Top Ten Tuesday - Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is Top Ten Books That Were Hard For Me To Read.  I'm not generally put off by subject matter; if I am, I tend not to finish the book at all.  For this list, I'm going with books I've actually finished -- otherwise, it would be populated with a lot of dusty old classics that only English professors care about:

Basajaun by Rosemary Van Deuren - This book was only available in paperback when I bought it, and it wasn't cheap.  I used a gift certificate on it, so even when it turned out to be one of the worst books I'd ever read, I felt like I had to keep reading.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater - I'm really torn about this series.  On the one hand, I kind of like Maggie Stiefvater's writing.  On the other hand, sometimes I don't... especially when it seems to be holding back the pace of the story.  I had a really hard time getting through this book, and I almost didn't finish.  It kind of feels like the reader is being strung along and not much is happening... other than a lot of setup for an overarching climax near the end of the series... I hope?

The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson - This book wasn't quite as difficult to get through as some of the others, but only because I kept holding out hope that things would get better.  But they didn't.  Between the stupid-beyond-belief characters and the annoying info-dumps, this book was just hard to finish.

Ice by Sarah Beth Durst - Pregnancy is not something I expected to find in this novel.  Pregnancy as the result of the love interest tampering with the heroine's birth control... well, I expected that even less.  After that icky turn of events, I had a bit of a hard time getting through the rest of this book.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman - With the TMI nature of the accident itself, the unrealistic portrayal of hospitals and hospital staff, and Mia's ultra-boring out-of-body experience, this book was really a chore to get through.  Perhaps it was worse because I'd been looking forward to it.

More Than This by Patrick Ness - Do you know how boring it is to watch a character waffle on for two pages just to decide whether or not to pass through a door?  No?  Read this book and you'll find out.  After almost 500 pages, the characters weren't the only ones wondering if there was more than this.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout - I'm still angry about this book.  Everybody likes it, except me.  While the plot was okay (if derivative), the writing was so bad, and the author's attitude about it even worse.  I felt like I was grinding my teeth trying to get through this one... that is, when I wasn't laughing and/or swearing at the book.

The Puzzle Ring by Kate Forsyth - This one was just too long... and boring... and aimed at the wrong age group.  I'd really wanted to like it, and I'd gone to great lengths to acquire it, but it just didn't work for me.  I felt obligated to slog through to the end, though.  It wasn't easy.

The Remarkable & Very True Story of Lucy & Snowcap by H. M. Bouwman - I had a hard time with this book because of the characters.  I just could not keep the two girls straight.  The native girl was given an English name and the English girl a native one (it was a show of respect between the cultures).  But all it did was confuse me throughout the whole book... especially since both girls were snarly little things with bad attitudes.

Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle - This book has gotten my lowest rating so far this year.  It was so awful all around... and by the time I realized I should just give up, I'd already invested too much time in it.  I forced myself to finish, bringing my hatred of this book to full completion as well.

What are some books that were hard for you to read?