Since we did a Top Ten Books list, we had to counter it with our most disappointing/worst reads for 2018. This list is merely opinion and it’s not here to personally attack any of your favorites. If you loved any of the books below, that is awesome. They just weren’t for us for one reason or another. Ok, enough of a disclaimer – let’s get to it!
Pride by Ibi Zoboi **
I wanted to love this one so much but it just fell flat in so many places for me.
Feeder by Patrick Weekes -DNF
I was excited for this one but man I was so let down. It had way too many POV’s at the beginning and it was so confusing. It jumped right into everything and explains almost nothing and when it does – it’s very vague. Just no.
I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall – DNF
I got to almost the very end and realized what was going to happen and was so out. I will just say that I hate when animals are harmed or killed in books. It’s legit my only real trigger.
Savage Island by Bryony Pearce **
This is part of a horror collection by a bunch of different authors. I loved Frozen Charlotte. I plan on reading a bunch more of them. This was awful though. I’m fine for things being unbelievable but this just got so eye-rolling and silly. I love camp, but this wasn’t for me.
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix ***
This had lots going for it but I wanted more. I still enjoyed it but because I had such high expectations and it didn’t really live up to them, I’m going to include it in my list.
To Kill A Kingdom by Alexandra Christo ***
This was probably my biggest disappointment of the year. I was so excited for this book. Loved the cover and the synopsis but unfortunately it didn’t live up to the hype at all.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert **
When I first learned about this book I was excited cause I thought it sounded really cool and then I got nervous because of all the mixed reviews. I finally read it and it was a big Meh! for me.
The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy **
I don’t even know what to say about this one, Ugh! I don’t know if it’s because it’s close to Magical Realism and I don’t get that genre at all but this was utter nonsense to me.
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge **
This started very strong and interesting but it didn’t keep up. I can barely remember this book, I was so bored.
Firstlife by Gena Showalter **
The premise of Firstlife sounded so amazing it ended up being complete poppycock. Cheesy dialogue, unlikable main character and plotholes the size of Russia.
What was your most disappointing read this year? Let us know below!
Love this post! Mireille, we have a very similar reading taste and I was really interested in your section of the post. I’ve been wanting to pick up “Cruel Beauty” and “Firstlife” for a while, so your thoughts on it were very helpful for me.
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Glad to be of service. I was really hoping to like FirstLife cause it was a cool concept, but Ugh! the writing was so cringy.
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To kill a Kingdom is on my TBR and I hope I have better luck with it. I haven’t heard of most of the others.
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That was a real disappointment, I was expecting so much from it. Hope you like it.
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I haven’t read any of your choices. We always find books we don’t enjoy.
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Yes it happens. I was lucky that on 75 books read there were only 5 that were disappointing.
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I haven’t read any of these but was curious about “To Kill A Kingdom”.
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You might enjoy it more than me, it just fell short compared to other mermaid/pirate books I’ve read.
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I haven’t read any of these, and now I might not.
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They might work for you, you never know. For me some of these were not as good as others that have the same type of themes.
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As important to know what to avoid as what to look for 😉
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I haven’t read any of those books but I would probably buy Hazel Wood just for the cover. I’m a sucker for an amazing cover.
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It does have a great cover
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I wouldn’t think Grady Hendrix was disappointing, but I guess not all writers are 100%.
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Sometimes they all can’t be winners!
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I was also not a fan of To Kill a Kingdom. It didn’t live up to the promise, I felt, and I really don’t get the hype either.
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Finally, someone who isn’t as thrilled about cruel beauty as I am haha. That one was a disappointment to me as well when I read it back in 2017 I believe. I really don’t get the hype around this book hihi. But I have a lot of unpopular opinions nowadays, lol.
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I felt as Beauty and the Beast retelling I’ve read better ones. It was really disappointing because so many likes it
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Oh darn! A lot of those are on my tbr.
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