5 Books I Hate

As much as we readers love books, we don't always love every book we read. Some books are merely disappointing, while others are downright infuriating. These are five books that inspired that kind of intense dislike in my heart. Also, if one of these books is one of your favorites, that's great! Keep in mind that not everyone will enjoy the same books, and that's okay. Different opinions are great because the world would be incredibly boring if we all thought the same way.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

This book was the biggest disappointment. If you read the synopsis, it seems like it is going to be this eerie, magical tale, but in reality it's just boring. Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam, Nella finds herself married to a merchant named Johannes. Johannes is distant and cold, leaving Nella alone with his harsh sister Marin. But one day Johannes gifts Nella a small cabinet replica of their home. Nella finds a local, mysterious miniaturist to furnish the mini house. But soon she realizes that the replicas and furnishings are eerily mimicking real life. Doesn't that sound magical? But nothing happens and the infamous miniaturist is hardly present. In a few words, this book is: anticlimactic, shallow, and slow. Do yourself a favor and skip this one. 


The Merciless by Danielle Vega

I love horror. Book or movies, I enjoy it all. The Merciless caught my eye because of the fluorescent pink cover with no decoration except for a gigantic pentagram. It was difficult to not notice and even more difficult to actually read. Sofie Flores is a teen who was recently moved to a new town. She soon befriends the popular, beautiful girls at school named Riley, Grace, and Alexis. The trio decides that they want to "save" another student called Brooklyn, whom they believe to be possessed. But their idea of "saving" is more akin to torture than an actual exorcism, and Sofia doesn't know how to intervene. All of the lines quip that this book is "chilling" and "haunting," but more accurately, it's gratuitous and poorly written. I have nothing against gore, especially since I ingest a lot of horror content, but this story features gore for the sake of violence, lacks a coherent plot, and has characters that are both unintelligent and underdeveloped. 

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The more time passes since I read this book, the more I dislike it. When The Girl on the Train first came out, it blew up. Everyone was reading it and calling it a suspenseful mystery thriller that would shock readers. Being a mystery fan, I picked it up and was sorely disappointed. The idea is that the protagonist Rachel takes the same train every morning and notices a couple living in a house along her route. One day, she sees something that isn't quite right, and begins to involve herself in the couple's lives and the mystery surrounding a disappearance. While I did appreciate the tight, clear writing style, the characterization was all wrong. I hated the characters, and not in a "I hate them as a person but appreciate their character" way. I just hated reading about them/from their perspectives. Not to mention that the twist can be seen from a mile away. Nothing about this book shocked more or pleased me. If you want a good thriller, pick up a Gillian Flynn or Agatha Christie book instead.

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan

The Gracekeepers was always compared to The Night Circus, which is a book I adore. However, The Night Circus is ethereal, atmospheric, and mystical in a gorgeous, slowly unwinding way. The Night Circus is everything that The Gracekeepers is not. This book features two protagonists: Callanish, who buries the dead in the sea, and North, who works as a bear tamer in a traveling circus. The world this story is set in is a wondrous place where people are divided in two--the landlockers and damplings (who live on the sea). The plot is inspired in part by Scottish myths and fairy tales but features none of their beauty and all of their discomfort. I felt bored and unsettled while reading this story. To take such a fantastic idea and turn it into something so bland takes serious skill. Plus, there's a healthy dose of creepy romances. 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I don't usually read contemporary, but I decided to pick up Everything, Everything because of the hype surrounding it and because the premise sounded so intriguing. Madeline lives in a germ-free bubble. She has a disease called SCID, which means she is allergic to everything (everything) and cannot venture outside the confines of her home for fear of dying. But then one day a cute boy moves in next door (*cue sappy love story no one needed*) and Madeline starts to consider whether or not she is truly living. Pros: diversity, cool format, and decent writing. Cons: everything, everything. The story is sappy and unrealistic, but what really ruined it for me was the "twist" ending that was incredibly predictable but also cheapened the entire story. Also, fake representation is unacceptable. This book inspired zero emotion or reaction in me other than anger and an abundance of eye rolling.  

What books did you hate or strongly dislike?