Hey guys! I am coming at you today with My Disappointing Reads of 2020. I know there is still time left in the year. So far I am really enjoying my current reads so I’m hoping those don’t disappoint. If they do there will be an update post about my disappointing reads. I’m hoping it doesn’t come to that though. Anyway all these books were ones I was really looking forward to. Sadly they didn’t meet my expectations. So let’s dive in and see what those books are and why.
He Started It By Samantha Downing
Last year I ended up reading My Lovely Wife By Samantha Downing and loved it. So the moment I heard she had a book coming out this year, I added it to my TBR. However this book disappointed. I was just so bored by everything that happened. I also wasn’t a fan of any of the characters. I thought they were all unlikeable. I honestly can barley remember them and I read this last month. Really bummed about this one.
Something to Talk About By Meryl Wilsner
I ended up finding out about this book this year. However I was just really looking forward to picking it up. It sounded like such a fun read. It’s about a showrunner and her assistant. The showrunner takes the assistant to an award show and rumors that they’re dating start. I enjoy books dealing with Hollywood. I was really enjoying it in the beginning. I just ended up getting bored waiting for what you’re expecting to happen happen.
This year I finally finished reading all of B.A. Paris’s books. I do overall enjoy her work a lot. However this book was advertised as a thriller and that’s not what it was. Sure there was a bit of mystery to the book but I basically assumed what happened. I did end up being right. I just felt like this could have been better as a short story. It didn’t need to be a book. It felt dragged out.
Well this is a book I’ve been looking to read for a while. Obviously everyone knows about the movie. I don’t hear about the book. I understand that now. I feel I was invested in the beginning and then things just went downhill. I just felt there was unnecessary scenes. They didn’t really need to happen. Then they just dragged on. Then there ended up being more with these characters and it’s just like why? Maybe to create some tension between characters on the boat? I just feel it could have been cut out. I ended up losing focus after that. Sorry I can’t say much about the scenes because I don’t want to spoil things if you read this. If you have read it you might know what I’m talking about. I do plan to watch the movie at some point.
This is a book I have wanted to pick up forever. I think the times I looked for it at the library it was checked out or I already had too many books in my hand. I finally decided to pick it up. I was drawn to it by the drawings and the pages getting darker over time. I just was confused majority of the time. I feel something could have been done by someone who wasn’t the two main characters. I did look up this book after I finished. There is a lot more to it. So I’d say if you read this or read it and feel similar, do look more into the book. This just ended up not being for me.
Kingdom of the Wicked By Kerri Maniscalco
I am big Kerri Maniscalco fan. I really enjoyed the Stalking Jack the Ripper series. So I was super excited when I heard she was coming out with a new series. I honestly don’t really remember what happened. I did review it for a blog tour. You can read the review HERE. I have decided that I won’t be continuing on with the series. It just wasn’t for me and I’m not very invested in it.
Mexican Gothic By Silvia Moreno-Garcia
So I am adding this one last minute. This is a book that got so much hype in 2020. I mean I feel everyone was talking about it. It originally wasn’t on my radar. However hearing how much people liked this one I wanted to check it out. Plus look at that cover. I do feel this one just didn’t do it for me. I did enjoy the writing. The story just felt way too slow. It took a while for things to happen. I did write a review which you can find HERE. I know majority of people who read this loved it. I was really hoping to be one of those people. I do plan to check out other books by this author. I did see she had some other books that sounded interesting. So looking forward to hopefully finding one I enjoy.
Man this is a book I was hyped about for a while. I ended up getting the book a couple of years ago. Finally decided to do a buddy read this year for it. I found myself bored a lot of the book. It did have it’s moments where it made me uncomfortable. So I do give it that. I do own another book by Nick Cutter that I hope I like better than this one.
Home Before Dark By Riley Sager
This is definitely the one book on this list I’m really sad to put on here. I am a huge fan of Riley Sager. I have met him a couple of time and overall really enjoy his books. I feel his books have gotten better over the last couple of years. After his book last I couldn’t wait to see what he came out with next. This book just wasn’t it for me. I read it all the way through but I found myself not enjoying it as much as his others. I feel this was probably more on myself because I hyped this one up. I do look forward to Riley Sager’s next book though.
The Last Mrs. Parrish By Liv Constantine
So this is another book I feel bad about having on here. I did meet the authors and get this book signed. I was really looking forward to this one. However this book just did not do it for me. I did write basically a rant review on the book. You can find that HERE. I barley remember reading this book. January feels like it was a lifetime ago. I might try some of their other books. I would like to give them another shot.
Those were my most disappointing books of 2020. There were other books I found disappointing but I wanted to put books I was really looking forward to reading. I am bummed about these. Some of these books I did give three stars to. I just feel I hyped them up to be a more enjoyable read so that is why they are on this list. If you did end up loving these books, I am extremely jealous.
What are some of your disappointing books of the year? I am sorry those ended up not living up to your expectation of them.
Bookish In Bed 
There were a few on that list that I was keen to read. I loved Final Girls by Riley Sager so I’m sad that his one wasn’t that good. Same with My Lovely Wife. I love a good thriller so it’s sad when an author can’t follow up with something equally as impressive as their first book.
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This is such a great blog post bc SO MANY BOOKS disappointed me this year UGH it was awful!!! I didn’t care for Mexican Gothic either, way too overhyped and BORING. I’m sorry you didn’t like Kingdom of the Wicked! I (Missy) still have to read it, but I know Taylor loved it….so I’m going to give it a try.
I’ve also had The Wicker King on my TBR forever, I’m sorry it was disappointing for you, maybe I’ll just remove that from my TBR once and for all lol.
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I found both Mexican Gothic and Home Before Dark were disappointing to me too.
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