The Vanishing Acts: Authors Who Drifted from My TBR Orbit

 

I was very hesitant about writing this post, but then I remembered that I didn’t want ARCs anymore, so here I am. I wrote a similar one on my blog before which you can find here, but that belonged to a different era of Vivian. So now I’m back to do it all over again.

There are plenty of authors I once swore by, but these days I sidestep their new releases like they are spoilers I never asked for. Okay, maybe that is a little dramatic. Let’s get into the list and the reasons why.

First up, we have Tessa Bailey. Have you recovered from the shock yet? Great. If you have read anything on this blog, you already know that I have gone on (and on) about how one of Tessa’s books, Hook, Line & Sinker, somehow pivoted me from law to publishing. It was the first romance novel I had picked up in years, and from that moment, I never looked back. So now you are probably wondering how Tessa ended up on this list and as the first name no less. Honestly, I do not have the answer. What I do know is that the last book I read from her was Fangirl Down, and that was the day we book-broke up. I did buy The Au Pair Affair and Dream Girl Drama (for the printed edges, obviously), but that was where it ended. They now sit on my TBR shelf, waiting patiently to be given a chance. Oh, I tried. I really did. I opened The Au Pair Affair, read maybe a chapter or two, and promptly failed. The same thing happened with Dream Girl Drama. I love Tessa Bailey, and I love her work, but I think my obsession quietly died when the Bellinger Sisters duo ended. I did read Happenstance, Secretly Yours, and Unfortunately Yours, though I am fairly sure my interest had already vanished by then. It is not that I will never pick up a Tessa Bailey book again. I might. It is just that right now, we are not compatible.

Next up, we have Megan Brandy. I have read two of her books: Promise Me Not and Bad Little Bride. Both were solid reads — maybe “sustainable” is not the word I am looking for, but you get what I mean. I especially enjoyed Bad Little Bride, featuring Enzo Fikile and Boston Revenaw. The thing is, nothing she has written since has really resonated with me. I also found it tricky to keep up with the world built around Bad Little Bride. She is simply an author I do not gravitate toward much anymore. It has nothing to do with the quality of her writing or the content itself — some authors are just not consistent in the way that clicks with my own reading tastes.

Now we have Elena Armas. Looking back, I truly have no idea why I ever gave The Spanish Love Deception five stars. I could revise the rating to reflect my current thoughts, but honestly, it captured how I felt at the time - delusion and all. I also read The American Roommate Experiment, which was cosy and warm in the best way. I enjoyed both books, but that does not mean I want to pick up anything else. Her timeline has been confusing too. She released The Long Game, which I never bought. Then The Short Game was apparently rebranded as The Fiancé Dilemma, and now something else is coming back into the mix. Not a great look for the brand. Somewhere along the line, her stories started blending together, and nothing since has pulled me in. She is no longer an author I actively seek out, and I have not purchased any of her newer releases since those two books. My TBR shelf has not complained once.

Hannah Grace is another one. In all fairness, she has not really released anything new for me to buy yet. The Maplehill series was fantastic. Icebreaker gave Wattpad a run for its money at times, Wildfire was cosy, and Daydream was, as the name suggests, a dream. The writing just kept getting better and better, and now I am hoping to see more from her, especially since she has signed a five book deal with Piatkus under the management of Kimberly Brower. Hannah Grace was previously with Simon & Schuster UK, and let us just leave it at that. I cannot say I will be sprinting to pre-order like I do for Ana Huang, nor can I say I give much thought to any of her already released books.

The next one is probably not so shocking, since a lot of people seem to share my opinion about Cora Reilly books. I added Sin & Redemption to my TBR back in January and there it still sits to this day. I think I read maybe one chapter before deciding I could not handle the rest. Looking back, what was I thinking reading about these Familigia sheets, rituals, and God knows what else. Cora Reilly even wrote a whole book from the perspective of Dante Cavallaro, literally a copy of Bound by Duty but told as Dante for reasons unknown to me. Another book, which I cannot remember the name of and might have been the same one, focused entirely on how the Familigia reacted to Serafina being taken by Remo Falcone in Twisted Pride. Too much testosterone. I do not know what to say except that Twisted Pride was by far her best book. The rest have so many cringe worthy elements that I find it hard to survive that rollercoaster of discomfort.

Let's end with Lauren Asher. I honestly do not know what happened. One day I was happily re-reading her Dreamland Billionaire series, and the next, the Lakefront Billionaire series just disappointed me so much. Love Re-Arranged was readable. Love Unwritten felt like a one-off bad taste. And then Love Arranged? I could not even get past it. It genuinely made me feel sad. I cannot come to terms with the fact that the same author wrote both series. Though I was never a fan of Zahra or Rowan, I lived for Declan, Iris, Cal, and Alana. I even enjoyed reading about that villain of a father, Seth Kane, because it was fun to watch him get his comeuppance. I wish I could justify saying it was just one book from her Lakefront Billionaire series that failed me, but I cannot, and therefore I shall not. I do not see myself getting excited to read Lauren Asher again. If I do, rest assured you will hear about it. Truly, genuinely sad.

Whilst going through what I like to call my publishing puberty; I also went through an editorial phase. I wanted to be an alpha or beta reader, an editorial assistant, and finally a development editor. I soon realized I wanted none of those things. Sure, I have the skills to help elevate a story, but my drive lies elsewhere in publishing. Honestly, doing that kind of work would suck the joy out of reading for me, and I am not here for it. I do not think it is realistic for an author to release a hit book every single time and create a perfect five-star series. That said, the more consistently solid writing an author puts out, the more readers they are likely to attract. For example, I really disliked Wild Love and Wild Card by Elsie Silver from her Rose Hill series, but that does not mean I will never buy from her again. It just means I did not like two out of the nine other books I have read from her. However, when an author consistently releases stories that do not land, a sigh and an eye roll halfway through the blurb is all it takes to move on to bigger and better things.

I have stuck by the same principal time and time again: if the story is good, it will sell itself. As much as I am building a career in publicity, there is one thing PR cannot do for you—write a good book. Sales can be high, but coverage can be just as low. The example I always come back to is Danielle Lori. Ah, to be a new reader again and experience Nico Russo and Elena Abelli for the very first time.

I am posting this on a Monday afternoon, but I wrote it on a Friday night, so, considering it is Friday night (just play along), I am going to stop here. I wanted to do this post for no other reason than to explain why a niche variety of authors seem to coast around on this blog. Some make an appearance once or twice and then vanish forever. I know some of these authors are releasing new material, but I would rather not be part of it. This is in no way me discrediting their work. Give me a pen and paper, ask me to plan out a story, and I would not even know where to start. I could never write a book to save my very own precious life. As readers, we all have our own tastes and our own ideas of what consistency actually looks like.

And that’s it for now. These are the authors who have drifted out of my TBR orbit, at least for the time being. Some may return, some may never, and that is perfectly fine. Reading is personal, and my tastes, obsessions, and eye rolls are my own. Until next time, I’ll be over here, curating my little corner of the book universe, one vanishing act at a time.

I’ll see you all hopefully hopping between this blog and my sister blog, Paper Chapters. Oooh, I almost forgot to share some news—Ana Huang liked my review of The Defender on Instagram, commented on it, and even reposted it on her story. It became my most liked post so far, currently sitting at a whopping 126 likes, 2 comments, and 7 shares. My hypothesis is working.

Anyways, I’m signing off… may your TBR be ever in your favor.

Until next time.

Vivian.