Reasons I DNFed Books In 2025

DNF. The three letters no writer dreams of seeing associated with their book. After all, who wants to imagine a reader taking a chance on your story after months or even years of hard work and love only for them to not finish reading it?

First, know that DNFs are going to happen. Just like receiving rejections as you're querying and one-star reviews once your work is published. No matter how good your writing is, there will be readers who don't vibe with it. It's totally normal, totally okay, and something to expect when you put your writing out into the world.

Reading is important for any writer, whether they're still finding their voice, learning plot structure and pacing, looking at different ways to use the same trope, searching for potential comp titles, or just taking note of their preferences as a reader to inform their own writing.

And on the other side of that coin, DNFed books have their own merits. It's just as worth recognizing why a book didn't work for you.

I've read more in 2025 than in years past (a sign of post-long-covid healing, yay!), and with that, there's been an uptick in my DNFing.

In this post, I'll be highlighting some of the most common reasons that I chose to put a book down, either for now or for good.

Reason One: Characters I Didn't Care For

In any genre, you want there to be characters to root for—and that's especially true for romance reads. Characters need to be interesting and someone readers will feel for, both as individuals and as a romantic pairing.

Readers want love interests to swoon over, not ones who give them the ick.

The exact parameters of ickage will vary from one reader to the next, but for me, it often relates to a love interest doing something irredeemable in my opinion (and I'm not talking about my quipping about feeling betrayed when the love interest in a football romance showed up in a Patrick Mahomes t-shirt when I'd been inadvertedly picturing him as Joe Burrow the entire time).

A prime example of this is a character using his love interest's carriage-sickness (carsickness in a historical romance) against her, baiting her into a carriage ride with her crush that resulted in her throwing up in front of the entire party.

Here's the thing: he was totally aware it was something she couldn't control and showed zero remorse for his contribution to her casting up her accounts—at least, not by the 41% mark where I called it quits, maybe he did later on but I can't say for certain.

As someone with a chronic illness, I would be mortified if my symptoms were used against me intentionally, especially by someone I was supposed to be falling in love with. I feel like I'd be more accepting of the episode had there been regret on his part or, better yet in my mind, he hadn't been aware of her motion sickness prior and it was instead a horrible accident.

Characters don't necessarily need to be likable to be enjoyed by readers. But if they are a love interest that I can't get behind, it's going to be harder for me to get invested and read on.

Reason Two: Stagnant Storylines And Other Pacing Problems

Every scene in a story needs to advance the plot in some capacity, whether it drives the central conflict forward, adds depth to a character's backstory or the worldbuilding, foreshadows something to come, or contributes in another way. Slower moments are often great additions, but too many can bring your story to a screeching halt.

Many of my DNFs and almost-DNFs were because the plot was stagnant, resolved too quickly with nowhere for the characters to go over the remaining hundred-some-odd pages, or because a plot was dropped altogether in favor of something I wasn't as invested in.

One near-DNF had set up an interesting subplot about the protagonist's complicated relationship with her emotionally manipulative mother, which was sidelined and never mentioned again once she and the love interest hooked up around the 60% mark.

One book I did DNF had a string of repetitive chapters that brought its pacing to a standstill. Characters bicker, make up, make out, wash, rinse, repeat. When every other chapter is the same scene in a different font, the suspense is gone. It just felt blah.

The last plotting-related reason I want to mention is one that I've struggled with in my own stories: plot lines that are resolved too soon. When this happens, it feels like there's nowhere for the story to go, and the remaining chapters feel like an extended, arguably unnecessary epilogue that overstays its welcome. When the central conflict was wrapped up, the story no longer gripped me. There weren't any stakes.

I'm bringing this up in particular because, like I said, it's something that I've struggled with in my own writing, and it was a good learning experience. It's one thing to see a critique partner mention it in their feedback, but it was even more enlightening to see the same issue in another work of fiction and how it impacted my experience as a reader.

It's a fantastic example of how DNFed books allow you to see writing issues from a more objective perspective and learn from them, making you a better writer.

Reason Three: Spelling Shortcomings

Typos happen, even to the best writers. Maybe you're typing too quickly, your computer lags, your dictation app hears something entirely different, or autocorrect thinks it knows better and prompts you to tell it to duck off.

It's one thing to have a messy draft, but another to have a messy published book. Some readers will be forgiving of minor mistakes, but it can be a total deal breaker for others—especially if it's one we've seen called out more often lately and are therefore more prone to notice (friendly reminder, you do not wear a broach, nor do you brooch a subject).

I only DNFed one book because of grammar and spelling mistakes, and that was because they were too frequent to ignore. For example, whenever a character mentioned visiting a friend's home, it would always be written as the Green's house rather than the correct form of the Greens' house.

For a more eloquent explanation of the rules regarding possessives and such, check this link.

Hiring a professional editor can be expensive, and therefore may not be in the budget for every writer. That shouldn't preclude one from publishing. It does, however, make it even more important to develop your editing skills—as every writer ought. Beta readers and critique partners are another resource to help you catch recurring issues and correct them.

Like I said, some readers are forgiving of minor typos, but when they're too frequent or too glaring, they can be disruptive enough to take a reader out of the story and cause them to DNF.

Reason Four: Spice Scene Word Choices

Every reader has their own comfort zone when it comes to spice scenes in fiction, whether that's a sweet romance with no mention of intimacy beyond a kiss, a closed-door romance where those scenes fade to black, or books where every steamy thing happens on the page.

I've written more extensively on word choice in sex scenes if you want to give that post a read but, in summary, the euphemisms an author uses can make or break a spice scene for me.

One audiobook I read this year featured a very explicit sex scene that made me DNF it.

Let me preface this by saying I don't mind sex scenes in fiction, but I'm not a big fan of erotica. This was a football erotica audiobook I mistook for a romance (they are different genres, by the way), but while that caught me off guard, that wasn't why I DNFed. Rather, it was the word choices used in the one sex scene I got through before moving on to a different read.

It wasn't because words like "cock" and "pussy" were used. They're not my personal go-to words for writing spice but they don't necessarily bother me. The reason I DNFed was the description of their bodies "making wet, sloppy noises" in the male character's first-person POV. That was the turn-off.

This one is more a matter of personal preference than a technical thing, but I still wanted to mention it because it's a fair example of minor things a reader might DNF over.

Reason Five: Who Are You People?

Character building is one of my favorite aspects of writing, and getting to know the characters is one of my favorite things as a reader. Large casts can be a hoot and a half, but they can pose trouble for your readers if they get too out of hand.

One of my near-DNFs featured two protagonists and quite a few side characters. That's not a bad thing on its own, but it can become a problem when your reader can't keep track of who's who.

It's common for a romance series to revolve around a set of siblings or a friend group, with each entry focusing on one person and their individual love story. Book One might be about Holly and her love interest, with the second book about her sister, Noelle, the third about their brother, Nicholas, so on and so forth.

And in these series, it's common for the protagonist of one book to appear as a side character in another, allowing readers to meet them before they take up the main character mantle or get updates on their life and relationship after they've had their turn in the spotlight.

I love seeing this in books and have even done it in my own WIPs, but it's something to do mindfully.

Especially in early chapters, when your readers are still orienting themselves, giving them too many character names to keep track of without context can be confusing, making it harder to settle in.

In the same vein, another romance on this list of almost-DNFs seemed more interested in setting up the romantic pairing in an upcoming book, cutting away for scenes featuring secondary characters that were removed from the central plot.

Again, there isn't anything wrong with acquainting readers with protagonists-to-be or updating them on past protagonists. Truth be told, it can make them all the more excited to read the next book in your series. But know that those secondary characters are not necessarily who your readers came to read about. Keeping your main character out of the spotlight in favor of less-central characters can make it more difficult for readers to engage with their story.

Reason Six: Historical Inaccuracies

If you didn't know, I'm a historical romance writer, with stories set during the Regency Era. And while I do the best research I can and strive towards being as accurate as I can, I've learned to loosen up on my own expectations for myself because there are things I'll never be able to know.

But when I read a historical fiction piece that feels too modern (not in a Tiffany Problem sense), it can make me DNF.

This year, there was one book that was a near-DNF and one I did, in fact, DNF for this reason.

In the first example, there were a handful of contemporary references that took me out of the story, but not enough for me to quit reading it altogether (I ended up giving it a 2.75/5 for that and other reasons, though).

The other one, however, felt off from the jump; I later found out this was the author's first historical romance after several contemporary romances and while there's nothing wrong with shifting genres or subgenres, it read like a contemporary romance cloaked in a Regency Era shroud to catch the Bridgerton bandwagon.

There were things like the mention of a character's brother doing something "for clout" or saying "cat got your tongue," or the way characters addressed each other in a way that wouldn't have been appropriate given the societal conventions of the time and other historical inaccuracies that I didn't love, but were minor enough.

But there was one line that flipped the switch and made me instantly DNF. What was it, you ask?

Describing the father's solicitor as being as old as a dinosaur.

Some of my coworkers already got an earful about this, and I know it's a petty reason to DNF a book, but I have no regrets. A quick Google search tells you that the first dinosaur found was the Megalosaurus in 1824 by William Buckland. Large bones had been discovered prior, but this was the first instance in human history that someone recognized it as a giant reptile and literally and figuratively put the pieces together. And as far as the word dinosaur itself? That was coined by Richard Owen in 1842 (specifically, the collective term "Dinosauria")!

The historical romance novel in question was set in 1816. They would have no concept of dinosaurs in the Regency Era. Therefore, calling someone as old as a dinosaur is completely historically inaccurate!

I'm laughing as I write this because I know how trivial it is in the grand scheme of things. I try not to be nit-picky as a reader because I know how hard the research can be, but that really ground my gears for some reason and I just couldn't continue.

Reason Seven: It Just Wasn't For Me (And That's Okay)

Last on this list is perhaps the most common reason for a DNF: the book just wasn't for me.

I may have picked it up because the premise interested me. The narration may have been smooth and teeming with evocative descriptions. The characters might be endearing. The conflict, compelling.

But for one reason or another, it just wasn't clicking for me.

These were the books that were the hardest for me to DNF. They theoretically should have been right up my alley. I'm not entirely able to put my finger on precisely why they didn't work for me.

And that's perfectly okay.

As reluctant as I may have been to DNF, there's no shame in it. Reading shouldn't be treated like a competition with a "winners never quit" mindset. Life is too short to make yourself stick to reading a book you aren't into.

Whether for a specific reason or just because it wasn't your vibe, there are lessons to be gleaned from the books you DNF. Identifying which elements didn't work for you as a reader and understanding why can inform your own writing just as much as a book you loved.

Have you DNFed any books lately? Why? Be sure to tell me in the comments!