I am happy to report that there were no books that I absolutely hated in 2017! I do not think that I gave a single book that I read 1 star. That being said, there were a few books that left me disappointed. I had high expectations for these novels and in the end they let me down.
The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer
I know there are a lot of problems with Twilight and I acknowledge that but it is the book that got me back in to reading. That series is such a guilty pleasure read and I have great memories of reading the books and watching the movies with my roommates. I was expecting the same from The Chemist but was let down. It was boring and I did not connect to the characters. To be honest, I ended up skimming a lot of it.
The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
WWII fiction is one of my favourite genres, and I was so intrigued by this story. I was disappointed to find out that this book ended up being more about animal behaviour than the actual bravery of this couple. There was too much science and not enough history.
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
I have heard about this book for years, and with the movie coming out I decided to finally read it. I hate to say this but it was so boring. I know it is a lot of people’s favourite book and I can see why but it was just not for me. I have realized that I do not enjoy reading about the same day replaying over and over again. I was also hoping for more character development. Is the movie any good?
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
This is probably the book that disappointed me the most. I thoroughly enjoyed the first half of the novel and was invested in the characters. I could see the “twist” coming but I was praying that I was wrong. I had so many issue with the “twist” and it left a sour taste in my mouth.
The Girls by Emma Cline
The Girls wasn’t at all what I was expecting. I wanted to learn more about the cult. I wish that the story was told from the perspective of a different character because I think I would have loved it. Emma Cline is a talented writer and this story had so much potential.
Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
I really enjoyed Fangirl and was so excited to finally read Carry On. I am not someone who enjoys fanfiction, and that it how this book felt to me. It was too much like Harry Potter and I just could not get passed it. I did adore Simon and Baz though!
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
It took me ages to finish this novel and I can not really explain why. I just could not connect with it and I was not a fan of the romance. It had a lot of potential but it just fell short.
I know that some of these choices will be controversial and are a lot of people’s favourite books! I just want to make it clear that I did not hate any of these, I just did not love them. I think my expectations were too high!
What book disappointed you this year?
You have quite a few books I loved on this list but I can understand them not working for everyone. Carry On does read like fan fiction which it kind of is in a way but I do love how it twists HP. An unfortunate side effect is that I now find fault with Potter books. I mean seriously what we Dumbledore thinking? 😂
Also love Before I Fall but it did take a while to get into. The movie’s ok but not as good. It skips over a lot.
I think sometimes it’s difficult for hyped or popular books to live up to expectations and even though they aren’t necessarily bad they often disappoint. I know I’ve found that. (Nyxia)
I think that is the problem – I went in to these books with too high expectations. None were bad just not as good as I had hoped!
I read Before I Fall a few years ago and really wasn’t that bothered by it like it was very meh but when I watched the film this year I actually enjoyed it way more than I thought I would!! Glad to hear that no books you completely hated this year though! 🙂
I think I might give the movie a chance. It might translate better as a movie!
Yeah I was actually really surprised by it and it’s one where I’ve actually gone back and rewatched it a few times when i was never tempted to reread the book!! 😂😂
That’s too bad about The Chemist, I was looking forward to reading that one!
Me too! I liked the first chapters but than it all fell apart!
I was also really disappointed with The Girls! I just wanted to read more about the cult, and the main character made me very uncomfortable at times…
You’re so right! I was uncomfortable and not in the way I thought I would be!
I was disappointed by The Fate of the Tearling. I loved the first two books and had so high expectations for this one but saddly it did not deliver.
Ah that is the worst feeling. I hate when a book in the series doesn’t hold up against the others!
Wow! Lots of controversial books on this list! I am really sad to see Girls on here, I have had it for a while now and really wanted to get to it in 2018..
I do completely agree with you about Everything Everything though. I just, I couldn’t get that bad taste out of my mouth after reading it!
If anything, I think I want to read Carry On more now lol (I LOVEEEEE me some Harry Potter)
This was a really great post. 🙂
Thank you! The Girls is beautifully written so I still think that since you own it you should give it a try! I am so happy I wasn’t alone about Everything, Everything! I think you will probably love Carry On! I just struggled with it!
With Everything, Everything, I was so disappointed! I loved it until that plot twist. I really liked Before I Fall, though, but I think it’s because I read it at such a young age and I never read anything where the main character repeated the same day.
I am happy other people agree with me about Everything, Everything. I think I would have enjoyed Before I Fall a lot more if I had read it years ago!
I was so close buying The Chemist the other day but I resisted; because I know Meyer’s writing couldn’t get any better. As for Carry On, I wasn’t planning on reading it, even though I genuinely loved Fangirl!
As for the most disappointing book I read this year, I believe I’m gonna go with The Night Circus! So much hype and yet I wasn’t able to see its magic. 🤷🏻♀️
I think you made the right call by not buying it! I agree with you about the Night Circus. I read it this year and I thought it would make my favourites list but I didn’t even consider adding it. It was good but not fantastic!
I struggled big time finishing The Night Circus. And at first I felt like I wouldn’t like Daughter of the Burning City because of that; thankfully I was wrong! 😅
I listened to The Night Circus on audiobook and I could see how so many people would fall in love with the descriptions, but I’m just not a descriptive reader! I like minimalistic writing and quick plots! So The Night Circus really let me down.
I’m totally with you about Uprooted!! Thought I would love it and it just didn’t work for me! I’ve got Everything, Everything to read and I’m slightly apprehensive now after reading your list! 😉
I was so sad about Uprooted. I think it’s one of those books you either love or hate. Everything, Everything is still worth reading! I just can’t get passed the twist but I know a lot of people loved it.
I was disappointed with The Girls when I read it last year too. I expected much more from it, especially considering all the hype and literary buzz.
Not enough really happened and I really disliked the main character. It’s too bad! So much potential!
I have to agree about Everything, Everything. It was good to begin with and was interesting then started to get really repetitive pretty quickly. Definitely check out her second book The Sun is Also a Star it’s excellent and in my opinion so much better.
That is good to hear! I have been avoiding picking up but I will in 2018!
Glad to hear! Hope you enjoy 🙂
I was really disappointed by The Girls as well! There was SO much potential for it to be a fascinating exploration of the cult…. I really like your idea of it being told from the perspective of a different character. Hopefully Emma Cline will write another book that hits the mark more accurately!
I think Emma Cline has the potential to write an amazing novel. I will definitely try her next one!
I ended up giving up on The Chemist after a few chapters. I do think I’d like to try it again some day, though.
It’s not terrible just unnecessarily long I think! I hope you enjoy it when you try to pick it up again!
The only one of these I’ve read is The Girls but I had the same reaction to it – I think I could have loved the book if we got to see…. anything happen. It was just so dull!
Exactly! I want the same story told from the perspective of someone who was actually a member of the cult!
I was skeptical about The Chemist. I’m glad I didn’t buy it the last time I thought about it.
I debated whether or not to buy it as well! No one seems to talk about it and now I see why! It was very mediocre!
I just had a weird feeling it was her attempt at trying to come back after Twilight and got a weird vibe from it, lol.
Ah it’s a shame you didn’t like Before I fall- but it seems to be very hit and miss. (the movie is very similar btw) I don’t much feel like picking up the Chemist though- so I think I had a lucky escape!
I wish I had read Before I Fall a few years ago! I think I would have enjoyed it more! I would read it a hundred times over before I picked up The Chemist again though!
Ah that’s totally fair enough!! haha oh dear!! Good to know- gonna continue to avoid that then!!
I’m sorry Everything Everything was a disappointing read for you! I actually loved that book! Uprooted was an interesting read but I found the pacing too slow.
I can see why people love Everything, Everything! Uprooted was so slow! Can’t believe how long it took me to get through.
That’s too bad you didn’t enjoy Before I Fall! I really enjoy it, but I understand why people don’t like it too. The movie is a very aesthetically pleasing movie, and it’s not bad either (not like amazing but easy to watch)
I think I am going to try the movie!
everything, everything and the girls were disappointing for me too!!
I am so glad you agree with me! It seems so many people were disappointed by The Girls!
I’m sad to hear The Zookeeper’s Wife was such a bummer. I watched the movie earlier this year and was interested in going back to read the book.
Was the movie any good? I have been avoiding watching it!
I was super stoked to read Carry On too, but I ended up marking it as DNF. I just couldn’t do it. Sucks you didn’t really like The Girls. I’ve been wanting to read that one.
Carry On was just not for me! I thought I would love it! The Girls had so much potential!
I always like to see what we put on our underwhelming or disappointing reads of the year lists. It’s a good thing to see that not all books are amazing blow your mind 5 star reads. And I think it’s best that we all just accept that not every book is made for every reader. It is okay to have different opinions. I also wrote up a similar post, on my underwhelming reads of the year: https://mousaibooks.com/2017/12/31/underwhelming-reads-of-2017/
I think it is important as well. I want to hear differing opinions about a novel so I can decide if it is something I am interested in reading. Not everyone is going to love The same books and that is ok!
Exactly!
I was never a fan of Twilight, but I did thoroughly enjoy The Chemist. Insta-love and some details aside, I found it really good! Though, I can understand how someone could find it uninteresting. Haha.
I wish it was shorter. It had potential for sure!