Hello my dear friends!

Did you read my last post “The Best Books I Read in 2023”? I had a very positive year because most of the books I picked were good and interesting… but not all of them were.

I’ve also read a few books that I didn’t like as much, so that’s exactly what I’m sharing with you today: the worst books I read in 2023. Well, I want to clarify that not all of these are bad books – they were just at the bottom of the list for me. This means not all of these received bad reviews – I just didn’t like them as much.

So I’m bringing you the 5 books I read last year that I disliked and the reasons why I disliked them.

Just a small disclaimer: please don’t take it personally if I mention a book you loved! We all have different opinions and tastes when it comes to reading and I’m not trying to offend anyone… this is just my personal opinion. 🙂

Okay, now let’s go into the list! Here are the books:

1. Ink (Skin Books #1) by Alice Broadway

This was a bit of a disappointment to me. I had really high expectations when I started the “Skin Books” trilogy, but the first book was very slow and nonsensical to me. It seemed like nothing made sense in this story (the character’s attitudes, actions, plot, etc.). I was sad and disappointed because the concept seemed really interesting, but unfortunately, it didn’t work out for me in the end.

Synopsis

“There are no secrets in Saintstone.
From the second you’re born, every achievement, every failing, every significant moment are all immortalized on your skin. There are honorable marks that let people know you’re trustworthy. And shameful tattoos that announce you as a traitor.
After her father dies, Leora finds solace in the fact that his skin tells a wonderful story. That is, until she glimpses a mark on the back of his neck…the symbol of the worst crime a person can commit in Saintstone. Leora knows it has to be a mistake, but before she can do anything about it, the horrifying secret gets out, jeopardizing her father’s legacy…and Leora’s life.
In her startlingly prescient debut, Alice Broadway shines a light on the dangerous lengths we go to make our world feel orderly–even when the truth refuses to stay within the lines. This rich, lyrical fantasy with echoes of Orwell is unlike anything you’ve ever read, a tale guaranteed to get under your skin…”

2. Lore by Alexandra Bracken

“Lore” was not necessarily a terrible read and it didn’t get a negative rating from me, but it was definitely one of the books that I thought I would mention here for a simple reason: it was super confusing! I thought this was a “me” problem, but apparently, a lot of readers shared my opinion on this book. Not only it was confusing to understand the story and who was on each side, but there were so many characters with funky names that I kept rereading bits thinking “Who is this again?”. It wasn’t a very enjoyable read for this reason, even though the concept seemed promising.

Synopsis

“From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of The Darkest Minds comes a sweepingly ambitious, high-octane tale of power, destiny, love and redemption.
Every seven years, the Agon begins. As punishment for a past rebellion, nine Greek gods are forced to walk the earth as mortals, hunted by the descendants of ancient bloodlines, all eager to kill a god and seize their divine power and immortality.
Long ago, Lore Perseous fled that brutal world in the wake of her family’s sadistic murder by a rival line, turning her back on the hunt’s promises of eternal glory. For years she’s pushed away any thought of revenge against the man–now a god–responsible for their deaths.
Yet as the next hunt dawns over New York City, two participants seek out her help: Castor, a childhood friend of Lore believed long dead, and a gravely wounded Athena, among the last of the original gods.
The goddess offers an alliance against their mutual enemy and, at last, a way for Lore to leave the Agon behind forever. But Lore’s decision to bind her fate to Athena’s and rejoin the hunt will come at a deadly cost–and still may not be enough to stop the rise of a new god with the power to bring humanity to its knees.”

3. Me by Elton John

Don’t come for me Elton John fans, hear me out first! I just didn’t find this memoir to be enjoyable. To give you some context: I’m not necessarily an Elton John fan, but I also don’t dislike his music – it’s just not something I listen to. Obviously, music is a huge part of his life, but I easily got bored while reading this. There’s a lot of Rock’n’Roll talk and “I met this person” moments… and I just didn’t care about it. The only part that I enjoyed the most was knowing about how he met his husband and their sons’ adoption story he shared near the end. I wish we had more moments like this instead of just talking about music. Like I said, I understand why it’s written like that… I just didn’t care about it. I’m sure if you’re a fan, you will probably like this book.

Synopsis

“In his only official autobiography, music icon Elton John writes about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the film Rocketman.
Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour of America, facing an astonished audience in his tight silver hotpants, bare legs and a T-shirt with ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across it in sequins. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again.
His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.
In Me Elton also writes about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father.”

4. Bravely by Maggie Stiefvater

I liked “Brave” from Disney, so I thought it would be fun to read this retelling written by Maggie Stiefvater. I can’t say it was a bad book, but from all the books I’ve read this year, this is probably the most bland and unmemorable. The story was a little weird and uninteresting, and I’m a little confused about the plot that was chosen for this. The original “Disney” plot was about her proving she didn’t need to marry, so this plotline could be picked up in this book by her finding someone who she truly loved and seeing love differently – at least that would make more sense than the “change” plotline. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good as well.

Synopsis

“Merida goes on an all-new, life-changing adventure in this original YA novel set several years after the close of Brave!
What if you had one year to save everything you loved?
ONE PRINCESS. Merida of DunBroch needs a change. She loves her family—jovial King Fergus, proper Queen Elinor, the mischievous triplets— and her peaceful kingdom. But she’s frustrated by its sluggishness; each day, the same. Merida longs for adventure, purpose, challenge – maybe even, someday, love.
TWO GODS. But the fiery Princess never expects her disquiet to manifest by way of Feradach, an uncanny supernatural being tasked with rooting out rot and stagnation, who appears in DunBroch on Christmas Eve with the intent to demolish the realm – and everyone within. Only the intervention of the Cailleach, an ancient entity of creation, gives Merida a shred of hope: convince her family to change within the year – or suffer the eternal consequences.
THREE VOYAGES. Under the watchful eyes of the gods, Merida leads a series of epic journeys to kingdoms near and far in an attempt to inspire revolution within her family. But in her efforts to save those she loves from ruin, has Merida lost sight of the Clan member grown most stagnant of all – herself?
FOUR SEASONS TO SAVE DUNBROCH – OR SEE IT DESTROYED, FOREVER.”

5. The Rainbow Catcher by Cédric Mayen

This was a book sent to me from a publisher to review, but it ended up being a little too weird for me. The story was super inconsistent and fragmented into bits that didn’t connect well in my opinion. Also, I just couldn’t connect or care too much about the story and characters. I personally liked the artwork, but other than that this was all over the place! Probably the worst book of 2023, not going to lie.

Synopsis

“As the plague rages through England, Hayden Springworth is busy trying to find hidden treasure at the end of a rainbow. But an encounter with Isaac Newton will shatter the young lord’s antiquated beliefs. Sent to the southwest of France as a spy, Hayden continues his research on rainbows in secret. That is until he meets a strange young girl who seemingly has the power to bring rain with her wherever she goes…”

Like I said, please take my opinion with a grain of salt. Everyone likes what they like and we all have different opinions!

So tell me, have you ever read any of these books? Let me know in the comments! I hope you enjoyed this post and I will see you in my next post!