Worst Books of 2021! // oh yeah, let’s do this thing

This is going to be quite the long post I’m so excited! This is the only saving grace about reading books I don’t love: I get to rant about them at the end of the year. Just kidding…but also not. Anyways, I have a few rules:

• All of these books except for one have been published in 2021, with the one exception being 2020. The 2022 releases I wanted to talk about I’ll save for next year (next year is already looking spicy on both the best AND the worst lists). Feel free to click on the covers to link to my reviews!
• I have several nominations that I will admit were disappointing, but not bad, therefore they don’t make the list officially. If that makes any sense.
• I will be counting down to the worst book I read this year, so don’t worry! I’ll get progressively angrier and rantier as the post goes on!
• This is my personal list, and whatever I say please note: I don’t mean to hate on any authors. They published a book which is more than I’ve ever done so good for them!

the “most disappointing” nominations:

I would still recommend all of these, but for a very specific audience of people. These are basically books that just didn’t end up working out for me. Now onto the real spice of the matter!

#6

sigh.

Why do I even try anymore? I honestly wish Maggie Stiefvater had never created Richard Gansey III or else none of us would be in this position right now. Because let me tell you: the tiny kernel of hope I have at seeing him is the main reason why I keep reading her books. And you know why? This book is plotless. It simply could not find a point if it were a pointer finger. I hate Hennessy’s egotistical nonsense. Ronan Lynch lost most of his bite and that makes me very angry. And like, what was the point of Carmen Farooq-Lane? She did nothing! Why is she considered a main character? Where is Gansey? Anyways, the main reason this book isn’t lower (or is it higher?) on the list is because Jordan and Declan are a great couple. Matthew is gaining some curves and isn’t just flat anymore. So yeah. Number 6 it is.

#5

Oh gosh. This should probably be in the disappointing category…but Karina. Oh my Christmas reindeer potatoes. She is inconsistently brash! She is inconsistently whiny! She is so stupid but acts clever. Even when she’s attempting vulnerability, she’s still so arrogant. How am I supposed to care about the “enemies-to-lovers” romance when I am fully convinced this book will be better if Malik just kills her? Like, I will gift you the knife sir! Just kill her so I don’t have to feel my one braincell die every time she’s on-page! Meanwhile, the world itself is underdeveloped. I don’t know the basics as to how anything works or why Malik just somehow became the Avatar after a quick two-day training montage. And I should just stop rambling now.

#4

I actually have nothing to say about this book. I barely know what happened except that the ending was cool…but also what the heck went down? Sure, I haven’t read Great Gatsby (which this is a retelling of) but the issue isn’t even that I don’t know Great Gatsby. I couldn’t even tell you in any sort of linear form what went down here. It seemed like a cool experience after finishing it, but at the end of the year? Yeah, I regret the time I spent on it. This book probably couldn’t even tell me my name if I wore a nametag bigger than the North Pole.

#3

Usually, Seanan McGuire can write one heck of a fairytale-esque standalone novella. This? This is not the case. If you want to know the plot of this book here you go: Girl is bullied and runs away to land with magical horses. She finds acceptance with one species of magical horses. Some stuff happens in some fields. Oh, we finally get to meet more magical horses- and then they’re gone. Luckily, after some more insufferably domestic pages, said girl gets to go on a quest and finally meets some interesting, unique side characters! And the climax brings up some interesting points! And ooh, now we’re at the end? I’m sure I’ll be in my feelings… and where are the last few pages? Why does it end like that? Most of the book is spent being boring for the sake of Regan’s character arc and the ending can’t even be bothered to supplement that. Go Across The Green Grass Fields, give us nothing.

#2

In the months since I’ve read this book, I have come to find out that there are plot holes in an already shaky storyline. Yeah sure, I didn’t like Mariana being fawned over by literally every guy in the book (no joke). And I didn’t love the initial ending. However, the dark academia bits were so good! But I really cannot forgive such obvious plot holes that I didn’t see because I’m relatively dumb. This whole book kinda just feels like the author wanted to write about Greek academia and then constructed random scenarios and a half-baked mystery behind it? If I could spoil I would be going into detail but as it is…it’s a no from me.

#1 (aka the worst book of the year for me) is…

I know that my initial rating and review doesn’t reflect this sentiment. But honestly? The longer I think about this book, the more it makes me ill. And no, it’s not because it’s a horror book. It’s because this story is a disgusting abomination for how it treats women, POC, and children. This was pitched to me as a story of Southern women teaming up to take down bad vampire man! Sure, I expected some darkness but also some comedy! And that’s what I got at first! But then all the women got catty and selfish and turned out to be in abusive relationships (which was barely addressed btw). The one reoccurring POC character was only treated as an equal by all the white people at the end of the book and then just barely. Also, when you have a book that’s pitched as featuring Southern mothers trying to take down a vampire with the comparison being to Steel Magnolias…please just put trigger warnings or something. If I read a Stephen King book, I know to expect some dark stuff. With this book? I didn’t get that vibe and I paid the price later on. I’m pretty sure the author really didn’t mean any harm by this book. In fact, it was a solid horror novel. I just really hated the way he portrayed the minority characters. Anyways, if you want to see my full thoughts, click on the graphic above!

So that’s it! My six worst books of the year! It’s interesting how thoughts can change after a couple of months of contemplation. Have you read any of these? What’s your least favorite book of the year?

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