The difficulty writing a review when the book isn't good

This weekend I spent too much time with a book I didn't like. If I hadn't got it for free from NetGalley I wouldn't have finished it. But I feel obliged to write something. And I don't want to be too negative. I never want to hurt the author who put all his energy and a lot of work in his text.

It's very strange to read something boring or annoying and while reading asking yourself why you do it and looking for anything positive to say while constantly feeling that you don't like what you read. Sounds stupid? It probably is.

So, why didn't I just switch of my kindle and forgot the book and the review altogether to do something more pleasant - go for a walk (it was raining), watch a movie (there's nothing nice on TV on Sunday afternoons) or finally finish due paperwork (I'd do a lot to have a reason to avoid this)?

I wanted to give it a chance, I wanted to find out, why others had written reviews full of praise. And I don't want to judge without finishing. I wanted to find some surprising twist or a little suspense building up in the end – but it just stopped without anything, without any solution, no happy ending, no sad ending. Nothing.

I sat there with an empty feeling. I had wasted all this time for nothing. And the publishers expected a review. They got one. But I don't think they'll like it. They always declare they want honest reviews. They got it.