Why I Won't Read: World After (Penryn and the End of Days Book 2)

Some of you are probably wondering, "Wait, what? Didn't you enjoy the first book in the series and said you were reading the second? Weren't you going to review it?" Well, dear reader, I read up to about the halfway point before I couldn't stand it anymore, and I'm just going to say it; this book is traumatizing. Seriously. 

The Setup:

Since this book is the second book of a series, I'm not going to say anything beyond the fact that it takes place immediately after Angelfall. The story takes off pretty quickly too, but a quick pace and an interesting plot does not excuse the reasons for why I will not ever look at this book again.

The Reasons Why:

1. Excessive gore. Yes, this did not bother me in the first book, but to be perfectly honest, the gory scenes were actually kind of sparse when I look back on it. Not in this book, though. If I wanted to, and keep in mind that this is only 50% through the book, I could probably name at least 10 painfully gruesome scenes that made me feel nauseous. This also ties into the next reason, as a lot of it makes the book extremely depressing.

2. Unnecessary depression. I was not having fun while reading this book at all. So many innocent people die in horrible ways, get stung, forcefully separated from their family members, you get the point. This did not help the story. In the first book, it was depressing in some bits, but it was mostly saved for more serious scenes. In this book, it's shoved in my face every five seconds, and it is not pleasant to read about. When any enjoyment of a book is squandered by making the audience feel really depressed with no happy ending in sight (to the book's credit, it's pretty unpredictable), then you're doing something wrong. 

3. NO FREAKING ROMANCE! Seriously, this is advertised as a romance novel? Where the hell is the romance? At least in the first book, the romance did develop, but we went through half the FREAKING BOOK without an appearance of the main love interest! And when he does show up, it's only for a brief moment and we don't even see him with Penryn. 

This is not romance, guys; this is a book that is falsely advertised as a romance, is gratuitously depressing, and highlights everything that doesn't make a book entertaining! I'm sorry, this book just isn't for me! I will not read this book even if it's the only choice between life or death! This is only my opinion, though, so if you blood-thirsty emo psychopaths like it, go right ahead and keep liking it. 

Future Edit: THERE ARE GOING TO BE FIVE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES?!  WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE THESE BOOKS?!