During January I had two DNF’s.
Out of Office
Author: A.H. Cunningham
Release Date: April 23, 2024
Publisher: Afterglow Books by Harlequin
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format(s): paperback (288 pages), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Purchased with my own funds
What I’m Talking About:
I’ve decided this year (2025) I’m not going to spend a lot of time trying to finish a book that I’m not enjoying, and unfortunately for Out of Office, I just couldn’t get into the story, so it is my first DNF of 2025.
Gen is the only child of a major overachiever mom. This has formed Gen into a workaholic, and now she is on the brink of burnout. So after finishing her job in Panama, she decides to take a two week vacation.
Adrián left the corporate world after a family tragedy, and now he runs his own business as a driver where he meets Genevieve. Upon hearing she’s going to be staying in the country for two weeks, he invites her to his family’s cabanas so they can relax and enjoy some time together.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why I didn’t enjoy Out of Office. Both characters are interesting and likable. They have good chemistry when they aren’t awkward. It’s more that the writing felt simplistic and was more “telling me” than “showing me”. Their banter felt disjointed and forced.
It could be mood or timing, but for now, Out of Office is a DNF at 29%.
A Trinket for the Taking
Author: Victoria Laurie
Narrator: Christa Lewis
Release Date: December 31, 2024
Publisher: Tantor Audio
Series: Trinket #1; Dovey Van Dalen #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Mystery
Format(s): paperback (Kensington), e-book, audiobook
Book Source: Audiobook Publisher
What I’m Talking About:
A Trinket for the Taking is a paranormal mystery set in world with secret mystics and magic. Dovey works as a thief who obtains magic-infused objects for her powerful boss and lover, Elric. When a rival family reports a dangerous trinket stolen while in Elric’s territory, he tasks Dovey with finding it.
A Trinket for the Taking should be an interesting and exciting story; however, by the 16% mark I had to give up. One of the biggest problems is that Dovey tells the listener an immense amount of world-building information. She’s not contemplating or experiencing it; she’s just dumping it on the listener. It’s not breaking fourth wall, but in reality that’s exactly what’s going on. It’s an overload of information that could have been gradually dispensed instead of being told to the listener.
Narration: The other big problem I had with the audiobook is the narration. Dovey is a confident woman; however, the way Lewis portrays her makes Dovey come off as an arrogant know-it-all. Lewis draws out words and sentences, possibly trying to sound sexy or seductive, and it is just annoying. (think “dahhhlinggg”) Lewis adjusts her dialogue based on gender and ethic origin, but her males are not overly deep or different, other than the accents, which are not very good. Her performance comes across as overly dramatic.
Between the overly dramatic narration and the constant info dump, I couldn’t keep listening and DNF’d A Trinket for the Taking at 16%.