These are books that were either overhyped or just felt short of the expectations I set for them (or the book community set for me) or were just not what I thought. Ultimately they were books that let me down. Not saying that I hated these books (I even gave a few higher ratings), they are just ones that fell short for me and I just don’t understand all the hype and raving mad love over these books. I feel like I read a different book than everyone else or I am just so oblivious and missed something in the pages. But as always these are my own opinions. I do not mean to belittle anyone who loves these books. It is just for me PERSONALLY these books didn’t cut it. (Also if you notice many of these of contemporary and this is also a sub genre I struggle with and a lot of times find annoying and cliche so that could work with why I did not enjoy it as much.)
Angelfall by Susan Ee
I have read both the first and second book in the Penryn & The End of Days and they both didn’t do it for me. Before I picked up Angelfall I heard amazing things about it and had never read an angel book. I was so excited to pick it up and then struggled all the way through it. There were aspects I enjoyed and maybe I will give this another chance someday, but it really just didn’t work for me and I don’t understand all the hype surrounding this book.
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
From what I have seen is many people
that are in love with this book do not like Looking For Alaska much and visa versa. I feel like I fall into that category. I am a fan of John Green’s writing it is just this story I had problems with. Of course it is sad and heartbreaking and everything you would expect from a cancer love story. I just found the characters to be pretentious and quite annoying.
The Fall by Bethany Griffin
This was a book that I ended up setting too high of expectations for myself. It was a new release and I hadn’t heard much about it besides the fact that it was a retelling of The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe. I am a huge Poe fan and couldn’t wait to read it. The story was very atmospheric and had a dark eire vibe, but the layout of the story just didn’t work.
Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson
Everyone raves about Morgan Matson’s books and so I was so excited to pick this one up. It was not so much the writing, but the story. Again this was a sad book and was heartbreaking and touching. I got so annoyed with the main character and how whiny and self absorbed she was. It wasn’t until the end of the book that I really started to enjoy and appreciate the book. I just don’t do well with the annoying characters that are immature and petty. I do plan on giving Matson another chance, I just don’t understand all the hype that this book receives.
The Duff by Kody Keplinger
With the movie coming out soon based on this book I really wanted to pick it up as well as the fact that everyone seems to really enjoy this book. I saw the trailer and got even more excited, but was slightly disappointed with the book. It had some really got messages that are important for especially young girls to read about. I thought this had also a lot of sexual content and some other material that counteracted the importance of sometimes everyone is the Duff.
The Summer Trilogy by Jenny Han
I thought this was going to be a fun, summer romance trilogy. And although it does have those romance aspects it ended up being a lot more emotional and a tad darker than I expected. It deals with loss and growing up. The main character Belly was so incredibly annoying throughout the whole series. I just wanted to slap her, like all the time. Also only the first book really took place during the summer. It just wasn’t what I expected or really wanted. The writing was okay, but the characters were hard to handle. I was just really underwhelmed.
What were some books that didn’t meet your expectations this past year? How do you feel about these books?