reading booktube's WORST books of 2023 😩

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time stamps
0:00 - criteria
0:58 - building tbr
4:47 - new glasses
6:21 - book one
9:57 - book two
15:40 - book three
20:57 - book four
31:56 - final thoughts
booktubers (in order of appearance)
@livslibrary
@RileyMarie_
@tysbookcorner
@bookmama26
@rainybluereads
@KatieColson
@JordalineReads
@stephaniebookish
@themoodyreaderpodcast
@lexitriesreading
@PeruseProject
@kailiabarbour
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[@QcReader]

My tragic backstory is that i'm french and can't read books the year they come out. I have to wait for the translation. 😢🧸

[@jovindsouza3407]

The worst book I read in 2023 was The Fifth Sorceress. I watched James Tullos's video on it and got curious. Bad idea. Bad, BAD idea. I am now scarred for life.

[@sarawithoutanH]

i've never heard of this book 👀 might have to go watch his video

[@meowmeowfuzzyface3698]

Oh, I love him! I'm sorry you regret reading that book, lol 😂

[@runa_7022]

if james shits on something, i KNOW ill hate it so i slam that curiosity in a closet and ignore it- i know my life will be ruined otherwise 😭

[@jaimee-kate]

I know we have pretty drastically different reading tastes (though I agree with you on Writing Retreat!), but I just have to say that I love this video concept! Reading is so personal and it's ok to have BookTubers we love even though we know our tastes don't align :)

[@erika_337]

I dnf'd the wishing game 😭 as someone who worked as an Instructional aide, I got major ICK from her wanting to adopt a student. Like, the level of inappropriateness was wild for a professional setting 😭😭 I could not get past that. I'm so happy I didn't continue after your rant. Saved my time for real.

[@cat.book.nook.]

Why would that be inappropriate?

[@mrboyd720]

So you don’t like Miss Honey? She was so nice 😢

[@RachelS23]

Absolutely agree! And the fact the she kept telling this kid that she was going to adopt him and get his hopes up. I hated it

[@crow4834]

I hope it wasn’t in a creepy way- I’ve heard very heartwarming stories of teachers adopting one of their students.

[@mrboyd720]

@@crow4834it’s not in a creepy way at all. I don’t understand the discourse that it is in this read. It’s just supposed to be a heartwarming story.

[@mattthepageturner9128]

THANK YOU for expressing my exact thoughts on wishing game. i can NOT believe how many people loved that book, i found it so emotionally manipulative and that main character was insufferable. and the whole adoption plot was so offensive and problematic

[@zuzisam]

I gotta say I immediately skipped to The Invisible life of Addie la Rue because I absolutely hate this book, and to be fair most people are like you - loving the prose. I had people recommending this for the love triangle and I was like yeah, ok, sounds interesting, and I expected to ship either this or that. What I was absolutely not prepared was the writing, which to me was just unreadable. I felt like I'm in an art gallery and people are gushing about this art piece that it's giving emotions and aesthetic and message and I'm just standing there, like 'What do you mean? It's a trash bag with a pink bow." To say I didn't get it is an understatement lmao

[@katiepierpaoli9395]

The Wishing Game was my worst book of 2023. Holy crap was that terrible, I was actually angry when I finished. lol

[@Anna2187_]

Oh also did you hear about how the wishing game was originally on the best debut category for the GR choice awards? But it was taken down for the final round because the author has actually written an erotica series under another name 😭

[@sarawithoutanH]

Noooo omg

[@abigase135]

it wasn't technically a debut. I follow the author on both accounts so I knew of her previous works, I just thought it'd count as debut since she's writing in a different genre than what she's used to.

[@olivia_fdf]

i'm so glad you loved hell bent cuz i simply do not understand how it ended up on people's worst list😭 i was EATING it up🧸

[@sarawithoutanH]

Right!? I was so confused by the hate

[@paperbacksgalore]

hearing you describe that last book was so fun

[@gabbyreads]

Also THANK YOU for the roast on The Wishing Game, I DNF’ed at 60 pages and it was on soooo many peoples best of the year and I don’t understand!!!! The protagonist drove me absolutely nuts haha 😅

[@sarawithoutanH]

i don't understand the love!!!

[@sleepy.timaeus.arts.]

based on the description sara gave in the video, im guessing people loved the found family trope. everyone having rough backgrounds but finding “their people” is a trope that a lot of folks with similar backstories enjoy.

[@lexitriesreading]

Thank you for including me in this bestie! I am actually working on my “reading book tubers favorites of 2023 video” and I chose a book off your list. Honestly, I think all the book tubers I picked should be afraid 👀

[@sarawithoutanH]

😂😂😂

[@5ft4inprotagonist24]

With your review for The Writing Retreat: I’ve never heard a book reviewer so perfectly describe what happens to me with books. While I’m reading and directly after i finish reading is when i hold a book to its highest opinion but over time the parts i didn’t like stand out and color my perception of the story, resulting in my ratings left after a finish becoming inaccurate to how i feel about them later on.

[@osteowitch657]

I am so glad you liked hell bent. The author has said that it was originally planned to be 12 books but the research that goes into it makes the writing really slow and more difficult :( I personally needed the 12 books

[@lunaacacia]

Basically off topic, but as a girlie who rewatches Secret Life of an American Teenager every year, I recommend everyone watch it. It’s the worst show ever I’m obsessed.

[@RK-fz7qc]

Yes! I watched it too! It was so terrible that it was great!

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

This video was actually how I found your channel last year!

[@sarawithoutanH]

omg its our subscribe-aversary!!

[@ChemicalPenguinn]

@@sarawithoutanH exactly! 🎉🎉

[@jillian3047]

I'm so glad I'm not the only The Wishing Game hater 😭 that entire book was so messy and incoherent... and it somehow has RAVE reviews on goodreads?? I couldn't wait for it to be over. The audiobook was a CRIME

[@frncsk6488]

It was wild to find out that Meg Shaffer is actually a pen name for Tiffany Reisz. which also means...The Wishing Game is not actually a debut, which is kind of sad considering how amateur the books sounds from your description!

[@sarawithoutanH]

NAUR this makes SO MUCH SENSE!!! i read a tiffany reisz book for a drunk literacy i did and i HATED it!!!!!!

[@abigase135]

isn't tiffany her pen name? I thought her actual name was meg shaffer😅

[@phix27]

For the Holocaust point in The Writing Retreat, my grandparents survived the Holocaust but they were young children when it happened. They moved to the US with my dad when my dad was 3. Then he had me in his thirties and now I'm 29! So totally possible as long as the grandparents were young children.

[@sarawithoutanH]

Yeah it was implied that her mother was born shortly after the holocaust - I think it was poorly worded or something

[@sarawithoutanH]

Also the famous author is also said to have had a childhood friend whose father was a nazi officer - and she was not an older woman

[@phix27]

@@sarawithoutanH that definitely makes everything impossible. I didn’t remember that from when I read it but you’re right, it doesn’t make sense.

[@cerysxox]

nothing more terrifying than seeing one of your favourite books + literal favourite author be in the initial list - so glad you liked addie larue!!! i’m obsessed with ve schwab i would absolutely recommend vicious it was my favourite ever book!! (and adsom is not as good as those ones so don’t worry)

[@cerysxox]

also i went to see her on tour and it was actually magical - and she said she had addie in her mind for over a decade and once the book was published she felt like she was mourning her friend who wasn’t their anymore, also definitely won’t be a sequel she seemed very adamant about that, which i think is probably for the best because how could you live up to that

[@sarawithoutanH]

Yeah I actually went to that tour as well with a fellow booktuber when she was in Atlanta. Her craft is so interesting!

[@cerysxox]

@@sarawithoutanH really so fascinating! she makes me want to write it sounds so magical (and stressful)

[@themoodyreaderpodcast]

Ahh thanks for including me! I’ve been a ghost watcher of yours for so long, so I’m definitely fangirling😆!

[@tysbookcorner]

Thank you for including me in this!! 😊 It’s so sad The Writing Retreat didn’t work out for you 🤭 Great video!!

[@celescole9918]

I love this concept so much! Because not only this is such an original concept, but also it celebrates the different opinions about books! I truly enjoy watching opposite-taste booktubers because it is always so much fun to listen to what they liked a book I disliked or vice versa. It gives me perspective and makes me think about facets I didn't think about. Now, I am tempted to make a list myself and see if I'll find books I like in some of the worst books list.

[@trycrest69]

My grandmother was born 1929 in Germany and is still kicking. So The Writing Retreat girls grandmother is younger than mine lol

[@wifeunderthesea]

me seeing this in my feed and getting excited to see if we're going to end up with another Book of Night situation 😂😂😂 annnnnnnnnd........we did LMAOOOO

[@sarawithoutanH]

👀👀👀

[@boringbooklover]

sorry but i zoned you out the second the puppy appeared 😂 i had to rewind and everything.

[@sarawithoutanH]

billie does have that effect on people

[@zacmatney7938]

The wishing game sounds so so contrived and convoluted I’m glad I stayed through the end of this video cause I just cannot read that book at all:/ I always hate tragic backstories when it comes to fictional characters new adult romance novels use that constantly as a poor excuse for the main female character to continue to support and love that broken guy anyway love this video😁👍

[@sophiat1042]

This is such a great video concept!!

[@doreenarcher8543]

🧸🧸🧸🧸Several years ago I read The Secret Life. But I remember thinking the way it ended actually kind of went against the the agreement she had with the demon guy. I thought the idea was kind of clever but it bugs me when writers seem to lose track of what they’re writing and things don’t match up. I pay attention when I read. Writers should also. Writers are some of the people I’ve admired most as a kid because good writers have only words to make the senses come alive. They use words to paint that picture or take that photograph or make me smell that perfume, taste that spaghetti sauce or feel that breeze. And when they’re good it’s magic.

[@SpecialKrissy95]

New subscriber! Your rant made me cackle 😂 thank you for being so open & honest I wish more booktubers would do this!

[@SarahAtHeart]

Hell Bent is modern-day Buffy, it's a good time!

[@sarawithoutanH]

YES so true

[@calebbelac9594]

Loving the “Night Film” name drop, as you’re the reason I read it and loved it from way back in the day.

[@DesertRainArt]

I love this video concept! I completely agree with you on hell bent, I loved it and have the waterstones edition as well. Your dog is so cute too!!

[@GSFL1]

Ugh I always love your videos bestie!

[@journeywithrosie]

I zoned out a bit on your description of the synopsis of the Wishing Game and I legit thought you started talking about a different book 🤣 seems like there was a lot happening in that one book.

[@ixeliema]

I'm sorry the pedophilia plotline resolving with the little girl jumping off a ferry and drowning is almost comically bad. That alone killed any interest I may have had.

[@sarawithoutanH]

Right!? It was insane

[@QcReader]

French is my native language and I giggled at je m'appelle Sarah. New sub here. I really liked this video. 💜 I loved Addie Larue even though it was kinda slow. Sometimes you gotta enjoy a slower style in a world where everything happens so fast. Edit : sara sans h * 😅

[@tahirareads]

I lovee the editing for this video!

[@sharreadsallday]

Hell bent was one of my favorite books of 2023 so love this for you. And wow the wishing game sounds really bad. My worst book of the year was PenPal by J.T. Geissinger. Which is hilarious cause it’s also one the highest rated books I read last year 🧸

[@sstjohn96]

Your hair is such a pretty color! It looks a little darker and I love it.

[@sarawithoutanH]

tbh i think it depends on the lighting - i use the same formula every time i go to the salon. in fact, some of these clips are from before i got it done recently and some are after 😂 but i do like that it's a color that looks different under certain lighting!

[@KappaBooks]

I also really enjoyed Hellbent when I read it this year!

[@sleepy.timaeus.arts.]

🧸 oh i love that shirt so much 😭 kinda need it in my life 🙈

[@kateworkman921]

Vicious and Vengeful are AMAZING! Those are two of my favorite books, just, ever. A lot of people seemed to have not liked Vengeful, but it's so good. Also, I may have to try Ninth House and Hell Bent now, because I never knew the plot, but they sound intriguing.

[@mchjsosde]

I love how well thought out your videos are!

[@sarawithoutanH]

Thank you 🙏🏻 glad you enjoyed!!

[@kiralynshealy9581]

trying to focus on the reviews but all of your looks are sooooo gorgeous 🧸

[@MrRorosuri]

I have ninth house still unread on my shelves 🙈. I do think I'll love it and hell house

[@sarawithoutanH]

hell house 😂 for some reason that was funny to me. but i hope you love the series!

[@MrRorosuri]

@@sarawithoutanH 🤣🤣 typo

[@rosarioreads]

Omg I had the Wishing Game on my tbr but after hearing your rant is it firmly in the bin 😥 also loooool at the at british accent, no one would speak that sentence in such a well spoken way and then say water like that😭😭

[@suzannemoore404]

Happy Birthday! As usual this was good stuff💖🧸

[@sarawithoutanH]

thank you!!

[@typeonereader]

Glad to see you loved Hell bent! I am so excited to read it !

[@sarawithoutanH]

I hope you love it too!!!

[@JJ-mr4vv]

I live for your videos 😭

[@literatelyalees]

I loved The Writing Retreat so I was really excited you were going to read it haha, oh well

[@sarawithoutanH]

😂 sorry bestie - I did really like the first half

[@tungstensmum1491]

I loved it too! I found it so silly and fun. She lost me right at the very end, but I can’t even be mad.

[@Binkabrit]

The writing retreat was awful… but Hell Bent was my favorite book in 2023 I loved it and actually after I read both books I then immediately reread them because I was obsessed… I think the 3rd one comes out next year because I remember seeing it on Instagram and whining about it… but I could be wrong… I have a whole bookshelf dedicated to the series and may have made funko pops for all of the characters 🙃

[@sarawithoutanH]

The series is amazing!

[@Buenaheart]

I actually couldnt believe the high praise from the wishing game while i was reading it. IT WAS AWFUL! I dnfed it at 95 % because i couldnt havent cared less.

[@Littlemermaidbooks]

THANK YOU I fully don't get the Dawes and Alex pairing either🤣🖤

[@KariBoardman]

I gave The Writing Retreat 5 stars I loved it!

[@totakluska]

I enjoyed The Writing Retreat for its messy saphic drama and just... kind of skimmed the thriller parts because I caught on to some suspicious things very early on 😅 I don't think I've heard about The Wishing Game before but oh my, what even was that 😂 🧸🧸

[@sarawithoutanH]

The sapphic drama was the best part for sure

[@celi2653]

The worst books I read in 2023: _Convenience Store Woman_ and _Lessons In Chemistry_ Truly cannot comprehend the popularity of these two books. Horrendous. ANYWAY have added Hellbent and tiloal to the tbr 🎉🎉 Love your videos 💚

[@kbird6208]

I heard you liking The Writing Retreat and thought "just wait..." And yep! I don't remember all the plot details but it definitely went off the rails.

[@NotSoAverageJo]

I don’t think I’ve ever been jump scared by my own name☠️🤣 Thank you for including me in this! (Even though I bout poked my eye out with a mascara wand💕) I’ve had Ninth House on my shelves for yearssss & now I might have to pick it up!

[@GabrielTheMagolorMain]

Your feelings about The Writing Retreat were just how I felt. I was having a good time, and the I became ugh, just blah. Surprisingly I liked the dream type sequences, I usually don’t like that, but it gave it a bit of lore, but it also didn’t really work with the story. If I was a booktuber it would’ve been on my worst books of the year too (so sorry to the author!)

[@janenightreadsandwrites223]

I am just at the start of your video but omg I Loved the Writing Retreat. I totally see how it might not be for some people but it is absolutely for me.

[@janenightreadsandwrites223]

So sad you didn't enjoy it. I think I may have felt differently because I am a writer so I related to the characters so much.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

I loved the writing retreat 🥲it’s so bad it’s good 😂😂😂

[@runa_7022]

i love how we have completely different tastes in books cuz i definitely hated ALL these books with a passion especially fourth wing 😭😭😭 the only one i havent read is hellbent cuz i personally do not like leigh bardugo so cant see myself picking up any of their works 😅

[@Clovermine]

I generally don't read thrillers. However, I picked up The Writing Retreat for the Literally Dead Book Club and I thought it was so fun and ridiculous that It is the highest rated thriller I have ever read. Which feels insane.

[@PrettyPurplePolkaDots]

Honestly this is the tea I'm here for 😂

[@MaryRose86]

I loved the wishing game

[@KatieColson]

You have eloquently removed The Wishing Game from my TBR. Very well said and very gross storyline. Like what is everyone who loves this book talking about???

[@sarawithoutanH]

Right!? I was so confused 😭

[@skeletonkeybooks]

Yes, thank you for spoiling this book for me. I had been planning to read it, but wow, I can't think of any way I would like it at all.

[@PinkBeautyXx]

Loved this video! I'm currently around 55% the way through The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue! I'm enjoying it so far x 💖

[@Pixel-Lucas]

What was that mahjong app that you're playing in the ad? It looks so cute and fun!

[@sarawithoutanH]

It's called 3 tiles :)

[@FourPawsandaBook]

Hell Bent was so good! 🧸

[@MrRorosuri]

Yes, i love this tradition 😊

[@bethmw28]

As a Brit I would be happy to stand behind your call for punishment for that accent 😂

[@journeywithrosie]

I'm going to read the Invisible life of Addie Larue next month so I skipped that section, just because I like to go into books blind. So I hoped you liked it! 🤣

[@The_WriterVerse]

My grandparents were in their teens during the holocaust and I’m 31. They were in their 40s when they had my dad and then he was in his 30s when he had me. Crazy that I’m not that far removed from it.

[@kassiebartow755]

The Wishing Game was SO bad. Thank you for validating so many of my thoughts.

[@GothicBookLover]

Addie Larue...I Dnf'd it at page 75. Intriguing concept, but the writing didn't draw me in

[@sydneysbooks]

My worst books were Stay Gold by Tobly McSmith, Five Survive by Holly Jackson, & Mistletoe and Mishigas by MA Wardell

[@katherineeaster5799]

I had to DNF Mistletoe and Mishigas. Maybe their relationship got better, but I wasn't patient enough to find out.

[@lilcookieluvr99]

My worst book in 2023 was Fourth Wing 😅

[@cookieeatscookies5479]

to me the b&n edition of hellbent is better than waterstones lol

[@oddghoul]

The way the first three books are some of my favorites and everyone hates them 😅 Though Hellbent is definitely the strongest of the three. 🧸

[@sarawithoutanH]

i dont think people hate addie larue! if anything i see more lovers than haters

[@jackiereadsandwrites]

I hated The Writing Retreat with a burning passion and felt strangely relieved when you decided you didn't like it after all! 😂 Idk, makes me feel better to know I'm not alone in liking or disliking something

[@sarawithoutanH]

you are definitely not alone! it was on so many worst lists

[@rainybluereads]

Thanks for including me! You’re actually in my reading booktubers video from last week for project Hail Mary and Emily Wilde!

[@sarawithoutanH]

Oh yes I watched it the other day! I'm sorry you didn't like either book 😂

[@pardonthisbookaddict]

You know what. I think I read The Writing Retreat last year and forgot to rate it on Goodreads and forgot to count. I forgot it until you started talking about it. Oops! 😬 😂

[@andiman44]

This is gonna be fun 😋

[@Brittreads]

🧸🧸🧸🧸🧸 love these videos so glad they’ll be annual hahaha

[@alastair876]

A character named davey....Died of health complications- Aint that just the scarlet ibis

[@aggiehulle7391]

Thank you! Alex and Dos?? Like where did that ship even come from!?

[@goaskellice]

Every single person made me not want to read Hell Bent, but now I'm like: bishhhhh I'm reading it. I hate fantasy but where is Darlington!!!?

[@sarawithoutanH]

i loved it as you can see so i support you reading it!!! i feel like the series has more of a paranormal dark academia vibe than true fantasy

[@juliager5702]

If you liked the Ninth house & you hate fantasy, I think there’s a solid chance that you’d like Hell bent. I totally agree with Sara, it feels more paranormal than fantasy

[@kailiabarbour]

Dude, the wishing game was so bad!!! 😂 Thank you for the shoutout! 😄

[@spudrina]

Pleeeeease read Vicious it's soooo good I think about it all the time even tho I read it a few years ago but it's literally !!!!!!

[@Marie45610]

While I tend to DNF books when I'm not enjoying them the ones I did this year I DNFd because they were boring, not bad. But a book that I finished that was the worst was Enemies With Benefits by Roxie Noir. The characters are supposed to be in their early 30s but act like they are in their very early 20s at most. A lot of the plot beats were also stupid. Like at one point the FMC got fired because somebody else sent a nude of her to her boss. It was really stupid, there was also a miscommunication trope, which I hate.

[@simplykiaya]

Please read Vicious by VE Schwab 😭 it’s like my favorite book!

[@sarawithoutanH]

Yes I need to!! Maybe another patreon spoiler vlog 👀

[@LynnHermione]

that last book was a WILD ride.

[@sarawithoutanH]

And for NO REASON! It's meant to be a cozy book???? Like????

[@shaloncoleman739]

I liked the writing retreat i'm-

[@jiminlovebot]

🧸 This was sooo entertaining! I’m so glad you enjoyed Addie LaRue 🥰 You should definitely read Vicious by V.E. Schwab, it’s fantastic!!

[@purplexzombie3371]

That last books sounds SO bad omggg. Worst book I read in 2023 i think was Dragon's Fun Soup...or zthe Prince and the Coyote

[@Showtunediva]

I read The Invisible Life Of Addie Larue in February and had to DNF at page 200. The plot just dragged for I couldn’t get into it.

[@maiarasilva9546]

I don't understand why people say nothing happened in Hell Bent when we were following (spoiler warning): the drug dealer thing, the vampire thing, the hell gate thing, the demon darlington thing, all at the same time not even halfway through the book! It was insane to me, I was really entertained lol

[@bookswithvero]

Ah, I completely agree Hell Bent is better than Ninth House!

[@Katiedora122]

My absolute worst book of 2023 was Remember Love by Mary Balogh, partly because it was a terrible book by a usually reliable author and partly because I was in the mood to get back into historical romance and this crushed that mood. But a few other of my worsts included The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill, Out of the Blue by Jason June, and Steal My Magnolia by Karla Sorenson (which ruined the entire series for me). Also, I read and loved The Wishing Game, but I also know I can never go back to is because it won't withstand any critical thinking 😂 I knew that the pacing was terrible and I did not look too closely at the world of the book, but I just happened to pick it up at the right place/right time and had a perfect reading experience that I won't be able to recreate LOL