We’re getting down to the nitty gritty. It’s time to talk about disappointing reads of 2023. Overall, I had a good reading year. I was in a slump in 2022 and I feel like I finally broke out of that. But like every year there were a few books that just didn’t suit my taste. So, let’s talk about them.
Also, please keep in mind this is totally my opinion. If you enjoyed these books that’s great! They just didn’t work for me.
Hell House
I wanted to love Hell House. I went through a phase where I loved classic haunting stories and this one came highly rated. But it took forever for the haunting to actually start. It focused more on the bad chemistry between the underdeveloped characters than anything. I gave this a one out of five, and I think that’s the only one star that I had all year.
Rating: 1/5
A Dowry of Blood
I honestly forgot that I read A Dowry of Blood this year. It feels so long ago. I didn’t mind this in the beginning, but I wanted it to reference the original story a little more. They were supposed to be Dracula’s wives, but character was never named. Plus, he didn’t have the characteristics of Dracula. And I just didn’t feel any connection toward any of the characters.
Rating: 2/5
The Year of the Witching
The atmosphere in The Year of the Witching was great. I settled in for a nice creepy read. But about halfway through I realized that was not going to be what I got. The romance became the main plot point, and it wasn’t even a good romance. I just wanted the witches and cursed woods to be explored a bit more.
Rating: 3/5
Goth
Goth was confusing. It didn’t say that it was a short story collection, and it was split up like chapters, so imagine my surprise when I moved on to chapter two and it didn’t have anything to do with chapter one. But the main thing that bugged me about Goth was the unbelievability of the story. There were multiple murderers confessing their crimes to random teenagers. And there were so many instances where people just didn’t act in a normal manner. None of their actions made sense.
Rating: 2/5
Hell Bent
Hell Bent wasn’t a bad story, but it disappointed me because I had such high hopes going into it. I didn’t remember anything about the world so I didn’t feel connected to the story. I remember that I liked Darlington in Ninth House, but I couldn’t find a connection to him in this one. I just think I lost interest in this series because of the long gap in between them. And my reading taste has changed drastically since reading Ninth House.
Rating: 3/5
So those were my disappointing reads of 2023. Again, not a bad year but not every book will work for every reader.
Let me know a few of your disappointing reads in the comments. I’d love to chat. And come back tomorrow to see the best books from this year.
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No matter how great a reading year, I think we all end up with at least a few disappointments! I appreciate reading your thoughts on Hell Bent — I did really enjoy Ninth House, but like you, find myself not remember much of the details. I’d been leaning toward not reading Hell Bent, and I think you’ve confirmed for me not to bother.
If you do decide to give it a read I’d definitely recommend rereading Ninth House. But my reading taste has changed so much since then I just don’t even want to try. There are too many other books to read lol.