My Most Disappointing Reads and Books I DNF'd in 2020

 

 

Let's get straight to the tea with

  MY FIVE MOST DISAPPOINTING READS OF 2020

 

5. Autoboyography by Christina Lauren

3/5 stars

I had been excited to read Autoboyography for ages but I ended up having mixed feelings about it, although I did enjoy it overall.

 

 

 4. The Storm Crow (The Storm Crow, #1) by Kalyn Josephson

2.5/5 stars

The premise of The Storm Crow really intrigued me and I loved the idea of crow riders, but I ended up losing interest.

 

 

3. Viper (Isles of Storm and Sorrow, #1) by Bex Hogan

2.5/5 stars

Having seen a lot of love for these books, I was excited to read Viper, but I ended up really disappointed by it. I got bored and wasn't a big fan of the writing style.

Read my review here.

 
 

2. Havenfall (Havenfall, #1) by Sara Holland

2/5 stars

Havenfall was a book that I was really looking forward to reading, but I ended up really disappointed by it. The setting was interesting, but the plot was predictable and the pacing was too slow at times.

Read my review here.

 

1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab

3/5 stars

It's not unusual for me to have unpopular opinions and I definitely have one of the most unpopular opinions of 2020 - I was really disappointed by The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. I didn't like the characters and preferred the first half of the book.

Read my review here.

 

 

 

BOOKS I DNF'D IN 2020

 

I'm a big believer in DNFing books that I'm not enjoying, so it's not really a surprise to me that I ended up DNFing nine books this year.

A lot of these were books that I was really looking forward to reading, so I was incredibly disappointed that I ended up not liking them.

Here are the books I DNF'd and why . . .

 

 My So-Called Bollywood Life by Nisha Sharma

DNF at 34%

I really struggled with the writing style and to stay interested in what was happening. I also couldn't connect with the characters.

Read my review here.

We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya, #1) by Hafsah Faizal

DNF at 34%

Oh boy. I was so excited to read this but straight away I struggled with the story and writing style. The pacing was also off for me and I couldn't connect to the characters.

 Read my review here.

 

 

 The Rage of Dragons (The Burning, #1) by Evan Winter

DNF at 12%

Going into The Rage of Dragons I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it, but the blurb intrigued me so I decided to give it a go. Unfortunately, I became confused and wanted more description than I was given. I struggled with the writing and decided to stop reading because I wasn't enjoying what I was reading.

Read my review here.

Infinity Son (Infinity Cycle, #1) by Adam Silvera

DNF at 39%

Going into this book I had seen a lot of mixed reviews, so I wasn't expecting to love it. While there were aspects that I did like, the pacing was too slow for me and I couldn't connect with the characters or the writing style. In the end, I decided to stop reading.

Read my review here.

The Never Tilting World (The Never Tilting World, #1) by Rin Chupeco

DNF at 27%

Having been disappointed by one of the author's previous books (The Bone Witch. Controversial I know), I was a bit hesitant going into this one. While the concept was intriguing, I found there to be too many points of view. I also didn't really care about the characters or the romance. I struggled to stay interested in the plot and decided to DNF rather than force myself to read on.

Read my review here.

The Black Hawks (Articles of Faith, #1) by David Wragg

DNF at 34%

I was really looking forward to some good action scenes going into this book, but none of the characters stood out for me and I didn't feel invested in the storyline. I also struggled with the writing style and decided to stop reading.

 

Read my review here.

 

 

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

DNF at 32%

I really liked the sound of this book, but I found parts of it confusing and couldn't connect with the characters. This was another case where I struggled with the writing style and the plot and ended up deciding to stop reading.

Read my review here.

Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust

DNF at 39%

I'd heard a lot of good things going into this book, so I was excited to read it. However, I found the main character very frustrating at times and not much happened plot-wise. I felt like I might have gotten more into the book if it had been written in first person instead of third person.

Read my review here.

 

 

Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows, #1) by Evelyn Skye

DNF at 194

 

I actually enjoyed this to start with, but after a while I lost interest and couldn't get back into the storyline.

  What are your most disappointing reads of 2020?

Did you DNF any books this year?

Book Surprises and Disappointments of 2018

As with any year there have been numerous books that surprised or disappointed me in 2018.

 

SURPRISES

To Kill a Kingdom, The Nowhere Girls, City of Brass and Sadie were all books that I didn't think would live up to the hype - I usually have unpopular opinions when it comes to hyped/popular books, so I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) when I enjoyed these three.
And they're actually all in my Top Ten Books of 2018, which can be found here.

Adrift was a surprise because it doesn't have the best Goodreads rating and I wasn't expecting it to hold my attention, but I thought it was action-packed and suspenseful. I had no idea what was going to happen next. 
Read my review here.

Kindred was a surprise because I didn't expect it to hit me emotionally the way it did.
The plot was interesting and tough to read at times.
The main character, Dana, went through a lot and her relationship with Rufus was very complicated but intriguing.
My review can be read here.

DISAPPOINTMENTS

There were quite a few books that I could have added to this list, but I've shortened it to the most disappointing otherwise this post could go on forever.
 

 

 Mortal Engines, Crazy Rich Asians and Ready Player One were all books that I read in preparation of watching the films.
In the end I only saw Crazy Rich Asians at the cinema and I definitely preferred the film to the book.
The Mortal Engines and Crazy Rich Asians books were disappointing because I didn't like the wrting styles and struggled to stay interested. Mortal Engines had a very middle grade feel to me.
And while I did enjoy Ready Player One overall, I didn't enjoy it as much as everyone else seemed to.

 I expected to love The Wrath and the Dawn, Mirage and The Poppy War, but all three were disappointing.
In the case of The Wrath and the Dawn, I think that I waited too long to read it and that I'd built it up a lot in my head and expected something mind-blowing. I did like it, but not enough to want to read the sequel.
Mirage started off well and I liked the sci-fi aspects and the mythology but the romance ruined the book for me and I have no intention of continuing with the sequel. Read my review here.
I have mixed feelings when it comes to The Poppy War. It wasn't really what I expected but there were some things that I liked about it. My review can be found here.

Children of Blood and Bone is another book where the romance ruined it for me. It seemed forced and unnecessary. 
Read my review here.

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is very popular, but I don't really get what the fuss is about. I think this is another case where it wasn't what I expected.

So that's it!
Are there any books that disappointed or surprised you this year?