Disappointing Bestsellers

[LittlleMy]

Hello everyone 🙂

I just wondered if anyone else has bought a ‘bestseller’ that otherwise wouldn’t have appealed without that status only to be hugely disappointed?

So I realise I’m slightly late to the party but I just finished ‘The Housemaid’ by Freida McFadden and it was such a struggle to get through! It felt more like it was written for the Young Adult market. Barely any descriptive text, always telling rather than showing, ridiculous coincidences, underdeveloped characters, juvenile writing especially sentences like ‘’there was something about that room that was very scary” “his expression sent a chill down my spine”. Highly predictable in parts, silly in others and just so very average!

Don’t come after me if you loved it, this is just my opinion of a recent book that really shocked me that it was able to reach the dizzying heights of becoming a bestseller.

I thought it might be fun to hear from any fellow disgruntled readers if they’ve had similar experiences! With Autumn just round the corner, and me needing a new list of books to read, this post may help some of us avoid similar disappointments!

Ooooh, that's interesting, what genre?

Wild horses wouldn't get her near the next book. She gets really cross just talking about the success of the first one LOL, like she's been had by the marketing etc!

Hope second one is better for you!

Oh no! That’s still on my shelf next to read!

Not read Yellow Face but tried the Poppy War by the same writer. Thought it really poor - just badly wittten YAF. Think she was overhyped because she was a young person of colour (American market) writing in a typically white male dominated genre.

I was given this as a Christmas present from a friend who knows how much I like crime/detective fiction and thought I would like it.

I didn't, I made myself finish it in case she asked me anything about it but to be honest, I found it really boring.

Now they have a film out, I'm really hoping she doesn't want us to go and see it ... 😟

Psychological thriller! Thanks for asking😊

Well you can leave! 😅

That's right up my street, hint hint, 😉 😜

I dragged myself unwillingly through Hard Times because I had to; it was set reading for an OU course. The characters are mainly either villainous, mawkish or total drips and for one of Dickens's shorter books, it dragged on and on...

On the other hand, I cut my way through some of the fat doorstops as if they were butter. David Copperfield, Little Dorrit and Bleak House were hard to put down and Great Expectations is brilliant.

The Midnight Library - dull plot and poor writing. I couldn’t understand why so many people were raving about it, it felt like people just liked it because they like books but somehow overlooked how awful this book was

I’m so glad I’m not the only one who couldn’t get into yellow face or where the crawdads sing!

I wanted Ray Winston as Ron in the Netflix adaptation of the Thursday murder club.

I agree. Pierce Brosnan is just too smooth. Not too mad on the rest of the casting either plus I think books like that do not make good films.

But I do quite like TTMC books. I like the subtle sarky tone of the books and the fact that for once the elderly aren't patronised. And it's easy to understand unlike a lot of wordy, pretentious books.

The Da Vinci Code on the other hand, appallingly written, I swear Dan Brown did one draft and it never went near an editor. But as I recall it was gripping and I did want to see how it finished.

I couldn’t get on with the Life of Pi. What a snooze fest.

The Salt Path. I was about to give it yet another try as my holiday book when it all went pear shaped and haven’t bothered with it again. Glad I didn’t lug it away with me

Ive read some great books this year but also some awful, in my opinion books.
The Rose Petal Beach by Dorothy Koomson, The most silly ending to a book.
After it being recommended to me on here as one of the best most terrifying horror books I read Naomi’s Room, again I thought it was a really stupid storyline and was massively disappointed.
I’m currently reading (after a friend raved about what a good horror writer he is, and he must me he’s a big deal in the horror book world) Needful Things by Stephen King and I’m getting bored.

All the Colours of the Dark by Chris Whitaker!

Awful! Badly written and just went on and on, becoming more ridiculous. I gave up and speed read to the end. I borrowed it from the library and felt like leaving a note in it to warn the next reader that it doesn’t get any better!

I loved this book.

Anything by Marian Keys, I just don't get it.

Popular Irish writer Sally.Rooney.

Totally overrated writer IMO. Whatever bestseller of hers I tried to read, it was drivel.

50 shags of grey - acknowledgedly awful!

Gone Girl. God that was dreadful. Full of dreadful characters, just terrible.

I don’t know how popular The Slap was but I felt soiled after reading it. I had to finish it because I was on holiday and didn’t have anything else. Also full of awful characters. Hideous book.

I don’t need to post now because you’ve said it all for me!!

Very interesting thread, I'm nodding along. Especially with the comments about the dumbing down in general and prevalence of celebrities "writing" fiction.

I don't buy books anymore as I've had too many disappointments. I only use the library and even though there's a fee here to reserve a book at least it's better than spending £8.99 or whatever on being disappointed/ annoyed!

I really liked The Housemaid. I wasn't expecting great literature so being an easy read didn't bother me.

A Prayer for Owen Meany. I cannot tell you how hard I tried to finish this book but gave up - dull does not describe it.

I also gave up on the Thursday Murder Club but went back to it about 3 years later and read it. It paved the way for the other books that are better.

Wolf Hall - gave up a third of the way through. I couldn’t follow it, despite having an English with History degree. The style of writing was painful.

It's good. A page turner. Yes, it doesn't please literary snobs, but a popular success.

Lovely Bones by someone. Grisly

Lovely Bones by someone. Grisly