My Worst Books of 2020

 

Welcome Back Booklovers! I wasn't going to do a worst books of 2020  but then the negative book reviews discourse came up on Twitter and I changed my mind. The thing about negative reviews is that me not liking a book doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things. Someone might see me rant about a book and then decide to go out and purchase it. 

Trouble the Saints was pitched as a bad ass Black Woman assassin story set in Old Harlem and I was so here for it. And then I got an advanced copy and almost DNFd because it was about some white passing woman(though is she really when everyone calls her octoroon all the time?) who gave up killing and is trying to forge a normal life with her British/Indian lover. If you're looking for something heavy on the fantasy elements this isn't what you want. If you want something that reflects on life and the hands that we're dealt than this may be for you. It was one of those books that was purposely written to be confusing and I hate those. You can check out my full review here.

Cinderella is Dead is one of those stories where the concept sounds interesting but the execution was not. And though there were twists sprinkled throughout they were told too easily to use instead of the characters discovering them on their own. It should've been a quick read I raced through but instead it lagged. Full review here.

A River of Royal Blood could've been an interesting African fantasy but it was giving me more European than North African like it advertised. And the pacing was horrible! I switched between reading it myself and audiobook and I couldn't tell you what happened the majority of time. And the narration was dull too. No enthusiasm whatsoever. You can check my full review here

The initial hype around So We Can Glow had me expecting something that clearly wasn't what the book was about so part of the disappointment is my own fault.  For one not everything in this anthology was a short story. Some were just a few sentences. Two I was expecting a powerful collection about Black women and instead one of the first stories is about a white one. 

I was intrigued by A Duke, the Lady and a Baby especially since it had a West Indian heroine but this historical romance failed to maintain my attention. I just couldn't get fully into the plot.

The Goddess Twins sounded interesting but the execution was messy.  I don't give indie published books free passes. Not every book is published by The Big 5 and at minimum I expect solid writing. This was clunky at best. It had a very dated feel and the British stuff was clearly unresearched. On top of that there was more exposition than action. Full review here. 

My Summer of Love and Misfortune was the worst book I read all year. Never has a main character irritated me like Iris Wang. She did nothing but whine and overspend while claiming her lazy ass deserved all the riches in the world. She took the SATs hung over without studying and thought she was getting into an ivy league college. Emotional development in the book was non existent. Full review here.