doesn’t click with me. What’s more, I’m a big Dracula fan and so many of the characters from Dracula were out of character here. Also, I couldn’t stand Iris (one of the protagonists). When deciding whether or not to DNF this book, I read some spoiler-y reviews, and those twists would’ve pissed me off so bad. On the upside, I was craving a sapphic vampire story after this and ended up reading one of my best books of the year. So thanks, Kiersten White… I guess.
Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid
I got over halfway into this book and realized I just didn’t care. I wasn’t invested in the characters and felt the romance was progressing too fast. The world-building and character motivations left a lot to be desired. Moreover, the exploration of the themes was very surface level. On top of all that, it’s boring. I flipped through the latter half of the book and found I didn’t care to find out how we got to any of those scenes. Also, I got spoiled for the ending and people are rightfully upset about it. Ultimately, this is yet another disappointing The Hunger Games knock-off.
This Ravenous Fate by Hayley Dennings
Unlike the previous two entries on this list, I don’t think this book is bad. It’s just a specific brand of YA that I’m simply too old to enjoy. A younger reader will get a lot more out of this than me. That said, I also didn’t find Elise to be a particularly compelling character. But I’m still glad this book exists.
Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Sooooo… I DNF’d Katabasis…
Look, I never thought I’d be here. I love R.F. Kuang! But she is at her worst when writing about academia. I just found this book really, really boring. Problems were solved so easily, often without any action on the main characters’ part. Speaking of the characters, they just didn’t feel real to me. And the world-building… I don’t understand why we’re conflating Hell and Hades/the Underworld when they are not the same thing.
Also, and this isn’t Kuang’s fault, but my copy of the book has multiple misprints. Sections of the text are repeated or missing entirely. And my copy came from Barnes & Noble!
The Queen by Nick Cutter
Here we are! We finally made it to the exception to my DNF rule! I knew I was in for a rough read when, in the prologue, Margret uses the word “doomscrolling” and mentioned TikTok. This book takes place in June 2018, before either of those things existed. Little things continued to nag at me as I read, like why do we need to name the brand of every cell phone mentioned? I sure hope Cutter got paid for all that promo! I also wasn’t feeling the characters. I flipped ahead and I don’t care to find out how we get to the prologue (which takes place later chronologically) or anything else. I picked this up because it was recommended for Yellowjackets fans and no. 😦
This Vicious Hunger by Francesca May
I enjoyed May’s previous book, Wild and Wicked Things, but this one is not hitting. The writing is very ham-fisted. “Show, don’t tell” is the quintessential piece of writing advice for a reason. Even finding out this book involves vampires didn’t interest me to keep going.
What books did you DNF in 2025? Let me know in the comments!
Strange Storyteller 
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