Hello friends,
Happy New Year! I know, I know, I’m late. But I hope you’re doing okay and that this new year brings you so many good reads. For my part, I’m so ready to tackle the new year. I haven’t reflected back on how my 2022 went yet. I was overwhelmed and exhausted, but my hard work also paid off and I did great things and accomplished my personal goals and my reading goals. I honestly think 2022 was a good year for me. I struggled sometimes, but looking back, I did all that, you know. So yes, I hope 2023 treats you well and good books are in your future. Exactly the opposite of this post. How about some ranting for my first post of 2023?
I read 189 books and I rated 16 books one star. I narrowed down my list to five titles. I disliked more books, but these five have stayed with me since I read them, sadly. Every time I think about them, I’m filled with rage again. Perfect sign these books were my worst reads of 2022.
Let me know what were your worst reads of the year!
The Player by Claire Contreras
This is a sports romance that I read for Latinx Heritage Month. The book follows my bestie, Camila, catching the interest of international soccer star, Warren. He’s famous and rich, a well-known player. She’s poor and shy, she doesn’t know she’s beautiful. How can they be together? They live worlds apart. She doesn’t even recognize him, she’s not like the other girls Warren has dated.
I don’t know why I thought reading this book was a good idea. I have never found a sports romance that didn’t have an over-the-top and ridiculous setup, with the most basic conflict. Do you want to know how they meet? It still infuriates me. Camila’s apartment complex is getting demolished to build new real estate and she’s getting kicked out. What role does the noble hero play? Oh yeah, he’s the one kicking her out. Lovely, am I right? He’s the owner of the apartments, planning to make money from gentrification. But what a lovely setup!
Not only that, but he sees her in the meeting and asks her out. The nerve! She says no, you’re literally leaving me without a home. And he’s like, I hear you, what about dinner? There is no amount of redemption with this lack of empathy. I don’t care that he gets her a new place, I don’t care he wants to get to know her. He doesn’t respect her boundaries, he’s being inconsiderate and he’s a gentrifier.
I couldn’t get over the initial setup. I found the story very frustrating, the characters were underwhelming (walking stereotypes) and nothing about this book was enjoyable. Mediocre writing, bland dialogue, and forgettable romance. This book made it to the list because this is one the worst romance setups that I have had the displeasure of reading.
When Life Gives You Vampires by Gloria Duke
This book was so frustrating. It appears to be a fun rom-com with vampires and a fat heroine, WRONG. Lily is turned into a vampire after a night out, but this is not her love story but her journey to accept herself. She lives a quiet life, very low-risk and she is dealing with a lot of fatphobia, from her mother and herself. As Lily grows more powerful in her vampire power, she grows more confident in herself.
It doesn’t sound so bad, but it’s definitely not what I was hoping for with that cutesy title and cover. Lily’s fatphobia is a substantial aspect of the story and there is no escape. The book starts with her doing concessions to herself about food, and it doesn’t get any better from there. She is constantly restricting her food, constantly telling us how big she’s and about her diet history. What’s her worst concern when she realizes that she’s immortal now? She is never going to be skinny. She goes on and on questioning the hero’s intention but he can’t possibly be attracted to her. It’s not romantic, it’s exhausting.
The thing is, she’s not a sympathetic character. She’s extremely judgmental and looks down on other women, especially the hero’s ex, for no reason. We’re supposed to think she’s resourceful and clever, but every revelation must be fed to her. I would even go on to say that she has no personality. The same thing happens with the rest of the characters of the story, they are all bland. Especially the hero. Dear god, he was such a boring character.
I was told to finish the book before passing judgment like it gets any better. It doesn’t. Sure, Lily doesn’t end up in the book hating herself (spoiler, I guess), but the book is not good. The writing is repetitive, the plot is nonsensical, the characters are underwhelming and the romance is laughable. This is supposed to be a paranormal romance but the couple has no chemistry. The author makes so many little winks to famous vampire media that it was getting annoying. The big evil is a caricature of a villain and the hero has no real depth or character growth.
When Life Gives You Vampires was one of the blandest romances I have read.
Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan
This one was a big disappointment. Not only anticipated release of the year, but I also won an ARC in a Goodreads giveaway. I couldn’t be more excited! I was so happy. And then everything came crashing down so fast once I started it.
It follows Xingyin, the daughter of the Moon goddess (duh!), forced to run away to the Celestial Kingdom and hide her identity. She’s trying to rescue her imprisoned mother and ends up working in the palace (of the emperor that imprisoned her mother, keep that in mind). She meets the emperor’s son and falls in love. Her enemy! Now caught between duty and love, things happen, I guess. I say I guess because the plot gets so convoluted for no good reason, with so many side quests and subplots that’s hard to describe much of the plot without spoilers. Yes, she wants to save her mom but she’s also in love and suddenly wrapped in the politics of the Celestial Kingdom.
This book is so long for no reason, the pacing would pick up and then slow down again. The side characters were underwhelming, but the biggest problem of the book is its protagonist. Why? Because Xingyin is perfect. She’s beautiful and clever, and in everything she tries, she succeeds. Everyone falls in love with her, and all women hate her. She can do no wrong. She’s a natural archer and warrior. And it’s frustrating because she is very impulsive, but her decisions have no consequences. So it came to a point where I didn’t believe in the conflict anymore, why worry about her? She would figure it out at the last minute. The stakes were not high and the already messing pace slowed down even more.
But it also means that there is no space for her to grow. She goes from this simple girl to a powerful warrior, but that isn’t growth when she’s a natural. Nothing feels earned with her. Her easiness to move makes every single obstacle she faces a joke. Even when winning powerful enemies nothing comes from it. Ridiculous.
I guess this is more of a fantasy romance but dear god, the romance was so terrible. They have no chemistry, their relationship is so forced. The prince always shows signs of development when it’s convenient to the plot. Only when Xingyin needs him to, he confronts his ideas about the Celestial Kingdom. The other love interest? Fellow warrior? I liked their interactions better but I never understood why she suddenly liked him.
Overall, I just found this book deeply lacking. Read my full review here.
Electric Idol by Katee Roberts
Another romance book that I haven’t stopped thinking about. I don’t think I like Katee Roberts, I’m sorry but it’s time I speak out. This Dark Olympus series has not been it for me. Neon Gods was good enough, but Electric Idol has been the most frustrating book I’ve read.
Even if you enjoyed this book, we all have to admit that it’s the setup of Neon Gods copy-pasted. Evil mother forces the hand of their child to do something reckless and dangerous that would allow them to be freed. Granted, Neon Gods is a Hades and Persephone retelling, but Electric Idol follows the same formula. Here, we have Psyche, a social media influencer, that is making Aphrodite jealous. She sends her son, Eros, to kill Psyche but he can’t do it! So they fake a relationship to avoid Aphrodite’s retaliation.
The plot is so ridiculously convoluted, the politics of this world makes no sense to me. There is an Olympus and they have titles that supposedly are passed down, but some of them are earned (from the third book, Wicked Beauty). There is a very precarious balance between these powerful leaders? rulers? CEOs? I’m not sure I understand what they’re even doing. This is a city and they can’t leave because something bad happens. What, who knows. Exile is always on the table, but it’s a terrible fate.
Imagine being a regular person in this city and having to deal with all these murder plots, power plays, and bullshit of the 13. I would riot.
I get that I’m being nitpicky, but I just don’t understand the world-building of this series. It’s retelling but also modern, there’s technology but maybe also some magical element? When so much of the conflict relies on the politics, not understanding what is going is not great.
Besides the messy plot and underwhelming world-building, the characters are not that great. Their romance is rushed and there is no growth here. I didn’t like Eros at all, that was my biggest problem. I’m sorry, but I draw my line at murder. Can’t excuse murderers, yes. I understand that Eros has been abused by his mother, but he has spent years actually killing people and there are no consequences. Psyche doesn’t want Eros to face any consequences, what kind of justice is that? Girlie can forgive him all she wants, but he doesn’t get to be absolved in my book.
Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa
Not only the worst book I read in 2022, but probably one of the worst books that I have read. It has been months and I’m still thinking about it. It’s not only an underwhelming, bland, and boring story, but I found it incredibly insulting, too.
It follows Rose, Luna to her family, a white-passing Mexican-American bruja, hiding her identity in the 1920s bootlegging scene. She lives in Kansas City and runs a club at night and works as a reporter during the day. In a period of prejudice and violence against Black and brown people, Rose must hide her Mexican ancestry to rise to the top. She’s also hiding her magic as an Earth bruja.
Rose was an insufferable character, everyone is after her, from mobsters to white supremacists. Her growth is at the expense of her brown family. Honestly, the amount of violence the brown and queer characters of this book suffer was sickening. She’s careless in her pursuit. Of what, I’m not completely sure. She goes on and on about how she had to sacrifice herself to get here, but where she wants to go, I don’t know. Does she want to offer security to her family? When her mom and grandmother lose their house, she doesn’t want to let them stay in her apartment. What a charmer!
And I get it, we have a very romantic view of this time period, but I’m not sure Bindle Punk Bruja is the nuance and thoughtful conversation we need to have. Rose considers herself the victim of the victims. When she is challenged, she complains about misogyny. We’re supposed to feel sorry that she’s white-passing and feels disconnected from her identity, while she won’t even listen to her own brother about the dangers and injustices he deals as a queer, brown man. Girlie, shut up.
It’s not only her being insufferable, the story doesn’t know where to go. It’s violence after violence, with Rose learning to feel confident in her Mexican identity. But she doesn’t really learn about her family and ancestors, or even truly reconnect with her family.
I’ve been so convinced that fantasy books set in the 1920s are my thing, but I found the whole world-building underwhelming. Am I having the wrong expectations here? Why do I go to these books hoping to love the world and always end up disappointed? Am I wrong for thinking historical fantasy in the 1920s can have an urban fantasy vibe? I truly don’t understand. Bindle Punk Bruja was the fourth book I read in this genre, but not a single one of these books I have liked.
There is no fantasy aspect, that’s the thing with these books. They live a regular life and here and there you hear about some magical aspects. Rose is from a family of Earth brujas but who they are or how the magic works in the world is never a concern for her. The limits of this magic are never fully explained. It’s so underwhelming that I find it personally insulting. But like I said, this is something that found in many other of my 2022 reads.
I honestly I don’t think I would anything else by this author. Once was more than enough, thank you very much.
Cande Reads 