The WORST Books of 2023!
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- Опубликовано: 1 авг 2024
- A light roast of all of the worst books I read in 2023!
book recommendations | mystery thriller books | reading horror books | reading mystery books | underrated horror books | horror book recommendations | mystery books for beginners | underrated thriller books | horror book review | mystery recommendations
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I love worst book videos!
What is this strange trend of feeling like EVERY villain has to be redeemed? It’s okay for people to just suck sometimes!
Every algorithm keeps trying to convince me to read Sister, Maiden, Monster and I have been resisting because I could’ve sworn I heard it wasn’t great but couldn’t remember where I’d heard it. I’m so glad your video jogged my memory!
Omg Ally MEE TOOOOO!!! I find them so interesting like I always just want to know all the details and why haha!
YESS okay Sister Maiden Monster is one that really didn't work for me but at the same time I've heard other people who loved it so it's a hard one but I just felt like it had such a weak ending that made the whole books feel like whhhhaaat was the point! 😅
Such a juxtaposition to see your passion for the best books and the utter frustration with your worst ones 😂😭 I’m so sorry but also thank you 🙏
HHAHA Thank you so much for watching this one Leandra!!!! I think its so funny too the best of/ worst of videos because its like those books that there was no in between, like we just head-over-heels LOVED or the books we just despised 🙅♀️🚫🙉
Ya same 😁
omg your shelves are SO my vibe. I love them
OMG Katie😱🤭!!!!!!! This is such a surreal moment because your bookshelves were the inspiration for mine! My husband built these and I showed him your moving vlogs where you and your dad built yours and I told him I want something like that! hahah! So Thank you so much because that is such a huge compliment and you are totally an inspiration!!!!!!! (Okay fangirl moment over LOL 😅🥰)
So nice 🙂
Lmao 😂😂😂 "Idk why Lisa Unger wrote this book" it is one of my favorite things you've ever said hahaha
Oy a repeat of Howl town sounds super tough to get through lol I commend you for getting through it!
YEssss hahaha!!! Oh man I really did have that question too because the way the book ends, it made me question what was she trying to SAY by writing this?!
oH my GOSHH I tell you Emily I was pulling my hair out at the repetitive writing in that one LOL!
Secluded Cabin sounds like the premise of Sliver by Ira Levin! And I hated that book! 😂 One of my most hated books this year was Son of Rosemary...also by Ira Levin 😂
OMGG okay PLEASE never read Secluded Cabin because I just KNOW you would hate it too!!!! I wish I could go back an UNread that book LOL!!!! (also I am noting I need to avoid Ira Levin books now hahahh!)
The Christmas Murder Game was something ELSE 🤣I read it back in December last year and it was soooo cringe plus the 'plot' twist was so easy to figure out!
GENUINELY probably the most cringey book I've read in my life I was laughing my butt off while simultaneously pulling my hair out reading it 😅 🙃
I was excited for it too
at "behind her eyes" I have the same reaction as you
YESSSS I am glad it was not just me with Behind Her Eyes!!! I feel like we may be the unpopular opinion because everyone else seems to love that book🤔 and I'm over here like WHYYYYY 😬🤣🚫🙅♀️
YIKES on Behind Her Eyes bc I own that one lol, but always love hearing people rant 👏
AWW hahah!!! Ohhhh I am so curious what your thoughts will be on Behind Her Eyes!!! I think I may be the outlier opinion because I feel like most people I have seen really enjoyed it so I hope you may still like it if you get to read it still! 🙌📚💗
I DNFd Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six. I was soooo disappointed as it was anticipated release of mineeee
YES okay I am SO happy you dnf'd Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six honestly! Like the ending of the book made me SO angry...it was just offensive I really do not get what she was trying to say with that one 😬
I get so confused how Behind Her Eyes has such good reviews! I thought the twist was ridiculous.
YESSSS I am with you on that!!! It just frustrated me because I felt that none of the characters learned anything and continued fighting eachother over a man!! 😬😣
I love hearing you rant about books! 😂 Little bean? EW. I hate that so much
AW thank you!!! GOD the "little bean" still makes me cringe everytime I think of it 😬😅😭🤣
Another great video! Love the difference in tone from this one and your favourite books list lol! I like Alice Feeney and I Know Who You Are almost made me redact my previous enjoyment of her books it was so nasty and MEAN. I've read a lot of books this year so lots of bad (much more good!) But what sticks out to me as the worst were Lightlark by Alex Aster (easy target I know but it's also so bad it's really fun), Gull Island by Anna Porter (has the most nasty, ablest grossness and has a scene that rivals most extreme horror out of nowhere just to have it) and Penance by Eliza Clark (if you're gonna critique the true crime industry, maybe don't base your book off a real murder without acknowledging it!!!). Overall WAY more good than bad though!
AW Thank you so much!!! 💗📚 YESS I really enjoyed ALice Fenney's new release Good Bad Girl but the other two books I read from her really let me down (mostly I Know Who You Are , just because that ENDING ughhhh), but I am not giving up on her yet because I need to still read Daisy Darker which Ive been told I may like so Im excited to try that one!!
Thank you so much for warning me about your worst books list, I just had to look up Gull Island because I hadnt heard of that one yet but now that I seen the cover I will recognize to stay away from it if I ever see it while browsing the library! 😅
ALSO OHHH Penance is one I have not yet read but I was somewhat interested in reading something from this author at some point, but now I am thinking this one may not be for me! I would be interested in the exploration of critiqueing the true crime industry but if it's also based off a real murder at the same time that feels like its sensationalizing it which is like a huge issue with that industry to begin with I feel so I think Ill just steer clear of this one too haha! 😅
The cover for the Christmas murder game is pretty though
Honestly FAIR!!! I do really like the cover too! It definitely makes me think cozy mystery vibes!
I only read one of these 🎉🎉🎉🎉 so i will count this year as a win! I haven't even heard of so many of these! I LOVE the hatred you have of them 😂❤
Little bean lmao. I have to say I have NEVER called my belly that so... another win for me!
YESSS AND I think too the one you read is the one we BOTH agree was just downright terrible hahaha so Im glad we agree!!!
The "LITTLE BEAN" my goodness, like once or twice I wouldnt have even noticed I think but it's again with the repetitive writing that just drives me MAD!
I love your honesty! Thanks for all of the heads-ups. The only one out of these I MIGHT read is the "The Turning of the Screw," just out of curiosity. Henry James is supposed to be so good and all, but I've never read him. With your comments here, I just want to see what other people like about it.
My least favorite this year was "All the Missing Girls" by Megan Miranda. This is my review on Goodreads:
The book was well written, but the storyline was too disjointed to hold my interest. It's one thing to unfold a mystery backwards, but that mechanism wasn't effective here, and it just became annoyingly muddled, especially as flashbacks were interwoven throughout. There were a couple of good twists at the end, but it was a painful journey getting there. I might read another Megan Miranda book because she does write well, but I can't recommend this one. Also, I was expecting a bit more of a steep plot. "All" the missing girls implies several. There were two. :/
OMG I definitely would LOVE to hear your thoughts on Henry James if you do get a chance to read this book, Im trying to make my way through more classics and so I thought I would really enjoy it but it just really got a bit lost in the weeds I felt! But I do think I need to hear some more perspectives on it because im also really not sure I GOT it hahah!
YESSSS oh my gosh I read All The Missing Girls this year too! HAAA I LOVED your review, it made me laugh out loud because TOTALLY, how can it be called ALL the missing girls when there are two total! I totally agree with you on that one it fell really flat for me, and I went on to read several more Megan Miranda books after that one but none of them really blew me away! (The two I may reccommend from her were The Only Survivors and The Girl From Widow Hills...but I didnt 100% love these I just thought they were the better ones from this author!), IF you do read more from her please let me know what you think if you love or hate them! ESPECIALLY if you find a standout amazing one from her because she has so many books published I wanted to read more but just kind of gave up 😅
omg the behind her eyes roast 🤣 it was my best book of 2021 but i can see why the twist is so divisive! i’m gonna be doing my worst books video soon too x
Argggg it was such a hard sell for me 😅 but I love how we can all get something different out of books!!! I'm so excited to see your list!!!!! ❤️🥰💕🙌
3:28 - SHOCKER! I kid, obviously. You know, I have to give this book some credit because it's the reason I found your channel. I needed to find someone who agreed with me. 🤣 But for real, this was awful.
5:21 - 🤮 Oops. Looks like I let out some breakfast I didn't know I was holding.
With Sister, Maiden, Monster...I'm always so reluctant to read anything with _fantasy_ attached to it. I'm not opposed to fantasy, but I'm always worried about the grandness of it or lack of resolution to open the door to a sequel.
7:35 - Um, ew?
Secluded Cabin Sleeps Six was never on my TBR, and it's never gonna be now! 👋🏼
YESS hahah I am SOO happy we found eachother through "Behind her eyes", like one good thing came out of that book lol! (its crazy though how many people seem to love that one! I feel like we are the outliers who just didnt see why it was so amazing)
HAHHAHA this: "Looks like I let out some breakfast I didn't know I was holding." made me laugh so hard hahah!!!!
ALSO yesss I totally know what you mean with fantasy! I really feel like Sister, Maiden, Monster was both TOO grand and it seems like the author was trying to write a standalone but it NEEDs a sequel because the ending was not even an ending, there was no resolution it just ends in the middle of the plot and left me feeling like...huhuh?!! LOL 😅
Lol 😅
Oh no - I have “you’re not supposed to die tonight” on my owned TBR - now I’m curious how I’ll feel about that one 😂
Ohhhh YES please let me know when you do get to this one, Id LOVE to hear your thoughts and especially if you do end up enjoying it I'd love to get your perspective!!!
Omfg You Shouldn't Have Come Here... the worst. And the end. Omg ugh
YES oh my gosh I tell you one of the WORST endings of all time ugh, lol!!
Omg, the false advertising! Carol wasn’t buried! That’s the exact type of thing I would shout into the void lol.
It sounds like a lot if these authors include problematic stuff because they’re trying to write something dark but they’re not writing it well enough to convey their intentions to the reader. Like if she was trying to say something sinister about how abusers still find relationships, or about how they get away with it and certain women overlook it, that would have value.
I was recently disappointed by Wellness. It was billed as having a significant 90s period piece section, but that part only lasts 40 pages. The remaining 550 pages are about marriage and parenting in 2014.
Great video! I wonder what it would be like to look back at all the mediocre books that initially got a lot of hype, and see if anyone even remembers them anymore. 💜💜💜💜💜🌺👻
YESS like how can they call the book "unbury carol" when she is not really ever buried! I feel like I was clickbaited by the publisher hahha 🙉
RIGHHHT I agree with you fully, I think she missed the mark with the way it ended, like it makes me wonder why she wrote the book at all 😅
oh GOSH I know I would also have been dissapointed by that book Wellness!!! Nothing gets me more frustrated than going into a long, chunky book expecting one thing and that thing being SUCH a small, forgettable part of the whole book (that was the book Hellbent for me by Leigh Bardugo, ohhh I was so frustrated!)
OHHH Thats a fantastic idea Im so curious about this as well and think that would be so facinating to look back at this!!
DNF'd Secluded Cabin so fast, didn't get more than 15 pages and sounds like that was the right move. I also didn't love Monstrilio even though everyone else seemed to. I thought it was ok but wanted so much more
YES oh my goodness you seriously made the right call with "secluded cabin"....if only I could go back in time and un-read it I so would haha!
I know everyone loved Monstrillio but I didnt get enough of the creepy lung monster and felt like it again focused too much on the romantic relationships than the horror 😅
Yes!!! Give me the worst!!! 🙃
"Was Carol ever really buried?" 😂 I'm not a fan of repetitive writing, unless perhaps there is a point (which doesn't happen often). I've heard from a couple of people You're Not Supposed to Die Tonight was campy. Love that you had hate quotes from You Shouldn't have Come Here! 🤣I can see you getting more and more frustrated with books throughout this video. Get 'em Mikala! Tell them how it is!! 🙌Oh no! I haven't read Monstrilio, but it is on my TBR. Do you think you will continue to pick up Alice Feeney? Oh my "little bean" 🤢
I'm still contemplating my worst books list. I have a top 3 for sure, but not sure who is the worst! It's going to be down to the wire!
I just LOVE the worst of videos, I need to know all the drama haha!!!
YESSSSS omg thats so true about repetitive writing may actually have a point and play into the themes or narrative sometimes which I think is an excellent point!
ITS SO HARD with ALice Feeney!!!! Because I really enjoyed her new 2023 release Good Bad Girl, I gave that 4 stars and Ive been told if I liked the one I may enjoy her book Daisy Darker which I havnt read yet either! I think Ill have to read Daisy Darker next year and see what she comes out with in the future but the rest of her back list I think is gonna not be for me😅
YESSSS I had to make a top 3 for sure too because picking the number one was SO hard LOL!!!!
Haha, as someone who concealed the names of our sons until they were born (it was a game), our oldest was "bean" and our youngest "doc." 😂
OKAY that actually sounds so cute and sweet the way you did it! I think that is such a fun way to be able to keep the names concealed! 🥰💗💖😍
Omg I would die with the little bean comments 😅😅😅 I think You Shouldn’t Have Come Here is one of the worst ones I read too
YESSSS the constant "little beeeean" moments were killing me, I think especially since I listened to the audio it really stood out! YES You Shouldn’t Have Come Here was a shocking low of 2023!! 😅
to kiss them better?? 😂😂😂 Most of these books weren't even on my radar, but I think it is because I don't read many thrillers. Off the top of my head, I think my worst read was the Ring. I hated the characters and wanted to watch them die horrible deaths
YESSS that "Kiss them better" scene seriously had me LOLing 😬 I LOVE thrillers and like thriller/horror blends but they do tend to either be big hits or MAJOR misses hahah!
OHHH gosh yessss, I have decided to never read The Ring! As much as I LOVE the film I have heard too many bad things about the book Im convinced I would just hate it!!
Luckily none of these were on my loooonnnggg TBR list and I had decided to DNF the Christmas book 1/5 of the way in. 😅
YES honestly I was so glad when I read you had DNF'd the Christmas book!!!!!! I really do not think that one is worth the time!!😅 Im glad none of the rest of these were on your long tbr as well!
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
Novel by Patrick Süskind was my worst book of the year.....I don't get the hype for this book AT all! It was overly descriptive & nothing interesting happens for the majority of the book. 90% of the book was talking about Grenouille smelling different things. And the ending?!?!? Preposterous.
On a side note...Sister, Maiden, Monster has a beautiful cover😍
OMGGG Thank you for the PSA on Perfume because I feel like ive seen a ton of hype for this book and I am now convinced I do not need to waste my time, especially if the ending is ridiculous I KNOW ill be so mad I read the book 😅
Okay I agree, the cover of Sister Maiden Monster TOTALLY caught my eye!!!!! I was like WHAT are those octopus tentacles about?!!!!! When I found out what I wished I hadnt LOL 😅😅
Not Mikala reminding me how much I hated You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight 😂😂😂😂 definitely on my worst books of the year. What was I doing finishing that? I regret my time wasted in that one!
Alsooo you broke my heart with not loving Monstrilio!!!! 😢😢😢😢😢
RIGHT same here with You’re Not Supposed To Die Tonight, like why did I finish it...I definitely should have DNF'd it lol! OKAY can you explain to me what Monstrillio was supposed to be about? Like I thought it was going to be a grief horror / which it was for the first POV....but I really do not get where the book went in parts 2-4. It was another scenario for me where I say WHY authors do you do this with the many POVs we didnt need!
@@mikalareads so my metaphor-obsessed self saw the character of Monstrilio as an abstract representation of grief and how a person evolves in their views on the passing of a loved one. I know grief intimately but no recent deaths (thank goooooood) so I have the unique experience of knowing what it’s like to live life without a very important person a decade later. Our grief transforms. And so did the mother’s relationship to Monstrilio, this personification of grief. I loved how the book showed that one person’s passing impacts a whole ecosystem of people even extending outside blood family. And it messes up romantic relationships. As you can tell, I really went all in on this one 🤣
@happyhauntslibrary Lauren I truly think you are brilliant 🤯. I want to be in a book club with you and like have you explain every single book to me because I swear your perspective always offers such a valuable and nuanced look at books that I never thought of!!!!! I truly appreciate you taking the time to respond and help me to understand this book deeper, i feel like my mind has just been blown and so many things about this book that didnt make sense to me are now cliquing!!! 🙏
I have been waiting for this one!!
1:13 ewww omg noooooo. Not the redemption arc for the creep
OOF @ Behind Her Eyes. I watched the show before I knew it was based on a book. I thought the twist was kind of random but I lived for the drama. I will take your word about the book being bad bc I trust your opinion 💯
4:18 bruh fr I am still mad to this day 🦉
5:10 wow Shakespeare could never. 💀
7:40 ewwwwwwwwwww jail to Disha Bose immediately
I love the cover for The Bequest though 👀. Actually I hate the text.
Alice Feeney is my enemy
... I don't think "Little Bean" is okay if the pregnant person is wearing a corset. The Murder Game is making me cringe so hard and I have not even read it 🤣
14:49 fair 👏
Thank you for this. It was very entertaining. I laughed out loud several times 🤣🙏
YES I was so excited to get up these year end wrap up videos! (im thinking about doing one for my DNFs too lol!!!)
I really think the show of Behind Her Eyes had to be better because the book was just SO boring, I really wanted those hours of my life back 😅
HAHHA the OWL SOCIETY!!! 👀😭😬😬😬
YESSS omg The Bequest has the most lovely cover (ESPECIALLY the UK edition is GORGEOUS!!!!)
HAHAHAHAH OH MY GOSH I didnt even put it together that she is talking about wearing a corset the whole time while being pregnant, omg thats hilarious and horrible 🤣
Thank you so much for watching this video! I definitely laughing at my pain while editing this one hahhahah!!
Lmaoooo idk how you finished some of these with the parts you read off 😂 ive never even given a 1 star but youre making me want to start hate reading so i have more to rant about 😆🤭🫶💕 i still have to go through my goodreads and list of my worsts. Lots of dnfed dark romances lol
Hahha I feel like ive totally had a 180° as a reader because I started this year off as one of those readers who couldnt dnf anything and even if i hated a book i felt like i had to finish it😅 and then I decided I'm not doing this anymore and now you know I dnf like crazy and since then thankfully I've had so many fewer one stars!!! (I think the last was the alice feeney one which I thought was great until that ridiculous ending!!! 😬😭🤔)
I'd argue that Sister Maiden Monster isn't showing a romance, it's a toxic codependent relationship that is showing where the main character's head is at.
Thank you for sharing! I love hearing the flip perspective as well so I appreciate your review!
ahahahh i love listening to you rant about books
7:45 literally one of my biggest reading pet peeves is super unlikable characters, you gotta make me care for some reason bro
FUCK the turn of the screw all my homies HATE the turn of the screw !!
13:45 ahhahahahah laughing at this so hard
I reallly hated Upstream by Mary Oliver, I was even expecting to really love this one and instead Mary Oliver is just like.... a weird lady and shared way too much like she needed to keep some of that inside her head.
I am so glad you like listening because I do LOVE ranting about them hahaha!!!
RIGHT oh my goodness I agree like I feel there is this huge trend in writing unlikeable characters but its not always done in a way that makes sense, like there's got to be something about the story that makes the book palatable in some way!
LITERALLY The Turn of the Screw was such a mess...I feel like this book is a prime example of EDIT YOURSELF LOL!!!!
HAHAHHAH OMG I am laughing so hard about what you said of Mary Oliver!!! I am still curious about Upstream, like the concept of nature poetry sounds so lovely, but now I am so curious about how Ill feel when I do read it! I may need to do a deep dive on it now hahaha!!!
My worst list includes The Colorado Kid by Stephen King, and then Fourth Wing and Midnight is the Darkest Hour were such flops, I do NOT get the hype.
OMGGG I am kinda loving seeing your Worst of list because I feel like its books that were all SO hyped and this happens to me SO much where I read the book that everyone else LOVES and I hate it, and then read the book everyone else hated and I love it 🤦♀️ So I love to see another reader who also shares my unpopular opinions haahha!!! 😍🙌🤣💯
The haar by David Sodergren was the worst book I’ve read this year and just the worst book I’ve ever read in general
Ohhh I had not heard of this book so I just went to check it out on goodreads!!! Knowing its one of your worst reads in general, that convinces me to stay away from this book for sure! 🙅♀️👎🚫
Also dam Kalynn Bayron really fell off.The poision heart was so good the sequel sucked and now this book its like dam
YESS wow I have heard so many good things about Kalynn Bayron's cinderella series and it makes me wonder if I should read it or not but I just had such a bad experience with this one it totally makes me not want to 😅😬
I was surprise looking glass sound wasn’t in this video @@mikalareads
I think Feeney is spoiling for some major plagiarism lawsuits. She does this all the time. I DNF'd The One. Forcing homosexuality on your characters because of your agenda is dumb and offensive. It doesn't work that way.
OMG Karin - that is so interesting that you say this as well about the plagiarism thing because I truly have felt like this about her work that it feels extremely familiar of other works I've read! And I know it's near impossible for anything to be truly original anymore but it just feels a little off to me when I noticed it!
Ohhhh I actually have not yet read The One and now I really know I don't ever want to! That sounds really offensive and I just know there are other authors I can rely on out there I'd rather put my time too!
My worst books so far this year were Waif, Cursed Bunny, Picnic at hanging rock (love the movie and show based off the book - hate the book) 📚
OHHH Thank you for sharing with me your list!!! ALSO I started Cursed Bunny this year but I was swamped at the time and did not get a chance to finish it but did plan on re-visiting it next year, but now Im also going to go back into it very carefully hahah! I struggle a lot with SHort Story collections so I dont have the highest expectations for it😅😬
ALSO i just looked up the trailer for Picnic at Hanging Rock and HOW have I never heard of this?!!! I NEED TO SEE this film asap!!!
@@mikalareads I think cursed bunny is pretty popular overall but I felt like for me many of the stories fell flat and didn’t feel that interesting. It’s a translated collection as well which I think may be where some of the issues lie.
@@mikalareads picnic at hanging rock is absolutely stunning - highly recommend! The visuals are so cool and to me the movie and the show both go to places the book didn’t explore nearly as well.
Hated behind ger eyes.
I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one 😅 I felt crazy when I finished it because it's just so hyped!
@@mikalareads what a huge disappointment imo.
As someone who hasn’t read many horror/thriller books, I appreciate you warning me off of these 🫡
lol the quotes from you shouldn’t have come here 🥲 noooo not the breath she didn’t know she was holding!
I also am bothered by repetitive writing and loved your rant on it haha. Here’s to hoping next year your worst books list is shorter :)
YESSS I honestly do think my list will be shorter next year! This year was very intersting for me because I started out this year being a reader who could NOT Dnf books and I forced myself to finish everyone and then over the summer I totally flipped and now I will DNF SO quick hahah! So Ive had so many fewer one stars on the second half of the year! 💗🙌📚