A Different Kind of List…
This year we will be sharing a small list of books that did not work for us here at Jessica’s Reading Room: This is a Top 5 of a different sort. Yes, all books will not be for everyone. Whether it is a genre you don’t normally read and th ebook ended up not working for you, or it was the wrong book at the wrong time, here is our Top 5 books that were not for us in 2019:
Jessica’s List:
I actually have two DNF’s (Did Not Finish) which I will be including in this list. As I did not completely read these books, I did not review them as I can’t judge them properly. But they were just not for me and I had to include them on this list! I will include the book description for the two DNF’s. Links to the ones I reviewed will be included.
5. Someone Knows by Lisa Scottoline
You guys know by now that Lisa Scottoline is one of my favorites, but Someone Knows was just a case of ‘when bad books happen to good authors’. This one just did not work for me, but I will still keep reading Scottoline. My full thoughts and review is here.
4. The Perfect Son by Lauren North
This one had an intriguing premise that I unfortunately figured out in the first few chapters. I kept reading it hoping I was wrong…But I was not. This one was a victim of “I read too many thrillers”. I do not like to figure out my thrillers and have my mind blown with that final twist. My review is here.
3. The Whisper Man by Alex North
So many people loved this one and yet, it was not for me at all. It still does not seem like I read the same book as everyone else. My review is here.
The last two are the DNFs:
2. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Book Description:
Aging, self-absorbed rock star Judas Coyne has a thing for the macabre — his collection includes sketches from infamous serial killer John Wayne Gacy, a trepanned skull from the 16th century, a used hangman’s noose, Aleister Crowley’s childhood chessboard, etc. — so when his assistant tells him about a ghost for sale on an online auction site, he immediately puts in a bid and purchases it.
The black, heart-shaped box that Coyne receives in the mail not only contains the suit of a dead man but also his vengeance-obsessed spirit. The ghost, it turns out, is the stepfather of a young groupie who committed suicide after the 54-year-old Coyne callously used her up and threw her away. Now, determined to kill Coyne and anyone who aids him, the merciless ghost of Craddock McDermott begins his assault on the rocker’s sanity.
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This is one that sounded like it would be good, and I made it about 3 hours into the audio book. I gave it a decent try, but it seemed like it was was going to become a ‘let’s seek revenge on Coyne’ and I lost interest. Yes, that is in the description, but I must have missed that part or was not expecting it to go in the direction that it did. I liked the whole first part of the novel with Coyne being a collector of the macabre and buying a ghost, the rest just did not work for me, so I chose to DNF it.
1. One Day in December by Josie Silver
Book Description:
Two people. Ten chances. One unforgettable love story.
Laurie is pretty sure love at first sight doesn’t exist anywhere but the movies. But then, through a misted-up bus window one snowy December day, she sees a man who she knows instantly is the one. Their eyes meet, there’s a moment of pure magic… and then her bus drives away.
Certain they’re fated to find each other again, Laurie spends a year scanning every bus stop and cafe in London for him. But she doesn’t find him, not when it matters anyway. Instead they “reunite” at a Christmas party, when her best friend Sarah giddily introduces her new boyfriend to Laurie. It’s Jack, the man from the bus. It would be.
What follows for Laurie, Sarah and Jack is ten years of friendship, heartbreak, missed opportunities, roads not taken, and destinies reconsidered. One Day in December is a joyous, heartwarming and immensely moving love story to escape into and a reminder that fate takes inexplicable turns along the route to happiness.
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Everything about this one sounded like I would love it, but it was the complete opposite. After you find out your best friend’s new boyfriend was ‘bus boy’ why did you not tell her? They had not been together that long… And then this is going to drag over a 10 year time span!?!? I just could not listen to this audiobook after the first ‘full year’ of anguish and drama. This is yet another one that so many people have loved that was definitely not for me. If you like the Bookies Facebook page then you may have seen me rant about this one. It was my first DNF in a long time. I do my best to not have DNFs, but this one was just not possible to finish.
Kim’s List:
I hate disliking a book … but these were bad! These are in no particular order:
Monsters by Sharon Dogar
The worst drama and hypocrisy I have ever seen in any plot or character! I could barely finish it! My review is here.
Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter
The cover is one of my favorites of the year, but the plot in no way lived up to my expectations. My review is here.
The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren
Making up a story is one thing, but not understanding the nuances of a culture you’re writing about doesn’t work at all. My review is here.
The Orphan of Salt Winds by Elizabeth Brooks
It wound me up and got me so excited to learn more, but then nothing. My review is here.
The Tenth Girl by Sara Faring
Literally everything went wrong … everything. My video review is here.
What did you think of our lists? Should we do this again next year??? Have you read any and did you like or not like it like us?