DNF December Review Blitz — Day 5: I’m sharing my thoughts on some book series that I have marked as incomplete as I have never finished the first novel in the series. Find out why these weren’t for me:
Synopsis for The Weight of Words (from Goodreads):
Aubrey Price is in the final months of her undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto. Bright, witty, and fiercely independent, Aubrey works part-time for the college dean and has her sights set on graduating with distinction. When she meets Dean Grant’s son, Daniel, the TA in her senior Shakespearean studies course, a shared love of the Bard’s works and an instant mutual attraction draw Aubrey and Daniel together. Unfortunately, a strict anti-fraternizing policy–made more perilous by a black mark on Daniel’s record–keeps them apart.
Against this academic backdrop, Aubrey and Daniel navigate their way through a steamy courtship, their forbidden romance aided, abetted, and sometimes thwarted by a colorful cast of friends, family, and classmates.
Series: Words
Author: Georgina Guthrie
# of Books: 3 (Full Reading Order Here)
There is a novella: #3.5 The Record of my Heart
Book Order: Chronological
Complete?: Yes
Genre: New Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Heat Rating: Unsure
Point of View: First Person, Alternating
Publication Dates: November 2013 – November 2014
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook
Disclaimer: I stopped reading The Weight of Words (Book #1) at 29% (Start of Chapter 12). Find out why below…
Why I Picked it Up / My Expectations:
I was SUPER DUPER excited to start this series. It combined three of my favourite things: New Adult romance, Shakespeare and it’s set in Canada. Finding books set in Canada is hard and finding one set in an area I’m very familiar with is even rarer. And it integrates Shakespeare? Be still my heart!
What I Liked:
–Shakespeare–
I loved that each chapter had a quote from some work of Shakespeare and how it related to that chapter in some way or another. I also had some great reminiscing about the Shakespeare course I took in University. I mean, I didn’t have a good looking TA in the class but reading this reminded me how fun studying Shakespeare can be.
–The Setting–
While I never went to The University of Toronto (their my alma mater’s arch-rivals), I did live close to the campus when I lived in The Six. So I definitely knew some of the buildings and areas mentioned in the novel. It was really awesome to have a complete picture of the setting throughout the novel.
What I Didn’t Like:
–An Unbearably Slow Plot Line–
I was 30% into the novel and absolutely nothing of significance had happened. I mean that. These two had talked a handful of times and if you didn’t tell me they were into each other, I wouldn’t have known. Well, besides the fact that Aubrey lamented on and on about how hot Daniel was. I’m talking pages and pages of inner monologue. And that was in between moments of her hot and cold reactions towards her roommate. Snooze!
–Zero Chemistry–
It wasn’t hard to figure out that Aubrey was attracted to Daniel but I never felt the tension between them. If you are going to sell me on a forbidden romance, you have to give me the tension. I get that even if Daniel is interested, he has to play oblivious for a little while (and there are other circumstances). I love a slow burn romance but I felt zero chemistry between them. Even with their “witty” banter in the classroom I felt zero heat between them.
The first half of the novel is Aubrey’s POV and the second half is Daniel’s but I never made it that far. Perhaps having Daniel’s POV and thoughts earlier on would have helped establish that connection between them but I’m not sure.
–Aubrey is One Petty Girl–
Being inside Aubrey’s head frustrated me to no end. If she was in her first year of university, I could have forgiven her somewhat immature tendencies. But she was well into her forth year and did not impress me with her attitude or actions.
It was her actions towards her roommate that convinced me to stop reading this novel. I hated how she treated him and did so knowingly because of her infatuation with Daniel (who had showed zero interest in her BTW). Just ick!
Will I Finish It?
Nope. I read the synopsis for the next novel and noticed that this is going to be one long, dragged out romance and my interest just isn’t there.
Twilight Fanfiction?
This story started as Twilight fanfiction–something I didn’t know until I had decided to DNF the novel. It definitely has been reworked and edited and I might not have noticed. But once I realized that I saw the connections and parallels.
I’m not saying this as a negative thing about the book. I’ve read quite a few stories that have originated as fanfiction for Twilight and have enjoyed them. I just thought it was an interest fact about the series!
When to Read the Novella?
From what I researched about the novella it’s just some bonus content from Daniel’s POV from throughout the trilogy. So I think it is best to read it after you finished the entire trilogy.
Series Rating: DNF
The Weight of Words DNF | Better Deeds Than Words N/A | The Truest of Words N/A | [The Record of my Heart N/A]
While there was a lot of positive attributes to this story, the characters and lack of chemistry between the leads killed this one for me. If you enjoy long romance stories that span several novels, check this out!
Read if You Like: Twilight fanfiction, slow romances, romance spanning multiple novels
Avoid if You: dislike immature characters, want more romantic tension
- Someone to Love by Addison Moore (Someone to Love Series #1)
- Shame by Rachel Van Dyken (Ruin Trilogy #1)
- After Math by Denise Grover Swank (Off the Subject Series #1)
Have you read this? Should I return to this series? Leave a comment!
