So, this is the post where I talk about all the books I was really excited to read and then they fell super flat. These are different from my worst reads of 2018 and none of these are duplicated.
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
This was my first Blake Crouch novel. I watched the first season of the TV series Wayward Pines. I really liked it and was eager to try this. I really liked the premise of it. Basically, the back of the book states it’s about a man who gets abducted and when he wakes up his life has disappeared. He wife is no longer his wife, and his son doesn’t exist. And it’s his journey to figure out what is happening. This is a sci-fi book and there was just too much scientific knowledge I felt like I already had to have to enjoy the book (I’m not that scientific haha). So, it fell flat for me. I will read more Blake Crouch because I want to give him a second try. I gave this book 3 stars!
Final Girls by Riley Sager
I am a huge mystery/thriller girl. There was SO MUCH hype surrounding this novel that I thought it was going to be the best thing ever. I had had a slump when it came to mystery/thrillers and I just knew this one was going to redeem this genre. This is about a girl, Quincy, who was the lonely survivor of a massacre at a cabin in the woods ten years ago. She was famous in the press for becoming a “final girl.” This soul survivor moniker is also given to two other girls. Now one of those girls has been found murdered, and here we are trying to figure out whodunit. Honestly, I just hated the main characters. I hated Quincy, and I really hated the other surviving final girl, Sam. Quincy was an absolutely cringe-worthy, self absorbed human being, and I had a hard time feeling sorry for her at all. Overall, I gave this book 3.5 stars, and I am still debating on whether to read his other book.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
I feel the hate coming! So I didn’t dislike this book. I gave it 4 stars. However, I went into this book thinking this was going to be a 5 star read for sure. This book is hyped ridiculously. I believe some people worship this book. This follows two boys who meet and you follow their lives and their bond and just explore their relationship. These are great characters, don’t get me wrong. The story was very sluggish at times, and I cannot be the only one who noticed that this book had SO MANY grammatical errors and typos. I would expect this to occur a few times, but with this book it was like every 3 to 5 pages I felt. It really distracted me, and I couldn’t enjoy the story to it’s full potential. I also just didn’t think this book was God.
The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw
So this chick and I share names. That’s rare I might add, and I just knew this book was going to be fantastic. A super hyped book. It certainly has a beautiful cover. This follows a town where every year three girls get possessed by “witches” that were burned at the stake years ago. They inhabit these bodies and lure boys/men out to sea every year and drown them. It’s the mystery of trying to figure out what’s going on and how can they finally stop this from happening. I really thought the first half of the book was good. Then, somewhere after that, it got wildly ridiculous and it lost me. I gave it 2.75 stars, but would move that up to 3 after further review.
Bird Box by Josh Malerman
I read thing long before I knew this was going to be turned into a movie. If you don’t know this premise for this book, it follows a girl who meets up with a group of survivors after the world is attacked by creatures. These creatures make you commit violent acts and kill yourself if you see them. Therefore, they have to wear blindfolds outside. The premise was interesting. While I was reading this, I thought to myself that it would have made a better movie. Only because it’s basically some people in a house trying to survive. Sometimes, that is boring and long to read about. Also, there was just no good, satisfying ending to it. I have not watched the Netflix adaptation yet, but I will to see if my thoughts are right.
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh
Another super hyped book that I thought was going to rock my world. This follows a woman who feels grief stricken because she lets her son go into the street and he gets hit by a car and dies. It was a hit and run, and this also follows two detectives who are trying to find out who murdered this child. I haven’t had the best luck with domestic thrillers this year. I think I should give up on the genre. I’m not quite sure yet. The twist comes about halfway in the book and then it’s just boring from there. I gave it 3 stars overall.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I know I’ve said previously that I had read Shiver in the past and HATED it. But this book is praised by lots of people, including people who are not fans of YA at all. So I just knew that this book was going to be AWESOME. This follows Blu, who comes from a family who is clairvoyant. She isn’t clairvoyant herself, but she amplifies their abilities. She sees a boy names Gansey’s spirit in the corpse road, which predicts that he will die in 12 months’ time. Her family has always told her that the first boy she kisses will die. Is this why she is able to see him? We also follow Gansey and his three friends on their journey. Gansey is currently obsessed with finding the body of a dead Welsh king because legend has it if you can find him and awake him, he will grant you a wish. So, lots of stuff going on in this book. Felt the pacing was off, and I just wasn’t that interested in the Welsh king storyline. It bored me. I will continue on because I do like the characters.
Vicious by V.E. Schwab
I believe this is the most overhyped book ever. I was expecting a fantastic story. Instead, I got a mediocre story with non-interesting characters. This follows Victor and Eli who are college roommates and best friends. They have discovered that near death experiences can make someone have powers. They experiment on themselves, of course. Flash forward 10 years and we see that Victor is getting out of jail and he now wants to seek revenge on Eli. For what? And so begins their story of revenge. I just didn’t connect with these characters. This is my first Victoria Schwab novel. This just did not live up to the hype at all. I’m not sure I’m going to read Vengeful, however I do think I will read more Victoria Schwab.
Book Shy 