I found this tag over at The Regal Critiques while they were doing their A Christmas Story feature - if you're looking for Christmas posts, you should check it out! Anyway, I want to give a shout out to Veronika for the great graphics, too!
Name a book/series/character that started off well then went downhill.
The Dusk Gate Chronicles by Breeana Puttroff
The first book was love. The second was starting to tarnish a little. The third was weak but still got a very generous five stars from me. The fourth was awful. Nearly everything about the fourth book I hated. The mother was vilified because she didn't want her seventeen year old daughter to marry a boy she's known less than a year and go running off to another world together. The daughter is so mature that, even though she is having sex with her husband, she never once thinks about having children - even though she agrees when her husband states that they are doing nothing to not have children - and blushes during the conversation.
Name a book that you did not enjoy but everyone else seems to love, and it will not stop haunting you.
The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
Yes, I read the first three because I was told they get better - and that the third was the best of the three. Honestly, I hated the books. All three of them pushed so many of my buttons that if I'd read them now, I probably wouldn't make it through the first one. And everyone else loves them so I am always seeing them on blogs and on Goodreads. I've even seen them at Wal-mart. Why won't they just leave me alone?!
Name a character that kept messing everything up for everyone (not a villain).
Jeth from Avalon by Mindee Arnett
Question: What kind of decisions does Jeth make.
Answer: Stupid ones. Repeatedly.
Seriously, it's like there'd be no plot if he wasn't such a dumbass all the time.
Name a book you were spoiled for.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
I've not actually read the book yet, but I already know many things about it. (Like who dies, for example. Or what couples wind up together.) Even when I actively try to avoid spoilers, they keep popping up. I know, folks, that I'm late to the party - but that doesn't mean I don't want to discover things for myself.
Name a character you just couldn't warm to.
Sabriel from Sabriel by Garth Nix
My take away feeling about her is boredom. Supreme and total boredom.
Name a couple that you just could not stand.
Johanna and Rafael from The Storyspinner by Becky Wallace
Okay, so I didn't finish this book (read a little under half of it) but I figure with the long looks (and the general bastard that the guy was) that this is where the story was headed. And unless the guy seriously would shape up, I would detest this couple.
Bonus, quote from the book:
It wasn't fear, exactly. She knew he wouldn't physically harm her, but there was something in the way that he looked at her that made her feel…less.
Context? He already beat her into unconsciousness once. So I can totally see where she'd get the idea that he wouldn't hurt her.
A book that has been sitting on your shelf for years that you are not motivated to read but do not have the heart to get rid of.
The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima
I bought the book mostly because of the title (who doesn't want to read about a demon king?) and because it sounded interesting. Then I lost interest. Then someone who has been right every time they said a book probably wouldn't be for me, expressed concern if I'd like the book. Then I really lost interest.
Dead Iron by Devon Monk
So, I'm not sure what made me buy this book. I was probably going through a gritty steampunk phase brought on by one of the tales of the Ketty Jay books. I've picked it up no less than three times thinking I was going to read it and … didn't get past the first couple pages before looking for something else to read.
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
I bought this book because I felt guilty that I claimed to be a fantasy fan and had never read a Hobb book. I've discovered since that guilt and peer pressure is no reason to buy a book because I've never even thought about reading it.
I would like to say that I do intend to eventually attempt read all these books. I might not make it past chapter two, but I will give them a try.
Sometime.
Name a character death that you are still mad about.
Darkwell by Douglas Niles
The only thing the death in this book served to do was clear up any question the main woman might have about which of the men she would choose and make sure that people could no longer think that the secondary male character was cooler than the worthless slug of a main male character. Who, me? No, I'm not still mad.
Name a series with too many books or that went on for too long.
Uh, check out the first topic for this tag. That's my answer for this one, too.
Name a main character that you absolutely hate (not a villain).
How many do you want? How about if I just limit it to them in books that I've read this year. And that I rated one star.
Meliara from Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith
She is a self-absorbed, self-obsessed little brat that has to be always right. She is shrill and surly. She refuses to think about things from another perspective because her way is the only way. She won't listen to anyone. She's insecure so she's overcompensating by taking it out on everyone around her.
Twylla from The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury
She's a doormat. Twylla never makes a decision on her own and merely follows the path of least resistance.
Sarah Booth Delaney from Smarty Bones by Carolyn Haines
She is petty, a reverse-snob and hates women for no good reason. And she always has to remind you that she has amazing sex with her movie star boyfriend.
As Ebenezer Scrooge would say, bah-humbug. (You can take that to mean Merry Christmas, if you'd like. I suppose.)
