#hater book reviews

[thedeathwitchescats]

Okay, review time!! If you are one of the oddballs who thinks you cant be critical of something you love I suggest you stop reading now before I ruffle your feathers. Iron flame, second in the empyrean series. I am gonna start with what I was not a fan of and then go into the shit I adored.

1) what in the actual fuck was the pacing of this book?? I can tell you what, it was non existent. There was none. Where I thought there was a lot of filler in the last book there was none in this one. We got snap shots of conversations and then *boom* more plot flew at you. The timeline of this book greatly suffered for it i think bc we end only a couple weeks, if that, after threshing, which happens sometimes in October. This book was actually so wild with times.

2) while it was a spectacular cliff hanger, xaden becoming venin pisses me off. Especially if Rebecca yarros isnt going to have him tell violet. Like if that small tid bit of a conversation we got wasnt him telling vi that he was venin then the entire romantic conflict of this book was rendered pointless and their going to be having the same fucking fight for the rest of the series and at rhat point I give up.

3) I understand that the revolution is trying to take down basgaith and make the world better or whatever the fuck but can someone actually formulate a real plan for me?? Because I feel like their mission is just, giving violet and xaden something to be pissed at each other about.

4) the entirety of cats character. I get that she was set up as a spin on the typical jealous ex. Like having her be bitter about xaden picking violet over her but OH WAIT it wasnt actually about the man it was about the crown, oohh not like other girls. Im a writer too I see the point. I dont care. I think it was trashy. If you wanted her to be a bitter spiteful ex then have her be a bitter spiteful ex, the whole crown thing was shallow.

OKAY haters your time is up now onto the shit that made my heart hurt with joy and sadness

1) xadens arc in this book. I really liked that he went from "transparency is never gonna happen" to losing his fucking mind over violet and giving her everything. I love feral men and he qualifies. I think his arc was really well done and i liked it.

2) I appericiate that violet stuck to her guns for this book. She wouldnt let xaden off without a fight and I loved that. She made him bow and scrape and I was eating it up. It was spectacular.

3) the throne room scene. Violet on the throne. "Im making a temporary point not a lasting vow of maschocism" xaden being feral.

4) that gets its own point actually, just xaden being completely feral this entire book healed a part of my soul.

5) andarna's little speech at the end where she was like "I waited for you violet" made me ugly cry. That was just so hopelessly good I loved it. Andarna in general heals my heart but that part was just *chefs kiss*

6) tarin being completely and utterly ready to eat people this entire book. Just, at every turn "I want lunch their pissing me off " was spectacular

7) every scene their squad was in. Rihannon, violet, sawyer and ridoc are my roman empire. Their bond is so amazing. The fact that they launched a rescue mission for violet. Rihannon being ready to kill xaden at every turn. Ridoc being so platonically and adorably in love with violet. Just- augh happy cries happy cries. I love it all. Their so special tbh.

8) I love xaden actually, just, the whole book every scene hes in lives in my brain.

9) I liked that we saw a small bit of violet being feral this book too. I hope that we get more of that in future books. I want more of violet losing her fucking mind. Hot, badass women covered in blood

10) Liam. Fucking Liam. When violet was kidnapped and Liam was there. Now, do I logically understand that he was a hallucination, yes, do i care?? No. He was a gift from Maleck I will be hearing no critiques on that. It was so fucking sweet and amazing. I love violet and Liam and Liam being dead so horribly breaks my heart. I loved Liam. Liams death lives rent free in my skull.

[wishesfromwithin]

my moa opinions (that no one asked for i just did👍)

i’m also only abt halfway through so this might not be accurate!

1. did anyone else be reading pipers pov in MOA and TLH(mostly moa tho) and think girlll when are you gonna speak about something other than jason and have a little personality??like i loveee piper so much but i was getting so bored of continual jason talk you could have such an interesting pov but it was wasted on obsession over ur detached bf(i’m not a jason hater or a jiper hater btw but this specific part of the book just got me)?!

2.alsooo in MOA did anyone find jason and piper(when she wasn’t speaking abt jason 😤)constantly talking abt how they were really close friends with leo during their povs but never actually showing us any decent friendship interactions?im only about half way through moa but like can u show us the friendship without js telling us or not likee where’s the chemistry the three of them had in tlh?

3.the comment above also goes for percy and frank like percy was always sayin how he and frank were good friends but only showing us about one interaction where they acted like somewhat bsfs i was so confused after reading son i thought they were such better friends than that but i reckon they were both preoccupied w their gfs(rightly so)!!

4.i NEEDED more hazel getting angry like she was when they were deciding whether to save nico and she nearly hit jason with a metal plate i was eating it upppp😋 girlboss or what? on that note i was wishing that percy would’ve spoken up for hazel during that convo but he just stayed quiet like no?

5.and finally i was BEGGING for piper and annabeth moments! i hope more come bcs their friendship means everything to me the sharing breakfast thing was sooo cute i loved it and need ALOT more 🫶

and yeah that’s it for now i’ll probably do overall ops when i finish but i hope you guys can relate and this is also my first post😛

[thechaoticreader]

Popular Books I Read and HATED

*Disclaimer: If you like any of these books, slay! I'm happy for you! These are just my own consumer choices, and imo negative book reviews are just as helpful as positive ones!*

This list is not long because I don't actively dislike many books that I read, and I have a very good sense of what I will and will not like, but there are some I had to read/were misled into reading so here we go:

1. Tender Is The Flesh

by Agustina Bazterrica

My rant review is above if you want more details but recently I've seen a few videos that articulate my feelings in a way that I couldn't before so im going to add a few reasons here that were not included in the original post:

It gave very Qanon and general antisemitic vibes: i.e blatant conspiracy made up by the "wealthy liberal elites" to encourage cannibalism for their own enjoyment (I know she's Argentinian however that doesn't mean im not allowed to get the ick from it)

Purposefully inaccurate depictions of meat industry and disrespect for farmers (context: im a vegetarian from farm country with a roommate who works in the cattle industry - Angus beef if you're curious - so im very familiar with the process and cannot say in good conscious that it is all bad -> just support local farmers <3)

world building makes little sense

COWS DO NOT EQUATE TO HUMANS NO MATTER WHAT YOU DO !!!!!!!!

the "disease" doesn't make sense (even if its made up who would believe it)

No themes were treated with the depth nor nuance they require (capitalism, feminism, veganism etc.)

I think thats all I haven't covered but this is the only book I have ever read where my hatred of it continues to grow with each day. I went out of my way and deleted it from my reader and get annoyed every time I see it. And for the record (because yes i'm salty) I didn't hate it because it was too disturbing, in fact I've read and loved worse and ive been an avid horror reader since I was (admittedly too) young. I hate it because there wasn't a well done story underneath the gore. I'll say it loudly for the people in the back GORY HORROR BOOKS STILL DESERVE A GOOD/INTERESTING STORY, especially if you want to try to put complex themes in it. If you cannot write a deep story but you're good at and enjoy gore, write yourself a lil 100 page splatter punk and we can all have a good time <3

Unlike with Tender Is The Flesh I don't have a ton of thought out critical reasons for the rest of these soooooo I'm going to give my highly subjective reasons -> I totally understand why some like them <3

2. The Handmaids Tale

by Margaret Atwood

hated the writing style

It didn't keep my attention

disliked the ending so much I actually threw it across the room <3

3. The Hobbit

by J.R.R Tolkien

hated the writing style

male centered fantasy is not my vibe

my ADHD cannot handle long incredibly descriptive sections in books -> I physically fell asleep multiple times while reading this book

honestly even with the movie I fall asleep every time

0/10 book I want to read

10/10 bedtime story

4. Lord of The Flies

by William Golding

hated the writing style

hated most of the characters (and not in a slay anti-hero way)

was forced to read it in high school and it single handedly sent me into a 4 year reading slump... I missed so many good books because of this and will forever hold a grudge

5. Romeo & Juliet

By William Shakespeare

I'm too jaded and gay to enjoy this -> every single character is so painfully stupid

tbh im just bitter that his (imo) better plays get less love than this one, its way over hyped

but I will give it points for boring me so much that I wrote my first fanfic (Romeo x Mercutio if you're curious ... no its not posted anywhere and it never will be <3)

sidenote -> Shakespeare plays I love incl:

Hamlet (duh im a depressed emo gay on Tumblr)

Macbeth (also duh, witches and female manipulator... need I say more)

Othello (a slow burn for the true crime girlies)

Measure for Measure (absolutely underrated, please please please look into this play -> I saw a production of it and it was incredible)

[lesbienneanarchiste]

I feel like every time I read a dud book that's been recommended to hell and back and is super hyped, I'm inevitably like

[glossyhobi]

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Two childhood friends create a video game together & the novel follows their 30+ year relationship into adulthood.

I was so excited to read this, I looove decades-long, character development stories. Video games are also a topic I’m not too familiar with so was interested to see how it’s portrayed in this novel. Unfortunately the novel was so drawn out and longer than necessary, I felt that I was gaining and/or learning nothing from half the novel. Things happen. People miscommunicate. That’s it. It felt disjoined and tiring to read but also I couldn’t put it down until the end, so I guess there was something about the writing or plot that kept me going. I also picked this up before finding out about the Zi*nism & plagiarism controversy otherwise I would have skipped this. A disappointing book that was highly anticipated on my 2024 tbr.

[cogitoergodoleo]

today i tried to strike up a conversation with my greek teacher by mentioning that i read the secret history and didn't like it. i mean, i thought he would agree with me -- that book is such an insult to the classics field and its message just lands so poorly too. but he then turned to me with such an offended look as if i'm in the wrong for hating overly-indulgent dark academia??

i'm just?? so puzzled?? rn??

someone tell me what about this book that saves it from "horrified looks from everyone in the room" (aksjdljs the TWINCEST?!!) to "decent".

[kithj]

havent posted but i finished the first Murderbot book and loved it. i love Murderbot........... i picked up the next 2 in the series and plan to read the rest once i've finished the other 2 books i'm currently reading. i wasn't sure how i'd feel about it because generally comedy in books tends to be a miss for me (sorry i just don't find most book humor to be funny lol) but i did think Murderbot was very charming and funny, there was a humorous voice throughout but it didn't overdo it. reminded me of Alex Easton from What Moves the Dead.

also just finished These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere. i have kinda mixed feelings about this book? i don't really know if i liked it? but i didn't hate it, either. i just didn't really connect with the main character, and not in a "relatable" way but i just felt like she was very flat. i think it was more of an issue with the writing style than the story itself... considering it was meant to be very emotional, i just didn't feel it. and it lost the letter format very quickly, but i don't really hold that against it, most books written in letter format are like that. i wonder if that actually hindered it & the writing style.... all that being said, i still felt that the book was a privilege to read, when you consider the reality of the characters and the many lgbt people in similar situations that never get to tell their stories. this was a debut, and i definitely would be interested to read something else from this author in the future. huge trigger warning for violent homophobia/lesbophobia, the title of the book is definitely a warning.

i'm now reading Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh, which was a coincidence (i was supposed to read and finish this book last month lol) but also an interesting read to follow These Letters End in Tears with. that one was about two lesbians in Cameroon, while this one is about a gay man in Nigeria, both places where "same-sex relationships" are criminalized. Blessings alternates between Obiefuna's and his mother's POV, who is very protective of him, and isn't told the real reason why his father sent him away to boarding school. i just started this one today so i'm not too far into it but i've liked what i've read so far.

i'm also still reading The Spear Cuts Through Water. honestly not gonna say much about this because i know i;m going to make a massive gushing post once i finish it because it is probably going to be my favorite read of the year 🙊

[portokali]

one thing that made me mad lately was reading reviews for the 3 body problem and seeing ppl complain about how there was no character development or that the language was wooden and rigid.. when it's clearly a work in translation from a different literary tradition and umm both author and translator talked about their artistic choices in da index.. idk it feels to me yall are not trying to meet a work you read halfway and yall only want it to be about what you like what you think it should be and what you're used to reading. well fuck off w that alkdsjfalskdjh i needed to rant so i could take it out of my system but its such NOISE!

[beauzos]

with Gilgamesh haters i'm really just like lol. lmao even. but when i read negative reviews for Grass Dancer i felt genuinely murderous

[impishtubist]

I have a question regarding hating A Certain Popular Fic (or a fic that must not be named?) and that is if my hate is justifiable if I haven't read it? I just learnt a lot about it by osmosis (and against my own will) (this is a different anon btw if that wasnt obvious) xx

LMAO it's absolutely justified. I haven't read it either 😂 There's so much that I hate even though I haven't read it or watched it or whatever. Sometimes learning things by osmosis is enough to know that you won't like it.

[cantsayidont]

While I can't imagine most Tumblr users have even heard of this 52-year-old Otto Preminger movie:

SUCH GOOD FRIENDS (1972): Annoyingly disjointed comedy-drama, based on a 1970 Lois Gould novel, about a 30something Jewish woman (a miscast Dyan Cannon) who reaches her wit's end when her boorish husband Richard (Laurence Luckinbill), who'd been threatening to divorce her, ends up in a coma following a routine surgery, leaving her to grapple with his array of condescending, useless doctors and her discovery of a "little black book" showing that Richard has been persistently unfaithful.

Elaine May's script for the film adaptation (written under the pseudonym "Esther Dale") has some funny smaller moments, but doesn't hold together at all as a story, largely defanging the protagonist's ornery frustration (which is the whole point of the novel) and only timidly approximating the book's caustic humor and sexual bluntness. Director Otto Preminger's apparent discomfort with the material also allows the tone to waver queasily between absurdist comedy and dreary wronged-wife melodrama, particularly toward the end. It has its moments, but the point has been missed — skip it and just read the book instead.

Absurdly, Roger Ebert's 1972 review credits Preminger and May for the film's "vulgarity" and for making "a sort of black-comedy version of Lois Gould's serious novel," an assertion credulous online sources like IMDb continue to wrongly present as fact. One can only assume Ebert hadn't actually read more than the jacket blurb of the bestselling book — which is much more vulgar and far more laceratingly cynical than anything in the film — and that whoever added that IMDb trivia hasn't read it at all.

[separatist-apologist]

I'm not sure if you had answered this before but have you read zodiac acadamy?

Cuz I was fooled into believing it's a fantasy romance about the twins solving mystery at an acadamy and learning how to control certain elements and stuff. Going on cool af adventures and learning new creatures that are good or bad. Also I was told it had the tropes rivals to lovers/enemies to lovers.

Turns out to be about 2 pick me's getting harassed and bullied by a group of sex obsessed guys for the entirety of not only the first, but also the second and third book. 😀 I've never been so dissapointed.

The writing is jacka** as well.

I literally opened up my computer for this one. Fans of ZA, look away. I think my feelings on it are well known.

First of all. The writing is ATROCIOUS. I think the books themselves would probably be passable were it not for just the god awful writing. It's literally "this happened and then this happened and this happened and this happened" like damn bitch can I get a description or something? ALL telling, ZERO showing. Like if you're gonna tell me a character is smart, you better back that shit up. But they don't because Tory and Darcy are dumber than a box of rocks.

I was also told it was romance and apparently it is like, 4 books in, which circles me into my next complaint. I get why authors want to market their books as romance but it is LITERALLY not a romance for at least that first book. If I'm picking up romance, I expect romance. Not...sexual assault and bullying and then nothing else.

Tory and Darcy also don't have distinguishable voices and if I put the book down, I'd forget whose POV was who. The authors gave one of them blue hair and called it a day and I feel like there was so much she could have done with them and just...didn't want to.

I know a lot of people love it, and I think there is nothing wrong with liking trash. I've never once heard someone claim ZA is supposed to be elevated literature and I think to that end, it's almost mean making fun of it. The people who like it like it for what it is, I want to like it for what it is, but I can't get over the writing which bothers the fuck out of me.

I think it's definitely a brain off read. I definitely have read books where it's like, I am not reading for information, I am reading for vibes.

[porcelainvino]

my hate for darren criss vs eden’s hate for chris colfer as an author fight to the death who will win

[thechaoticreader]

I have to rant about Tender Is The Flesh!!

Last year I read Tender is The Flesh by Augustina Bazterrica and I haven't seen many people agree with me so if Booktok has been yelling at you to read it and you're tired of the vague positive reviews, this is for you!

*Disclaimer: this is all my opinion/feelings, if you loved this book I'm glad and if a negative review of a book you love will be upsetting please protect your peace and ignore me <3*

General Thoughts & Why I Hate It

Im going to start out by saying I am a vegetarian and used to be strictly vegan! The book is very heavy handed about its eating meat=bad beliefs which I found exhausting. At many times throughout the story I found myself shouting "OH MY GOD I GET IT!!! MEAT IS MURDER. JUST TELL ME THE STORY" into the void. It makes very weird parallels that I don't agree with and there was next to no room for nuanced discussion. It felt like the author was holding my hand and explaining absolutely everything, not letting me infer anything, which I personally don't enjoy. I will say its possible that because it is a translated novel that the above issues only apply to the English translation and that its a fault of the translator rather than Augustina.

Another issue I have is that to me none of the characters actually felt like fleshed out people, rather just objects things happen to/around. The main characters motivations make no sense (especially in the second half), where he doesn't even feel like a person, you don't really get to know him and then what little you do gets completely contradicted in the second half of the book. The main character at the beginning is almost unrecognizable from himself by the end. I can't even call it character development because it feels like he sees one shitty thing than a switch flips and he's completely different. Through the whole time reading, I did not feel any type of way towards any character, I didn't care about any of them which made it hard to care about the novel. When I first finished it I felt no type of way but the longer I've had to sit with it, the more I'm growing to dislike it. The worst part is that it could have been so good, with some more nuance and character development it would have been a very interesting story!

There is also a graphic sexual assault scene which I wish I had known about going in. As a surviver of S/A I try to stay away from novels with it unless I've had time to prepare and be in a good headspace to consume it. So a completely RANDOM S/A scene that doesn't matter to the plot really caught me off guard and almost immediately ruined the book. I'm fine with assault scenes if and only IF it is important to the plot/character development. My problem is when its thrown in to demonstrate a character being shitty or for shock value, which I feel is the reason it was included in Tender Is The Flesh; if you removed the whole chapter it would make absolutely no difference and THATS where I have the problem.

My Problem with BookTok & Advertising

First, booktokers and book tubers saying that its best to go into blind and not giving a trigger warning for S/A. I think its generally irresponsible to not give trigger warnings and to encourage people to go in knowing nothing, its so easy to say "hey this book has _" so that survivors aren't further harmed. This is a general criticism that I'll probably do another post going into further.

Second, people call it a horror novel when its really not, its a dystopian and while not a huge issue, it just sets up expectations that it doesn't live up to! It felt a lot more akin to books like the Handmaids Tale than those in the horror genre. So if you want a horror novel, probably don't pick this up but if you want a kinda disturbing, dark dystopian then maybe this will be your book! Accuracy in genre is important because there are tons of people who love one genres and hate other, like myself who eat, sleeps and breaths horror but has never found a proper dystopian that I even kinda enjoyed. Or, people who love romance and don't care about fantasy may like a romantacy but hate a fantasy with a small romance side plot.

Anyway those are my feelings, I hope it helps someone decide if they want to read it or not! Once again, if you disagree thats totally okay! If you loved the book, I'm so happy for you! My problems with it shouldn't detract from hour enjoyment of it!

[fideidefenswhore]

No rescue came for Mary Queen of Scots nor Anne nor that poor deluded ditz Katheryn Howard,

...in 2022??

[am3-26]

there's this girlie (gender-neutral) i keep checking goodreads' of because i can't stop looking at their "all-time favourites" shelf and thinking to myself "why dont you also put 50 shades of grey on there"