Series DNF # 2

Alright guys…it’s time for another Series DNF post. I’m learning to lighten my TBR load by culling through the books in which I’m no-longer interested. While I still love to complete things (series included), there’s just not enough time in my life to read all the books that I want. And I’m purging the ones from my TBR list that I’m no longer interested in. These posts aren’t designed to put these books down at all. I’m sure these books have been wins for some readers, but I just haven’t connected. I don’t feel like I can fully let these books go until I do some kind of post about them. So here we are:

Up first…The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I read both Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness, but Beautiful Darkness was like pulling teeth for me. But now it’s official. I no longer plan to finish this series. That means I’m DNFing Beautiful Chaos and Beautiful Redemption.

Next…Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr. I know there are bloggers out there that just love this series, but by the time I made it to Fragile Eternity I was pretty much done. However, I’m just now finally writing off the remaining books in the series. DNF’d: Radiant Shadows and Darkest Mercy.

I wasn’t impressed with Hex Hall. Had I read this book 3-4 years ago I probably would have been a fan, but at this point in my reading career I’m just not. So Demonglass and Spell Bound are getting DNF’d.

I recently DNF’d The Scorch Trials. The Maze Runner wasn’t a complete bomb but wasn’t a complete win for me either. However, since I didn’t love The Maze Runner and I just wasn’t connecting to The Scorch Trials, I went ahead and decided to DNF the rest of the series. The Death Cure and The Kill Order included.

I totally thought I'd pushed myself through all of these books. I was so proud that even though I didn't love the series I had still managed to read them all (Crave, Covet, & Consume). But apparently another books was released earlier this year, and I have absolutely no desire to pick it up (Capture).

The following don’t need much disclaimer. I read and decently enjoyed book 1 in each of these series, but too much time has gone by since and I find that I no longer care much about what happens next, or I'm just not interested in pushing through them.

Angel Fire (Angel, # 2) and Angel Fever (Angel, # 3) by LA Weatherly (my review of Angel Burn)

Symbiont (Parasitology, # 2) by Mira Grant (my review of Parasite)

Witchfall (The Tudor Witch Trilogy, # 2) and Witchrise (The Tudor Witch Trilogy, # 3) by Victoria Lamb (my review of Witchstruck)

Invaded (Alienated, # 2) by Melissa Landers (my review of Alienated)

Demons (Seers, # 2) and Guardians (Seers, # 3) by Heather Frost (my review of Seers)

What do you guys think? Are there any books here that you would really suggest I push through? Do you guys like these kinds of posts? Let me know!

Parasite - Review

Parasite

By: Mira Grant

Published: October 29th 2013 by Orbit

512 pages

Genre: Science Fiction, Horror, Dystopian

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository | Booksamillion.com )

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Goodreads description--A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them.

I have to say that the concept for Parasite is one of my worst nightmares. As a child, I remember hearing about tapeworms and being utterly terrified. The idea that humanity would begin purposefully ingesting tapeworms for medical reasons is literally a scene out of my nightmares. Although, it's not like tapeworms haven't been marketed to human beings before--for dieting reasons.

Because Parasite is so long, it felt like it took me forever to read it. I think this is where physical book copies come in handy. Knowing I've read 50 pages in a book is a lot more motivating than only seeing 10% move in my progress bar on my kindle.

The description above does a great job of giving an overview of the big picture without telling you anything about the characters involved in this story. Our main character is Sally who was involved in a car accident and was almost declared brain dead before she was implanted with her bio-engineered tapeworm. Her tapeworm saved her live and she has now become the poster child for the Intestinal Bodyguard and SymboGen, the company that created it.

However, all is not as it seems. That fact was easy to pick up on, but not so easy to nail down what was actually going on. About halfway through I felt like it became obvious to me what was going on with Sally, but the book doesn't spell it out until literally the last couple of pages. So the big revelation, or what should have been the cliffhanger, didn't feel like a big revelation or cliffhanger at all.

I've heard great things about Mira Grant's Newsflesh series and so I wanted to get hooked into this horrific world she's created where people purposefully ingest tapeworms, but something was just missing for me. The characters were okay. Minus Tansey. I think she was designed to be comedic relief maybe, but she just fell a little flat to me.

While the plot was intriguing enough, the execution was just missing something for me. The characters were missing something. I don't really know how to put my finger on just what it was. I wasn't dying to put it down, but I wasn't dying it pick it up either. I wasn't sure I could predict what was happening, yet I did predict what was happening.

Truthfully, if book 2's description doesn't blow me away, I probably won't continue this series. I'm giving Parasite 3 Stars. Have you read Parasite? What did you think? Let me know.

Also, we've got the cliche gay character box check marked in this one as well. SURPRISE!

This review is part of my "All Things Halloween" October review event.