We’ve been sharing some of our absolute favorite books we read this year and there were A LOT! Over the course of the past two weeks or so we posted lists with our favorite backlist books and our favorite 2018 releases, but unfortunately not all the books I read were favorites. I know my reading tastes quite well, so I usually pick up books I do enjoy. But every now and then there are some books that really disappoint me. Luckily there aren’t nearly as much books on this list as there were on my favorite lists. But I did end up rating 3 books with 2 stars this year, and I have 5 more that I rated 3/3,5 stars that I was expecting to rate much higher. So let’s take a look at my most disappointing reads in 2018.

See All The Stars – Kit Frick
2 stars

This was one of the first books I got through Netgalley and I was so excited for it. Unfortunately it was so disappointing I didn’t even put up a review on our blog. I did post a Goodreads review after I finally finished the book. It took me so long to read this book and I thought it was pretty boring. The characters weren’t compelling at all, and the twist at the end was very predictable and not that enjoyable.

Milk and Honey – Rupi Kaur
2 stars

I feel a bit bad about this one haha. This is such a beloved poetry collection and it gets really high ratings all around. I listened to the audiobook and I do think that was a good way to go, as the author reads the poems in the way she intended them. When thinking back as to way I didn’t like this one, I don’t really have a clear reason as with the previous book. There are some great messages in here and the format doesn’t bother me per se, as I did enjoy Amanda Lovelace’s poetry collections and she uses pretty much the same format. But somehow these poems didn’t click for me, I didn’t really feel anything apart from a couple of nice lines.

Night Film – Marisha Pessl
2 stars

Ugh, I had such high hopes for Night Film! I saw so many raving reviews and the synopsis sounded wonderful. This is a pretty big beast and I started off with the audiobook. I soon realized that there were illustrations in the book, so I ordered the paperback to read along side. My main problem with this book was that it was waaaaaaay too long. It got so, so boring! Only near the end did I enjoy it, but than the reveal came and that was another let down. The characters went from clue to clue like a very boring scavenger hunt. And unfortunately our main character is sexist, racist and transphobic.  Melanie from Mel to the Any said it all so much better than I ever could, and would highly recommend reading her review.

A Wrinkle in Time – Madeleine L’Engle
3 stars

This is a classic children’s book and since I do really enjoy MG reads I was expecting to love this one as well. Unfortunately I didn’t like it as much as I thought I would, I get that this is for kids but the writing was so simplistic. I did fly through the story and am actually quite excited to see the movie. But since this is such a classis I simply expected more for it.

Howl’s Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones
3 stars

For this one, I guess I had the same expectations as for A Wrinkle in Time. I heard so many good things about this and especially about the movie. This was another pretty fast read, I listened to the audiobook. I just didn’t really click with the story as much I hoped I would and I probably won’t be continuing with the rest of the series. The movie is still on my to watch list, I did really enjoy the concept of the moving castle and am excited to see if the movie is as great as everyone says.

Coraline – Neil Gaiman
3 stars

This is my second Neil Gaiman book and I think he is just not for me. I didn’t enjoy The Ocean at the End of the Lane but with everyone loving Coraline so much, I thought I would like that one as well. Unfortunately it was just okay for me, there isn’t anything really wrong with this story but nothing wonderful either. I know Neil Gaiman is a favorite for so many readers and I might give him another try but my expectations are pretty low.

Wonder Woman: Warbringer – Leigh Bardugo
3 stars

I love Leigh Bardugo, love Wonder Woman, and my friends loved this book, so I expected this to be a 5 star read. Unfortunately it was only a 3 star read for me. Since I had such high hopes, this made it to my most disappointing list. The story had some great messages, a lot of action, and beautiful quotes. But I didn’t like the storyline and didn’t really care about the characters, or at least not as much as I expected to. It took me pretty long to read this book and in the end it took the audiobook for me to finish it.

The Beauty of Darkness – Mary E. Pearson
3,5 stars

There were some more 3 star books that didn’t make it to this list because I didn’t expect thát much from them. The Beauty of Darkness is a book that I did have high expectations for and unfortunately it was only a 3,5 stars read for me. It took me about half the book to get into the story and didn’t really enjoy the first part at all. I did love the second half and the big battle as well. However Lia was supposed to make a big sacrifice and that was pretty disappointing. Especially with the last chapter, that was just stupid in my opinion haha. I am very excited for the new books in this world though!

These were some of my least favorite and most disappointing reads for 2018. Have you read any of these? Did you like them? Let me know in the comments, I love discussing them with you all!