Hey guys! I am coming with you today with my disappointing reads of 2021. I’m trying to do all my sad/upsetting posts before the week of Christmas. I want to post all the happy posts then. I want to keep the vibes happy the week of Christmas. This post I am talking about books I looked forward to reading and didn’t end up enjoying as much. I do feel there might be some unpopular opinions. There is mainly one book I am thinking of *cough* Addie LaRue *cough* I was so hyped for that book. Anyway, let’s dive in and see what the other books are and why I didn’t like them.
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue By V.E. Schwab
This book was so hyped last year. I try not to fall for the hype but I couldn’t help myself. The plot for this story sounded so good. I was interested right away. I even went and asked for this for Christmas. I picked this up and really didn’t like it. I felt like the past parts just dragged on. They didn’t hold my attention. All I wanted was for the story to go back to the present. I enjoyed the present so much more. I feel like majority of people loved this book. I’m still so bummed I wasn’t one of those people.
The Woman in the Window By A.J. Finn
I feel this was another hyped up book. I feel like when it first came out I’d always hear about it. So me having such a love for thrillers had to pick this up. I have to say it was alright. It didn’t blow me away but it kept me entertained. I guess maybe since I read thrillers all the time I shouldn’t have been surprised. I did end up reading this around the time when the movie came out. I feel the book was a lot better than the book. I feel the movie had some cheesy movies.
Night of the Mannequins By Stephen Graham Jones
When I was younger I thought House of Wax was such a cool movie. So when I read the plot of this book, it gave me a bit of similar vibes. However I just wasn’t a fan of this book. As Ellias @Elliasreads said, “Not enough mannequins.” I think about that whenever this books pops into my head. I was just expecting one thing and got something completely different. I also think I just can’t get into Stephen Graham Jones. I’ve read a couple of his works. I do keep trying because his books always sound super interesting to me. I do hope I find at least one book by him that I enjoy.
Okay so this book is only on this list because the ending disappointed me. I was super into this book the whole time. It was really good. It kept me in suspense. I was very invested in the story. I honestly could have seen it as one of my favorites of the year. Then the ending had a very let’s just say interesting ending. I was not into it. There’s a part of me that wishing it didn’t exist. I really wanted that to be the case so bad. This was a buddy read and we both decided to block that part out. I’m still bummed by all this.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle By Shirley Jackson and Jonathan Lethem (Introduction)
I have had this book on my TBR for ages. Since May 2016 to be exact. I have wanted to read this for a while but never bothered to pick it up. I finally decided to pick it up during 2021. I have to say I have no clue what was going on this entire book. I had absolutely no clue at all. I also found the little girl super annoying. I wanted her to go away majority of the time I was reading the book. I just wanted her to disappear. I feel I should have looked up this book and now I think I will. I need to make some sense of this book.
Little Cruelties By Liz Nugent
I talked about this book in my November wrap-up earlier this month. I just was not a fan. I’m a big Liz Nugent fan. I’ve given the other 2 books by her 5 stars. However this book I just wasn’t a fan of. I hated all the characters in the book. Every last one was just a horrible person. I feel at times I would feel bad for someone then they’d do something messed up. I did feel like this book was more drama than an actual thriller. This was another book I was super bummed I didn’t like.
Those were my disappointing books of 2021. I do feel I read a lot of books I wasn’t into. However I wanted to book books I was excited for. Most of the other books were ones I had just found out about. Sure I was excited to read them but I wanted books I had known about for a little while. I do hope I have a better reading next year!
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 
Ooo yeah, I didnt hate Addie LaRue, but it definitely wasnt a 5 star read for me either
My most disappointing read was probably The All-Consuming World by Cassandra Khaw. The summary sounded cool but the prose was unreadable, it was so eztra
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I feel like everything by Victoria Schwab for me ends up disappointing, so I didn’t even bother with Addie LaRue. Sorry it didn’t work for you.
I loved That Weekend but could have done without THAT thing.
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