Most Disappointing Reads of 2017

I’ve already posted my “17 favourite books of 2017” post but I feel I also have to post my most disappointing reads of this year. This was the year I decided to not fall into the hype anymore or be sucked into that mob mentality. Some of these books I had no expectations for but they still managed to disappoint me.

I didn’t have 17 books I despised (which is pretty good when you read 200+ books) so these are just a few of the books that made me want to slam my own head in a car door. I tried to specifically keep this to 2017 release but there’s a couple of years prior.

This isn’t to say you can’t like these books though. Go ahead. These are just books I personally don’t like. I won’t apologise for not enjoying a book you love as well. Plus, I kind of love these posts so I wanted to add to them.

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1. Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings / REVIEW

Probably the most obvious on this list. Zenith doesn’t release until next month in 2018 but boy, did I hate it. The PTSD rep was absolutely terrible from my perspective and the characters were bland. I truly have no other words. It was a mess that was in serious needs of more editing. Honestly, certain sections of the book sound like different voices, you can clearly see the beginning has been edited more thoroughly and the middle and end were left as a clumped mess that didn’t flow.

2. Caraval by Stephanie Garber / REVIEW

I only read this as a hate-read, honestly, and somehow I was disappointed to still. The concept of nothing is real for your novel could be interesting, but don’t make that your plot twist when it’s basically the blurb for your book. I wasn’t impressed. Not to mention there was unresolved child abuse that had no background or did not follow the main character, the whole scene could have been taken out of the book and not a word would have to be changed.

3. All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven / REVIEW

If you know me, you know I’ll take any chance to rant about this problematic trash fire. I will gladly put myself up to the plate and fight anyone who tries to defend this book. Because, really, it was just bad. I don’t know how it was. The two characters were simply their mental illnesses and nothing more. Not a single person tried to help either of them and every adult was bad and dangerous. A terrible message to have in a book for young adults about mental health.

    

4. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin / REVIEW

This was also a book I knew I wouldn’t like but had to give a try. It truly started to come back this year since The Unbecoming of Noah Shaw was coming out. I shouldn’t have bothered. This book is a clump of every early 2000’s cliche rolled into one. There’s nothing to distinguish this or Twilight in a lineup. It was not original at all and frankly, grossly misogynistic.

5. 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher / REVIEW

With the TV show for 13 Reasons Why coming out this year, it was clear there was hype building up behind it. From the very first moment, I knew I would hate this book. There aren’t reasons you kill yourself, not ones that you can list. Placing that blame on 13 other individuals is sick as well. I figured I’d pick up the book though, so I had a leg to stand on in arguments (I also watched a couple of the TV show eps and ick, bad acting). I DNF’ed this book. It was honestly terrible. There was no substance and the fact that I learnt not a single mental health term is used throughout just made me mad. Honestly, everything about this book makes me mad. It is similar to All The Bright Places in the way it is just authors cashing in on mental health stories with no research or substance.

6. An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson / REVIEW

An Enchantment of Ravens may actually be my biggest disappointment. I saw so many people hyping it up and comparing it to ACOTAR (one of my favourite series) so I was beyond hyped to jump in. However, that was not at all what the story was. I was shocked by the fact it did not meet a single expectation I had – which doesn’t bother me, but this book was just bad. Nothing really happened either throughout and I was just left feeling confused when I finished.

   

7. One of Us is Lying by Karen M. Manus / REVIEW

I’m honestly surprised this book hasn’t caught much backlash. It follows basically the exact same thing as 13 Reasons Why. The ‘plot twist’ just vilifies people with mental health issues, yet again. It wasn’t even well written, it was slow and quite boring. There are so many better thrillers out in the book world. I think the reason this particular one was hyped was due to the Breakfast Club elements throughout. Something I don’t agree with at all. I  mean, I don’t like The Breakfast Club, but still. This book should be called out more than it is, just saying.

8. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E Schwab / REVIEW

This one will probably have mobs coming after me. I’m not a fan of V.E’s writing. At all. I have finished two of her books (this one and This Savage Song) and was not a fan of either. They are intensely overhyped and I just can’t fall in love with either the characters or the world. It just all falls flat on me. I have literally tried to read all of her books and I just can’t fall in love like everyone does.

9. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli / REVIEW

Another unpopular opinion? Don’t worry, there are so many others that I am not including on this list. I just can’t fall in love with Becky Albertalli’s writing and it sucks. I wish I could enjoy her books and support them (I still promote them highly to people). I’m also not really into contemporary novels where the main focus is simply just the romance. I need a bit more to keep me invested.

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That’s it! 9 books of utter disappointment. I’m sure there are more but these are the nine that jump out and I don’t remember fondly. I’m sincerely glad if you loved some of these books! I really am, I just can’t deal with some of them, unfortunately.

What are some of your most disappointing books of this year?

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Happy reading everyone!

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