Top 10 Worst Books of 2024 ❌ how dare they, honestly 😤

[@PlantBasedBride]

What's the worst book you read in 2024? 💀

[@RaptorsCantSwim]

I didn't read much this year - but I have to give the spot to The Old Man and The Sea - I gave it 3 stars - so not unreadable by a long shot! I just don't understand it! I think it's a me problem, honestly 🙈

[@rosarodriguez8984]

Unpopular opinion here: I DNF This is how you lose the war. I stopped at 18%. I could’t follow the story, didn’t care for the protagonists and felt the whole time lost…maybe it was not the right time to read it….or not for me 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@michellecgb]

Death’s Obsession (not sure why I expected a booktok dark romance to be at least fun to read) and The Gambler by Dostoevsky, I’m sad about that one cause disliking classics always makes me feel like an idiot 😂😂😂

[@kungfukaity]

I had to DNF the first Crescent City book… never to return. As far as a book I actually finished, Fourth Wing was so so bad.

[@merriebearz]

The Sweetest Oblivion by Danielle Lori and The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson - I just wanted a fun time with some ChickLit and ended up hating Sweet Oblivion because it's horrible and Fake Mate turned into cheap erotica after a good first half which I really didn't sign up for lol

[@michellecgb]

Am I disappointed this video isn’t an hour long? Yes, yes I am. I could listen to you rant and critique for ages even if I’ve already watched the reading vlogs 😂

[@PlantBasedBride]

Haha oh god I think if I’d let myself rant about each of these fully this video would be several hours long 😂 I had to keep myself in check! 😅

[@jamesholland8057]

Glutton for punishment huh?

[@nicoletartaglia]

I feel so seen with the Happy Place hate! I thought it would be a cute buddy read with my friend but here I am 10+ months later still feeling rage from that book!!!!

[@PlantBasedBride]

Hahaha I’m glad I’m not the only one, too! Lots of people seemed to love it and I feel like such a stick in the mud for hating it lol

[@hipstamom]

Same. This book was my Unhappy Place.

[@dianaengland1907]

I hated that book

[@WestAussieDiamondArtReads]

I too am glad I'm not the only one who feels the way you do about Happy Place. I hated this book so much. I found it so boring. I dnf'd it as well.

[@MC-su3sd]

Emily Henry is so hit or miss! I didn’t hate happy place but book lovers and people we meet in vacation made my blood boil. Book lovers was a slog of unnecessary sadness and annoying characters. People we meet on vacation was so boring I dnf-ed. The only book of hers I actually really liked was Funny Story.

[@drinkbooks]

This video makes me feel seen for just going off when the writing is so bad you want to throw the book at the author and scream "EDITOR!!!!"

[@PlantBasedBride]

LOL, I have felt this many times 😂 it feels like publishers aren’t providing as many resources to authors or taking as much time for edits recently, and it’s really evident in the quality of the books being released.

[@heyimsasa]

worst book i read was a little life by hanya yanagihara. i would give it negative stars if i could; it is literally just gay trauma porn. in interviews, the author has said that she doesn't believe in therapy/mental wellness, she did no research (and it showed), and doesn't think people struggling with mental health are worth saving-something to the effect of "if the person is already that far gone, why try?" 🤡 clownish behavior.

[@PlantBasedBride]

Yeah, from what I’ve heard about this book, I know I’ll hate it, so I’m not even going to try. It sounds miserable.

[@Monarch_1313]

Yup, I dnf at about 25%. It just felt like she was throwing in gruesome trauma, just for the shock factor. His inner dialog was so depressing, which makes sense if the author thinks he wasn't "worth saving" 😬

[@Paula-xp7ve]

I thought it was a great book

[@darkcrowart]

I actually had not heard anything about it other than 'extremely traumatic', and wasn't aware of the author's views... so thank you for this comment b/c now I'm highly reconsidering having it on my tbr x_x

[@DumiNihi]

I genuinely hate the author, and I've never read the book

[@cukrkandl]

mine was haunting adeline💀 we buddy read it as a joke with a friend knowing we'd hate it but it was somehow way worse than we'd thought lol

[@snakemelk]

1.) I love hearing the same points about The Housemaid that I didn't like that others also didn't like about the book. 2.) I'm also glad I DNF'd one dark window because I couldn't handle the FMC. 3.) ancestral rage is a big mood

[@PlantBasedBride]

It’s always great to get that validation, especially when the book you dislike is inexplicably popular 😂

[@sams9181]

What was wrong with the main character?

[@snakemelk]

@@sams9181 She personally felt two dimensional to me. If I were to have powered through and got further into the book I probably would've thought otherwise but I couldn't get past her personality.

[@TwirlGirl2197]

I feel so validated on my hatred of You Exist Too Much. I hated it for all the same reasons, plus it put my tenuously in remission eating disorder on blast and nearly undid all the work I’d done to heal. But I’ve heard so much nonstop praise for it that I was starting to wonder if I somehow missed some major profound moment in the book that would make everything worth it.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I’m so sorry it was triggering for you. I found it very triggering for my ED as well, and I’ve been in recovery for a decade! I really hated how that part of the story was handled both within the context of the book and the character but also because of its potential impact on readers.

[@jacforswear18]

I’ve found my people! I read that book a few years ago and despised it, and then found that apparently I was in my own!

[@tatanabaudisova1056]

I read both One Dark Window and the sequel and it never got better. I loved the concept and if it was more of a fable and less of a romantic epic, I might've liked it more, but my god the WRITING. Finally someone talks about the writing. The FMC of the second book is characterised by her yellow hair and I got so fed up having to read about it every time she even briefly appeared in the scene. Ugh.

[@dr_not_sam]

1) You managed to convince me to read Monstrillo (eventually) even though I generally avoid mother content. So you’re quite good at getting at least me to read books. Of all booktubers I follow I think you have the most similar reading taste to me. 2) I will be using ancestral rage in daily convo now.

[@PlantBasedBride]

My main purpose in life at this point is to get people to read (and love) Monstrilio 😂 haha I don’t even know where that came from, I was feeling sassy when I filmed this video 😅

[@Gabriela-bl5py]

I read Monstrilio thanks to her too! I find it sad that I learned of a Mexican author from a foreigner but it makes sense because we (Mexicans) don't read a lot of books and the industry is not very profitable here :( anyway, I'm happy I got to this book, regardless. It really needs more promotion

[@shelbseroo]

I had it from the library a couple times and couldn't do it. But I will try again because I hate leaving an interesting book that I've heard good things about unread 😂

[@Amanda-Yogi]

Yes! I do not understand the hype for One Dark Window. I nearly threw that book across the room. Way way too much repetition. In summary…The Captain of the Destriers watched you with gray eyes while his lips curled as if pulled by an invisible string while simultaneously clenching and flexing his jaw and his rough calloused hands scraped over your skin. Meanwhile the oily voice of the nightmare is reading you poetry while the two of you maybe had sexy time in an abandoned stone building in the foggy forest. Oh! and magical cards. Don’t forget those.

[@PlantBasedBride]

😂😂😂 perfect! The oil slick voice descriptor was so annoying by the end. There have to be more ways to give us a feeling for his voice! Please employ them, I beg of you (Gillig) 😭

[@michellecgb]

I’m done with McFadden. I gave her 3 shots and it resulted in 2 DNFs and a 2-star for The Housemaid. She’s overhyped and I can’t believe her success.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I'm not usually one for conspiracy theories, but her pace for writing and publishing new work that is all so incredibly mediocre is making me wonder… 🤔

[@michellecgb]

@ I think it makes a lot of us wonder. On that note, I’m inclined to believe the plagiarism rumors about her

[@PlantBasedBride]

Oh, I remember hearing something about this but I haven’t looked into it more so I don’t know all the details.

[@steppy3736]

I think the hype is because those who don't read often are new to this style of writing. The plots are incredibly implausible, and the twists aren't logical at all. I feel the same way about Colleen Hoover and Lisa Jewell.

[@hollydawn07]

I’ve read a couple of her books and they’re ok. Highly unbelievable, the characters are SO incredibly stupid and have no common sense, the plots are so unserious, and the writing isn’t good. BUT they’re such a quick read and I can basically shut my brain off so I’ll keep reading them when I need a break from reading serious books 😂

[@creepypapermultipack]

I’m loving this. I think we need to have more of this kind of thoughtful critiques of literature. I feel like so much of the bookish community can be too soft and don’t engage critically with texts as much anymore. So, I’m all for these rants. And it helps me avoid reading a potentially terrible book 😂

[@rosarodriguez8984]

Ancestral rage. Love it😂😂😂😂😂😂 excellent video Elizabeth😘😘❤️❤️📚📚

[@PlantBasedBride]

Haha thank you! 😅

[@jamesholland8057]

That’s what I felt while watching.

[@jamesholland8057]

Thank you so much.

[@puppies983]

Thank you so much for putting this video up! Everyone that posts books reviews is so scared to speak honestly about books that are actually bad because they don’t want to ruffle any feathers, so thank you❤❤

[@justwonder1404]

Your take on One Dark Window absolutely doesn't hurt my heart (it's shattered, I'm destroyed) but it's interesting how different people focus on different things. I enjoyed both books (I believe I gave them 3,5 stars) but I did roll my eyes a few times and it was for completely different reasons than yours. Anyway, no hard feelings, agree to disagree, I'm just gonna go cry a little (I'm kidding).

[@PlantBasedBride]

Haha I have felt this many times when a booktuber I like gives a negative review for a book I enjoyed! It’s so interesting how we all have such different reading experiences, focusing on different things and having our various pet peeves alerted 😂

[@melanieroscoe5720]

I loved One Dark Window, but at times wished it had been run by the editors a few more times. 😂 It was a 1.2x speed listen while working in my garden, which is also how I got through Fourth Wing, so clearly I’m more tolerant of garbage writing while occupied with manual labour.

[@justwonder1404]

@@melanieroscoe5720 it certainly helps when a poorly written sentence isn't offending your eyes lol

[@shannonwirsching2016]

I need more ranty videos in books you dislike bc it was great! Definitely didn’t feel like you were yucking someone else for loving the ones you hate but felt like gold watching

[@PlantBasedBride]

Aw thanks! That’s a hard line to walk so I’m glad you felt I achieved it ❤️

[@coldnuit]

I'm on the same page with you on Happy Place. Everything about that book infuriated me. No chemistry between any of the characters, how was this even a friend group? The worst part of that book was when it was revealed that the friends knew that she broke up with her boyfriend and they still invited him, in hopes that they can get back together... even though they literally had no idea why they even broke up? Yikes??? Everyone just kept lying to everyone in that book. Fakest friends ever. It's like the book was written by someone who never actually had a real friend. Other books I rated 1 star: - Bride by Ali Hazelwood (will need content warning for the word "mate" after this book) - Icebreaker by Hannah Grace (this was literal torture, had to skip the spicy scenes after a while, they made me wanna d!e) Some books that made me uncomfortable/annoyed/weirded out: - The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White (this could have been because of the audiobook narrator) - Normal People by Sally Rooney (wasted my time, these characters were just so utterly weird to me) - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (I disliked everything about this for some reason) - How to End a Love Story by Yulin Kuang (possibly the most boring book I've ever read, hated the characters too)

[@MC-su3sd]

Icebreaker was so bad - I somehow made it through 95% of the book and then dnf-ed when I found out how it was going to end. There was no plot, only awkward sex.

[@PlantBasedBride]

Yeah, none of the characters were likeable or felt like they even liked each other 😅 it was rough to say the least!

[@kelleysullivan8908]

Oh no!! I am reading The Art Thief RIGHT NOW. I am sad now that you mentioned this secret at the end. Now it makes me question if I even want to finish it.

[@heatherparisi8250]

did you finish it? I disagree with her take on the book btw.

[@angelazeiler6838]

Somehow I veeeery glad that I don't force myself to read books because they got on some short list or won a price or are generally hyped. It saves me from quite a few books I wouldn't probably enjoy. Although I DNF any book if it doesn't catch my interest after I'm 50% into it. 😂

[@PlantBasedBride]

I feel like I can only DNF a book if I do it within the first couple chapters, usually if I read past 30% I need to finish because I just need to know what happens even if I don’t actually care about the plot or characters 😂

[@booksandbujos]

I love your content, even if you absolutely hate Happy Place which was one of my favourite books of the year. Lovingly, I find I can always get a recommendation for a fun book that I will enjoy because you did not like it (though I will definitely take your advice on the Freda McFaddens)

[@renellepenney1886]

Love your honest rants! The negative and positive! You've saved me a truck-load of time and money lol :)

[@sandeesandwich2180]

My problem with Orbital is that it is not a novel, so I don't understand why it was even eligible for the Booker. It's a 200 page prose poem. It's a very nice prose poem, but it is not a novel -- there is no plot and no character development, which I suppose is partly the point -- the repetition and endless nature of it mirroring the orbits around the Earth. I dislike most Emily Henry books, so Happy Place did not even fall into the bottom 4 of her books for me. Which is very faint praise.

[@PlantBasedBride]

That’s a great point! I don’t read a lot of poetry, so I didn’t recognize it as such, and I certainly wasn’t expecting what it was from the description (and it being nominated as a science fiction novel in the Goodreads Choice Awards!) I think if I had gone into it with more accurate expectations I wouldn’t have been so angry at it, but it still just didn’t work for me at the end of the day. I’d be curious to know which of Henry’s books is your favourite/least disliked! As much as I hated Happy Place, People We Meet on Vacation was worse (to me) 😅

[@sandeesandwich2180]

@ I hated Beach Read. First of all, the MFC -- a grown ass woman -- whines for all 300 pages about the free house she inherited and her dad and wawawa. Secondly, the whole you teach me romance I'll teach you lit fic was annoying, especially since I didn't see much on the lit fic side, and I think going out to a romantic dinner does not teach you how to write romance. I can tell I am starting to rant, so probably the more I try to explain my dislike, the less sense I will make.

[@JCas-h8f]

Yes! I agree, it’s a prose poem not a narrative with any plot or character development which I would think is necessary to count as a ‘novel’

[@TJulieta]

I'm so glad you came up in my feed. I'm excited to listen to your joyful rants 😄

[@chriskydonia]

I am so glad to finally see someone with the same opinion on You Exist Too Much!! i read it after seeing multiple people recommend it and i hated it (for the same reasons you did). i saw lots of reviews saying they found the main character incredibly relatable and it made me question if i maybe read a different book from everybody else

[@morganjones2744]

FINALLY. someone who also didn't like One Dark Window. I felt I was in the matrix for all the love and only love ive seen about this book. validating video, low key 💖. (i'm glad others liked it of course! it just wasn't for me for a lot of the same reasons you mentioned). Edit: One Dark Window. biggest gripe was the pacing of the romance. it felt forced and wasn't drawn out enough. I wish it was slow burn instead of so rushed. The stakes felt SOOO low despite the so called 'danger' of the card our MC endured, the high stakes of her mind and her entire being was jeopardized by the nightmare card. Yet, somehow the author made THAT feel underwhelming. this takes skill, and not the good kind, lol.

[@christinemartin8549]

Okay, I loved Orbital - BUT 😊 I totally see what you’re saying, and it made me stop and think about why I loved it so much. I realized that it was because I listened to it and didn’t read it. I found the combination of the narrator’s voice and the imagery I was getting meditative. I usually can’t handle books with no plot, and this did not have one or even a suggestion of one. I was surprised to see it nominated for Sci-fi. There isn’t a plot or world building. I was also surprised it won the Booker. I did love it and my experience with it, but I don’t think it is worth ALL the hype. It was on my 10 ten of the year, tho. Anyway, I hear you. - PS: I did listen to it at 1.5x and it is already a short book. Also, probably my favorite cover of the year. I had to buy it. I also wanted to tell you that I started a Notion database. Eeek!! I tried Notion years ago, but didn’t stick with it. I don’t find it intuitive. However, this time I was able to get over my main blocking point and am now building my database. I find it very satisfying. There are things I haven’t yet figured out. Like how to make things talk to each other like you said. I’ll get there. I have over 700 books in Goodreads. It is going to take some time. So far so good. It is all thanks to you and your video. 😊

[@PlantBasedBride]

I usually enjoy plotless ✨just vibes✨ books, but sadly I just couldn’t connect with this one. I’ve very glad you enjoyed it and found it so meditative to listen to, though! ❤️ Oh good luck with your tracker! I’m still constantly learning new things about how Notion works, especially when it comes to formulas! 😊

[@TiggerTellsTales]

😂I read Orbital first then listened to it on audio and preferred the written form. We are all so different. It’s also in my top ten, loved it!

[@christinemartin8549]

@TiggerTellsTales That's so cool. I totally understand why some might not like it. I really enjoyed the vibe.

[@christinemartin8549]

@PlantBasedBride I think the fact that Notion isn't super easy makes the project even more satisfying. I've already spent hours working on it and listening to books. Fun, relaxing, and productive.

[@malundy]

I'm so happy to hear validation for the way I feel after reading Annie Bot. I wanted som Data, some Roy Batty. What you didn't like I also didn't like. So much promise and such an abysmal ending.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I wanted Data, too 🥲 I saved it to the end of that reading vlog because I thought it would be right up my alley, and my hopes were dashed 🫠

[@alexVL5]

I wanted to try Emily Henry, and was interested in funny story so I decided while I wait I would try out happy place because the premise seemed fine. It was my introduction to her and I have to say I simply felt nothing. I agree with what you were saying, it just felt like the characters had no attachment and I kept telling myself maybe they used to be friends and then had a falling out but even that wasn’t satisfying enough to hold the book any higher than “fine”. I will still try funny story but I feel you with happy place. Also I got one dark window at Barnes and noble because they had a beautiful special edition and I was already interested in it. Clearly I enjoy shiny things… but now I’m nervous!

[@justwonder1404]

I respect Elizabeth's opinion and some criticism is valid, but I really enjoyed ODW. It has its flaws, but I liked the characters and the mood. Maybe give it a try before making up your mind.

[@PlantBasedBride]

As just wonder said, give ODW a try and see what you think! Lots of people love it so you never know.

[@barbaraschmitt85]

I hated happy place (and all the characters) but love funny story.

[@alexVL5]

@@justwonder1404 I’m definitely going to try it, especially since I bought it. I am more nervous cause usually I have similar tastes with her, but not every time and hopefully this is one of those times! Haha

[@Nari-7022]

i know you dont know me BUTTTT - funny story was not good at all. the romance was so insta lovey to me and i was super disappointed by it - not to mention the plot is entirely meaningless imo. felt like just a huge fanfic montage 😅😅😅

[@dawnbish9822]

I'm so glad I dnf'd Orbital. Thank you for your review. I found it so boring i stopped reading at about 20%.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I would have DNFd if I wasn’t reading it for a video 😅 it was rough lol

[@Ambrosia007]

@@PlantBasedBrideI wish I had DNFed it. I kept hoping there would be a payoff and nothing happened. I love books about space and just got so let down by this one.

[@shloka3915]

I really like what you say in the end of the video about being allowed to have a different opinion. My favorite example of that is something that happened to me years ago. My best friend and I decided to read each other's (then) favorite book. I read hers and I HATED it. One of my worst read of that year and still now. When we met I felt so bad. But she started saying "I'm so sorry, I DNFed your book in the middle, I just couldn't..." And I was like "Oh thank God because I hated yours too !" And we couldn't speak for an hour because we were laughing to much 😂 Still my best friend to this day 😁 (Sorry for the mistakes, I'm French)

[@PlantBasedBride]

Haha, this is the best! I often hate books that my friends love and vice versa, and we enjoy talking about the ways we disagree as much as we enjoy sharing the same opinion about a book 😂 I honestly find it kind of odd how aggressive people get when people online have a different opinion about a book, I don’t think I’ve ever been upset or taking it personally if a creator I watch likes or doesn’t like a book I hated or loved but maybe I’m weird 😅

[@LiteraryChic]

Subscribed on this first video within 5 minutes. Love this content!!

[@PlantBasedBride]

Welcome 🥰 I hope you stay a while!

[@jenp6109]

Frankly happy to hear about Annie Bot a little more, I heard about it in passing and wrote it on my TBR list and nooooow we'll see haha

[@PlantBasedBride]

I go into even more detail in the reading vlog! I wouldn’t classify it as science fiction, honestly.

[@TehTeh911]

Literally have one dark window on hold I’m skipping, cannot wait to find out what side I fall on here. Prose needs to be REALLY bad to hinder me too much if the rest of the book hits for me though.

[@cookiecatt]

I felt EXACTLY the same about You Exist Too Much - I really wanted to like it, I kept reading thinking it must get better plot-wise, but ultimately disliked mostly everything about it 😢

[@PlantBasedBride]

I’m still so frustrated by it! It was nothing like what I expected and not at all my cup of tea.

[@jjp.2382]

Love your book reviews. They feel so genuine. Great video!!!

[@PlantBasedBride]

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it! ❤️

[@mollyb698]

This is part of why I LOVE reading so much - we all have such different opinions of books!! Love that there is something out there for all of us :D My reading taste is pretty similar to yours most of the time but I do have to say that I thought the Housemaid series was a such a wild fun ride when I needed a brain break. And it is totally the 'trashy tv' of books but reality shows are truly my favorite way to unwind so it was perfect - I think I gave it 4.5 stars LOL. And Happy Place is still my favorite Emily Henry - I read it when I was also having growing pains/slow separation from one of my college friend groups and it just really resonated with me deeply (I do agree that the main characters were not the best hahah). But I totally respect and love hearing your opinions on why you didn't like them because you have a lot of valid points!

[@mabelrodriguez4386]

Any chance we can also get a top 10 faves do 2024 video? would love to hear the happy rants too😂

[@PlantBasedBride]

My book bracket is next! I’ll get to rave about all my favourites and pick my top favourite of the year 🥰

[@dg9531]

I didn't read the Art Thief, but I did get to go to an author talk, and found the whole talk fascinating!

[@Megan.eco-Instinct]

I've seen a few of your videos and am subscribing today :) I really enjoy your approach to reviewing a book - it's intelligent and honest. I had to drop a comment about *Orbital* ! I find it fascinating that even apparently like-minded people can have such different experiences with books; isn't that wonderful? I found *Orbital* to be such a beautiful and unique to path to epiphany. And I don't believe epiphany needs to be newly revelatory. I can know a simple reality and then suddenly be in a time and place where, for the first time, that same simple reality is wholly known and felt - those times are always powerful experiences. In *Orbital* you had a small group of people sitting in a tin can, floating around in an environment not suited to human existence. The book very adeptly portrays this environment as a breeding ground for existential questioning, which is then beautifully articulated in a series of epiphanic observations. I even think the 16 orbits around the planet helped to set the pace of these observations. I could literally feel the movement and the etching of each different slice of our planet. I did think it was extraordinary - it was my top pick for the year. I too *cannot stand* books that do the _word salad, trying to sound smart_ thing. I have bashed many a book for being guilty of that. It just wasn't the way I saw this writing. I found the prose here to be legitimate in its intelligence and smooth beauty. I completely respect your take on the book and found it to be so interesting, and thought I would just jot down a bit of my take on it.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I love this! I’m so glad you had such a wonderful experience with the book. It didn’t land that way for me, but I’m genuinely glad it has for others ❤️ thank you for sharing your thoughts! I honestly feel your comment has moved me more than the book did 😅

[@Megan.eco-Instinct]

@@PlantBasedBride Such a kind thing to say!! I'm so pleased :) I really do find people's different experience with books and other art so interesting! Best to you!

[@WalterSBoxx-q5i]

I found the lyrical prose in "Orbital" so good that decided to read all of Samantha Harvey's books; reading "The Wilderness" at present . My favorite writers are Shakespeare, Joyce, Updike, Vonnegut, Didion, Burgess, Faulkner . What's the problem with long sentences, as long as you throw in a short one occasionally to vary the cadence ?

[@PlantBasedBride]

There’s nothing inherently wrong with long sentences; in fact, one of my favourite books of the year had many long, run-on sentences! But I didn’t enjoy the way they were used in Orbital.

[@TiggerTellsTales]

I can’t find any information other than The Art Thief being well researched and apparently he did intensive interviews with Stephane (was that his name? It’s been awhile). I’m intrigued by your comments but I can’t find what you are referring to. I have it as one of my top books of 2024. Orbital is also in that list, I loved it, the toilet paragraph was hilarious but get why it’s a cilantro book 😂 Not mad at you at all, love discourse!

[@PlantBasedBride]

The reveal that Finkle was there for the final scene when Breitwieser returned to (one of) the scene(s) of the crime, despite writing that scene/chapter as if B was all alone and so sad and abandoned by everyone even though he just loved art cast doubt for me (and several others in my book club) about the narrative that was being painted throughout. Finkle had a very specific angle for the story and wrote the other characters, especially B’s ex, in such a way to suit his narrative and to portray B in a sympathetic light, despite never interviewing Anne-Catherine and seemingly taking B’s word for her intentions, feelings, and behaviour. Considering her assertion that B was abusive during the trial, the way she and their dynamic was portrayed in the book is concerning. It was also clear from the final section where he reveals their close contact and time spent together that Finkle was enamoured by B and found him extremely likeable and clever, which also colours his perspective throughout the book. Finkle also has a history of fudging the truth to improve the narrative of his “nonfiction” writing, most famously when he was fired from the New York Times for falsifying details about a child in an article exploring child slavery in Africa.

[@TiggerTellsTales]

@ thank you 🙏 I knew about his history but assumed he was young, ambitious and made a colossal mistake. Hopefully learning a hard lesson. I want to go back and read it now from your perspective because I wasn’t initially bothered but now I’m really intrigued. Thanks again, this is the 1st I’ve heard that it’s questionable since he gave an explanation. I definitely remember reading that his GF claimed abuse at the trial but they kind of all do after getting caught but clearly she regularly participated along with his enabling mother.

[@PlantBasedBride]

@@TiggerTellsTales B himself admitted he had a temper/was passionate and he said he went to her workplace and yelled at her in front of her colleagues, which is a wild thing to admit to doing…it wouldn’t be a stretch for him to describe himself that way and be minimizing the full extent of his behaviour. Either way, we never get her perspective and I didn’t appreciate the way she was portrayed when it all came from B, who has a motive to describe her as a willing/enthusiastic accomplice/partner, whether it’s entirely true or not.

[@TiggerTellsTales]

@@PlantBasedBride Yes, unfortunately this is the case with almost all books including nonfiction. They are almost always limited in representation and perspective- one-sided. I’ve also been thinking about that a lot. I’m not sure if there’s an answer. It’s making me a very critical reader. That’s why I like to have these discussions. I get your frustration! Thank you so much for taking the time, I’ll definitely be giving this book another look.

[@mikeschumacher]

I'm halfway through "Orbital" now. It feels as if it's stuck in a loop.

[@PlantBasedBride]

An orbit, if you will! 😂 I know it was intentional but I found it incredibly frustrating😅

[@mikeschumacher]

@@PlantBasedBride Just finished it; I'd call it an atmospheric novel except they're in low-earth orbit so there's no atmosphere. I grok what the novel's getting at but it's all-vibes, no plot, through-line writing that exists to just evoke an emotion. I don't think it's terrible, but it reminds me of "Laserwriter II" which was one of my worst-rated books last year. It's not the type of fiction writing I enjoy.

[@PlantBasedBride]

Nice one 😂 I think what bugged me most is that I felt like the author was using writing tricks to try to manipulate me into reading the text at exactly the pace they wanted and to feel exactly what they wanted me to feel, which feels like it’s an attempt to remove my agency as a reader in a way. I love plotless, atmospheric, emotional books, but this one felt hollow and calculated to me!

[@mikeschumacher]

@@PlantBasedBride I can see that. Definitely polarizing. Strange choice for the Booker Prize, no doubt.

[@annalockwood3021]

Ancestral rage : thanks for this phrase! Some books really are that bad. I’m a good bit older than you and have trained myself to consider adding a book to my TBR pile with great deliberation and care. I haven’t had the ancestral rage concept in mind until now, but yeah, I screen out potential reads likely to provoke that response. My blood pressure is high enough, lol! Plus there are a lot of dull books out there that provoke no more than indifference. I don’t read them either.

[@rejanescaglione8138]

Isn't Michael Finkel that one from NYT that lied on one of his articles about african slavery? If I'm not mistaken, there's even a movie about it! I've followed your content for the bujos videos and this is the first video on books reviews I'm watching from begining to end and already loving it! Being brazilian and living in Brazil, some of the titles are completely changed to make sense and sometimes the time for the translation to be released is long so watching these tipe of videos helps a lot with the chosing. The translation sometimes also makes the writing different so a few opinions about those especific thigns might change, but it seems the opinions on the storyline and likes are similar to mine

[@EnaFan430]

thank you for this video i always appreciate a rant ❤

[@alicejohnston215]

Currently reading The Housemaid after friends said it was AMAZING but I think addictive and amazing might be very different things!! Any alternative recommendations for easy-read page-turner intriguing thrillers?! Love your videos! 😊

[@kristinelewis5373]

I need the tea on The Art Thief! Can’t find the “twist” in the reviews 😅

[@PlantBasedBride]

I’ve responded to a few comments here explaining in detail! I didn’t want to spoil the books in the video, though it feels weird to be able to spoil nonfiction 😂

[@kristinelewis5373]

@ ​​⁠oh shoot sorry I must have missed it, let me dig! 🔎

[@codyhensley640]

Same! I immediately went to Google to try and find what was going on with that book and could find nothing. Off to the comments, I guess! Lol.

[@kristinelewis5373]

@ it's pretty far down but it's there!

[@ohdumbledear]

The One Dark Window hate… FINALLY!! I couldn’t believe I wasted a day reading it.

[@PlantBasedBride]

The saddest part is that it had so much potential that was squandered 🥲

[@stephsic7074]

So far, I have read 4 of the books you’ve mentioned (Housemaid 1&2, Happy Place, and the Family Experiment) and I absolutely agree on your points. I own but haven’t read One Dark Window and The Art Thief and I’m wondering if I wasted my money as we have similar tastes in books. 😂

[@lexirenae]

i love seeing other's perspectives. one dark window was actually in my top 5 for 2024, so its super interesting to hear your thoughts! i also definitely agree with you about The Housemaid lol

[@emtboyd]

I just came across your channel so I don’t know if you’ve reviewed or even read the book “Touched by Sin” by Harleigh Beck. It was recommended to me by a couple of people and I couldn’t even finish it. It didn’t bother me that it is a raunchy romance book, it’s just written so badly I threw the book away. I don’t understand how anyone thought it was good and could even recommend it to anyone else. That’s just mind blowing to me.

[@susanalfieri4487]

When I saw your background image of the 10 SciFi finalists that popped up at 19:18, I got really nervous. Because I've heard such good things about THE MINISTRY OF TIME (which I own but haven't yet read) and because my very favorite book of 2024 is on there. That's I CHEERFULLY REFUSE by Leif Enger. I work in a bookstore and champion this gem of a book whenever I can. I love the writing, I love the setting, I love the characters, I love the story...I love everything about this book. Highly recommend to those who love literary fiction. I was so relieved to see these two books are NOT included in you 10 worst list. I will have to go back and watch that particular video.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I think you'll be very happy if you watch that vlog or my new book bracket (best books of 2024) video

[@sava-smth]

Finally someone not glazing one dark window, this book put me in a reading slump so bad I've yet to recover! (ok maybe that wasn't the only culprit but it sure didn't helped!)

[@gracevaughn8132]

Good to see that I’ve not been drawn to read any of these poor books. I usually give a book a chance and if I’m not feeling it’s a good read, for me, I let it go and move on. Thanks for the reviews!

[@katherinebennett699]

I really enjoyed One Dark Window (and it's sequel which is better imo). I did skip the beginning of chapter poems when i realized they weren't important to the story. I found the main character to be pretty milk toast, but not completly helpless or self centered. She does take a pretty back seat role in book 2 and i think it does benefit for it. I get you though on having a real dislike for a book others like. I couldnt stant Addie LaRue and forced myself to finish it when i should have just dnf'd it.

[@PlantBasedBride]

The scene where she demands the nightmare open the curtains and doesn’t want to get out of bed to do it herself is a moment that really sticks in my mind 😅 I’m glad you enjoyed the books, though! They had lots of potential and I can understand how people enjoy them even if I didn’t. Ironically I loved Addie LaRue 😂 that’s one of the books that MANY people hate that I really enjoyed haha

[@miscpaper3341]

I’ve only read 2 of these books and gave them both middling ratings. So I can totally see your perspective! BUT, Two Twisted Trees, the sequel to One Dark Window didn’t have the character you disliked in it much at all. So maybe you’d have liked that one better? What I would love to see is a video about is your highest rated sci-fi recs! I want to read more sci-fi this year!!

[@ЮлияК-ч3р]

Thank you very much for the video! Please tell me, do you have any plans to make a video about your favorite books? In general or maybe in the sci-fi genre? I searched the channel, but only found a video recorded 12 years ago. And a summary for each year, but it would be great to see the 20 most favorite of all time

[@PlantBasedBride]

My next video will be my book bracket (favourites of 2024), but I can definitely make some genre-by-genre all time (so far) favourites videos!

[@ЮлияК-ч3р]

@ Oh, I can’t wait favourites of 2024 , and genre-by-genre would be awesome! Amazing! Thank you very much, I will wait with impatience

[@AllenFreemanMediaGuru]

Have you ever reviewed: Behind Her Eyes hc-Sarah Penborough? Some love the book and it was a movie. It’s one book I remember not liking at all. Ok, it has that one twist at the end. But that’s it.

[@theplumpginger7205]

I love that you rant about books the way I rant about books!

[@Cat-fz1uu]

The art thief made me so angry. I actually never finished it because it felt so biased and like it had no integrity so I'm glad to hear I'm not alone

[@dianaisme]

I read Beach Read by Emily Henry and hated it. Now I'm giving her a second chance with Funny Story. It's going okay, but it's not a new favorite I tried a sample of Happy Place and I was bored 🤣 I heard so many who doesn't normally like romance or Emily Henry, love that book. I don't get it 🤣

[@TheAlobear]

Annie Bot is particularly upsetting to me because it's quite rare that I come across fictional characters with the same name as me - so I'm grateful you've steered me clear because I might have picked it up just because of the title! Also grateful about Orbital because I might have bought this for my husband since he likes space...! (I also quite liked The Western Wind by the same author but I'm pretty sure it was more coherent.)

[@Nellie500]

I really liked the Housemaid but definitely was screaming at the main character for her lack of thinking and lack of self control and found that annoying. I read it in French so I didn’t think the writing was bad and after your video I think the translator really carried that book 😂

[@sfs825]

HATED Happy Place. The characters were so whiny, and the ending made me so angry. It undid any tiny character development that occurred throughout the story.

[@maevajesse]

Thank you for this video, I really love your channel, I watch almost all your videos, because you really give detailed and meaning reviews, and sometimes, when I am hesitating to read a buzzing book, I try to see if you have reviewed it before and even though we may have sometimes different tastes, I always trust your opinion because it makes sense and I kind of never read books that are trending, because when I do, I’m disappointed, and I find them to be poor literature. Of course, reading should be fun and entertaining, I read thrillers or romcoms sometimes when I want something lighter, but if there is no plot, if it’s completely stupid or silly, if it’s poorly written, that’s a no for me. I have read mixed reviews about The Housemaid series but given your review on the first book, I don’t want to waste my time and I will skip those. It seems to be everything I dislike 😂😅

[@LiteraryChic]

The first week of this year I read “The Boyfriend” and… I enjoyed it. It was super easy to read, quick, cute. But… the more I think about it, the lower my rating gets. I gave it 4/5 because I liked it right when I finished. And then I was like, this girl is 30s and only has 2 friends and both of them she made while 30s?! That’s.. sus. And then the focus of her mom wanting grand babies so she needs to get married. And her ex that she loves? And how the plot was so, so, SO VERY predictable. I knew who the boyfriend was, very clear. I knew her friend’s bf wasn’t Slug. I knew the boyfriend wasn’t the killer. I knew there would be a big “twist” that was kind of too obvious. I enjoyed it until I thought about it. But it did get me out of a reading slump so 🤷‍♀️

[@jennykimball4457]

I feel so seen! I DNFd three of these. I was starting to think that I was losing my mind.

[@sydneylee7428]

I feel like I lied to myself for like a month telling myself I liked One Dark Window because I wanted to like it so bad. It had a lot of potential but I felt it wasn't focusing enough on the world and conflict and was too focused on the Captain's grey eyes XD

[@themasterofbbq1234]

This video is exactly why I always read the one star reviews of super popular books first.

[@maddiedoeswhatshewants]

Alright I totally posted this comment in your Top 10 Goodreads Sci-fi/Fantasy, but I'm posting it here because this video is newer and I had a lot to say lol. **SPOILERS TO THOSE WHO HAVEN'T READ ANNIE BOT** Thoroughly enjoyed the video! I would have loved the end of Annie Bot to be more satisfying, and I definitely agree that it's dumb that she just ran off to where he knew she was. The least the author could have done was have Jamieson take her to a neutral location for Doug to pick her up earlier when she'd run away. (So he wouldn't have known about the house). There's a throwaway line at the end where Annie says Doug would have too much pride to come find her...which, maybe? But you're right in that he wouldn't have too much pride to call the company to retrieve her. Having said that, while I would have loved Doug to get locked in a closet lmao, that's just not realistic. The entire book is a metaphor for an abusive relationship and how women feel powerless to leave. The significance of her being a robot vs. a human woman was a great choice. Because as a human woman, a lot of people likely would have looked down on Annie, whereas as a robot, you feel sympathy for her. She literally can't leave. Yes, we'd love to lock our abusers away and throw away the key, but 9 times out of 10, that doesn't happen. People break up, he tells his next girlfriend that you were crazy, and his cycle of abuse continues. I also felt like Doug identifying as a liberal man was a sign of his delusion. He claimed he loved that his ex wife was black, then makes a white version of her. He claims to be liberal, but feels the need to comment that their therapist was trans. He's just so completely unaware when it comes to himself. I also took the embryo thing as them making the point that the robots have some humanity. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[@kripak4298]

Yes to all this! Annie Bot was in my top ten of 2024. I thought it was very nuanced and well done.

[@DumiNihi]

How you feel about happy place and book lovers is how i feel about beach read and people were meet on vacation. The former is one of my favourite romances and the latter irritated me. It's so hit and miss i sacred to read her other work.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I haven’t read beach read, but I hated PWMoV with my whole soul 😂 her stuff is so hit and miss!

[@hayleyemma7953]

Omg same here with happy place 😭 I first read book lovers and I loved it. Then happy place which was SO disappointing. I thought id give her another go and tried funny story which, while it has its faults, I still enjoyed. Then I read beach read and again, bland. No chemistry. Come on Emily 😂

[@maevajesse]

Thank you for this video, I really love your channel, I watch almost all your videos, because you really give detailed and meaning reviews, and sometimes, when I am hesitating to read a buzzing book, I try to see if you have reviewed it before and even though we may have sometimes different tastes, I always trust your opinion because it makes sense and I kind of never read books that are trending, because when I do, I’m disappointed, and I find them to be poor literature. Of course, reading should be fun and entertaining, I read thrillers or romcoms sometimes when I want something lighter, but if there is no plot, if it’s completely stupid or silly, if it’s poorly written, that’s a no for me. I have read mixed reviews about The Housemaid series but given your review on the first book, I don’t want to waste my time and I will skip those. It seems to be everything I dislike 😂😅 Now, I’ve been very curious about Orbital, so I think I’ll try to find it cheap to read it as it’s short but just to make my own opinion and if I dislike it, well, that’s on me

[@karamarie6781]

I cannot stomach Emily Henry’s novels. Done with her.🙁

[@TheStitchinWitch]

Ditto to the Housemaid and any other book by Frieda McFadden. Garbage writing with little to no editing, trashy behavior and undeveloped characters that have oddly conflicting traits, plot holes, and redundant descriptions and ARGH!!!! I almost DNF'd the Housemaid when she made that terrible decision to do that stuff with the boss's boyfriend halfway through, but because the book was short enough I finished it so I could hate it properly. If I were still making videos I would have put it on my worst reads list too. Also, I have a video idea for you. What if you gathered some childhood favorite book recommendations from your viewers, then read through some of them and reviewed them? And by childhood favorites, I mean like comfort read books. Mine would be Harriet the Spy and My Side of the Mountain. ☺️ Could be fun to dive into a whole selection of children's fiction books that your followers love!

[@RebeccaStanford-r3p]

I finally feel valid in dnfing One Dark Window, twice… I’m letting it go I was going to try again for a 3rd, but no I’m good now😅

[@lorie76yt]

I had this years and years ago with a book called “Flowers In The Attic”, I cannot overstate how wildly popular this book was, making the rounds through everyone I know and the world in general, so of course I read it, and it was the first time I ever realized How someone could be an absolutely terrible, terrible writer and still be popular and I never could get my brain around it, still can’t 🤷🏻‍♀️ Again, the writing was so bad 🤢 But it was soooo popular The whole thing made my brain cry, I still have PTSD from it as you can tell from my mini rant here many many decades later 😄

[@alicehochs5245]

I honestly hated orbital too. I was kind towards it in my review, but it was bad enough that the book had nothing new or interesting to say. It just continued making the same banal and pandering points about the potential and beauty of humanity, and the pointlessness of division. But, there was nothing of substance them, they quite literally just hung there in space, with nothing to illustrate them. They had about the same impact on me as a motivational poster. But, on top of that, the book was also incredibly pretentious, to the point that I found it hard to take Samantha Harvey seriously. It felt like she thought she was imparting some great wisdom which she just wasn’t. And then the booker judges ate it up like catnip. I’m still annoyed.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I agree wholeheartedly! There was nothing new or insightful in it; it just had the same basic ideas expressed using grammatical techniques to try to drive the pace/emotion of the reader.

[@alicehochs5245]

@ I just watched your review in the Goodreads choice video, and you made me laugh so much 😂 almost my exact thoughts. I definitely made a point of mentioning the lists when I reviewed this too.

[@Ha-qg5su]

Thank you so much for your rant!! Loved it

[@cls3282]

I had a good time with One Dark Window lol the romance was atrocious but I stayed because I still wanted to see how everything resolved. I liked how the pretty friend's story unfolds in the 2nd book, I thought it was an interesting application of that card. I still laugh at Elm Rowan's name, literally Tree Tree lolllllll I also skipped all the poems cause they always annoy me in books. For me it was 3 stars. I think I was in the right state of mind for it at the time. Now I'm wondering if I could also enjoy Fourth Wing if I find myself in a similar state 😂

[@emmanarotzky6565]

“These characters are like family” (characters actually hate each other) makes me want to know if the author hates their siblings irl 😂

[@PlantBasedBride]

Certainly possible 😂 maybe I’m just VERY lucky to actually enjoy my family’s company haha

[@ReadingWheNeva]

I read Happy Place in 2023 when it was released and truly still feel all of the rage about it.

[@ksk881]

I have Annie Bot in my Kindle. I have tried so hard to read it with no success. Now I’ll just leave it in my Kindle or delete it. I was wondering about the Housemaid books, but now I’m not going to even try. I have so many books in my Audible/Kindle accounts that I can read in the coming year. Thanks 😊

[@katrinasplatt]

I felt like the housemade was like the author said "Ok, I read Gone, girl and the Girl on the Train and I am going to write a campy version after I take some Ambien and a bottle of wine. It will be a masterpiece".

[@PlantBasedBride]

I haven't read either of those, but maybe I should!

[@katrinasplatt]

@@PlantBasedBride Gone Girl is highly recommended and very well written. The Girl on the Train is a little predictable and is the Author's first novel, so considering those things it is really good.

[@TheSeatedView]

Skip Happy Place and try Carley Fortune's This Summer Will be Different instead. it's a MUCH better romance, as well as love letter to a place and friendship.

[@shelbseroo]

Carley Fortune is so good. Gives me that growing up in Ontario nostalgia, lovely friendships and relationships and good and not overly cheesy romance!!

[@WitchCookie]

Yes, One Dark Window was so bad! All of my friends and the people in my book club loved it. And I mean "I read the ebook and have to buy the physical copy, because I want to touch it from time to time"-loved it. While I was reading, I checked several times, if I got the wrong book. Mixed up the titles?! Nope. I have absolutely no idea what everyone else is loving about it, so thanks for letting me know that I am not alone! :D

[@Jazmin_Ortega]

I just finished Orbital and, while I didn't hate it as much as you did, I also don't get why it won the Booker and had so much hype. It was a 3-star read for me.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I’m seeing more and more people with this take, that it was fine but nothing particularly mind-blowing. I was chatting to a close friend a few days ago and that was her opinion, as well!

[@Nena-mr4km]

My least favourite book I read this year was People We Meet On Vacation, also by Emily Henry. I was so disappointed, because I loved Book Lovers, too! But this book just depended on miscommunication too much for my taste. Luckily I didn't have any 1 star reads this year, but I gave this one 2.

[@PlantBasedBride]

I hated PWMoV, too!

[@BreezyRenee333]

People we meet on vacation seemed like it was wrote by someone else compared to all her other books. I struggled so hard to even finish it and not dnf 😩😩

[@cheeseisdelicious4627]

Ahahaha I haven't read Happy Place, but I did not enjoy Book Lovers, because the Libby character ruined it for me so much (I had the same problem with her as your with the 'happy place', so much of mentioning how FMC loves her sister, that she's the best, but to me she's an irresponsible adult who can't tell her sister and makes her worry, knowing her past trauma, that they're effing moving, I was so mad lol). With only two books from Emily Henry that I read, I joined the club for whom Emily Henry is either hit or miss. And I actually finished One Dark Window duology in the few days, but the charachter I liked the most was the Nightmare lol, I couldn't care less about any of the couples as much as him hahaha

[@PlantBasedBride]

The stuff with FMC’s sister is what brought the book down to a four star read for me - I agree it was weird! The nightmare was my favourite, too, even though his poems were terrible 😂 I felt bad for him being stuck in such an annoying girl’s head 😅

[@cheeseisdelicious4627]

@@PlantBasedBride I'm not the only one. Yay!😆 You haven't finished the book two, I presume? I read it for him, I wanted to know more, which gave me the idea that those are more nursery rhymes than poetry? Just my impression. Or he's just terrible at poetry😂

[@askbrittany6810]

I thought I was going crazy about “one dark window”. It put me in such a bad reading slump.

[@daltonkittle3913]

Can somebody explain why The Art Thief caused this much upset at the end? I don't plan to read it, I just wanna know.

[@bebel23323]

~SPOILERS ANNIE BOT~ . . . . . I'm curious to know because i havent read the book but i know about the ending. In reality, the hardest part for victims of abuse is to leave their abusive partner, i don't know if most victims manage to do it, it is a very powerful act because of how hard it is. When you're deep in the abuse cycle, the abuser can do the worst things possible to you (and even to your children) and you can still find yourself staying. Maybe that's what the author wanted to do? to show how important that act of leaving is? and how human it makes her? to not be able to do more than this because it already takes everything in her? If not, then i'd be frustrated as well i guess :')

[@dianaisme]

I thought of reading books by Freida McFadden just to see what it's all about 😅

[@fushiforever]

Feeling less guilty that I DNF'd You Exist Too Much early on, lol.

[@mariairizarry2486]

subscribing because i also hated happy place and strongly disliked one dark window. this feels like a safe space

[@PlantBasedBride]

This is totally a safe space for these opinions haha 😂

[@briasoloable]

One Dark Window I stopped reading at chapter 15. Nothing had really happened up to that point and I was kinda bored. I’m glad I didn’t spend money on it because it was in Kindle Unlimited thankfully.

[@Angela-jn6yt]

Finally someone who also doesn’t like The Housemaid. I was soooo frustrated with it, I couldn’t finish it and left it at 30%

[@BookishTexan]

You summed up my feelings about Orbital perfectly.

[@PlantBasedBride]

It was such a waste of time 😭

[@kimaya4503]

I DNF-ed Annie Bot because it seemed to be lavishing too much in the abuse. It was written in a way that just piled on the abuse and meandered instead of building up Annie’s self worth or planning any escape... it felt Wattpad-y in a sense, like the author themselves was fetishizing the situation but wanted to have her cake and eat it too by making it look uplifting in the end. I lost my patience with it around 40%.