Books I've Lost Interest In

As a general rule, I don't like to leave things unfinished — especially not when the thing in question is a book or a series of books. Once I've gotten semi-attached to a group of characters or a world or especially an author, not finishing seems disloyal. And that means that I've read more than a few books that I'd lost interest in, but which I felt I ought to read because I'd enjoyed other books in that series or by that author. Lately, however, I've become more willing to drop books I don't really want to read, no matter how much I loved connected books. In this Friday 5s post, I'm going to talk about some of those books and why I lost interest.

Books I've Lost Interest In

1. Most of the Ranger's Apprentice spinoffs (John Flanagan). I loved the Ranger's Apprentice series, ok? I was genuinely sad when the series ended, and I enjoyed the first several Brotherband Chronicles because they gave me more of what I'd enjoyed so much. Lately, however, my desire to read the spinoffs has decreased dramatically for various reasons. The Royal Ranger spinoffs were a no-go from the start; Maddie annoys me far too much. Brotherband was great at first, but I'm not invested enough in the Herons to keep reading when there are so many other books I'm genuinely excited about. The one exception is the Early Years series (because young Halt), but even that is iffy.
2. The Dragonwatch series (Brandon Mull). Theoretically, I should be fairly excited for this series, a spinoff of the Fablehaven books. After all, I enjoyed Fablehaven, and this series focuses on dragons! Just my cup of tea, right? Wrong. I enjoyed Fablehaven because of the people, places, and events that surrounded the main characters, but Dragonwatch seems more limited in scope. Also, while I could mostly buy the main characters' role in the original series, I have grown highly suspicious of books that give very young teenagers the kinds of power that a lot of adults would find overwhelming and expect me to think it's a good idea. So, yeah; the only way I'm reading this book is if my sister (who really liked it) does an astonishingly good job convincing me that it's worth my time.
3. The Dalemark Quartet (Diana Wynne Jones). I feel like a horrible person for having this on the list, especially since I count Diana Wynne Jones as one of my favorite authors. The thing is, while I really want to be invested in the conflict in Dalemark, and while I want to care about the characters, I just . . . don't. I made it through the first two books only because I was too stubborn to put them down. Maybe someday I'll give the series another chance and understand why so many people love it so much . . . but not today
4. The Alcatraz series (Brandon Sanderson). Speaking of favorite authors: this is literally the only thing Brandon Sanderson has ever written that I don't love. Part of it's the premise (unpopular opinion: secret worlds hidden within our own are only really interesting when the inhabitants don't act as if they're superior simply because they happened to be born in the right place); part of it's the character (unpopular opinion: Alcatraz is intensely annoying). And, having made it through three books with those problems only intensifying, I have officially given up. If the rest of the world likes the series, well, they can keep it. I'll just hang out over here and reread Oathbringer or something.
5. The Fairyland series (Catherynne M. Valente). This series reads something like a darker Alice in Wonderland crossed with a classic portal fantasy adventure, with hints of Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. As you might expect from a combination like that, the books are fairly good . . . but, unfortunately, the blend's not quite right, and so the whole thing comes off (to me) vaguely depressing. So, yeah. Not finishing the series; I have other books I'd rather read.

What about you? What books or series have you set aside because you lost interest? Are you familiar with any of the books on my list? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)