Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme held by The Broke and the Bookish.
This weeks topic is:
Top Ten Most Disappointing Reads of 2014!
I know. I know that this weeks topic is the best books we read this year BUT I already have a top 14 of 2014 post planned and obviously I would be repeating myself there. So I decided to flip it around and do my most disappointing reads. It doesn't mean I hated these books, they just weren't what I expected them to be. Disappointment happens every year. Thankfully it didn't happen a lot for me in 2014. But it still happened enough to create a top 10. So without further ado, my most disappointing reads of 2014.
10. Sweet Evil
So much hype and love for this one. The premise is most excellent, but the execution totally failed to capture how awesome this book could have been. The MC, Anna is so yawn. I don't get the appeal of Kaidan. I gave it a 2*, so there was something I liked about it, but at this point I can't remember what. And it doesn't really matter because I will not be continuing on with the series.
9. The Immortal Rules
This one hurts to have to mention as Kagawa's Iron Fey series is one of my faves. But alas not The Immortal Rules. I know that everyone and their brother loves this trilogy, but I just found it tedious and it drags. I was bored and skimming. I didn't hate it. I gave it 3* because the parts I liked, I liked. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to continue with the trilogy though. I started the second book but put it down after 50 pages. And that was months ago.
8. Ashes to Ashes
Yea, there's going to be a few series enders on here. This one was going pretty well. Kept me flipping the pages. I had a lot of feels. I also had to really hold myself back from flipping to the end to make sure a certain character was alive. Turns out I should have flipped to the end and saved myself from wasting my time. That ending or last 20 pages killed this book for me. Just such a let down and cop out.
7. Dangerous Creatures
Every fan of the Castor Chronicles was totally excited when this spin-off was announced. I sure the hell was. It's about two of the best characters; Ridley and Link. Yea, well, lower your expectations. What a boring storyline. And that Ridley is not the firecracker I know and loved. She was constantly confused and scared and blah. Definitely will not be continuing on with this series. What a waste of my time.
6. On the Fence
The pains I have for not loving this book. I absolutely adore West's other books. The Distance Between Us is one of my fave contemps. On the Fence is still cute. But it's lacking in a lot of things I loved about West's other books. The banter filled dialogue and easy flowing dialogue was missing this time around. And the last 50 pages where the truth was revealed was so unrealistic. It lacked the depth the situation called for. I still gave this a 3*. I was just disappointed because I expected it to be another 5*.
5. Evertrue
Another series ender that let me down. The first two books are fantastic. But there was no surprises in Evertrue. It was quite boring and everything was literally handed to the MC on a silver platter. I especially hate how Cole was "dealt with". Way to destroy an awesome character just to make Nikki have to make no difficult decisions. Just 90% of this book was a cop out. Terrible ender.
4. The Summer I Turned Pretty
Yup, another Jenny Han book. There was nothing terribly wrong with it. But there was nothing terribly great about it. So many people say that the Pretty Trilogy is their fave contemps, so I was expecting so much more. It's light with the darker undertone. A good summer read. Except that for such a short book it took me way to long to get through. I could only read a few pages at a time before my ADD would kick in. Another boring read.
3. The Spectacular Now
I don't really know what I was expecting here except something more than what I got. It's just about a very immature douchebag of a teenager. He absolutely learns nothing from his jackassery. He meets a shy but smart girl and totally turns her into a lush who almost destroys her future. And he sees nothing wrong with that. So much for character growth. This book lacks in so much, but Sutter's character is what really put me off of this one.
2. Nowhere But Here
I heard such great things about Carlino's first book that when I was offered the chance to review this one I jumped on it. But turns out I had a lot of problems with Nowhere But Here. The biggest one was that it tried to be all the things. Yes, it's a romance novel. And romance novels tend to be dramatic and over the top. I'm okay with that but only when it is about one issue. Carlino took all the cliched and cheesy romance novel tropes and tried to put them into one book. Which made for a very messy and eye rolly read. Carlino's other books could be great, unfortunately I probably will never know. This one just put me off of picking up anything else by her.
1. Isla and the Happily Ever After
No your eyes are not deceiving you. Don't get me wrong, Isla is a good book. And I will most definitely read it again in the future. But with how much I love Anna and Lola and with the amount of times this book got pushed back, I was anticipating the best of the three. Clearly that is not the case(for me). Isla is missing that something that Anna and Lola give to me; some amazing characters and settings. Isla as a character starts out so fantastically but as soon as she gets together with Josh she turns into a wet blanket. I was to uncomfortable with a lot of their relationship. And I missed how Perkins showcased the cities as another character. Paris was left to much into the background. I know I had Isla on a pedestal, which might be unfair. But really after Anna and Lola I think I had some reasonable expectations.
I know. I know that this weeks topic is the best books we read this year BUT I already have a top 14 of 2014 post planned and obviously I would be repeating myself there. So I decided to flip it around and do my most disappointing reads. It doesn't mean I hated these books, they just weren't what I expected them to be. Disappointment happens every year. Thankfully it didn't happen a lot for me in 2014. But it still happened enough to create a top 10. So without further ado, my most disappointing reads of 2014.
10. Sweet Evil
So much hype and love for this one. The premise is most excellent, but the execution totally failed to capture how awesome this book could have been. The MC, Anna is so yawn. I don't get the appeal of Kaidan. I gave it a 2*, so there was something I liked about it, but at this point I can't remember what. And it doesn't really matter because I will not be continuing on with the series.
9. The Immortal Rules
This one hurts to have to mention as Kagawa's Iron Fey series is one of my faves. But alas not The Immortal Rules. I know that everyone and their brother loves this trilogy, but I just found it tedious and it drags. I was bored and skimming. I didn't hate it. I gave it 3* because the parts I liked, I liked. I'm not 100% sure if I'm going to continue with the trilogy though. I started the second book but put it down after 50 pages. And that was months ago.
8. Ashes to Ashes
Yea, there's going to be a few series enders on here. This one was going pretty well. Kept me flipping the pages. I had a lot of feels. I also had to really hold myself back from flipping to the end to make sure a certain character was alive. Turns out I should have flipped to the end and saved myself from wasting my time. That ending or last 20 pages killed this book for me. Just such a let down and cop out.
7. Dangerous Creatures
Every fan of the Castor Chronicles was totally excited when this spin-off was announced. I sure the hell was. It's about two of the best characters; Ridley and Link. Yea, well, lower your expectations. What a boring storyline. And that Ridley is not the firecracker I know and loved. She was constantly confused and scared and blah. Definitely will not be continuing on with this series. What a waste of my time.
6. On the Fence
The pains I have for not loving this book. I absolutely adore West's other books. The Distance Between Us is one of my fave contemps. On the Fence is still cute. But it's lacking in a lot of things I loved about West's other books. The banter filled dialogue and easy flowing dialogue was missing this time around. And the last 50 pages where the truth was revealed was so unrealistic. It lacked the depth the situation called for. I still gave this a 3*. I was just disappointed because I expected it to be another 5*.
5. Evertrue
Another series ender that let me down. The first two books are fantastic. But there was no surprises in Evertrue. It was quite boring and everything was literally handed to the MC on a silver platter. I especially hate how Cole was "dealt with". Way to destroy an awesome character just to make Nikki have to make no difficult decisions. Just 90% of this book was a cop out. Terrible ender.
4. The Summer I Turned Pretty
Yup, another Jenny Han book. There was nothing terribly wrong with it. But there was nothing terribly great about it. So many people say that the Pretty Trilogy is their fave contemps, so I was expecting so much more. It's light with the darker undertone. A good summer read. Except that for such a short book it took me way to long to get through. I could only read a few pages at a time before my ADD would kick in. Another boring read.
3. The Spectacular Now
I don't really know what I was expecting here except something more than what I got. It's just about a very immature douchebag of a teenager. He absolutely learns nothing from his jackassery. He meets a shy but smart girl and totally turns her into a lush who almost destroys her future. And he sees nothing wrong with that. So much for character growth. This book lacks in so much, but Sutter's character is what really put me off of this one.
2. Nowhere But Here
1. Isla and the Happily Ever After
No your eyes are not deceiving you. Don't get me wrong, Isla is a good book. And I will most definitely read it again in the future. But with how much I love Anna and Lola and with the amount of times this book got pushed back, I was anticipating the best of the three. Clearly that is not the case(for me). Isla is missing that something that Anna and Lola give to me; some amazing characters and settings. Isla as a character starts out so fantastically but as soon as she gets together with Josh she turns into a wet blanket. I was to uncomfortable with a lot of their relationship. And I missed how Perkins showcased the cities as another character. Paris was left to much into the background. I know I had Isla on a pedestal, which might be unfair. But really after Anna and Lola I think I had some reasonable expectations.
What are some books that disappointed you this year?
Happy reading!
Brittany
Happy reading!
Brittany
Oh. Ha-ha. I didn't red your title and then wondered why you had something disappointing to say about all your picks. No I get it.
ReplyDeleteI love how you've turned the list around this week. It's interesting to see what you found disappointing. I keep intending to read Ashes for Ashes, I just won't keep my hopes too high! My TTT
ReplyDeleteI'll have to disagree. I LOOOOOOOVED The Spectacular Now. Loved it. Reread it multiple times. But I do have to agree that Ashes to Ashes was disappointing. I loved Burn for Burn and Fire with Fire but found the last/third book very kind of…blah. I wanted more from it, I guess? Not sure… Great list though and love the twist on it =)
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT- http://rachelwritesthings.blogspot.com/2014/12/top-ten-best-books-of-2014.html
All these books get so much hype I am seriously scared to start them! I read Kagawa and was let down so I am even less eager now! Higgins is a hit or miss I think, no middle ground there, and same goes for Ashton and Beautiful Creatures series. I actually have some of these books myself but have been putting off reading them for ages!
ReplyDeleteTHE SPECTACULAR NOW was so good! And I keep meaning to read a Kasie West book. Will have to get that done ASAP.
ReplyDeleteI don't intended to read any of those, because I know I won't like them. I'm pretty sure of it. LOL.
ReplyDeleteHere is my TTT
Isla and the Happily Ever After was so good! I really need to read Ashes to Ashes too!
ReplyDeleteMissie @ A Flurry of Ponderings
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Oooh, I love this idea! It's almost as fun to read about the most disappointing books of the year than the most enjoyable books of the year. It's funny that you loved THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US and didn't care much for ON THE FENCE because I'm the opposite. I though the former was cute, but far-fetched and lacking in depth. The latter felt more real, although it still had a playful feeling to it.
ReplyDeleteHappy TTT (on Wednesday -- I'm a little late to the party)!
I've heard similar things about Isla and The Summer I Turned Pretty. I like your spin on this. There's definitely those books that I look forward to and than just don't quite work for me or I don;t love them as much as I expected.
ReplyDeleteWith The Spectacular Now, I actually enjoyed the movie much better than the book.
ReplyDeleteI liked that you flipped it and did the ones that disappointed you. I am now nervous to try The Spectacular Now, but I really want to see the film and feel I should read the book first. I'M TORN! I've just bought Evertrue, before buying 1 & 2, because I saw it in a shop for mega cheap. I planned to buy the other two and get started on the series, sad to see it has a disappointing ending though. I've seen so many mixed reviews for The Immortal Rules, it's probably why I have put off reading it all year even though I now own all three books.
ReplyDelete