Worst of 2021
These were the books which I found the most frustrating to read in 2021.
01
Madam by Phoebe Wynne
This has the classic unlikeable-character-who-does-stupid-things syndrome. The gothic setting should make it an atmospheric read, but the way it's written (plot wise and character wise) leads the attempt at gothic into the realms of ridiculous. Supposedly set in modern times and supposedly feminist, it doesn't do either successfully.
02
I Dare You by Sam Carrington
A mystery that does very little in the way of detective work. Characters don't find clues, they just have conversations. Endless, endless conversations. The twist was something I guessed but honestly the worst part was how little the answer mattered. The resolution changes absolutely nothing for any of the characters so the book may as well have not been written.
03
Scythe by Neal Shusterman
I liked the premise and some of the world-building but there was so much of the world which didn't make sense. Ultimately there was no tension and the characters were just not very memorable. Maybe with only one POV there could have been more intrigue and the twists could have been actual twists, but I felt like we were shown everything and given no room to speculate about characters.
04
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
This is a very hyped book that a lot of people seem to love. I can understand feeling attached to the main character, because I did really like Bree, I just thought every other character in the story was either pointless or very cliché. The college setting did not matter in the slightest (Bree is only ever at the secret society, never in classes) and although the magic system is interesting, the explanations come through large chucks of dialogue that still read confusing.
05
The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black
I loved Holly Black's Folk of the Air series and expected to love this but the story was very slow and kind of boring. At one point the main character writes a list of things she needs to find the answers for and it feels like a reminder of why we should keep reading, only I didn't care about any of the answers. A great world but a bit too formulaic.
06
The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
A caliph takes a new bride every night and then kills them at dawn. I thought this premise was a great hook, but once you know the secret behind it the story loses any interest it was grasping onto. This is advertised as a fantasy but it's pure romance with some very cheesy dialogue. The main character is written as this perfect girl - beautiful, witty, badass with a bow and arrow. Her romantic lead is not much better - he's a handsome but a monster at heart, or is he? Rolled my eyes too many times on this one.
07
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
I grew up reading the Alex Rider series and I know Horowitz is also very talented writing crime dramas, but I really didn't like this. It's an adult detective series written in Anthony Horowitz's POV. Yes: the author is the main character. If that sounds pretentious then know that is exactly how it reads. The ending is also very James Bond villain hour but since Horowitz keeps emphasising how 'this isn't like one of his novels, this is real life' it comes off as confused and ridiculous.
08
The Girls Weekend by Jody Gehrman
This is supposed to be a fun girls weekend gone wrong - they wake up to find blood on the wall and one of them missing... The problem I had with it were the characters. I don't believe any of the girls would ever have been friends with each other, and the one behind it all was not realistic. It reads like a terrible melodrama at the end. I also hate when the main character is the 'my life sucks' type but is constantly having men fall over her. Sure, Jan.
09
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
This had moments of interest; it's sort of a 'let's appreciate life more' kind of read. But I couldn't connect with the main character, he read very dull to me. The novel also has this weird side plot of a secret organisation that involves our very boring main character getting pulled into a random spy thriller at the end. Similar in tone and plot to The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August but less realistic, especially with all the famous figures of history that pop up for no reason at all.
10
Fire by Kristin Cashore
I think the writing of this is actually very good. You do feel in the POV of the main character and the world is interesting. The problem is really that the plot is slow, the romance very thrown in there, and the main character is incredibly passive. When she actually decides to do things, I enjoyed it, but most of the time she's on her period or hiding out in her room. Disappointing after reading Graceling, the first book in this trilogy, but lucky Fire can easily be skipped as each of the three books are sort of standalones.