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I recently wrote about my 2023 Most Pleasantly Surprising Reads, therefore of course you know I would also highlight the five Most Disappointing Reads of 2023. Like my list for the most pleasantly surprising books, those mentioned here are not necessarily the worst or lowest rated books that I read of the year (though some definitely are). Sometimes a book may be questionable but at least it matches a less than good-looking marketing material or it fully knows it’s rubbish. Other books are those that look promising on the surface or have a lot going for them, yet are either not for me personally, have questionable execution, or take a nosedive over the course of the story. This list are those kind of books. As a disclaimer, these are mostly subjective opinions and simply are what I thought about each book. By no means do I judge anyone who enjoyed these books, we can agree to disagree. With that warning aside, let’s get into my 2023 Most Disappointing Reads! #5) Happy Place by Emily Henry Easily my most controversial pick of the five books, this is one of those “hear me out” picks where I try to explain myself before …

Looking back on 2023 (admittedly quite late oops), I thought it would be nice to revisit last year’s reads and reflect on some of my top surprise reads that I stumbled upon. A lot of other book reviewers and influencers tend to do the “best reads of the year” type of recaps but that’s kind of boring since you can just look at whichever books I rated highly and I would only be summarizing what I already wrote about. Instead of that, I’ll be running through the top five most unexpectedly good reads or those that I was pleasantly surprised by. These are not necessarily my top five favorite reads of the year, but they are those that were distinctively refreshing for one way or another or managed to blow away whatever expectation I had for them initially. And with that, let’s get started! #5) The Midnight Library by Matt Haig I debated putting this one on the list at all considering how well-known and popular it is, hence why it’s at the bottom of my list. A perfect blend of contemporary fiction drama covering dark topics through a whimsical tone, the Midnight Library has mass appeal and is a …