Huston, We Have a Problem

I've run into a conundrum I've never experienced before. I read Out of the Woods, which is the second book in a series before I read the first one. I finished it and thought, "Okay, I can accept that." The problem appeared when I tried to read the first one. I say "tried," because I never actually finished the first one. I got it from the library, and only finished about a third of it before I realized that I really had no desire to read the rest. Normally, a series starts out fine, and then seems to wane off at the end, like the author had no clue how to wrap everything up. This one is the exact opposite. Now I'm torn.

If a series doesn't end well, then I end up getting rid of the whole series. I've never had the issue where it ended well, but the beginning didn't work. The second book is not able to stand on its own though. You have to have the first book in order to really have the whole story. I feel bad getting rid of one book that was okay; it wasn't the greatest thing ever, but it worked; because the story starts off in another book in a way that made me put the book down in despair.

I guess I have to let it go. I need more room on my shelves for the books I really enjoy.

Here it is, the first book on my cut list. Out of the Woods.