Most Disappointing Reads of 2023

Hello bookworms!!

In todays post I will be sharing my most disappointing reads of 2023. I always like to start with the negative that way we can end on a high note with my favorite books of the year. I continue to feel like I do a pretty good job at picking books I know I will enjoy but there will always inevitably be some duds that make it through. In 2023 I had 4 books that I rated 2 or 2.5 stars and 2 books I rated 1 star. I had less 2 stars ratings this year then I did last year and I had 1 more 1 star rating than last year. If you didn’t know my 1 star reads are for books I DNF. I will share all of the books I DNFed in 2023 but I don’t consider them disappointing since I didn’t actually finish them. I think that’s all the bookkeeping I needed to do so lets get to the books.

DNF

• My first DNF for the year was The Regulators by Richard Bachman. The month before I picked this book up I read Desperation by Stephen King who is Richard Bachman. I was interested enough to continue on with that one and finish it but by the time I got to this one I didn’t care and I didn’t want to read a book about the same characters going through the same thing but different. It’s hard to explain. Since I am on a journey to read all of Kings books I might one day give this one another shot.
• I then DNFed I Knew You Were Trouble by Pip Fox. I literally started struggling with this book from the very first chapter. There are these weird parts that are kind of like voice overs(I don’t know any other way to describe this. I’ve never read anything like it before) that confused me and made no sense what so ever and they continued to pop up throughout everything I read. Then there’s our main character Charlie. I just didn’t like her at all. She just got on my nerves and is very immature for a 27 year old. Plus it dragged so much. I got halfway through it and it just now started making progress in one of the relationships. Basically all of the love interests had just been introduced without a whole lot happening.

Magic Bites by Illona Andrews, Hollow by Karina Halle and Wolf Land by Jonathan Janz were all technically books I picked up in 2023 and DNFed them for different reasons. None of which had to do with the book. I put these back on my TBR to eventually pick up again at a later date.

Most Disappointing

For the second year in a row I only have 1 disappointing read for the year. I rated 4 books a 2 or 2.5 stars but I went into 3 of those with little to no expectations. This one however I had high hopes for especially after reading and loving another book by this author. I read Nothing But Blackened Teeth by this author in 2022 and absolutely loved it. I gave that one 4.5 stars so I was excited to be picking up something else by this author. Unfortunately this short story didn’t work for me at all. Honestly reading this made me feel like I was stupid because I just wasn’t getting all the metaphors. Literally all but 4 of the stories went over my head completely and I can’t even begin to tell you what I read because I have no freaking clue. Reading this book felt like I was reading a completely different author.

To only have 1 disappointing read for the whole year and for the second year in a row is really good. If you’re curious about the other 3 books I rated 2-2.5 stars I will list them down below with a link to my reviews.

1. The Lost Sisters by Holly Black (2 stars)
2. For the Sake Of by Judith Sonnet (2 stars)
3. Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King (2.5 stars)

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That’s all for todays post. I know it’s a bummer of a post but I like sharing what doesn’t work for me just as much as what does. Have you read any of the books I mentioned? Did you feel similarly to me or do you have a differing opinion. Either way I would love to hear from you in the comments. What was your most disappointing read of 2023?