Worst of 2024
A list of my worst reads of the year
As always, this list is an opinion list and not even a definitive one as my feelings on what I read changes constantly. Some of these I simply DNF'd and so may have ended up liking them if I'd stuck with them, but when a book doesn't motivate me to read, then they tend to end up on a negative bookish feeling list.
01
The Survivor Wants to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
I love this series and the world of Death-Cast so much but this latest installment was a real miss for me. What I loved about They Both Die at the End and the First to Die at the End was how Adam Silvera fused humour with heartbreak. That wasn't here for me. Intense feelings were there, great characters were there, but the way everyone spoke to each other was like we were all in group therapy.
02
Evocation by S. T. Gibson
My main problem with this one was the pace. This book is 300 pages of set-up before finally the deal with the demon as well as this potential "thruple" situation make it onto the page. The writing wasn't bad, I was just expecting something darker, sexier and having a bit more going on.
03
A Particularly Nasty Case by Adam Kay
Ah, this one hurts. Adam Kay is such a funny writer with so much warmth and poignancy to what he says about the state of the healthcare system and the mental strain on everyone working in the profession. And you know, it is funny and heartfelt, it just isn't...well, it just isn't as good. The humour is on steroids and unfortunately I couldn't buy into the story or care very much about the characters.
04
Dallergut Dream Department Story by Miye Lee
The translation didn't quite work for me. I just couldn't get attached to any of the characters and although it's brimming with imagination, it somehow just bored me throughout.
05
Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
I think the folklore was clever and I loved the theme of stories repeating, for good and bad, and how it's in our nature to twist these stories to fit our own ideas. On paper it was a perfect end to their story and really encapsulates what this series is about. I just found the pace too slow. Nothing really happens in the first 100 pages. I think this could have been a novella or a very long footnote just to let us know how Em and Wendell ended up.
06
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
I am so sad about this as it was a highly anticipated read for me. I love V. E. Schwab's writing and the writing here is gorgeous, but it's a DNF at page 136. The characters are just not very likeable and the plot is non existent.
07
The Sunlit Man by Brandon Sanderson
This was a DNF which I then picked back up. To be honest, I just wasn't the reader this book was written for. I've read and loved the Mistborn trilogy but nothing beyond this so I'm not overly familiar with the cosmere universe. A bit too much science and maths for me, and I imagine a tonne of Easter eggs that I know nothing about.
08
Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Agatha Christie
I really enjoyed Queen B, a prequel novella to this series, so I went in expecting to love the series. Unfortunately it was a DNF very early on as I just didn't vibe with the writing style. I think what worked well for me with Queen B was the historical setting, whereas this one is modern day and it wasn't for me.
09
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I'm not really sure what to say about it. This was at times a 3 star, 4 star, and a 5 star read. I felt meh, excited and swoony at different intervals. TJR obviously did a lot of research for this novel but while that's awesome for non-fiction, I like to get lost in my fiction reads and the NASA jargon/deep dive into the job was a bit much. As was the gender role discussions which, although I agreed with everything said, didn't come off quite naturally.
10
A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennett
I was a little disappointed with this one. I think I just had different expectations on where the series would be going after enjoying The Tainted Cup so much. And you could definitely argue that the second in the series delivers the same mysterious and unusual qualities that I found so appealing from the first book. But I was expecting more. More leviathans! Unfortunately they remain a science experiment very much contained on the page.
Other misses
