Holly
It’s hard coming up with this list. Reading is so subjective – depending on my mood, the subject matter of the book and the author’s writing style. Plus, I know I hate books others love, and vice verse. Take Crush on You
- Wicked Little Game by Christine Wells
- Can’t Stand the Heat by Wynter Daniels
- Last Night’s Scandal by Loretta Chase
- Shadow of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon
- Do You Take This Cop by Beth Andrews
Rowena
There were some books in 2010 that just didn’t work for me at all. All of the books that I hated were loved by others and that’s okay, like Holly said…it’s all subjective. Just like our Best of Lists, there are plenty of people who hate the books that we love.
Here are my picks for this category:
- The Other Boyfriend by Sylvia Massara
- Two’s Company by Jill Mansell
- Crush on You by Christie Ridgway
I just couldn’t get into all of these books for different reasons. The main character got on my hot damn nerves in The Other Boyfriend, the male lead in Two’s Company broke my heart and made me hate him and then there were so many different reasons why I couldn’t stand Crush On You. I wanted to like each of these books but it wasn’t in the cards for me.
Casee
Holly is right on the subjective part. The author of one of my worst books this year also ends up being in the top five of my best authors list.
- Nightkeepers by Jessica Andersen
- Hot Finish by Erin McCarthy
- His Darkest Embrace by Juliana Stone
- Killing Me Softly by Maggie Shayne
- Louisiana Heat by Dominique Adair
Now that you’ve seen our worst of lists…share with us some of the books that just didn’t work for you last year.
Oh God, Jo Davis’s Ride the Fire. An F read for me. That series went off the rails after the first book, but I kept reading because I wanted Sean’s story. Well, this was it. He has one good cry and is over everything, and yet still kind of douche to the heroine. Plus, there is EGREGIOUS misuse of a kitchen condiment during some backdoor action.
No. Just, NO.
Plus, there is EGREGIOUS misuse of a kitchen condiment during some backdoor action.
I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am that I have no effing clue what you’re talking about. 0_o
Not That Kind of Girl by Susan Donovan. Couldn’t get past the part where hero talks to heroine like DOG. “Settle down, sweet thing”?!?!?!? If it hadn’t been on my kindle, I would have thrown it across the room. As it was, I needed Pepto to settle my stomach. No, no, no, no, no.
I didn’t see my book on any of your lists, so I sigh with relief!! LOL!
My worst this year: The Bride’s Baby by Liz Fielding and My Zombie Ex-Boyfriend by Cora Zane
@Stephanie – which book is The Bride’s Baby? I’m pretty sure I liked that one. With the wedding planner?
@Laura – I’m so glad I didn’t read that book. It’s in my TBR but I couldn’t get into it.
@Kati Ride the Fire was definitely one of the worst reads of the year. Just not in my top 5. I would say #6 or #7. I kept with the series for the same reason as you. Sean was such a disappointment. He was a bigger crybaby then my 8 year old.
I am so glad the I am not the only one who was disappointed with Loretta Chase’s Last Night’s Scandal. This was actually the first book I’ve ever read from her and I was afraid to read her others because of it. I’m glad I wasn’t too thrown off by it because I read Lord of Scoundrels right after and I loved that one. IT seems as both books are written by two different authors.
Two that stand out for me are Mary Janice Davidson’s Undead and Unfinished and Maggie Robinson’s Mistress by Mistake. The first was a huge disappointment from a seasoned author who made drastic character changes in a series I used to love. The second was a new author debut and it didn’t work for me at all.
And, at the risk of raising ire from some of you, I liked Last Night’s Scandal!
Mine has to be A Marine for Christmas by Beth Andrews, an author who I normally love. I don’t know WHAT she was thinking, but the hero treated the heroine horribly for the first 1/2 of the book (I put it down after that) and is generally a total asshole…. there was no chance of romance, ever. I was repulsed. Blegh!
I think The Bride’s Baby was one of the Harlequin freebies. I seem to remember reading it and not finding it too… anything. Not bad, not good.
And Katie, I’m so laughing trying to determine which particular condiment was used for the back door action. Mayo? Oil? Ketchup? Mustard? Relish? (as in he relished her behind)… It’s still on my TBR cause I really want Sean’s story, too.
For me? Hot as Hell was by far the worst I read all year. Then came a couple that so didn’t work for me:
One Lucky Cowboy by Carolyn Brown (talk about Texas stereotyping!)
Romeo for Hire by Jane Beckenham. Ugh. A hero kneeling on the floor of the delivery room to propose? Sounds great in theory, but all I could think of was ewww. All that bodily stuff on the floor would make that virtually impossible. Just gross.
Lawman’s Redemption by Pam Crooks. The heroine drove me batshit crazy. Blamed the hero for all her woes even as she knew that her family was responsible for their own actions. She needed to grovel and grovel bad. But the hero just took her back, preggo and all.
Dang Lori, tell us how you really feel…haha. I haven’t read any of the books you mentioned, let alone heard of any of them but I’m glad because if you hated them, I’m too chicken to read them. Thanks for the heads up!
Plus, there is EGREGIOUS misuse of a kitchen condiment during some backdoor action.
No. Just, NO.
This has to be made into a T-shirt. Seriously.
The good thing about best and worst lists is it helps me to figure out who I read like. I’m more like Casee in reading taste so if she hates a book I’m just as likely too so I won’t waste my money.
And for me, I didn’t read a horrible book because I don’t review – so more like disappointments more than anything. I didn’t love Singh’s Bonds of Justice but I’ve read much worse books in my time. It was just boring.
cindyS
Rowena, I am a big Jill Mansell fan, and Two’s Company has got to be one of her worst books! I couldn’t figure out what happened to the hero to turn him into the a$$^%&e he turned into!
And I usually don’t make lists of good or bad books. If a book is bad I usually won’t finish it or I’ll skim through the rest of the book to see what happens. And then I forget about them.
I do however make lists of authors I would like to read, and if I find a good book, I will usually go and check to see what else that author has written and get my hands on it asap!