Worst books of 2022

Hello there, friends! We are nearly two weeks away from the end of the year and I have decided that it is time for some negativity! I’m one book away from conquering my Goodreads challenge for 2022 and as luck would have it, I seem unable to finish any book that I start. I usually pick books I’m quite sure I would enjoy, and I am quite generous when it comes to rating books I’ve read. But every year there are a handful of books that you Do Not Like, and today I’m going to talk about them.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

I tried to read this after I stopped watching the TV show adaptation of this story from the second episode. Somehow, the book was worse. Let me list some of the atrocities this book committed.

1. The name Belly.
2. The Wattpad-y writing style. I just can’t stomach it, heh.
3. This entire book written in first person so I had to endure each and every lovestruck thought Belly had for Conrad the whole time. Seriously, shut up.
4. Lastly, Conrad being the typical broody boy. Ugh.

A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee (spoilers)

I don’t know why but I had it in my head that this book was a witchy fantasy when I started it. Instead it turned out to be…dark academia? A bunch of snobby, book obsessed girls in an old Mysterious Boarding School Where A Student Died? I honestly don’t know.

It was a tedious, pretentious read, and all the characters was so utterly unlikable. I love a well written morally grey character but every decision these girls took just made my head ache and felt annoying. I just kept waiting for all the witchy magical bits and as the pages went on and on and nothing supernatural happened, I felt cheated. (Why does Goodreads list this as fantasy? This does not have an ounce of fantasy in it.) It had a big twist at the end but instead of shocking me it just made me dislike the characters involved even more.

Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta

How, just how do you take such interesting concepts like sapphic girls fighting godlike mecha in a dystopian world (plus, it’s such an impeccable aesthetic) and make it boring? Especially after enticing me in with that beautiful cover?

Forgettable characters and plot. As the story went on, I could barely figure out what and when and where stuff was happening. And I remember simply nothing about any of the side characters. I didn’t hate Gearbreakers, but I am sad because this had so much potential to be something better.

Everless by Sara Holland

Same as Gearbreakers, this book had such an awesome magical concept at its core. A magic system where time is currency sounds so cool and it was ruined with the boring characters and an unnecessary love triangle. And as I read this a few months ago, I remember nothing about this book.

Now I’m back to reading one (1) more book and conquer my Goodreads goal for this year.

Let’s chat! What were the worst books you read this year? Have you read any book I’ve mentioned here?

Advertisement