I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS TAG.
Sahi @ My World of Books tagged me in it to share the wealth of book letdowns.
Thank you Alex @ Lost in Translation for giving us space to complain about not-so-perfect books! This is such a perfect tag!
RULES
- If possible try to not mention the same book twice, it’s more fun that way
- It’s a funny tag where you can rant about terrible (or just meh) books so have FUN!
- Just do whatever you want ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
- Tag the creator Alex and myself if you decide to do it.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT GENRE
pick a book that undermines the genre as a whole
Throne of Glass really tamped-down my love for YA court-intrigue assassin fantasy.
I didn’t quite get the hype about the first book or any of the characters (Dorian in particular.)
I completely lost interest when I found out what the other books do to Chaol.
Noooo thanks.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT DIALOGUE
pick a book with dialogue written so poorly that it made you cringe
I was NOT a fan of the writing in Crazy Rich Asians, and the dialogue was ESPECIALLY bad.
I’m almost certain the following is a direct quote; the words were scarred into my memory:
“I spy with my little eye Rachel giving Nick a long, deep kiss!”
People don’t talk like this!!
Also, I’d like to mention that this book opens with the most unnecessary prologue of all time.
I DID NOT LIKE this book.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT SETTING
pick a book that takes place in a location that you wish hadn’t been picked
TAKING SIMON AND BAZ TO THE STATES IN WAYWARD SON WAS A BAD IDEA.
ALL IT DID WAS PUT OFF DEALING WITH THE INEVITABLE FALLOUT IN THE BRITISH MAGICKAL COMMUNITY.
THERE WERE SO MANY TIRED FISH-OUT-OF-WATER JOKES MADE.
THE CREATIVITY WAS NONEXISTENT.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT MAIN CHARACTER
pick the most annoying main character
Really hard to enjoy a book when you despise the main character.
There HAS to be a way to write a sympathetic character in denial.
Lou from Hot Dog Girl was not that character.
(This book is finally receiving negative reviews. They soothe my soul.)
Lou’s schemes felt wacky for the sake of being wacky; even Lou admits they make no sense.
FOR EXAMPLE: she plans to seduce her male coworker by…pretending to date her female friend.
Why????
What does this accomplish???
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT BLURB
a blurb that was so far from the truth that it made you do a double-take and check you had read the right book
I did an entire series of posts on books that contradicted their blurbs, so I’ll avoid talking about any of those books.
Let’s talk about The Summer of Salt instead.
(spoilers)
(CW: rape)
I expected a cute, magic coming-of-age novel.
The novel becomes sort of a magical whodunnit after the town bird is BRUTALLY MURDERED.
HOW COULD I HAVE PREPPED FOR THIS???
The plot ALSO explores sexual assault, which…hello?
I WOULD HAVE LIKED A HINT.
All in all, I enjoyed this book, but it was NOT the light summer read I was expecting.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT FRIEND
from whiny attention-seeker to full-on traitor, pick a character that you think is the worst friend ever
You get a pass today, Ron Weasley (you ass.)
(I have a huge rant about the Hogwarts houses locked and loaded, but I’ll SAVE IT FOR ANOTHER DAY.)
Today’s terrible friend comes from Let’s Talk About Love!
The romance in this book is perfect.
The friendship between Alice and Feeney is NOT.
Feeney gets jealous that Alice is spending so much time with Takumi, so she STOPS TALKING TO ALICE.
Then she blows up at Alice later in the book, accusing Alice of jealousy and possessiveness.
And…the narrative takes her side?
It’s very confusing and unpleasant.
I guess the moral is supposed to be that Alice depends too much on Feeney and needs to strike out on her own.
….okay.
Alice apologizes to Feeney, Feeney never apologizes for anything, and they pledge their everlasting devotion to each other.
Personally, Alice, I wouldn’t.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT LOVE INTEREST
pick a character you think would be an awful romantic partner
How I HATED Matthias Helvar from Six of Crows.
Lots of authors use the Opposites Attract/Odd Couple dynamic in their stories.
Even if I don’t always love it, I get the appeal of such stark contrast.
HOWEVER, complementarity isn’t always indicative of a healthy dynamic!
For instance, having one partner be self-confident and the other be controlling and judgmental make an interesting contrast, but in no way does it make me root for a romance between the two characters.
This book tried to go the “both sides” route and say, “See, they use their differences to make each other better and help each other grow!”
Sublimating one’s religious guilt into mistreatment of a love interest isn’t the result of a culture clash.
That kind of behavior is the result of DEEP personal problems.
(I WOULD KNOW. I HAVE BEEN A MATTHIAS IN MY TIME.)
Matthias is a whole pack of red flags wrapped in furs.
Oh, and his and Nina’s “love story” rose out of a kidnapping!
He had plans to kill and torture Nina for being a Grisha!
HE DIDN’T SEE HER AS HUMAN!
Things don’t change when he recognizes her humanity.
Things change because Nina makes Matthias feel tickly in a silly place.
EVEN HIS SEXUAL FANTASIES ARE VIOLENT.
HOW GROSS CAN YOU GET, MY DUDE?
Matthias’ first course of action after Nina works FOR A YEAR to get him out of prison is to throttle her.
I could talk all day about his weak “redemption arc.”
I HATE HIM, OKAY?
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT VILLAIN
pick a character that you thought would have amazing evil plans but fell short and disappointed you
You all likely know by now that the Darkling is a villain.
I never saw him as such.
I thought his plan to do…something to the Shadow Fold (I don’t remember) sounded like a great idea.
He didn’t come across as the madman everyone else claimed he was.
I trust the Darkling more than I trust MAL.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT FAMILY
pick a horrible bookish family
I hate it when books normalize familial dysfunction.
The Chaos of Stars tried to justify patterns of abuse and neglect in Isadora’s family as something all families experience.
(spoilers)
I skipped to the end – Isadora saves her mom’s life and, just like that, all their problems are resolved.
“Thanks for sending me to California by myself, Mom, and being emotionally distant my entire life! Glad we healed from that!”
I was not impressed.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT PLOT TWIST
pick a book with the worst plot twist
Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books DON’T NEED PLOT TWISTS.
THEY JUST DON’T.
SO WHY DO ALL OF THEM HAVE ONE?
The plot twist in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is deeply unnecessary, but the one in Daisy Jones & The Six is downright offensive.
It achieved, as I’ve mentioned previously, HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER LEVELS OF NONSENSE.
I sold Daisy Jones to Powell’s so I didn’t have to look at it anymore.
I was THAT ANGRY about it!
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT TROPE
pick a trope you wish would be avoided in all future publications
I hate fake dating.
I already know the characters are going to fall for one another. DATING SOMEONE TENDS TO SPEED UP THAT PROCESS.
Like…fine. You don’t have to be in love or even be that committed to date.
But let’s all stop ignoring the modicum of commitment and emotional intimacy involved in any relationship, EVEN A “FAKE” ROMANTIC ONE.
I hate watching people slap on labels (Real! Fake! Platonic! Romantic!) to avoid dealing with their emotions.
I get that it takes time to figure relationships out.
It usually goes easier, though, when one actually TRIES.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT COVER
pick that awful cover that almost made you miss a great book
N. K. Jemisin’s The Fifth Season has an interesting premise, but I never would have picked it up without positive reviews from other book bloggers.
I’m not feeling the cover at ALL.
Also, I have yet to read this book, but I WILL now that I know it’s good.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT ENDING
pick a book that has the most disappointing ending
My reactions to John Green’s books range from “meh” to “eh.”
Paper Towns was more on the “eh” end for me.
We spend all this time looking for the elusive Margo Roth Spielman and, in the end, it wasn’t even worth it.
Also, Quentin misses the prom to find her, which I HATED.
Don’t mention THE PROM if you’re not going to give me THE PROM.
The movie improves the story so much by having Quentin return for prom. It’s my favorite thing.
The movie, at least, felt like it had a point.
The book feels like it was all for nothing.
THE NOT-SO-PERFECT EXPECTATIONS
pick a book that was so hyped that it disappointed you, and you can’t understand why everyone loves it so much
Special mention to The Night Circus, a book I cannot for the life of me enjoy.
I have NO idea what other people see in it – and I’ve ASKED!
The other book I want to talk about today is The Grace Year.
I thought it was such a superficial exploration of womxn’s issues.
I saw what it was trying to do, but I wanted more.
I was going to give the book a pass.
The ending changed my mind.
I did not expect to see so many tropes I hated all at once.
Those are some of the not-so-perfect books in my life.
Not everything can be The Scorpio Races, I guess.
AND SO IT GOES.
I tag:
Lori | Nikita | Emer | Meghan | Jenna | Alex
Honestly, anyone who wants to do this tag can and should!
I would love to see your anwers!
Narrative Paradise 
You do mention some of my favorites here but I should’ve seen that coming 😂😂😂
I can see what you mean about Matthias… That was one love story which I would have been ok if it didn’t exist in the book… And even if the Darkling is the villain, I still like him more than Mal 😍😍😍
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Oh nooooo! 🙈 I’m sorry I trashed your favorites! (If it helps, I had a lot of fun with this tag? I feel like that makes it worse.)
I definitely have some personal baggage that influences my view of Matthias. (If you couldn’t tell…) And I agree; their love story felt somewhat superfluous in the first book.
UGH, MAL. I’m here for a Darkling spin-off or crossover, whatever I can get.
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Haha I’ve seen too many takedowns of Throne of glass to feel offended anymore.. and you are funny, so it’s ok 😜😜😜
Ya, I totally understand about Matthias… it took me a long while to warm up to him but it never reached the levels of love I have for Wylan or Jesper…
Mal is just ughh 😂😂😂 btw, have you read King of Scars yet?? I don’t think I’ve seen you mention it…
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Haha well thanks!
WYLAN AND JESPER ARE EVERYTHING. I would read that spin-off.
I haven’t read King of Scars because I didn’t totally love the Grisha trilogy. I hear Nina and that…one guy (I forget his name) are really good as characters, so I’m kind of intrigued. I’m assuming you’ve read it – how was it?
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I was a big fan of the trilogy too, so I’m kinda biased… but King of Scars is very slow paced …. but because you said you like the Darkling, I kinda want you to try it 😜😜😜 can’t say anything more without spoiling though…
Jes and Wylan are sweethearts 😍😍
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I picked up a copy of King of Scars at the library! I’ll keep you posted!
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Haha can’t wait to see what you think 👍👍
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This tag is a lot of fun! Thank you for tagging me! 🙂
I have to admit, I wasn’t a bit fan of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell. I really love her Adult novels, but YA and Fantasy were just… alright.
I completely agree with you that Darkling was too underdeveloped to be a true villain. I never hated him, never felt anything towards him. Lol
«The Fifth Season» and all NK Jemisin books deserve new covers. I feel more people would pick her books up if the covers were more appealing.
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You’re welcome! I’m pumped to see your post! 🙂
I’m hearing more and more that a lot of readers aren’t really feeling Simon Snow, which I was pretty obvious to when it came out. And that’s okay. It’s nice that she writes such a variety so people can try other genres that she’s written.
But he’s so eeeeevil! I’m not super into the series but I would take a Darkling book? Just because I feel like he has potential.
Right!? I feel that way about a lot of fantasy and science-fiction. One of the only reasons I want to read Mona Awad’s Bunny is because of the cover!
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Thank you for the tag! I love this one and I can already think of the books I’d like to mention lol. I haven’t read Paper Towns yet but I did watch the movie and found the ending teeny bit disappointing, so I agree with you! I never finished Daisy Jones & The Six, and now I’m so glad lol 😂! I’ll try to answer this one as soon as possible! 😄
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Yeeesss I’m excited! I feel like this tag immediately puts books in mind for a lot of people so I’m excited to see your answers! It’s unfortunate about Daisy Jones – it’s very compellingly written and I read it so fast…THEN THE ENDING HAPPENED.
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OMG A TAG WHERE I CAN SHADE BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is today my birthday???? IT SURE FEELS LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I THOUGHT YOU WOULD LOVE IT AND I CAN’T WAIT TO SEE YOUR RESPONSES.
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Oh it’s on the list to do… question though. Was there actually a plot twist in daisy jones? I thought that book was so predictable and sign posted that I failed to see any such *twists* 😂😂😂😂
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Hahaaaa. So you know when the interviewer’s identity is revealed? I THINK that was supposed to be a twist…even though NOBODY ASKED FOR IT.
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HAHAHAHA THAT WAS A TWIST??????????????? lol that’s hilarious, that was just a ridiculous excuse to emotionally manipulate the reader further rather than feeling like a woah moment, Emer was not impressed
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😂 BUT DON’T YOU SEE, THE REPORTER HAD A PERSONAL CONNECTION ALL ALONG, JUST LIKE THE INTERVIEWER IN “THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO.” WHO CARES IF IT’S SUPERFLUOUS?
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OMG!!!!!!!!!!! Did she use the same plot device in 7 husbands??? Well that is hysterical…. and another reason why TJR is not an author I care to read any more from. I can’t abide authors that stick to the same style of plot twists in their books. It gets so tiresome.
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It definitely makes me worried about her other books, of WHICH THERE ARE MANY.
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I borrowed one of them from the library. Something about true love? DNFd it when I actually looked at the cover properly 😂😂😂
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I’m morbidly curious about that one but I’ve heard SUCH BAD THINGS. E.g., the husband disappears in a helicopter crash(?) and his wife is bummed when he comes back alive because he thinks she still loves cheese pizza and Diet Coke. EMER, SHE DOESN’T LOVE THOSE THINGS ANYMORE.
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OMG The husband disappears in a helicopter crash… DID THAT NOT HAPPEN IN ONE OF THE FIFTY SHADES FILMS…… not that I’ve watched them of course…. Hi Jamie *swoons* XDDD NO SHAME DO I HAVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And also how do you fall out of love with cheese pizza???????????? WHAT KIND OF MONSTER IS SHE???????????????????????????
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THAT DID HAPPEN IN FIFTY SHADES. I’ve never watched the movies but they seem perfect for Valentine’s weekend so HERE I GO.
I tried to give up cheese and it was VERY HARD. If the theme of the book was true love, how could she turn her back on the ever-constant cheese pizza???
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OMF YES. WATCH FIFTY SHADES! You’ll laugh your butt off. Those films are such an utter joke. I do love Jamie Dorian but his American accent…I’m like no Jamie please. Keep your lovely northern Irish accent
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Thank you for tagging me! This looks like it’s going to be a lot of fun!
I’ve heard nothing but bad things about Hot Dog Girl… now I know why, wow.
I also have to agree with you, I don’t get the hype for the Thorne of Glass series, it’s something I know I’m never going to read 😂
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I’m excited to see your answers! I love the concept for the tag!
Aaah, I’m so surprised! I heard nothing but good things for MONTHS after Hot Dog Girl’s release! It was disappointing and so messy, like it hadn’t been edited? THE BIS DESERVE BETTER.
Haha maybe for some people it’s their Harry Potter? My younger cousin really enjoys Throne of Glass and is only sort of into Potter.
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Right?! Getting to talk about things that just didn’t work… one of my favourite pastimes 😂
Really? Ooof that sounds so bad, so glad I didn’t give in to hype on that. I have to say I got really good at not falling for hype last year and stuck to reading backlist books!
Huh, I’ve never heard it referred to as that… I don’t know the premise of Throne of Glass so I would have no knowledge, but it’s an interesting theory because people reeeeeally love that series.
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Thank you so much for the tag! I just finished mine (it’s not publishing until sometime mid-February though). This one took me FOREVER ha-ha! I was definitely stuck on a few.
I haven’t read but thank you for the warning about “The Summer of Salt” … I still plan to read it but now I can go in knowing there’s heavy content ha-ha! I don’t need trigger warnings listed, but I like knowing if a book is going to have sensitive topics, ya know?
Thank GOSH you brought up the “Six of Crows” thing … like really, I’m not saying everyone’s perfect in that novel … but he fantasizes about hurting Nina … THAT ISN’T LOVE!!!!!!!!!!
“Let’s Talk About Love” is HIGH on my TBR list, but good to know about the friendship thing … I’ll just have to suck it up for those parts ha-ha!
Great answers, darlin’! ❤
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Haha I can understand that – some of the questions were very specific!
Same here. I don’t love being caught off-guard, especially with such serious subject matter. I wish I had seen more hints about Summer of Salt elsewhere.
Definitely – no one is a perfect hero on that series, that’s for sure. And yet MATTHIAS STILL MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE. If his character was supposed to be a deconstruction of toxic masculinity, I felt like he did more to affirm it.
I might be extra-sensitive about the friendship parts, do grains of salt all around. I really enjoyed the rest of the book!
Thank you! 😊 And, as always, thank you for commenting!
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Jenna…you are so kind! Thank you for writing such nice things about me!
Definitely agree with you about the Mortal Instruments. I really liked the first three…but then it kept GOING.
Welp…that bums me out about Rachel Hawkins’ books. They seem like cute fluffbombs, but if they don’t take advantage of the setting…yeah, not worth it.
I was disappointed in Peter K! The Indifferent Boyfriend trope bothers me so much!!!
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I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, MY SASS QUEEN!!! 😂❤️ UM YES THANK YOU, WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL WITH DORIAN – he sacrifices his LIFELONG friendship with Chaol for a girl he’s basically just met? And do NOT get me started on the character assassination of Chaol himself. 😡 I’m looking forward to your rant on Ron Weasley, bc not enough people acknowledge what a god-awful friend he was, esp in Goblet of Fire & Deathly Hallows!
“My reactions to John Green’s books range from “meh” to “eh.” – UM I LOVE THIS, I COULDN’T HAVE PUT IT BETTER MYSELF!
Reading your response to this tag absolutely made my WEEK, you’re the best!
💛 Ngoc
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THANK YOU SO MUCH! ❤ I love this comment the most.
DORIAN IS SO ANNOYING AND NOT WITTY. Also, yeah, if he and Chaol are such eternal buds, why is there that weird love triangle? Everyone on the internet hated Chaol and I didn't know why and then I found out and I was ENRAGED.
OKAY, THANK YOU. HE'S A TERRIBLE FRIEND. I don't think he made up for it in the rest of the series! He's, like, an average friend at best, and then he DITCHED HARRY AND HERMIONE IN THE WOODS. UUUGGGHHHH.
John Green is…fine? I guess? SO MUCH HYPE.
Thank you again, Ngoc! :3 You're the nicest!
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