The book you like most discussion

I don't remember it's title. I do remember that it's description and title misrepresented it entirely. The inside was wrought with identity politics meant to fuel peoples hatred of each other. I gave it a scathing review, called it a waste of time and used examples from the text to point out how misguided it was. One person argued that it wasn't what I claimed though using logic and definitions from my websters dictionary, (I prefer hard copy dictionaries because the definitions don't change or vanish as they do in online dictionaries) I was able to point out passages geared toward generating hatred using sexism, and racism. In the end the writer ended up unpublishing the work. Though I'm not sure it was my doing, I have mixed feelings about it. As a pacifist I'm glad it's not out there spreading hatred anymore, but as a writer I feel as if I've discouraged another writer, and that's never the goal.

Acomaf. I said what I said. Feyre is a worst character ever created and I will shame sjm for it, until the day I die. Normally I have a great respect for writers. NOT FOR HER.

The Toll by Neil Schusterman.
I remember finishing it and immediately after finishing, I thought it was okay and rated it pretty high. But the longer I thought about it, the more mad I got, and the more I realized I could not remember a single positive thought I had during the book.
There were too many characters, and the many POVs were executed so poorly that everyone felt like a side character. It just felt totally off the rails compared to the first two books in the series. Thinking about it still brings me rage, as it was such an awful conclusion to a trilogy. What was that man thinking

i would say all those spicy booktok recs literally wasted so much of my time and money on them

not sure about ever... but recently, 'our infinite fates' omg what a drag

Probably Remnants of Filth by Meatbun

powerless

Hunger game

WAIT NOT POWERLESS

HARRY POTTER

The red tent by Anita diamont. I absolutely hated this book, I didn’t nit like the portrayal of these biblical characters, hated her version of the storyline. These are just my thoughts other friends I know absolutely loved it.

literally anything that is strictly smut and has no plot

If He Had Been With Me or Powerless….could not with either of them

Hey Katrina…I totally like your answer. Smut to me ruins the storyline. But again this is my opinion others are into that sort of story.

Katrina wrote: "literally anything that is strictly smut and has no plot"

Some books seem so desperate to get to the smut that they completely bypass the part where a meaningful relationship between characters is established, so then you’re just reading an insta love story with too much cringeworthy sex, characters with no depth whatsoever, and a less than half assed plot. And it reads like a ghost of a story. There’s just nothing to care about. Not to name names but I am talking about A Fate Inked in Blood, which if you couldn’t tell, I hated immensely.

Just the one? Can't narrow it down sorry but here's my shortlist:

A Court of Thorns and Roses (most recent, boring MC, rapey sex scenes etc)
This is How You Lose the Time War (pompous, confusing & unbearable)
Really Good, Actually (really dull and navel gazing actually)
Crash by JG Ballard (well written but gross in so many ways)
Becoming by Laura Jane Williams (overindulgent pap)
The Butterfly Garden (fan fiction vibes, rape fantasy content, 19 year old character is just the voice of the adult author)
Conversations with Friends (pretentious disappointment)

Oh and the only DNF because it was truly the most appalling writing (some of the above are well written (Crash, Convos w Friends) but I still hated them) with lines like "she admired his pretty", the prize for the worst book I ever ever nearly read but couldn't get through the first quarter goes to 50 Shades of Grey.

Tis the season for revenge (idk wth was the plot)
Miso soup (some friend of mine suggested it to me and even she did not know what's inside and it turned out to be so grosssss ugh ew)

Let me preface this by saying I’m a huge fan of Hiruki Murakami, however, IQ84 was over sexed (which was unexpected,and jarring) and was long winded
(925 pgs.) By the end, I was shrouded in disillusionment.

Sorry to say there are a few... but number 1 stands out
Kaitlyn & the highlander
diana knightly

First, there is absolutely no level of artistry or immitation of adult literature. Some reviews say that it’s a fun book that is not a rip-off of Outlander, BUT-- it is EXACTLY that!

A very silly fiction for teens who haven't a clue about good writing; yet the explicit trashtalk shouldn't be subjected to them. Supposedly told by a very modern day girl (not woman) who drinks A LOT, uses lots of (soon to be dated) slang, and used to be a YouTube influencer.

The book wasn’t fun. The fun of a time travel book is making the time travel kind-of possible, as well as the reaction of both the traveler AND the recieving person somewhat explained.
The Highlander mysteriously arrives in a Florida beach town-the only time travel-in front of a crowd of people, who- don't really question how or why a guy on a horse with weapons just appears? from his speech & lack of understanding his surroundings- yet nobody really questions him other than to drunkenly notice how mega hawt he is.
Any hints (which would be a good part of an actual story) are brushed off as "maybe things are really backwards in Scotland"!!

Magnus, the Highlander, for his part adapts MUCH too easily to modern life. The adaption to a different time period is a big part of the attraction to time travel novels! He brings coins from the past, and instead of someone questioning how he comes to have them, or tries to steal them; Kaitlyn’s parents- who conveniently work in a bank and in real estate- quickly (in ONE DAY) convert them into a massive bank account that pays for an estate for Magnus and his mother, along with hiring a staff to do all the things he hasn't a clue about. No ID required.
He becomes attracted to the very modern Kaitlyn, but has no lingering prior-century attitudes towards appropriate female behavior? Especially being in public with all her legs showing? And her trashy language?

I have a rule about finishing every book I start.. Regardless how many times I have to put it down & pick it back up. But I must admit I finally began skimming after I had suffered through WAY TOO NUMEROUS drunken parties and occasions when Kaitlyn should have questioned Magnus’ previous life.

I skim to the very end thinking, the author will at least end with Kaitlyn going somewhere in time. Nope. I then realize I'd read a whole book about a boozy young girl who doesn’t think it’s odd she has to teach a guy from Scotland how to use a toilet and feed himself, (perhaps if she wasn't in a perpetual hangover she may have given this some thought?)
But with her crude modern jokes and self-described bossy attitude; as well as always being pouty about being a 23 year old loser with no real life skill who is living at home again, she manages to attract him and his money.

Upon finishing, my only thought was this: Someone must warn others away. I'm still confused where any high scores came from. It's kind of scary to realize this many people let this pass for readable literature.
---------
More recently: Silver Elite-- alot of opportunities to develop into a good story, but characters and world fell so flat .. it was a dnf pretty early. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Also I agree with Megan abt Court of thorns & roses. I even tried the audible full cast version.. just too little of a story with MC fixated on getting back to MMC.

So sad!🌷

haunting adeline for sure

War and Peace is easily one of the worst books I’ve ever read, if not THE worst. It’s a monstrosity of a tome where Tolstoy bores the reader, annoys them, or just flat-out beats them over the head with philosophical points he’s trying to make (emphasis on “trying”). He put in a second epilogue just for this purpose, for crying out loud! I read this back before I learned to just DNF stuff that wasn’t working for me, so I slogged through this beast for two months, which is reading time I’ll never get back.

ACOTAR...not a fantasy book, just a bad romance with faires.

summer in the city .. trust me it is all a lie and really a very bad book do not believe the booktok narrative

Cuckoo by Julia Crouch

credence. that book scared me

Another winner is Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens. Pulse pounding, I think not! Head pounding from boredom is more like it, get me Advil!!! My thriller tendencies gets me into trouble when I select books like this…predictable and mind numbing🥱😵‍💫

Yazminz wrote: "haunting adeline for sure"

Absolutely-it’s a mystery how it ever got published- it’s not even grammatically correct.

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr I was so excited to get this book as I loved All the Light We Cannot See. This book was just too complicated, couldn’t keep track of timelines, characters, different genres.

Megan wrote: "Just the one? Can't narrow it down sorry but here's my shortlist:

A Court of Thorns and Roses (most recent, boring MC, rapey sex scenes etc)
This is How You Lose the Time War (pompous, confusing..."
Thanks for the List, help me Skip Books. Many you listed, wasn’t interested in. I did not Read Conversations with Friends, but Sally Rooney not an author I like. Slugged through Beautiful World, Where Are You and thought it was so bad. 30 Years Olds, making decisions like Teenagers. Beautiful World is Where a Rooney Book is not in my Hands

Shreya wrote: "i would say all those spicy booktok recs literally wasted so much of my time and money on them"

Agreed!!!!🌷 I've stopped even looking at them.

The Bride of Death

I feel horrible in saying but a theory of dreaming by Ava Reid. A study in drowning was stunning and one of my favourites I read of that year but a theory of dreaming just felt so unnecessary

by Erika Johansen

I Have No Body Mouth, I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison.
The quirky cover suckered me in.

This thread is so interesting! It’s always fun (and a bit eye-opening) to see how different readers experience the same book.

For me, I’d say War and Peace by Tolstoy was the hardest book I’ve ever finished. It’s a classic, and I respect it deeply for what it represents, but the sheer length and heavy philosophical sections made it feel like a slog at times. I found myself putting it down again and again before finally finishing it.

As someone who writes books myself, I always have mixed feelings when a story doesn’t work for me — I know the effort that goes into writing — but honest feedback is what helps readers find books they truly enjoy.

If you’d like to connect, here’s my author page: www.amazon.com/author/anshumanmishra-...

June wrote: "I Have No Body Mouth, I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison.
The quirky cover suckered me in."

Never judge a book by its cover. Lol

Spare by prince harry… read it for the memes, finished it slightly traumatised…

Little Liar by Leigh Rivers and caught up by Navessa Allen.

Credence was the woooorst