Recent Disappointments 😒

Hi All, today I’m here to share some recent let-downs. These were books I was actually really excited about for one reason or another, but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I’m a bit hesitant writing this, not because at least one of the two is actually pretty popular but simply because I’m not sure if there’s even any interest in reading about books someone didn’t like. I decided, however, that sometimes it is interesting and for that reason moved forward with the post. Let me know in the comments whether you like reading lists like this to inform posts in the future!

** DISCLAIMER ** This is not intended as a controversial or inflammatory shame list. These books simply did not suit my reading preferences for one reason or another, but they may fit yours.

All that said let’s meet the books…

Firefrost by Camille Longley

Genre: Fantasy / YA Fantasy

Synposis:

She’s a huntress:
Sol d’Hillerod is sent on a desperate mission through a treacherous winter pass. She carries with her the only hope of her village’s survival, and she will do whatever she must to keep her world from burning.

He’s a monster:
Lieutenant Kelan Birke has spent his whole life fighting for his freedom and his soul. As his control slips, and the war rages on, he knows it won’t be long before he loses himself entirely to the fire that flows through his veins.

Sol and Kelan are enemies in an age-old war, forced to depend on each other to survive a perilous journey through the mountains. As fire melts the ice in Sol’s heart, she questions everything she’s been taught to believe, and Kelan becomes more desperate to fight the flames that consume him. Together they discover that their struggle will have repercussions for both sides of this burning war.

From Goodreads

Thoughts:

**I received this book as an eArc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

When I chose to read this book I was really drawn in by the description and cover. The magic sounded fascinating, and while I knew it had some romance I had hopes it would be well done and not over focused.

Now that I’ve read this book fully I can say the romance was veryyy dramatic and too choppy for my taste but it did have some cute moments. Unfortunately I would say the book seemed 70% relationship focus 30% magic and plot to me, and I came to it more for the magic/plot. Sol went back and forth hating and falling for Kelan even up to 25% through the book which was excessive, annoying, and heavy-handed, hitting you over the head with her indecisive emotions. Meanwhile he starts to fall for her for no apparent reason. Was there more similarity I was missing or did romance bloom out of…isolation and mutual attraction? The concept of the pyras and other magic we discover later was exciting but it took a backseat to the relationship and the second magic didn’t feel fully explored even at the end. Maybe there will be a book two? I felt there’s a lot to unpack and the closure felt rushed like a hastily wrapped Christmas present.

I’d consider reading a second book if it came along but it wouldn’t be my top of list. However I do think YA fantasy lovers looking for a romance-first plot would like this book and enjoy the enemies-to-lovers trope.

Anna K by Jenny Lee

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Retelling

Synposis:

Every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way.

Meet Anna K. At seventeen, she is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and Newfoundland dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna’s brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather a sexting scandal; Lolly’s little sister, Kimmie, is struggling to recalibrate to normal life after an injury derails her ice dancing career; and Steven’s best friend, Dustin, is madly (and one-sidedly) in love with Kimmie.

As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is…until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. As Alexia and Anna are pulled irresistibly together, she has to decide how much of her life she is willing to let go for the chance to be with him. And when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, she is forced to question if she has ever known herself at all.

Dazzlingly opulent and emotionally riveting, Anna K.: A Love Story is a brilliant reimagining of Leo Tolstoy’s timeless love story, Anna Karenina―but above all, it is a novel about the dizzying, glorious, heart-stopping experience of first love and first heartbreak.

From Goodreads

Thoughts:

Let me just say this – I love Tolstoy and Anna Karenina is way up there, so I was very excited to read this modern retelling. Once I started in, however, it was too much a turn off for me to finish. I only got about 10 pages in before dropping this. Something about slang and modern acronyms in my books really throws me, so when I started seeing “sesh”, “IRL”, and other similar phrases I was immensely disappointed to set it aside. However I’ve still heard good things about this book so for readers who aren’t put off by that writing style this book may be a good one to pick up. It just wasn’t for me at all.

So there are my recent reading disappointments these last few weeks. Thankfully they’ve been outweighed by other really great books but it’s always a let down when you pick up something and your high hopes come out of it a little crushed. Have you had any similar reading hiccups recently? Would love to hear about them!