Most Disappointing Reads of 2019

2019 saw me read a lot of amazing books. I found some new favourite authors, I discovered that I loved genres that I hadn’t previously considered but of course, there were some books that just didn’t cut it for me.

Today I’m going to share the books that disappointed me the most in 2019. This post isn’t about throwing any shade on these books or authors, it isn’t me slating them, I just simply felt *let down* by them. They didn’t all rate super low either! A couple are books I had been really looking forward to but just didn’t live up to the hype. Anyway, let’s dive into my most disappointing reads of 2019.

Infinity Son by Adam Silvera

Back at YALC earlier this year this book was amongst the most highly coveted. After reading the synopsis and chatting to friends, I was excited to read it and very luckily managed to snag an arc. However, within the first 50 pages I knew this book just wasn’t for me. I felt like I’d been dropped into the middle of story with no world building or clear explanation and also I just… didn’t love the writing. It’s such a shame because I know people loved this book!

Here There Are Monsters by Amelinda Berube

Another book I picked up at YALC, this was likened to Stranger Things and right away I was hooked. I did manage to get through a good chunk of the story before I decided to call it a day. While the premise was interesting I just wasn’t invested in it.

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

This one hurts! In 2017 I read Rogerson’s first novel An Enchantment of Ravens and absolutely fell in love. When I heard that Sorcery of Thorns was being released I was more than excited. I listened to the audiobook as well as reading the physical copy but still I struggled, though I can’t even put my finger on why! The angst was real, I loved the characters, the magic system was intriguing but it just wasn’t enough. I think it was the plot that let it down which makes me sad because who doesn’t want to read about sword wielding librarians?

Finale by Stephanie Garber

Another one that I find no pleasure in including. Caraval swept me off my feet back in 2016, and attending Stephanie Garber’s book signing in Manchester that year is what led me to meet some of my now greatest friends, so it will hold a special place in my heart for a few reasons. I did find the last instalment in the series better than the second, however it still just didn’t live up to my expectations in comparison to the first.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Although this book has received masses of rave reviews, I still didn’t know what to expect when I picked it up. This was a gift from my Amazon wishlist from the lovely Imi so I feel awful for including this here but I just didn’t get the hype. I was just… bored? Maybe I totally missed the point but yeah this was a disappointment.

ANYTHING by L. J. Shen

L. J. Shen was a new-to-me author this year, and having seen how well rated her books are on Goodreads I was excited. Welllllll let’s just say things did not go as planned. I found the majority of the books I read by this author to be degrading and problematic and those issues overshadowed any of the positive things I may have thought. I think I read three or four books by them, thinking that maybe one would surprise me. One didn’t, so I won’t be reading any more by her.

And there were have my most disappointing reads of 2019. Like I said earlier, they weren’t all inherently bad they were just as the title suggests: disappointing. What were your most disappointing reads of the year?

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