Books I tried but won't be reading further:
Warrior's Song by Catherine Coulter. Didn't like the female character. She's too perfect. A fighter, a knight, can kill for food all on her own, doesn't need a man, won't marry. Her father wants her to get married to the prince who happens to be perfect in every way as well.
The Host by Stephenie Meyer. If you've read The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, The Host is about a similar alien race. I tried to read it and kept at it in hopes that it would get more interesting but about 15% in, I gave up. I don't feel or agree or connect with the protagonist in any way. Was thinking about reading Twilight by the same author but people say that The Host is better than Twilight. Well, if that's true and I can't stand The Host then I'm not going to even try Twilight. As for comparison between The Host and The 5th Wave, I recommend reading The 5th Wave. Much better voice, much better storyline (more complete and explained pretty straight forward), and lots of action.
Second Chance by Ong Xiong. Couldn't pass the first chapter. It was too silly. How is it that a girl waiting for her ride and a guy picking up a girl at the airport not realize that it's each other they are looking for? I was really trying to like this but it kills me to keep trying because it's torture. I'm glad that this is a Hmong author and I'm really happy to know that Hmong peeps are writing and promoting/selling, but it's just not a book for me.
Flowers for Elizabeth by H.H. Vangh. At first I thought this was going to be a fantasy story 'cause of the author's name. Usually initialed first name and middle in an author's name means the story is a fantasy genre but I didn't get the sense that this one was. Either that or I didn't read far enough to get to the fantasy part. The reason why I didn't read far enough...only got a few pages in, was because there were too many adjectives. Plus, the story was told and not shown. Stories that are being told are usually considered not well written. Not that it means it's not a good story. I'm sure it is but I think I just read at a much deeper level. I wanted to like this one too but unfortunately that didn't happen.
I think after having read GOT's series and having fallen in love with the author's voice and style and all, I've set the bar pretty high for future reads. I try not to but it's really difficult. I know I am a hard reviewer and super picky and I know I'm not that great of a writer myself but when it comes to reading just for fun, because I know that, I have preferences. When I read, I'm looking for good voices. Unique voices. The storyline doesn't matter much, it just has to make sense. If I can find another way around a situation, then the story wasn't thought out well enough, and that's where most books fail me.