5 Best, 5 Worst

    

 While I wish I was a perfectly balanced reader, I am not. I have my favorite genres that dominated my reading over the year because of this my last post did not highlight some books I think deserve to be highlighted. So, I am following up with this post, the five worst and best books I have read this year.

     I know that authors put so much time, effort, and imagination into their books that it really sucks when I know I have to throw out a one or two-star review. I always try to remember that reading is supposed to be enjoyable and reading a book that is not good is not a fun experience. Unfortunately, not all books can be winners and we as readers should share our honest reactions to books so other readers do not have the same fate as us: struggling through 300 pages over weeks wondering if it's going to get better when you know in your gut it's not going to get better. 

    On the flip side, nothing beats writing a rave review about a book you LOVE. I did not get to write as many rave reviews as I had hoped this year. I only rated nine books this year five stars. That's less than a quarter of the total books I read this year. I'm hoping in 2024 I can get a lot more five-star reads! I'm still at the beginning of my adult reading journey, and learning your niche in books is a lot tougher than I thought it would be - but nevertheless, I will persevere. 

    I want to end this post on a positive note... so we will start with the five worst books. In no particular order...

WORST 5

November 9, Colleen Hoover 

    I'm not really sure what I can say that isn't in the book-long review already on this blog. To sum all of it up - the amount of things this book romanticizes without a single trigger warning is something I don't think I'll ever be able to forget about. November 9 is marketed as a sweet, heartwarming romance and it is not even close. With some of the f*cked-up things that happen November 9 honestly teeters into the dark romance category in my opinion. Do you know what almost every dark romance book has? TRIGGER F*CKING WARNINGS. But no, Hoover just sent us in blind so we felt disgusted with the characters, her, and mostly ourselves for picking the book up in the first place. A lot of people loved this book, too many. I am a firm believer that what books I like versus what you like may be totally different and that's okay - most of the time. There are however books like November 9 that I don't believe anyone should love as a sweet and happy love story they aspire to have. Just the fact that teenagers could be reading this book, seeing that it's marketed in the romance genre, and going on to think that's what love is is terrible. If Hoover had actually called this book what it is instead of trying to play it off as a healthy and acceptable love story I think I would be less hard on it. However, the writing and dialogue are still pretty bad so I doubt it'd ever get past two or three stars for me. But yeah... I H A T E D this book.

Morphosis, AJ Saxsma

    The best comparison I have found for Morphosis is one for my Gilmore Girls fans. In season two, episode nineteen, Lorelei gets to pick the movie shown in the park. Kirk begs and begs Lorelei to show the short film he has produced before the movie. Lorelei concedes and plays the short, Morphosis is the same quality and composition as Kirk's short film. For the girls that get it, get it. For those who don't watch this (YouTube link to Kirk's short film). 

    Morphosis overall was just a bad book. It honestly did not have a single redeeming quality and I tried to find one. I'll knock bestselling authors any day of the week, but I truly hate tearing down the work of a smaller author. The last thing I ever want to be a part of is the reason an author stops writing or hates their passion. On the flip side, me just not putting up a rating/review or lying and saying it is great doesn't do them any favors. If only every book ever written was wonderful... 

The Maid, Nita Prose 

    Another popular book made it onto this list. The Maid has won award after award and had people going so crazy for it Nita Prose decided to make it a series. Despite all of that The Maid averages less than four stars on Goodreads, so I guess I'm not the only one who wasn't head over heels for this book. There are two main factors beyond the plot that was slow, repetitive, and boring. 

1. Molly's grandma's recent death is talked about on nearly every other page. I understand that losing a grandma is HARD. The whole reason I started reading again and this blog was to help with the grief of losing my own. However, the persistence this motif has in the story is overwhelming. Especially because Molly did live with her grandma it was an even bigger change in her life than it was mine but that doesn't justify a plot that remains at a standstill for the majority of chapters because of her grief. This book is marketed as a mystery not a deep dive into the grief of losing a grandparent. 

2. Molly is portrayed as quirky and different than other girls but upon reading this book I am a firm believer that Molly was neurodivergent. I struggled to put this aspect in my review, but I think it's something that needs to be talked about. I am far from an expert on neurodivergence, especially in women, but so many things about Molly SCREAMS neurodivergent. Prose had an opportunity to represent Molly as being part of the neurodivergent community and it would have been fantastic. Representation like that is something I don't see very often in literature and it needs to be changed. I don't know if Prose was afraid of categorizing the FMC as neurodivergent, but I feel like calling her words like "quirky" and "different" took away from the authenticity of the book and Molly's character. 

    The Maid was technically well written but the plot and characters lacked any sort of excitement that made me want to read more. 

Notes on an Execution, Danya Kukafka

    Notes on an Execution was the biggest letdown of the year. I was buzzing to start this book, so buzzed I actually put it in front of a lot of other ones on my TBR. The whole premise of the book was fascinating and seemed very victim-focused, something you don't see in books, TV, or movies often. I was putting right along through the first quarter and then it just lost me. When Hazel's POV was introduced was where I could feel myself lose the drive to continue reading. It took me three days to get through her introductory POV and after that, I struggled to finish the rest of the book. Saffy's POV had the potential to be thrilling but instead was predictable as hell. 

    A lot of people who reviewed the book said it was thought-provoking and brought up some social issues that need to be discussed more. The only "social issues" I believe came up were the skew between POC to caucasian prisoners, that the justice system is corrupt, and if the death penalty is something we should outlaw. This is far from new information, especially because the book came out in 2022.  This information is also talked about constantly and while changing anything involving the government is a fight, people are fighting that fight. I also believe that people think about the issues in our justice systems often. As far as the death penalty I have personally had conversations over quite a few dinner tables regarding whether it is right or not. I just don't think Notes on an Execution is worth the hype.     

    Please read my original review for this, it explains this book a lot better. Even though I just read it in October I honestly forgot 90% of the plot already and that review has a lot more clear and concise criques than what is here. 

Little Fires Everywhere, Celeste Ng

    This was the book I saw in the grocery store checkout line and I always wanted to read it. 

1. Because I share the first name of the author. 

2. I just had the feeling it was going to be a good book. 

    My gut was super wrong and this book was not a winner. Little Fires Everywhere was actually the first book I reviewed on Goodreads back in March. I have a little book club with my best friend and I wanted something to track my pages on and found Goodreads. I didn't want my first review to be a subpar one, but oh well can't go back now. 

    Little Fires Everywhere was just like my review, subpar. It was just so cliche - the plot, the characters, and most of all, the town of Shaker Heights. I'll battle all three separately...

    First off, the plot - there is not a single twist or turn that you didn't see multiple chapters before. There are two completely separate conflicts within a ~340-page book. You cannot fully explore two separate conflicts in that short of a book and because of this multiple elements went unanswered or felt incomplete. The plot itself tried to tackle every hard-hitting expose moment that the New York Times has ever put on the front page. Social, economic, racial, and judicial system issues were all brought up which naturally made Little Fires Everywhere a book club favorite. The issue, however, is that those four issues are the hot topic of half the fiction books hitting the shelves right now. It has to be different and punch a different way than what came before it to really make an impact. Little Fires Everywhere failed to do that. 

    Secondly, the characters - the longer I have gone after reading this the more I think Ng made the characters unimaginative on purpose. She wanted the characters to fall into the norms. The two moms in the story, Elena and Mia, who I would call the main characters are polar opposites. Elena is a mother of four, lives in a grand home that was her parents, has a job but feels like she was destined for more professionally, and has a lawyer husband. She feels overall unfulfilled by her life, although no one in her life would know. Mia is an artist who has never lived in one place too long and likes it that way. She is a single mother of one and struggles for what she has, working minimum wage service jobs and spending any extra time on her art, which she sells for additional income. Little Fires Everywhere also dives into the lives of all the children in the two families. To sum it up Elena's four children fall into their own stereotype: the oldest whose life goal is to become prom queen, the jock, the innocent quiet one, and the rebel. Mia's only child is smart, charismatic, and kind. I'll let you figure out what happens between the characters from there. Hint: what you think will happen is probably what actually happens. 

    Lastly, Shaker Heights - it's silently oppressive but outwardly perfect. That's it, that's the tweet. 

    As you can see, it's easy to write a lot about this book. Contrary to what the paragraphs above may portray a lot does happen in this book. The problem was that all of it was very anti-climatic and subpar. This book did score a solid three stars at the time I rated it, looking back after reading more books and writing more reviews if I could do it over it would be a two-star read. 

BEST 5

Local Woman Missing, Mary Kubica 

    Local Woman Missing has a lot going for it. 

- short chapters

- twists 

- multiple murders

- POVs

    There isn't much character development beyond the twists of the plot but with how fast the story progresses Local Woman Missing does not need to lean on the characters. I remember picking up this book every chance I got. Even if I only had a few minutes to read I took advantage of it. I will say this book freaked me out, like gave me nightmares freaked me out. I still don't know why, there isn't inherently anything freighting about Local Woman Missing

If you're looking for a short-chapter thriller that will keep you guessing the whole time I highly recommend Local Woman Missing. 

Verity, Colleen Hoover 

    Colleen Hoover is one of the most controversial authors of today's time. She is controversial for the worst reasons. She doesn't write about controversial topics or bring new ideas to the table... she just writes romance plots that are straight-up wrong. A lot of people have seen through her bullshit, but many are still lost in the Hoover fog. I personally think Colleen is meant to be a horror/thriller author. She likes writing disturbing shit, but she saw the money in romance so she decided to go that route. The only problem is, she writes disturbing shit and then markets it as a romance book. That. Doesn't. Work. 

    In Verity, Hoover let her freak flag fly and actually wrote a thriller. Emphasis on the thrill. While it does start a little slow once it picks up it doesn't slow down until you are left spinning in your bedroom at 3 am when you read the whole book in less than 48hrs. Tip - get the "collectors edition" it has an extra chapter that wraps up the book well. 

    This book is crazy and does actually get in your head. I have only read one other thriller like that, and it was Local Woman Missing. Verity truly is different than all the other Colleen Hoover books I have read. I wish Colleen would switch genres as I feel she truly is a thriller writer, this weird Wattpad shit is not cutting it. 

A Mist of Court and Fury, Sarah J. Maas

    THIS BOOK BABYYYYY IS SO F*CKING GOOD. Not going to lie, after the first book I didn't have the drive to read the second book. My bestie who convinced me to read the first book also convinced me to crack open A Mist of Court and Fury as well. I'm SO happy she did. I unfortunately can't say much about the plot without spoilers. I'll try my best, but proceed with caution!

    During A Mist of Court and Fury, I figured out that my love for the bad boys is still alive and well. The adversaries of the Night Court are so dynamic and despite them having many faults you cannot help but love them. Once I got to the last quarter of the book I was already reeling to start the next one. By the end, I needed a mental and emotional break. There is one thing that was a big difference between the first and second book - the second book is not slow. 

    A Court of Wings and Ruin is going to be my first read of 2024 and it is looking to be another 5-star read. Keep up with my progress on Goodreads. 

Meet Me at the Lake, Carley Fortune

    Carley Fortune has written two books; the first is Every Summer After, and the second is Meet Me at the Lake. I refuse to pick up Every Summer After as I have not heard a single good review of it yet. Meet Me at the Lake I picked up in a Costco, read it, loved it, and have good things about it from other people. Yet, Meet Me at the Lake has SIGNIFICANTLY lower reviews. Is this a conspiracy? Probably. Fortune does have a new book coming out in May and it'll be the turning point of whether she becomes an auto-read author for me. 

    However, this post is about Meet Me at the Lake, and for good reason. The book was one of the easiest five stars I gave out this year. Is the plot basic? Absolutely. Summer Hallmark movie in the making. Sometimes, a girl just needs a cut-and-dry basic ass book to keep her from the deep pits of a reading slump. A good book doesn't have to be mind-boggling to be five stars. All a five-star book has to do is entertain and excite you. Meet Me at the Lake both entertained and excited me to the tenth degree! 

Winter in Paradise, Elin Hilderbrand 

    I am so happy this book ended up being a good read. I could feel a reading slump on my heels and this swept me right out of it. Winter in Paradise is everything you need in a good and solid chick-lit book. First off, being swept to the Virgin Islands during a chilly Pacific Northwest winter is amazing. Secondly, all the characters in the book have their moment, no one is swept over and forgotten. While the book had everything a good romance book needs there is still some mystery around Irene's husband's death that adds a little bite to the plot. 

    Winter in Paradise truly had the perfect balance of character interaction and romance to make it an easy read with mysterious and juicy reveals to keep you intrigued. To top it all off, it's a series! I can't wait to jump into the next one. 

    Ok - so that's it. The five worst and best books I read in 2023. This post took me a ridiculously long time to write and because of that, it'll be the last 2023-themed post on this blog. I hope I have fewer bad and more good books to choose from for this post at the end of 2024. As always, keep up with what I'm reading currently on Goodreads and keep up with my progress throughout the year on this blog where I always post reviews. 

❤ Les

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