the 10 worst books I read in 2022

🤷🏽‍♀️
Books Mentioned:
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Goodreads: / these-violent-delights
House Salt Live Show: • THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS...
The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab
Goodreads: / the-near-witch
Review: • author deep dive: v.e ...
Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher
Goodreads: / terms-and-conditions
Things We Never Got Over by Lucy Score
Goodreads: / things-we-never-got-over
Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco
Goodreads: / kingdom-of-the-wicked
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
Goodreads: / the-bone-season
House Salt Live Show: • THE BONE SEASON LIVESH...
Lightlark by Alex Aster
Goodreads: / lightlark
Review: • one star review of lig...
It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
Goodreads: / it-ends-with-us
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
Goodreads: / 47212.storm_front
Review: • a one star review of s...
The Awakening by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti
Goodreads: / the-awakening
Review: • reading TikTok's favor...
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[@justjay6388]

i honestly hate when people say “you have to wait until book 4 or 5 for it to get good” like if it takes that long for a series to find its footing and start actually being enjoyable, that’s a great indicator it’s not well written and unnecessarily dragged out imo.

[@mynameismarines]

That's what I'm saying! Like even if it does "get good," that proves my point that the book I'm talking about ISN"T GOOD. And while I can be patient with certain series, there has to be a hook there. Why would I give a series 4 or 5 books worth of my TIME and MONEY when I didn't like anything about the first book????

[@justjay6388]

@@mynameismarines right like girl i have ADHD and i’m broke, i don’t have that kind of money or attention span 😭 if your first book has nothing to hook or intrigue me to keep going then why would i lol

[@Angelica_Rodriguez39]

Literally came here to say this. Like, I could be reading 4 or 5 other, actually GOOD, books.

[@lenap319]

Its like one piece fans going "it gets good at episode 789"

[@vvitch-mist20]

Ik this comment is so old, but please don't believe people. A book, even in a series, should be good on it's own. It is common for books to get better as series processes because writers do improve their craft as they write but even the first book should be the best the author could do. You should never power through a bad series hoping it gets good. It should already be good.

[@robgst100]

I love hearing critical discussions about bad books, one of my favourite things honestly. Yes, I could gush about my fav novels all day, but it is very rewarding to dissect and interrogate what makes books fail. Happy new year! I’m very happy to have discovered you this year - all the best!!

[@amychurch]

“Young adult-ish, fantasy-kind of, retelling-sort of” And I’m already dying 😂

[@Ektambo]

The fact that so many of these books are debuts that the author wrote as a teenager and somehow got published… Shoulda stayed in the drafts 🤣

[@mynameismarines]

LISTEN, young people can do amazing things but skill development is also a thing...

[@asteridshydrangea-jt2hf]

I've heard authors talk about 'trunk novels' and it kind of feels like a number of these are achievements, yes, it's cool to finish a book, but maybe should have stayed in the trunk. There's an article by J.S. Wong about 'The importance of writing garbage before you create anything worthwhile.'

[@catsreadbooks9359]

A FB friend recommended Zodiac Academy so I tried it. Made it maybe 2 paragraphs. All I remember was the main character was a real badass because she was doing a crime.

[@mynameismarines]

Nailed the vibe in 2 paragraphs

[@hafzagedi9878]

The craziest thing about the Dresden Files is that there are legitimately three women in the 10? books that I read who Harry finds completely unfuckable. One of them is a Black woman who is a walking talking Mammy stereotype and one is a super old Chinese woman. The last one is another older woman who is described as a highly talented wizard, Captain of the Wardens, who also gets manipulated by Dresden multiple times and loses the vast majority of her magical power by bodyswitching with a younger less powerful woman. Oh, and her bodyswitching comes with the side effect of making her newly fuckable to Dresden and completely obsessed with him. Jim Butcher's misogyny runs deep.

[@quillheart877]

You are quickly becoming my favorite book reviewer! You are great at getting to the essence of things, which I appreciate. I also like that you read a wide variety.

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you so much! That's so kind of you to say. And I'm so glad people appreciate the variety! It's always felt difficult to find an audience since I don't have a niche, but I just love reading all the things!

[@YW2324]

Ya same 😁

[@futchslug]

I feel like retellings can be tricky for some authors as they seem to rely on reader familiarity with the source material and cut corners when it comes to actually creating full worlds and characters, like it may be a retelling but you can't bank on that familiarity in a reader doing the actual work for u when it comes to your story 😭😭

[@mynameismarines]

An excellent point! The thing is too that Roma and Juliette were really far away from Romeo and Juliet so there was no reason why the reader could or would carry over feelings for the original and apply them to the retelling!

[@futchslug]

@@mynameismarines dang that makes it even worse 😭😭 this stuff really should have been brought up while workshopping initial drafts, makes me 😬😬 to see it carried through to an actual published piece

[@wanninmio]

this is why some of published fanfiction doesn't work. as fanfiction It's ideal, perfect, etc, bc we know characters already, but suddenly It becomes a story about original characters and we don't know any of them anymore

[@GreenGretel]

Hearing the synopsis for _Zodiac Academy_ laid out like that...these authors really just read _The Cruel Prince,_ and said to themselves "heeey now, I can do that!" (but alas, they couldn't)

[@YW2324]

Lol 😊

[@dzeren_7151]

The problem with chloe gong is that she chooses quantity over quality. She keep pumping out books after books and she doesn't put in time to create actual good characters

[@Alskdoenfkemfnek]

I’ve never read Colleen Hoover and after your review I don’t think I’m ever gonna.

[@mynameismarines]

Can’t say you are missing anything!!

[@YW2324]

Same

[@lljzmc]

I only recently learned that there is such a thing as BookTube, and it was only yesterday that I stumbled across YOUR channel, and I love it! THANK YOU for calling out abuse when you see abuse. And for making me laugh. And for laughing like a sweet friend I haven't seen in years. Thank you!

[@evildoesnotsleep-x2b]

11:30 i hate when the love interest is being really mean and they call it flirting. It's just the author not having the talent or skill to write bickering

[@BookChats]

I think it's almost worse when we pick up a book we actually think we will enjoy and it's awful. The disappointment. Anyway, thank you for saving me from the Dresden Files which a friend recommended years ago but hadn't made it to the top of my to read list yet.

[@mynameismarines]

I can confidently say that you would HATE IT.

[@catsey3]

Your laughter is so contagious!! I’m so happy to have found your channel!! 💕💕💕

[@nomoonlight6958]

I absolutely hate characters who are forcibly mean to each other, then fall in love It feels forced. Like give me something

[@VickiWeavil]

As an author of mysteries, I really wish people who want to add a "mystery" plot element to other genre books would do more reading or research into actual mysteries. It isn't easy to write a mystery -- t takes some study and practice -- so just throwing a "mystery" into a book usually doesn't work.

[@Calleigh979]

I read lightlark and I totally agree with you😭🙏 Especially near the end where she and what’re the sun kings name was (I forgot it already) are all of a sudden soulmates? Like they met for a few weeks and he betrayed her- The worst book I probably read this year was “Storm Crow” (I forget the author). It was plain bad. The descriptions were terrible, the characters had no real development,the world building was mid at best. Also there’s only a certain amount of times that an author can say “like a jungle cat” before I rip my hair out. I was expecting an enemies to lovers, but then the mc falls for some random basic dude. There was no chemistry. It was so weird. The characters spoke unrealistically, and it had an unrealistic take on depression. The best thing is, all the characters were clones of Grishaverse characters. It was like the author was try (and failing) at writing in Leigh Bardugos style. -100/10

[@rebeccafrank7388]

I love your description of Storm Front, I also read it this year because it’s so well known and recommended and it was shockingly bad lol. I love how you put your honest opinions out there about popular books!

[@mynameismarines]

Shockingly bad! I found it after googling a bunch to find best of Urban Fantasy lists and WHAT A SURPRISE. Also, thank you for the kind words and support! ♥️

[@ariannay766]

yeahh... I actually watched a decent amount of the dresden files tv show (it is fun),,, i didn't get far enough into the book to be stopped by anything but the misogyny but honestly that was bad enough youre probably traumatized out of reading Jim Butcher but if youre not, Codex Alera is much better

[@rebeccafrank7388]

@@ariannay766 Yes, I have some friends who have also recommended Codex Alera! Will have to give it a try :)

[@dobeattttt]

i love your laugh 😭 and i enjoyed this video!!! i like how you quickly dissect what you don’t like about books and the way you phrase your thoughts. i’m gonna look through the rest of your videos and see if you have other videos talking about books you hate 🤣

[@KathyTrithardt]

Thanks for letting me know I can take the Dresen Files off my eventual TBR. I've had a few different fantasy reading dudes recommend them, but it sounds like there will be too much "she boobed boobily" writing for my taste.

[@kibert135]

I read "The Bone Season" because "Priory of the Orange Tree" by the same author is one of my favorite books ever. And I agree with all of your points. "The Bone Season" was so disappointing because almost everything that was bad in it was something Samantha Shannon has done better in Priory.

[@pinpilinpaux]

The same happened to me. I liked Priory so much I went check out her other books and was incredibly disappointed. I do hope the Priory prequel is better because ooof.

[@kibert135]

@@pinpilinpaux I am hopefull because Priory is one of her most recent releases while Bone Season was I think her debut.

[@pinpilinpaux]

@@kibert135 yeah, that’s my hope too.

[@mynameismarines]

It's good to know that she's grown a lot as an author though!

[@lenap319]

Honestly im glad i read that series when it came out before the priory hype bc i quite enjoyed it

[@lemoncherri]

I just came across your channel and I have to say, you are an incredibly smart person that really gives your thoughts and reviews of books actual care and understanding. Amd all with an adorable laugh. Keep going girl!

[@Strangelydejected]

I seriously appreciate your commitment to re-record this! 😂 I think it was well worth it lol

[@melisabell7770]

Always enjoy your content, Marines. Keep up the good work!

[@WildeBookGarden]

YES why do some romances make such a point to remind us of the implications we are trying to forget ??!! 🥴 also kind of related to another thing I hate in romances which is when the male character is an absolute piece of trash to everyone except the heroine and......that is supposed to be romantic?? as opposed to insufferable and awful and a giant red flag??? -----and the opposite (like in Things We Never Got Over) is also terrible!! people being terrible is not romantic, why are we doing this and why are we doing this in so many flavors

[@bookishbutterfly]

That's what dark and mafia romances thrive off of 😆 it's entertaining for me

[@ledafrost]

Great reviews! You keep me from reading a lot of bad books!

[@BreeKaitlyn]

I feel the same way you did with VE Schwab, but with her book, Gallant. I was so hyped for it, but it fell out in so many ways that are similar to what you said. It makes me wonder if that's just how she writes...I have a few other books of hers and am a little nervous to read them LOL

[@gabriellelue]

Omg kingdom of the wicked was sooo bad. I think I blocked out that I read it until now or I would’ve included it in my worst books video too 😂 major plot hole - if the twins necklaces shouldn’t be put together, why would they be given them to wear every day of their lives?!?

[@thefriesofLockeLamora]

I'm surprised more people haven't hopped off the Schwab train because when you sit down and think about it, her books are really bad.

[@mynameismarines]

That's my hypothesis right now. I'm reading all her books, but The Near Witch was not a great start....

[@TheGoofy1932]

So are Maas, Armentrount, Clare and CoHo to name a few. All of them are wildly popular for some reason. 😏 I guess it's the "Kardashian or Real Housewives effect"?! 🤣

[@chailatte1234]

I do think she does have some good books (the Villains series, maybe Addie LaRue but I never read it), but her writing is def hit or miss, with her most recent projects (First Kill, Gallant) being misses. Sometimes I feel like she's starting new projects just to avoid finishing the Villains series lol

[@ExoticDreams]

I’ve read several of her books. The premise always seems interesting, but the execution falls flat for me.

[@moustik31]

Lily Blossombloom?! Ellen Degeneres??! 😳 I dropped Jim Butcher this year (at book 14 I think). I grew up and he got worse. So many of these popular books didnt age well. 🙃

[@mynameismarines]

You heard that right. Lily and Ellen.... Some people try to tell me that the Dresden books get better and I just find that hard to believe.

[@adrianpillai6645]

For me, Dresden hit its peak at book 3 or 4, (when the White Council first appears), but by book 7, I was having trouble with his character. It's because so many bad things happen to him, and he just faces it with the same flat (lack of) emotional nuance (guilt, anger, jealousy), that was frustrating to read, scene to scene, book to book. I DNFed at Book 8... or 9 (I forget, it's all so samey). Maybe my fault, I read them all in a period of 6 months.

[@katea6721]

i replaced dresden files with october daye, a far better urban fantasy series which actually lets women do things

[@birdyjo]

I gasped and grinned when terms and conditions came up because it just found it’s way onto my kindle today due to my unlimited present for Christmas 😄 Will read and unashamedly enjoy silly, tropy romance before coming back to this particular review. I enjoy this channel so much 💕Anyone up for recommending good romance? It’s a new genre for me and I find it very easy to read, which I need right now 😊

[@bookishbutterfly]

Same haha! I love the Dreamland billionaires. Kennedy Ryan is my favorite contemporary romance author. One of my new favorites is Mile High by Liz Tomforde ✨ There are channels for romance booktube if you want recs too

[@birdyjo]

@@bookishbutterfly thank you so much 😊 I will look into those asap ✨

[@manuela8690]

OMG I love your reviews! So happy to have found your channel :) "forgot to do the plot" sent me 😂😂😂

[@AbiofPellinor]

I can understand when people carry on with a series out of curiosity and it then ends up being good, but even though I've had that happen I don't then recommend those books! 😂

[@JessTalkingBooks]

I have never read that Lucy Score, but generously gave another one two stars. The male character made Hugh Grant in Two Weeks seem mature. And Storm Front is just an affront to readers everywhere.

[@luanavianagomes]

I wholeheartedly agree with you about The Dresden Files - they were kinda meh back in the day, but they aged so bad i cannot deal with it

[@pauieeepau]

I have a lovehate relationship with These Violent Delights duology. I like the parts where they were sneaking around and investigating. But i hated the scifi/fantasy. I also didn't care for the romance. Just kill each other, pleeease. The second book had the exact same plot too, just different details. But I somehow enjoyed that better, because the monsters' scenes were greatly reduced. They could have been just one book tbh.

[@storieswithc]

Always love your reviews!

[@aneweliseonlife]

Things We Never Got Over is over 500 pages??? Ew haha. I grew out of Dresden when I was 15. I tried to reread them recently and they were too cringy. My memories of them is, the character does not get better but more explosions so people don’t notice lol. Thank you thank you for your review on Bone Season. I tried to read the second book too and I also didn’t enjoy it and am now afraid of Priority. I feel like she might not be an author for me

[@mynameismarines]

568 pages and for NO REASON. I totally get reading a series when you are young or having nostalgia for it, but we love to see growth. Sometimes a book that served you when you were young just isn't gonna cut it as you get older!!! People say the Bone Season series gets better as it goes, but I cared soooo little about the characters that I don't think I can even try it.

[@ClaireKinmil]

You are making me want to reread the Dresden files. I read them a while ago and remember kinda liking some aspacts of them, but that was way before I had the vocabulary to explain what I didn't like in my media. I'm guessing that on the reread I'd come to the same conclusion as you have.

[@allisonkeesee9780]

Will you be doing a top 10 best books? Or have you done one already? Also I almost bought zodiac academy the other day and im so glad I didn't, I didn't like the few pages I read and it sounds like it only gets worse.

[@lilymccarthy5447]

I read a book called In The Shadow of The Sun and it was so bad that I will not buy another young adult fantasy. It was truly terrible.

[@mynameismarines]

I still give YA Fantasy a try because there are some gems out there but sometimes the post popular things are the worst ones!

[@melaniereine3378]

Hmm to be completely fair I don't think In the Shadow of the Sun was THAT terrible compared to a lot of YA fantasy that got published in recent years (some of which Marines mentioned in this vid). Sure, it's YA, so the characters act rather childish, there's definitely lots of purple prose in there, the ending was a bit jarring etc... But standards are in hell, and I thought the historical setting was a nice and somewhat original touch. I guess it depends on how much tolerance you've built up to YA tropes and genre conventions. I guess it carries the nostalgia factor for me, and I think some lighter YA books can be really enjoyable to read (even as an adult) in between more "serious" stuff

[@lindsaygreth]

The Bone Season series totally got me back in to reading earlier this year, but I also agree with you that book 1 was boring and info-dumpy. It took me a solid 3 weeks to finish book 1 and then I tore through the next 3 in like 5 days. Not saying you should waste time on the rest of the series, the world building and characterization are equally convoluted after book 1 lol. I'm honestly not really sure what hooked me so much about them. You can really see the evolution of Samantha Shannon's writing since there's such a big time gap btw the books, which is interesting. Also-- Priory is completely different than the Bone Season. I read Priory first and was shocked how low quality the writing in Bone Season was. Her characterization and world building in Priory is much stronger.

[@maryanne1830]

My biggest disappointment of the year was the soldier son trilogy by Robin Hobb. I read the whole trilogy BC I wanted to get to the payoff... spoilers, there was none. I've read some bad books but that was a gut punch. Now I'm dipping a toe into Terry Pratchett... metaphorically!

[@mynameismarines]

I'm so curious about Hobb. I've only read Assassin's Apprentice and thought it was fine. That's where I stopped! 😂

[@maryanne1830]

@@mynameismarines I loved the Liveship Traders and Rainwild Chronicles series. I thought Hobb was my favourite writer until I read Soldier Son. It's so bad. The more I remember it the more I hate it 😂

[@andrewf7732]

You're singlehandedly persuading me to never try The Dresden Files. Yet I'm a huge fan of series with great payoff and if it gets better after a few books, I'm still slightly tempted. I'm surprised at the level of torment you subject yourself to. You couldn't pay me enough money to read Lightlark and The Zodiac Academy 😆

[@mynameismarines]

I've gotten a lot of comments about The Dresden Files and the vast majority of them say that the books don't get better, at least in terms of the misogyny and Harry being The Worst. It's not consensus, as some people have said it gets better after 5, but it's enough to convince me this isn't the series for me.

[@TheNumnutRandomness]

I hit the end of the Dresden backlog a year before Book 14 came out. I was so ready for the next adventure after the Big Cliffhanger. That year gave me the time and distance I needed to reevaluate the series. Didn't stop me from immediately jumping in as soon as the library showed it was available. Sometimes coming back to a series after a long time is like greeting an old friend... as in you remember how obnoxious they are and why you stopped talking to them in the first place. 😭

[@alzaronwayne5255]

So I know I'm like a year late to this party but I will say I have read 6 of the Dresden books. The overarching plot and individual story details does seem to get better but the misogyny and sexism does not. I tend to bring these on vacation cause they are the cheap mass market books so im not upset if they get messed up but man I keep going back and forth on whether to dnf the series cause phew.

[@andrewf7732]

@@alzaronwayne5255 i actually did try the first three books since I made this comment. Detwrmined the series isn't for me. Dont think I'm an urban fantasy person and Harry is insufferable. And maybe an unpopular opinion but I hate the audio narrator. Maybe due to the recordings being 20 years old but his narration didn't work for me at all. Suffice it to say I DNF'd the series lol.

[@alzaronwayne5255]

@andrewf7732 yea i don't blame you. From everything I seen/read the misogyny just doesn't ever stop and it's incredibly upsetting. Especially since I have a tendency to pre buy all books in a series 😬😬😬

[@kaitlynrivera2455]

These Violent Delights was so bad, I was so disappointed. Like…..they don’t fall in love!? wtf! I felt scammed.

[@bookishbutterfly]

I enjoyed terms and conditions 😆 Things we never got over was 3/5 for me. Not great but passable IMO. I'm still going to read the next one out of curiosity I tried it ends with us, got 7 chapters in. Not for me...

[@thecozyarchives]

These Violent Delights was on my worst books list too, and I should've listened to myself and not read the second one but I did :/ It doesn't get any better tbh! Your thoughts on the first were super similar to mine.

[@mynameismarines]

I honestly didn’t even for a moment consider reading the second book. I knew in my bones it would just be more of the same

[@nomoonlight6958]

I picked up colleen hoover's book, read few lines, put it back

[@mariepotvin9222]

Wondering how Lightlark can be soooo well marked on Audible when it’s on so many worst books of 22 🤔

[@mynameismarines]

A mystery indeed…

[@RedtsunamiTed]

Said with all the love in the world girl I love it when you tear into books that were bad, oh soo bad.

[@mynameismarines]

lol thank you! I have fun doing it so it's all good here

[@MT-fe8ke]

Your an icon and a legend. I eat up all your reviews good and bad!!!

[@whoisashanyways]

Your thoughts on Terms & Conditions are nearly identical to my own. I genuinely can't figure out how it has such high ratings...

[@phix27]

1 minute in but These Violent Delights is so true!!! It's clearly written by someone young, not that that's bad but you can feel the maturity through the book. Wow I sound old, I swear I'm only 28 lol. But yes it's just so clunky and it's definitely NOT a Romeo and Juliet retelling. Can it be a R&J retelling if all the R&J stuff happens off screen???

[@brittanybarrowbooks9133]

The giggling had me laughing about the books I haven’t even read

[@shortinsomniac76]

I have just started writing and i dont even know if i plan to publish but i really hope i can do better than this, well at least i do hate billionares

[@Meimisaki2001]

The coho hate is so satisfying especially now that her It ends with us coloring book got cancelled

[@ribbonquest]

I hated the Dresden series so much. I quit on book 3 but I only stuck it out that long because I'd borrowed several at once. The "every kind of vampire" gimmick from Storm Front is repeated in book 2 with every kind of werewolf and book 3 looked to be every kind of fae.

[@ariannay766]

gonna be dead honest with you I've watched every video on KZbin mentioning Lightlark that I can find. It's ... a special interest I think? but like, one i hate and that is terrible It's a piece of media I do not and have never thought is good but I think about it all the time partially because it's fun to hate and partially cause lost potential

[@PumpkinMozie]

“Because he doesn’t pay his workers” 💀 💀 hahahahaha omg I can’t

[@BritneyT.]

It sounds like a lot of these have good base premises, which sucks that the writing was so flimsy in comparison.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Oh no, I just bought a copy of near witch 😬

[@mynameismarines]

Good luck! It took me fooooreeeeveeer to read it and it's not even long.

[@LH-wj2uw]

I wanted to like Storm Front sooooo much, because "urban fantasy noir" is completely my jam and people recommended it so much. But I just... nope.

[@chelsey8737]

I haven't read any of these but I trust your judgment so much, I never will read them

[@mynameismarines]

lol, listen, you are saving so much time and money

[@bunny-pq9vt]

Storm Front reminds me of a book I've been fighting to get through for such a long time now and the only way I'm progressing at all is by keeping a list of all the female characters - they're all absolutely awfully written and described in such sexist ways

[@mynameismarines]

I was highlighting ever sexist or misogynistic line in Storm Front. It became an assignment.

[@bunny-pq9vt]

@@mynameismarines I'm doing that and keeping a list in the front where I put down the name (if she was even given one and is not just a description of boobs) with the page numbers! It's so disheartening to see such treatment of women even in super recent releases where you can't even blame it on lack of awareness or it being the common view at the time :/

[@deirdrebeecher3508]

Fae has become a trigger warning for me. Unless Suzanne Clarke wants to write a follow up to Jonathan Strange, it is pretty much an automatic nope. I did enjoy The Dresden Files back in the day and I didn't notice the misogyny but our critical reading skills develop as we get older so it wouldn't surprise me at all to find it there.

[@TheGoofy1932]

If you're looking for good UF you might want to give Lisa Shearin (SPI Files or Raine Barnes) or Annette Marie (Guild Codex and several good spin-off series) a try.

[@RedtsunamiTed]

what is UF?

[@BookChats]

@@RedtsunamiTed I think Urban Fantasy

[@mynameismarines]

Thank you for the recs! I'm always in the market for good urban fantasy

[@moustik31]

No, Miss Ma'am Samantha Shannon what is it you are doing?! I read The Priory this year and it was a solid 3 stars. She has so much potential to be a good fantasy writer. I'm sad, she dropped the ball on this one.

[@thefriesofLockeLamora]

Was she ever in possession tho because I did not enjoy Priory and the mismarketing didn't help

[@mynameismarines]

Honestly, I know Bone Season is her debut, but it's discouraged me from giving Priory a chance.

[@moustik31]

@@thefriesofLockeLamora I enjoyed it. It wasnt perfect by any means but I liked the 2 MC, the world/lore, and the themes explored. It was too long and dense imo but as I said, a solid 3 stars.

[@TheAwkwardSacOfDucks]

If you like ya sci fi, I'd recommend Caring for Your Clown by Oleander Blume. Especially if you want honest depictions of abuse

[@ashoalcraft4404]

I'm binging people's worsts of the year and you're the third person in a row who had this as their worst of 2022. Also, I've never watched your channel before but your jokes and giggle made me subscribe.

[@annaolson4828]

Maybe Lightlark would have been more fun if the fight to the death had just turned into the UK show Taskmaster.

[@frogggirl2]

The Dresden Files fans gaslight me so much! It's both poor quality and sexist, people! It's so validating to see somebody else not worship it. 👍

[@mynameismarines]

Trust me, I got a lot of first hand experience with the fans because of my reviews.

[@annoyedbyyourface]

I find it hilarious that almost every "worst of 2022" video I've watched so far, Zodiac Academy is almost always at the top!

[@Chelsea2023K]

These Violent Delights was just weird to me. Due to the past relationship the characters had I felt nothing for the romance or what was supposed to be tension. The magical elements came out of nowhere and just nothing made proper sense. I don’t see why it was such a success. Victoria Schwab’s work doesn’t work for me. I’ve tried nearly every book and their work just feels so dull to me. Things we never got over is way too long, contemporary romances should never be 500 pages. The Bone season had such promise but was so juvenile and I was just annoyed reading it. It ends with us clearly isn’t meant to romanticise Ryle but so many people especially young people want a book on Ryle and that just shows that the author couldn’t write this domestic abuse story through a lens that shows him as evil. Also that fact that it is still advertised as a romance really annoys me. Zodiac academy truly is one of the worst written book series ever. The writing is actually terrible and honestly unreadable at parts. I read another series by these authors which was Darkmore Penitentiary and there was stereotyping in it, the writing wasn’t good and the three books were so long. Those two authors really annoy me because they drag their books out so much. The latest zodiac academy book just released is 766 pages and the series still isn’t finished. It just shows the authors cannot tell a story because they drag all of their series out probably because they are on kindle unlimited. You shouldn’t have to be 4 books (around 1500 pages) for a series to get good. It just shows they are not good writers. Sorry for the long comment but I am loving your videos.

[@mynameismarines]

We agree on so many of these! About the Zodiac Academy, they really are just a long con at this point. Those authors are getting paid by the page and their audience are reading them with 0 critical thought so they are just getting away with entry after entry of garbage.

[@rachellehamilton]

Harry Dresden is honestly the worst character and the misogyny is the worst. James Marsters's dulcet tones are the only thing that got me through those books.

[@mynameismarines]

The editing in the first audiobook was so bad though? There was so many extra mouth noises and Marsters was sighing all the lines. I had to keep taking breaks 😅

[@Amayzun1]

I read a few Jim Butcher books, in the Dresden series, when I got back into reading many many years ago. Yea, wasn't really for me, especially because he was very repetitive always describing his basement apartment and his car and how unorthodox he is. And yes, very sexist. Yea, don't regret not finishing that series.

[@heyimsasa]

booktok's bar for a "good" book is in hell

[@mynameismarines]

at least a particular corner of booktok for sure. Lots of reading without critical engagement and subbing out "readable" and "devoid of tension" for "good."

[@chailatte1234]

I'm glad to see someone else not like These Violent Delights after everyone on tiktok hyping it up lolol. It's so long, repetitive and I also felt like it betrayed its own themes/characters sometimes. Like how Juliette supposedly cares about the people of shanghai, but is constantly rude to service workers.

[@delobster7711]

I stopped reading terms and conditions because I was so confused when they were suddenly getting married in like 3 pages lol I was like who the fuck are you all lol so I didn't bother with the rest of the books

[@bettyreads222]

Oof yeah Storm Front was a rough read, so much talking down to women and just thinking he's such a good guy, so gross and agreed Harry was such an an annoying narrator to be in the head of. I read The Violent Delights and the 2nd book and just enjoyed the mess haha I totally hear what you're talking about but just didn't take it seriously. I have Chloe's next book from BOTM so I'm interested to see if she develops plot and characters in the same way.

[@ArtandAudacity]

'These Violent Delights' was marketed as a fantasy? Where lol? I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't enjoy this read. It just felt so awkward.

[@mynameismarines]

WHERE?! And no, you aren't alone! It had potential but it didn't do any of its elements well at all.

[@sarahlopod]

omg i had the same issues with Storm Front. a bad book that’s ALSO offensive? no thanks.

[@shioramenrabbit]

My book club is doing a read of Fine Lines and Terms and Conditions this January. I got so angry at Fine Lines I almost DNF'd it, and Terms and Conditions is noooot going any better. Also, I hate that the female lead is 24 and the male lead is some unspecified amount older than that, enough that the gap is being mentioned. She literally has her whole life ahead of her, please, run away from this man, there is no reason why you would take a bullet for him and have to put up with his stupid, stupid father.

[@TheDearRosemary]

Terms and Conditions literally feels like it could have a line like “aha, you’re so pretty i’d buy in if we were in 1800’s”, that woman is so incredibly racist in ALL of her books yet people praise her diversity. I don’t know what people find so incredibly well written in her books, maybe they just enjoy the misogyny, slut shaming, stereotypical characterization of POC, the racism and xenophobia, bc there is nothing to find enjoyable there

[@mynameismarines]

I honestly will never get to the bottom of it because between this one experience and your telling me about the racism in the other ones, that was my first AND LAST Lauren Asher

[@MichelleBoule6]

Thanks for these reviews. I wanted to read The Dresden files so bad, then I saw your original review. The older I get, the less tolerant I am of male characters acting this way and the male writers who write them. Nope.

[@sunshinebuze]

To enjoy terms and conditions and the context behind a lot of it you really have to read the first book. I wouldn't consider it a standalone.

[@mynameismarines]

I get that but even if I knew how their evil Disney corporation worked, this would’ve still been a a poorly paced romance with icky character dynamics 😅

[@sunshinebuze]

@@mynameismarines haha you would just get more context for not liking it :)

[@amatsubuu4262]

So you ever dnf a book 😱 I couldn't stand all this 🫣

[@AnnaBean2]

Here me out babe… Violent Delights by Jessica Hawkins. Now THAT is a book worthy of such a title. Give it a chance, you won’t regret it. 😉

[@OkamiRose]

Thank goodness Stormfront was on the worst list where it belongs 😂 (Also, I researched and that series always remains that creepy about women. Screw it)

[@CoffeeOverApples]

not the billionaire breaking the 4th wall by reminding us we are cogs in the wheel of this romance. lol

[@jessicajones6383]

OMG FINALLY! SOMEONE ELSE WHO WASN'T IMPRESSED WITH STORM FRONT! I genuinely don’t get the love for this series and also have some dudebros who also tried to get me to love it. Not happening, fellas.

[@TheGoofy1932]

Giving myself 👏 for having the good sense to have passed on all these trainwrecks. 🤣 Honestly, I stay away from YA in general because I have Learned the lesson that Twilight taught me. 😏 And let's face it Clare's stuff is Twilight but add "incest" and make it angel/demon, Maas ' stuff is Twilight but make it Fae. Sadly, as poorly written as Twilight is; it is Slightly better than these other "re-brandings". 🤯 I do enjoy your rantings. So keep reading these dumpster 🔥 so I don't have to. 😉

[@mynameismarines]

You saved yourself a lot of time and money!

[@Vickynger]

im not the biggest YA advocate, but cassandra clare and sjm are not twilight clones. just no. i say this as someone who doesnt like their books, but their stuff has nothing to do with twilight.

[@lena-bu1sb]

yikes i just bought things we never got over

[@booksaremysociallife]

Letters to Ellen??? Girl.

[@mynameismarines]

Multiple, full ass letters to Ellen DeGeneres like “Dear Ellen.” 😩😩😩

[@Nettlewitch]

I’m 55, most definitely female, a lefty feminist and I love the Harry Dresden series. I’m thinking that younger US women read books very differently to we Gen-X Aussies. Otherwise I really enjoyed this video. Thank you so much for sharing x

[@mynameismarines]

Wild to read that first book and miss the misogyny! He describes every woman by their breast constantly. There’s a date rape love potion. I mean I had like 50 examples of all the sexist quotes…!

[@Nettlewitch]

@@mynameismarines He says he's a chauvinist. Sure. The character is purposely written that way and it's part of the character's arc to grow out of this. But honestly, what's more toxic & will impact girls' self-image and internal narratives more? Harry Dresden, SJM or Zodiac Academy. Guess where my bet is going.

[@mynameismarines]

@@Nettlewitch Him saying that he is doesn't negate the impact of his being a misogynist pervading the entire story. And that made it a highly disagreeable reading experience for me and the promise of some future version of him maybe not being awful to women is 1- not an arc I'm interested in reading and 2- doesn't make this first any more palatable. Book books aren't a zero sum game. All three of these books are terrible.

[@Nettlewitch]

@@mynameismarines All good. You read what you like and I'll continue to read what I like. I liked the rest of your video - but that seems to have been forgotten. Oh well. Over and out.

[@mynameismarines]

@@Nettlewitch not forgotten but the primary part of your comment was about the misogyny in Storm Front so I responded, particularly because you made it seem as if reading and not enjoying the blatant misogyny in this book was somehow a regional or generational thing. I think it it is, my generation has learned a lot more about how misogyny permeates media and society. And we certainly don’t have to excuse it. Happy for you that you enjoy this book. I could not!

[@LorasLoft]

The Near Witch was one of the worst narrated books I’ve ever listened to, almost unlistenable to me but I somehow powered through

[@stardroplet9499]

It’s weird when an author writes one awesome book and then another so bad that it doesn’t even resemble the author’s style.

[@mynameismarines]

Is this about Samantha Shannon?

[@stardroplet9499]

Yes 👍

[@lovatredacted2482]

thank you for validating my opinion on Storm Front, i couldn't even finish it. it sucked because it sounds really cool and then you read it and it's,,, mid and misogynistic lol

[@mynameismarines]

Like pick a struggle but no it was both!

[@gemz9306]

I’m not fussed on Colleen hoover am I the only one ?? 😩

[@nightynight999]

"she writes letters to ellen DeGeneres"😂😂😂😂😂😂