Loved Books That Didn't Work for Me (and that's okay)

Reading being subjective is never more true than when people publicly proclaim not liking a well-loved or popular book. Below are some adored books that just didn't do it for me.

Reading is deeply subjective because every reading experience is shaped by one's unique mood and background. We as readers bring our own perspectives to each book we pick up, which causes us to interpret stories differently, sometimes finding meaning or flaws that the author did not intend. Therefore, a book loved by one reader can easily be disliked by another.

The Hype Did Not Live Up to Expectations

These books were highly hyped on social media and book review sites, but after reading them, I felt more let down and annoyed than anything.

Both Fourth Wing and The Love Hypothesis were BookTok darlings when they came out, but when I finally took the time to read them I felt myself unable to understand the hype. Each book had shallow and one dimensional characters, nonsensical plots, and less than stellar writing. I had a lot more critiques of Fourth Wing as a fantasy reader, but I did find myself liking Ali's paranormal romance series. I gave both of these books 2 stars.

Worldwide Acclaim Does Not Guarantee A Enjoyable Read

Sometimes all the awards in the world won't mean everyone will like a book. The classics and literary darlings of publishing have their merits and endless amounts of loyal readers, but these highly rated novels were some of my most unenjoyable reading experiences.

Most of my frustrations with these two highly acclaimed novels came from the writing style implemented by the authors. Both authors used highly descriptive imagery to convey even the simplest of things, which bogged down the flow of the story for me and had me wanting it all to end as soon as possible.

I gave both of these books two stars.

Poor Marketing Leads to Poor Reading Experiences

How a book gets promoted can set the reader up for success or failure depending on how accurate the marketing is. In these instances, the marketing was so different from what I ended up reading that my expectations were never met and I finished the books in frustration.

To Gaze Upon Wicked Gods was sold as an 'enemies-to- lovers-epic fantasy' when really it was a colonizer romance with no likable characters and scarce fantasy elements. I gave it two stars. For Gideon the Ninth, the story and characters were quite compelling, but I went into it thinking it would be a fun sci-fi romp with lesbian necromancers, but instead played out as a complex murder mystery that just so happened to take place on another planet. I gave it three stars.

When A Book Checks ALL the Trope Boxes

I see the irony in critiquing books that check too many trope boxes, but in the instance of these books, the amount of cliche tropes used was so egregious that I have now refrained from reading anything else by these authors.

Sadly, these two books are not the only ones who fit in this category, they're just some of the only ones I've read. Each one seems to have been built using a Book Trope Mad Libs of sorts and because every plot point was predictable, every character was flat and unoriginal, and the world building was so sparse I found myself questioning my own sanity due to the high ratings so many others were giving these books. I gave both of them two stars.

Every reading experience has the opportunity to be a good one, but not all books will satisfy every reader and that's ok.