2024 has been the year of reading. I have binge read Romance books like it’s my JOB. In fact, some days I wish it were my job. I’d say that 75% of the books I’ve read have been finish-worthy with the majority being 4-star reads or higher. That means 25% of them were books I just couldn’t finish.
Some had such horrible editing and grammar that I legit couldn’t force myself to get through it.
Others had topics that make me cringe, like sexual assault, stalking, and bullying. (I learned that I am VERY MUCH not into dark romances.)
And a select few were great right up until the 75% mark and then they took a turn that made me angry enough to want to chuck the book out the window. So I rage quit them instead.
I know not every book can be a winner and that opinions are like arseholes, in that everybody has one. So take this list with a grain of salt and read at your own discretion. Who knows, you may vehemently disagree with me and say that these are some of your favorite books.
To which I say, SLAY BADDIE!
So without further ado, here are nine of the books I just couldn’t finish this year:
- Magic Marco by Argentina Ryder — I made it about halfway through this book before bailing. Sometimes you just don’t like a book and it’s simply not worth plodding your way through.
- Dock Tease by D.J. Jamison — I really want to like this one based on the title alone. What can I say, I cannot resist a good pun. Unfortunately, that was the best part about the book.
- Filthy Rich Fae by Geneva Lee — This book reinforced two things for me. One, I hate dark romances. And two, I’m really not that into the fantasy genre.
- Man On by Rebecca Rathe — There were so many things about this one that bothered me, including the step-sibling trope and the morally grey romance with dubious consent mixed in for funsies. NOPE.
- Triple-Duty Bodyguards by Lily Gold — I like her other books, this one just features a stalker and it triggered me a lot.
- Hurricane Laine by Alex McAnders — OMGTHISBOOKWASTHEWORST. I seriously bailed on it like 20 pages in.
- We Kill Killers by S.T. Ashman — Read the first book in the series and enjoyed it. The premise is an interesting one (serial killers who kill other serial killers) but I just couldn’t get into this one. So, I bailed. And I definitely don’t regret it.
- The Hardest Fall by Ella Maise — I listed to this one and it was soooo slllooooowwwwww. I forced myself to get 50% of the way through and then decided it was too painful to continue. So yeah, DNF’ed it.
- Ghost Lover by Lisa Taddeo — I hated this book. Like, I was so angry listening to it that I almost threw my phone out the window. It was that bad. I couldn’t get it off my phone fast enough.
Want to see the full list of books I just couldn’t finish this year (along with the ones i did read)? You can find them over on TheStoryGraph.
What about you? What books were so bad that you just couldn’t finish them?
Looking for a list of books that were actually enjoyable? I wrote up everything I read in January and February on the blog.
