We’re kicking off the 2020 rankings with my most disappointing reads of the year!
2020 has been a YEAR. Luckily it’s almost over.
On a positive note, this was pretty fantastic reading year for me. But it wasn’t without it’s disappointments. Not all of these were particularly low rated. But they were all books I thought I’d love to pieces. And instead I was left wanting. (There’s one or two I downright hated though 😅)
Without further ado: My most disappointing reads ranked from lowest to most disappointing!
7. Every Little Piece of Me (Orchid Valley #1) by Lexi Ryan
I obviously didn’t hate this book. I gave it a decent rating and a solid review. But I 5 starred the prequel novella so I was totally expecting to love this book to pieces. And sadly that wasn’t the case. I just didn’t get the same steam and tension in this full length novel that I got in the novella. So I was slightly disappointed by this.
6. The Kingdom of the Wicked (The Kingdom of the Wicked #1) by Kerri Maniscalco
Another solid rating but this was a book I thought I was going to love. And instead my feelings were a little all over the place. The concept for this is a total 5 star. But the execution and style left a little underwhelmed. I’m hoping some of my qualms are cleared up in the sequel which I definitely still plan to read.
5. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
I buddy read this with the amazing Autumn from Chapter Malliumpkin and this book left us both underwhelmed… This book tried so dang hard to be dark. It was constanting bashing you over the head with reminders that it was so dark. And it got old. It wasn’t awful, but it definitely was a pretty big disappointment.
4. The Chase (Briar U #1) by Elle Kennedy
I… did not enjoy this. I loved the first 3 books in the Off Campus series by Elle Kennedy so I thought I would love this spinoff too. But this was a hot mess and I hated it. I couldn’t stand the characters and everything just felt very surface level. Maybe I’m over NA, who knows.
3. Girl, Serpent, Thorn by Melissa Bashardoust
I’m still sad about this one. I had this on so many most anticipated lists and the cover is still one of my favorites of the year. But this story was a bit of a bummer. I loved the atmosphere and concept but it felt like too much story was crammed into 300 pages. So nothing felt fully fleshed out or developed. I wish I loved this one as much as everyone else seemed to…
2. A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Marrow
Another one I’m really sad over… I was so hyped when this book released. It has the most stunning cover and the synopsis sounded right up my alley. But honestly this book was a bit of a mess for me. I loved the themes and amazing friendship, but pretty much everything else was a let down. I found the lack of world building and magic system so frustrating. It was like things were haphazardly thrown in throughout the book simply to advance the plot.
1. One by One by Ruth Ware
I went back and forth and where to put this book because honestly I hated it 😅 But I totally thought this was going to be an all time favorite. I even originally purchased a signed edition (that I cancelled after reading the arc) because I was that confident. But this was big nope. This was boring, oddly paced, and the ending is one of my least favorite thriller endings ever. Skip this one.
What were some of your disappointing reads this year?
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Paperbacks and Planners 
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