I always feel really bad when I read a book everyone likes and I just can’t bring myself to enjoy it. Like actually I feel really bad. Everyone has these kinds of books, books that are just so popular and beloved, but for someone reason you yourself cannot enjoy this. Today I will share several extremely popular and hyped books on all platforms that I just couldn’t enjoy.
Note: Don’t be offended if I put one of your favorite books on this list! These are just my personal opinions and you are entitled to your own opinions too.
1. The Fault In Our Stars by John Green
I feel really bad that I hated this book as much as I did. It’s supposed to be heartbreaking, emotional, and touching, but honestly, I was dry-eyed and straight-faced throughout the entire book. Green’s writing just didn’t convey any of these emotions towards me, which I think is the main problem I had with this book. See my review here for more reasons why I didn’t enjoy this book.
2. Red Queen
This books has definitely gotten mixed reviews. Some think this an amazing and complex fantasy novel, where others find it is simply mediocre. I am part of the latter group of people; there’s nothing special about this book. The world is simply just an average YA fantasy world, and it wasn’t complex or fascinating to read about. The entire story was completely predictable, and just about everything fell short for me. It also contained many tropes. Just to mention a few; love triangles, “special” female protagonist, etc. I won’t be picking up the rest of the series, unfortunately, but I won’t say that I have a strong hatred for this book.
3. Daughter of Smoke and Bone
Another beloved YA fantasy book I didn’t enjoy. Though Taylor’s writing is amazing and enhances the plot, I found that the pacing was far too slow for me. Almost nothing really happened in the first half of the book, and when things did start to happen, it was completely predictable. The romance gave me Twilight-y vibes which I didn’t like. I do appreciate Taylor’s writing, and I think that is the only redeeming quality about this book.
4. Everything Everything
This was supposed to be a more powerful and touching romance, but I didn’t feel this way about this book at all. I appreciate the unique disease that Yoon has incorporated into the story. However, just about everything else fell short for me. The characters were annoying to be around, and they didn’t have any humanity within them either. The disease that the main character adds personally didn’t enhance or add to the plot as much as I wanted it too. Overall, this is one of the most disappointing books I’ve read.
5. The Upside of Unrequited
I am definitely in the small group of people who didn’t enjoy this book. I found it hard to believe that the author who brought us the quirky and fun Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda wrote this book. I absolutely despised Molly, the main character and I found that she had no interesting story to share. The entire story was sort of a mess, and it wasn’t something that realistic either. However, I do appreciate the LGBTQ+ representation in here, and it saved the book from being a one star.
6. Throne of Glass
This is definitely one of those books I really despised and couldn’t understand the hype. ToG has been on so many “best fantasy books” list that I couldn’t help but try for myself. I absolutely hated this book. With a passion. The main character’s voice was something I could literally throw the book across the room for. She was such an idiot and so annoying too, and she literally didn’t have any common sense. It also had several tropes too that I’m not a big fan of. To name a few: love triangles, badass female protagonists, female protagonist who is “special”, etc. Again, nothing special about this book at all, but I also hated this with a passion which made me really not enjoy this book.
Are there some popular books that you just don’t understand the hype around? Hopefully, you don’t encounter these types of books too often and enjoy the books that you read. Happy reading!