Series I Won’t Be Finishing

Don’t hate me. There are a few popular series on this list. Sometimes I honestly feel that a series is just too much commitment and if the first book isn’t a definitive five star read, I won’t continue with the rest. Here are some of the series I won’t be finishing.

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Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin

What’s it about? Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.

The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire. Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made.

And love makes fools of us all.

You might have noticed that I did not like this book at all. The pacing was weird, the characters were unlikeable and there are some really harmful stereotypes used in this book. I’m definitely skipping the rest of this series. I have zero interest in Blood & Honey. If you want to know more of my thoughts on Serpent & Dove, read my review here.

Girls of Paper & Fire by Natasha Ngan

What’s it about? Each year, eight beautiful girls are chosen as Paper Girls to serve the king. It’s the highest honour they could hope for…and the most demeaning. This year, there’s a ninth. And instead of paper, she’s made of fire.

In this richly developed fantasy, Lei is a member of the Paper caste, the lowest and most persecuted class of people in Ikhara. She lives in a remote village with her father, where the decade-old trauma of watching her mother snatched by royal guards for an unknown fate still haunts her. Now, the guards are back and this time it’s Lei they’re after — the girl with the golden eyes whose rumoured beauty has piqued the king’s interest.

Over weeks of training in the opulent but oppressive palace, Lei and eight other girls learn the skills and charm that befit a king’s consort. There, she does the unthinkable — she falls in love. Her forbidden romance becomes enmeshed with an explosive plot that threatens her world’s entire way of life. Lei, still the wide-eyed country girl at heart, must decide how far she’s willing to go for justice and revenge.

Okay, so I actually rated this book five stars. It was one of the best books I read in 2018 and I really enjoyed the story and the romance. However, I enjoyed it as a standalone. I pretended not to read the epilogue, and I’m pretty satisfied with how the book ended. As I said, my commitment issues won’t let me read series. I’m just not feeling this series, and Girls of Paper and Fire makes a fine standalone. Read my review here!

Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab

What’s it about? Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.

Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, travelling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.

Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.

After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.

Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.

This is a very beloved series. I read the first book on the recommendation of a friend, but honestly, it was just a little slow. I think I gave it four stars, but I might actually change the rating to three. The premise is amazing and the worldbuilding is stunning. However, I didn’t like the characters and it was painfully slow. I have heard that the series picks up, but at this moment I couldn’t be bothered to read the rest.

A Curse so Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer

What’s it about? Fall in love, break the curse.

Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year, Prince Rhen, the heir of Emberfall, thought he could be saved easily if a girl fell for him. But that was before he turned into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. Before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, Harper learned to be tough enough to survive. When she tries to save a stranger on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s pulled into a magical world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom.

Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. A prince? A curse? A monster? As she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

I did not like this book as much as I wanted to. It could have been an amazing retelling, but it was just mediocre. We don’t need more beauty and the beast retellings, to be honest. I don’t even have a clue where this series is going, so I’m going to tap out at the first book.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (don’t hate me Mieke)

What’s it about? Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them-not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

This is The Mouse That Reads’ favourite series, and I hope she doesn’t disown me for saying this. I’m not interested in continuing with the Raven Cycle. I read the first book about two years ago and I’ve already completely forgotten what happened. Blue wasn’t a particularly interesting character, and I don’t care for the story. Plus, this series has four books and that just makes me go NOPE. I really am bad with commitment friends.

Anyhow, these are the series I won’t be finishing. Are there any series you won’t be finishing? 

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