Disappointing Books of 2019

Welcome to my most disappointing books of 2019!

This isn’t just a post to complain about my lowest rated books. It’s a post compiling the books I had relatively high exceptions for, but was disappointed. I didn’t have a specific numbers of books I wanted to include, but it worked out to five.

I write this post with caveat of everyone is entitled to their opinion and if ours differ, cool. Our differences make the world go round.

Tomorrow, my best books of 2019 post comes out. Stay tuned!

So, without further ado…. These are in no particular order.

 

A Memory Called Empire has all the trappings of an intriguing and fast paced political sci-fi, but falls flat in its execution. Culture, assimilation, and acculturation are at the heart of this novel making A Memory Called Empire a poignant read for those struggling with where they fit in with society.

The biggest issue I had with The Way of Shadows was its over reliance on fantasy tropes. Every single character is a caricature of a basic fantasy character: the whore with a soul, the ruthless killer with a devastating backstory, the main character that will change everything, and a bland female love interest. Using these tropes isn’t what made me dislike The Way of Shadows since tropes are tropes for a reason. However, I felt no connection or pull to any of the characters.

Middlegame was not for me. It is too long, confusing, and frustrating. The lack of explanations and any real action left me lukewarm about everything in this novel. My issues with the novel boil down to the poor execution of an interesting idea.

Moonlight Scandals is a slow moving novel. It isn’t until almost 40% through the novel that the main characters interact in a meaningful way. The beginning of the novel is setting up the various pieces that will come into play later since Moonlight Scandals has to bear the brunt of the work in terms of wrapping up the series. For this reason, Rosie and Devlin’s relationship takes a backseat, so their connection isn’t as fleshed out as the couples in the previous novels.

And… my most controversial pick and highest rated novel on the list.

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Even though I rated The Red Scrolls of Magic four stars, I was disappointed. It comes as no surprise to me though since every book Clare has collaborated with another author, I haven’t enjoyed it as much as her solo work. All of the short stories and now The Eldest Curses read as subpar. The writing is clearly not Clare’s. I wouldn’t be surprised if Clare made an outline and allowed the other writers to fill in the blanks.

 

 

Were you disappointed with any of these? If not, what are some of your most disappointing books of 2019?