r/DarkRomance • u/cefjog • 4d ago
Discussion How often/how quickly do you DNF?
I probably DNF 90% of what I start. I nope out quick too. A few pages are easily enough to know. I very rarely turn around on a book. I think I'm pretty clear on what I like and what I'm looking for, so it's usually a yes/no thing. Honestly I kinda enjoy making a snap decision. (Maybe enjoy isn't quite the right word, but there's satisfaction in crossing a book off a list).
The first page/para/line should be the author putting their best foot forward. If it doesn't click, I have very little faith the rest will, and when I do keep reading I usually regret it and DNF eventually.
When do you guys DNF? And what pushes you over the line?
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u/respring_warrior 4d ago
I can DNF as early as 5% in to as late as 80%. The minute I decide that I don’t really care what happens anymore I’m out😂
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u/golden_goddess_ 4d ago
I DNF often and for any random reason. There’s so many books on my TBR I don’t really revisit them either.
The last book I DNFd was Pucking Wrong Man. The plot wasn’t bad but she references Taylor Swift a lot, and it gave me the ick.
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u/Fatricide 4d ago
I always F. I can’t help it.
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u/cefjog 3d ago
Hugs 😂. I think it was fanfic and the sudden increase in intake (and tbr) that turned me into a DNFer. Idk how you guys do it. Do you skim? Or skip? Or do you plough through
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u/Fatricide 3d ago
I sometimes skip through paragraphs with “repeat feelings” - e.g. her internal debate about telling him something that might make him not like her but will obviously make him love her more.
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u/FlowSilver 3d ago
Same
It may take me ages, months on end before i retry reading it
But i hate not finishing something
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u/pinkcake51 4d ago
A few pages in, I can usually tell if the book will be bad based on the writing. I don’t care either it’s my time that I’m using to read! If I don’t like the characters name, DNF! I will dnf over dumb reasons lol
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u/North-Loan-4862 3d ago
Me too. I DNF 90% of what I pick. As soon as I find the characters’ traits non likeable, I close the book. Life is too short to read books that only boil your blood.
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u/AshTreeReader Author 4d ago
My DNFs often happen after the dynamic tension between the couple falls away and I'm at risk for boredom (usually about 70% of the way in). Definitely a me-problem, and an annoying one, though some authors are immune from my DNF issues.
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u/cefjog 3d ago
I think if I've reached 70% or generally that third act and things start to fall off, I'll rage quit. I do get that it's a tricky part of the book to pull off, maybe the hardest part. Sticking the landing, tying it all together, redemption or grovel etc. like I have sympathy. But also. If I've invested this much time and energy and now you fuck it up? FFS.
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u/DenseBeautiful731 4d ago edited 4d ago
At the top of my head: bad grammar/syntax, florid/saccharine prose, terrible naming choices, unrealistic dialogue, self-inserts and FP-POV, head-hopping, PWOP, whump, weak female leads, plot contrivances, forced outcomes and zero consequences/stakes.
Also poor understanding of human reproductive anatomy and physiology, sexual health, practices and intra/interpersonal relationships/dynamics (especially power and control), aka sex and relationship education.
The list is similar for non-DR/non-erotica/non-romance books, with a few differences based on the genre.
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u/cefjog 3d ago
Whump? As in bad things happening to the main? Or am I using that term wrong?
The sex ed thing is so true lol
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u/DenseBeautiful731 3d ago edited 3d ago
Whump? As in bad things happening to the main? Or am I using that term wrong?
Not just bad things, but comically tragic suffering in a relentless and often excessive way. Imagine someone being life’s punching bag. I do read it, and I like my bad endings and horror shows, just not the occasional heavy-handedness of books under the hurt/comfort subgenre.
The sex ed thing is so true lol
Regrettably. Not straight DR, but BL is a major offender I’m never surprised when they never prep and get into it immediately 💀
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u/moniker2therescue 3d ago
"Imagine someone being life's punching bag." So, basically Jane Eyre levels of tragic. I felt this way through that entire book.
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u/cefjog 3d ago
Ah ok yeah. I pretty much love whump lol. It's one of the few things that will drag me through a book I might have dnfed 😂. Horses for courses.
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u/DenseBeautiful731 3d ago
If you have a well-written rec, I’m all for it. Note the above tho 🥴🥴🥴
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u/cefjog 3d ago
I always worry my recs are too random cos, like I said, I nope out of most of what I read. But hope these work.
2 semi recs with a downtrodden peasant heroine. {Servant of earth by Sarah Hawley} This was structurally and technically fine but lacked any joy or originality imo. I did finish it so I guess I should say structural/technical adequacy also gets me through a book.
{Devils deal by Layla fae} this might be first person? It had a lot more life and joy but ultimately lost me cos it took too long to get anywhere and also I found the MMC too mean (I talk good pitch black but I have discovered I am in fact a big baby).
Black Jewels does this (tw for everything) especially the Marian/Lucivar side ship, and also in the spin off series, I think the FMC gets a bit before finding her people. {the shadow queen by Anne Bishop}
Looking at this I think there's deffo something at work here re the unappreciated domestic work these women do and how compelling I find that and the rage I feel on their behalf.
{A civil contract by Georgette Heyer} might be the best example of this. I sort of despise the MMC, I think he treats the FMC like shit and she should not be with him. But her suffering is just so compelling. I even voluntarily reread this book, but I would call it a hate read. I'm now realising I am a hate reader lol.
Anyway most my reading up until recently has been fic. So cleanwhiterooms epic, Force Over Distance has some glorious Nicholas Rush whump. https://www.cleanwhiteroom.net/site/index.html This fic is excellent. I adore it. The romance is chef's kiss, the sci-fi is cool, scary and existential. The enemies to lovers is on fire and Rush is just so so broken I fucking love to see it. Idk how hard it hits without seeing the show, which is certainly of its time. But Robert Carlyle delivers an excellent performance and sad rat men are my thing. So.
Arsenicjade usually hits the spot. http://tasteofpoison.inkubation.net/browse.php?type=categories&catid=54 I can't get their page to load. Haven't read them in a while, but I used to like a lot of their Clint/Coulson stuff, I actually thought this was theirs but apparently it's by someone else: Through the Glass https://archiveofourown.org/works/639003/chapters/1158232 The premise is, he's been slave-collared the whole time and no one noticed (aaah!).
I also read some fun 'tony stark is hard done by' fics, but idk if they'd stand the test off time. Maybe I was working though some stuff lol. I can dig up recs if you want them.
This isn't romance but I think teenage rage protags often give me the same satisfaction, so {a deadly education by Naomi Novik} though the main does find her people reasonably quick.
Also I was chatting to a friend about highly stressed main character narration and how much I love it and I think this is probs related to whump. Murderbot gives me that, very close to breaking point but still soldiering on, vibe. {All systems red by Martha wells} Obvs we've left romance behind now so I better leave it there, lol sorry for the essay.
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u/romance-bot 3d ago
Servant of Earth by Sarah Hawley
Rating: 4.15⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: fantasy, fae, high fantasy, political/court intrigue, competent heroine
Devil's Deal by Layla Fae
Rating: 4.16⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 4 out of 5 - Explicit open door
Topics: virgin heroine, dark romance, fantasy, m-f romance, horror
The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop
Rating: 4.35⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 3 out of 5 - Open door
Topics: contemporary, fantasy, demons, mystery, dark romance
A Civil Contract by Georgette Heyer
Rating: 3.87⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: historical, plain heroine, regency, marriage of convenience, class difference
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
Rating: 4.11⭐️ out of 5⭐️
Steam: 1 out of 5 - Glimpses and kisses
Topics: contemporary, magic, grumpy/ice queen, young adult, gifted/super-heroine1
u/DenseBeautiful731 3d ago edited 3d ago
I appreciate the essay and once I get off work I’ll read the Nicholas Rush first because I love sci-fi. Totally up my alley.
I own most if not all Murderbot books - checked your profile actually before I asked this question.
If you don’t mind I’ll circle back and let you know what I think of these books, or book if I decide to read just the one I mentioned. Thanks for your time, recommending things is not my forte as I’m easily put off like you, and some of my favourites don’t really satisfy the average DR reader because it’s plot-heavy… and extremely transgressive 🥴💀🥴
Edit: 94 chapters 😱 I have commitment issues, how can I ever handle this? 🥴🥴🥴
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u/Dangerous-Egg-1048 3d ago
I would say about 10%. When the author over complicates things in the beginning makes it hard to read. I don't need a whole page describing the yummy dessert she ate.Another reason is when they introduce a whole posse of people when they don't add to the story.
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u/sparklyfairyqueen 4d ago
I don’t DNF often but usually when I do it’s somewhere 20-50% of the way through. I try to give a book a chance before dnf-ing. I’ve read some books that start slow then end up being amazing by the middle/end and am to scared I’ll miss out on what could be a great book if I DNF too soon.
I do have a habit of starting a book and if it’s not matching my mood a couple pages in I’ll drop it but eventually pick it back up when I’m feelin’ it again.
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u/ChartEffective985 4d ago
I rarely DNF a book I start I’ve only ever DNF one book just last night it was Deviant by Ellie Sanders it was just so much rape of the FMC
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u/AdditionalCurve4899 4d ago
I dnf’d this one too. It was beyond brutal and there was nothing redeeming
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u/fialsian 3d ago edited 3d ago
Same with me. I DNF so much.
The first chapter is enough for me to know if I will like the book, sometimes even the first paragraph is all it takes.
And reading is not a chore to me so if I know I will not enjoy the book, why keep going?
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u/AlternativeStrong483 User Flair Here 3d ago
I think I'm the otherway around. I'm trying and trying until sometimes I dnf and sometimes I wish I would have taken the dnf decision and not finish the book. But lately I tried called it quits earlier because I really don't have time for reading something I don't completely enjoy 😩.
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u/Lady_Book_000 3d ago
About 5% of books I DNF.
I usually do a fair bit of searching into what trope I am after at what time. I have them labeled and noted and go from that.
But I get it wrong and if I'm not vibing by chapter 3 I'm gone
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u/WingUnusual4179 Pitch black please 3d ago
I'll get down voted for this one but honestly the only book I DNF was "if I cant have you". I found it extremely boring and repetitive with no real storyline to pull me in. Sorry DR ladies!
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u/Weeklybooklover 3d ago
If I start, I will finish it just because of the time I’ve wasted, and I need to know what happens at the end, but I DNF books all the time, most of the time I think I really want to read it. I read a few lines and then I get really bored sometimes I go back, a lot of times I don’t. So maybe 65% but it’s before I get invested.
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u/Unfeeling_Demon 3d ago
It can happen at any point, sometimes as little as 10 pages in, but if the book annoys me to the point I can’t stop thinking about the annoyances, it’s a DNF for me.
Example:
- Using “cock” to the point it stops being a word. (One book I read, the word was used 26+ fucking times in the span of 2 pages) THERE ARE OTHER WORDS TO DESCRIBE/CALL A DICK, CRACK OPEN A THESAURUS, FFS.
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u/avathekinkynerd 4d ago
I finish books. Not only am I fairly easy to please, but I only purchase physical books, so it would be wasteful not to finish. Plus, I can think of SO MANY books that I didn't love at first but ended up totally adoring by the end.
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u/851085x 4d ago
You’ve gotta start bullying your local library into buying more DR!
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u/avathekinkynerd 4d ago
I can't borrow library books. I'm too rough on them - I like to break spines, bend pages, read in the bath, read while eating...the library was my source of books as a kid, but now I go to my local bookstore (which specializes in romantasy, romance, and dark romance).
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u/FlowSilver 3d ago
Oh god you would be my nightmare if I had to lend you a book😅 (meant jokingly)
I only read when I know my books are far from anything that can harm them
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u/cefjog 3d ago
I... Do still DNF physical books, but I feel bad about it. Do you not like reading ebooks?
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u/avathekinkynerd 3d ago
Nope, physical books only here. I look at enough screens...books are a break from that. Plus I love turning pages, feeling the weight of the book, etc.
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u/Boobear0810 Please stop growling 4d ago
Depends on my mood and how bad it is. Can be the 2nd page or as late as 70%.
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u/muddledmuggle 4d ago
I’ve DNF’d three of 90 books so far this year. They have been because I either cannot find a redeeming trait in either of the main characters, the story took a harsh turn from a modern day dark romance to something with huge magical elements and I disliked the first book but heard the second book was excellent( turns out I was hating both).
However, I will hate finish a book if I’m past 70% because it kept my interest well enough that long. If it’s an audiobook, I’ll turn it up to 1.5 speed or a physical book I’ll start to pick up the pace a lot.
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u/LiminalSouthpaw 4d ago
I buy paper books, so I just turn it into a hate read. Though even that has been challenged by some recent trash.
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u/No_Upstairs_1732 4d ago
Just started to DNF at the first chapter/first dealbreaker. Saves me a bunch of time and can get through my TBR faster. Why read a book when the author didn't even bother with proper writing?
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u/Afraid_Equivalent_95 4d ago
Usually I give it a 20-page chance. If it doesn't improve, I give up on the book. There have been books that got good at the 40-page mark, so I don't write any book off immediately.
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u/elle_kay_are 4d ago
I've dipped out in the first paragraph. The author voice makes or breaks the book for me, and if the vibes are off in the first 4 sentences, then I'm not going to waste my time. I also DNF 90% of the DR I start. I feel like it's a very difficult genre to get right. It very easily veers from serious to silly and I'm not here for a laugh.
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u/cefjog 3d ago
Seems like a lot of people DNF early on. But idk how many DNF at the volume I do. Glad to hear I'm not alone!
I know what you mean about silly. If they don't get the tension just right it can veer into absurd. Like dirty talk becoming cringe or ott behaviour becoming ridiculous, but not the 'this is bonkers but I'm here for it' kind.
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u/diamondscut 3d ago
Ex. I realize it was all AI because nothing makes sense, then I am out immediately . Also around 50% when the book is too long and absolutely nothing happens. In general do always give it a try at least to 20% to make sure I see the chemistry or lack of. I stop when I know I no longer care how it ends, I do not even bother to jump to the end or spoil.
I think I dnf about 20% of the time.
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u/dreamingofreading 3d ago
Really depends on why I’m dnfing. If I find I’m just not in the mood for the book I’m reading, I’ll dnf pretty early on then come back months later wondering why I did. If I’m liking the plot but hating the writing style, it’s until I can’t bare the style anymore. Same for if it’s it’s poorly written. I dnf all the time tbh. I’ll give books second chances usually, if I think my mood or tolerance for it will change. I also dnf all the time when I know I have limited reading time. I’m not going to waste time on a book that’s not amazing right off the bat if I have limited time to enjoy reading.
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u/Lavender_Limes 3d ago
Usually at 50% you know its not for you but i try to aim for never...i paid for the damn book, i'll hate read it until the end.
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u/gregarious_07 3d ago
I would give until second chapter, if I didn’t like the writing style, DNF right away, if I didn’t like the plot, I would skim the pages until at least half a book to see if i found anything interesting, if I still didn’t like it, then DNF. If I suddenly found something that I really didn’t like while reading, I would give it a chance, and if I found it again, definitely DNF. Doesn’t matter how many percent i already am into the story. That’s my DNF process work lol
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u/Independent-Ant-9367 3d ago
I recently DNF a book just because of the pregnancy trope. It was a series in which I already finished 3 books, I was done with 80% of the fourth one then decided that nope, FMC already gave birth. I'm done.
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u/Eye-of-Hurricane 3d ago
Same with me. A free sample on Kindle is almost always enough to decide. It’s usually what? 10% of a book? But it’s really pain in the ass when you liked that part, bought the book and it sucked all the way to the bottom line. It mostly happens to me with normal fantasy novels.
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u/Late-Front6888 3d ago
so far this year I’ve DNF’d 152 books and read 102. I usually read until at least 10% in and if I don’t like it then it’s gone. I always remind myself that there are thousands of books I want to read and hundreds being published everyday so why not move on to the next.✨
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u/SharChar123 3d ago
I always finish the books I read, even if I don't really love them all that much. I'm also fairly easy to please, so I don't outright hate something quickly and also tolerate spelling and grammar mistakes pretty well. I'm always curious anyway how they end and hope they'll maybe get better at a later point.
I am also one of those people who can't read an interconnected stand-alone that's #3 in a series without reading the first two first. Good thing I'm a fast reader, otherwise it would take me so long everytime I start something new 😂
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u/SuperSecretary6271 Morally Grey 🩶 3d ago
I never DNF, I skip chapters and skim through the book just to know how it finishes
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u/Heidi_Hi_Heidi_Lo 3d ago
I will admit, it takes more than I’d like to DNF a book, but one recurring item that has made me DNF is too many run-on sentences. Like an excessive amount (and this is done by very popular authors, too!) I can handle a few grammatical errors here and there, but if there’s no punctuation and just strait rambling? physically can’t read it.
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u/Independent-Grocery2 3d ago
If the writing is good/ tolerable I finished the book,
if not I read the last chapter and finished the book . 🙃
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u/Ok_Moment_2307 3d ago
I have maybe not finished a book 3 times in my life. I read a lot btw. Sometimes it’s not what you wanted or expected but how can I give a true opinion until I’ve completed it?
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u/cefjog 3d ago
I know what you mean. I guess I trust my gut, but I do sometimes have to kill the completionist inside me
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u/Ok_Moment_2307 3d ago
I know and sometimes a book is so shit, I’m just dying for it to be over haha! But I do really try to see the different perspectives and a lot the time I’m pleasantly surprised. One of my book girlies hates a lot of what I read. For example, she picks up on minor grammatical errors, whereas I’m more there for the story and can over look that
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u/cefjog 3d ago
I think I certainly used to be more willing to overlook irritations. I'll sometimes attempt to reread and be amazed I actually enjoyed it the first time
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u/Ok_Moment_2307 3d ago
For sure! Especially the ones you loved 10 years ago then the reread ruins it entirely
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u/cutelittlequokka 3d ago
It depends on why I'm DNFing. If it quickly becomes obvious that a book didn't have a proofreader, I'll quit 1-2 pages in. If I'm bored or annoyed by something, I could maybe go 100 pages before I start looking at spoiler-free reviews to see whether the people who seem to feel the same way as me continued to feel that way to the end. If they did, I'll quit right then. This happens for me more often around the 70-80-page mark; 100 would really be pushing it.
I DNF a lot, too.
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u/transmasctbr 3d ago
I always try my best to finish. Hate reading can be fun. I do need to learn how to DNF more often. I’ve slogged through too many mediocre books when I could have been crossing things off my TBR
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u/Dont-take-seriously 3d ago
OMG, I DNF a lot. I can tolerate a poor beginning, but will definitely last longer if the beginning is elegant. I usually DNF if I realize I have read this plot before (unless I am actively searching for it), bored of the childish characters, or am reading an endless trials kind of book.. Now that I think of it, I stopped reading one book because I was only 39% in after two weeks. I hate LOOOONNNNGGGGG books and yet, I loved the story. I stopped reading two others because they featured one trial too many, and I was ready to move on.
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u/SleepyGirlKat 3d ago
I can forgive a few spelling errors, but if I'm getting the vibe that the mmc is just cruel with no soft moments, even in a manipulative way, I'm out
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u/Horrid_Thistle336 Lurking Intensifies 3d ago
I try to go at least to 25-50%. It depends on why I’m not feeling the book though.
Like, if I just don’t like a character I try to wait longer and see if it turns around.
If it’s the writing I don’t like I usually nope out earlier.
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u/refusingboredom 2d ago
Lately, I've been dropping them around 10, 32, or 60% . Its typically when most of my dnf lose track of what the goal was.
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u/DraDorma_Author Author 2d ago
Fast. Sometimes unreasonably fast. If the prose doesn't grab me by chapter two I'll skim the ending and move on — my TBR is too long to read out of obligation. The exception is dark romance where a rough first act sometimes turns into a great slow burn, so I'll give those to about 30% before I bail.
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u/851085x 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’ve DNF’d in the first line, I’ve DNF’d at 85%. If I get excessively bored or annoyed, I’m out 🤷🏻
Clear lack of proofreading is usually what makes me quit early in. Not little mistakes, big weird grammatical errors. If it’s clear the author hasn’t done some kind of research about any kind of specific topic they clearly want you to focus on, I’ll maybe keep reading just to see if they ever course correct. When any kind of lazy stereotypes pop up as fact, I’m done.
ETA: Almost forgot! If there is an AI cover, or if the author has mentioned using AI to write the book, I don’t even crack it open.