Most Disappointing Books of 2021

“When I was seven, I found a door.”

First line in The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Last week I posted my list of favorite books of 2021 so now we’ve made it to the disappointments, and honestly, this one was much harder to narrow down to ten. It’s just been that kind of year for me. This good thing is though, that I get to let out some of my frustration in a post like this.
Unlike my list of favorites, this one isn’t ordered but split into two parts instead: one with the books I just had hoped were better and one with the books I absolutely despise. I’m briefly going to explain why I didn’t like them but I’m also linking the monthly wrap-up they appear in if you want to know more since some of these are fairly popular.

The I-Had-Higher-Hopes-For-You

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Rating: 2 stars

I was very excited to get into this series after having a good time with The Seven Realms set in the same world, but it ended up feeling very rushed. I wanted more time dedicated to the characters and the building of their relationships but because of the pacing issues, we got some insta-love instead. The book did have some good plot moments but my inability to connect with the characters meant that I didn’t continue with the series.

Reviewed in March

Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: 2.5 stars

Well, this book was just a mess. Did it want to be its own book or did it want to set up another one? I couldn’t tell. There was so much going on but too little time to develop each plot point properly, and don’t even get me started on the pointlessness of a few of the characters. There were also some developments in the plot and the world that felt very strange, and I’m thinking they were done for shock-effect. Bardugo has made sure I love the characters though, and that is why the book is placed in this section of the post.

Reviewed in June

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Rating: 3 stars

This book is by no means bad, it’s just not that spectacular either. It employed a trope that I don’t necessarily hate but I rarely love it and that made the book a bit boring for me which wasn’t helped by a very straightforward and to-the-point writing style. The cultural aspects were interesting enough but I felt the story had more potential.

Reviewed in May

Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman

Rating: 2 stars

I really loved the first book in this series but the sequel here was such a let-down. I wanted to learn more about the developments within society like the first one dealt with but instead, it focused a lot on the individual characters and I was subjected to way too much teen angst. I read this in April and claimed I would continue with the series anyway, but since it hasn’t happened yet, I think I need to revoke that statement.

Reviewed in April

The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by Garth Nix

Rating: 2 stars

Why could this book not be as great as its title?
It was too #quirky for me to really appreciate any of it because when we spend so much time on funny but super irrelevant world-building elements instead of characters or plot, it’s very hard for me to get invested. I’m still not sure whether this book is supposed to be a joke, and that’s just not the kind of fantasy I like to read.

Reviewed in February

The I-Would-Burn-You-To-Keep-Warm

The Beauty of Darkness by Mary E. Pearson

Rating: 1 star

I already had problems with the second book in this trilogy but somehow I was still surprised by the one’s horrible ending. Everything was just so convenient and it definitely takes the award for the most ridiculous ending I’ve ever read. I was also incredibly sick of reading about a “strong female character” that wasn’t actually strong but had no other character traits so that’s what the author was harping on (a recurring theme in this part of the list).

Reviewed in February

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Rating: 1.5 stars

I know I said this list wasn’t in order, but this right here is the worst book I read in 2021. Never has a book made me that frustrated and angry. The writing is overly dramatic, the characters exceptionally whiny and there’s no complexity to anything this book does. Everyone is either all good or all bad, and of course, I had to deal with another “strong” female character that wasn’t actually that. But everyone else seems to love this book and this author so I’m obviously wrong.

Reviewed in August

The Poison Song by Jen Williams

Rating: 1.5 stars

The final book in a trilogy that took an epic nosedive. The character work is basically non-existent as we’re more often than not just told what the characters feel and how they develop rather having it shown to us. Williams had all the opportunities to show these things through the actions of the characters, but she very often skipped those scenes in favor of more unnecessary world development. The predictability of the plot also made this a very boring read.

Reviewed in November

The Last Magician by Lisa Maxwell

Rating: 1 star

This was just not very well written and it made me hate everything from the characters to the plot. The “romance” turned abusive because it wasn’t given enough development and because the characters weren’t allowed to say anything that wasn’t a cliché. I generally felt I’d already read this book because there wasn’t much about it that felt original.

Reviewed in May

The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson

Rating: 2 stars

This book had such an interesting premise as it’s a fantasy book taking place during the Spanish Inquisition, but the setting is just there to lure you in because it’s not about that. Instead, it’s all about the protagonist, Fatima, who is an absolutely horrible person but she’s written as someone you’re meant to love and sympathize with. I just get really angry when books encourage the kind of behavior she exhibits. Other than that there was also a gay character that I thought was handled very poorly and even stereotypically.

Reviewed in September

I probably had three more books that could have been in this post, but I really didn’t want to do more than ten. I know that kind of sounds bad, but I generally don’t mind reading some books here and there that aren’t 5-star experiences. I like to read different things and sometimes I misjudge books but they still teach me something (although right now I can’t think of something The Ten Thousand Doors of January taught me), so rating-wise, I might have had a bad 2021, but I don’t mind as much.

Anyway, if you have thoughts about these books, please share them with me, also if you loved them.