It’s that time of year (a little late) for us to share our least favorite books of 2023. Thanks for joining us this month as we reflect on our favorite (and least favorite) books!

Casee

Smoke and Steel (Wild West MC #2) by Kristen Ashley: This book was not just a big no from me, it was a hell the fuck no. I read in a review that there was domestic abuse, but I decided to read it anyway. Big mistake. I hated this book.

Hemy (Walk of Shame #2) by Victoria Ashley: I’m all for male strippers, but this just went over the top for me.

Wolf Marked (Magic Side: Wolf Bound #1) by Veronica Douglas: I read about half this one and honestly don’t remember why I DNFed it. It was that forgettable.

Pestilence (The Four Horsemen #1) by Laura Thalassa: I tried to like this one. The premise is so interesting, but I couldn’t see how the “hero” could be redeemable. Just no.

Dragon Heat (Air Dragons #1) by Charlene Hartnady: This book sounded so good, but all the exclamation points took me out of the story each time!

Holly

Loverboy (The Company #2) by Sarina Bowen: I am a huge Sarina Bowen fan usually, but this book was a hot mess. As much as I love her contemporary and sports romances, I don’t think her strength is romantic suspense.

The Dark Elf’s Surprise Baby (Secret Babies for Prothekan #2) by Celeste King: I’m actually disappointed in myself for this one. He was physically aggressive with her and acted like a controlling, jealous abuser. Do not recommend.

When He’s Ruthless (Olympus Pride #4) by Suzanne Wright: I read a lot of Wright in 2023, to include many re-reads of this series. But I had to DNF this book. The FMC was immature and acted like a child for most of the book. The pranks were immature and overall I felt very old reading it. Your mileage may vary.

Icebreaker (Maple Hills #1) by Hannah Grace: Another book with immature main characters. They blew hot and cold and, in general, acted like teenagers. I DNF’d at 30%.

Spring Breeze by Lily Alexander: I initially rated this book 3.5 out of 5, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it didn’t deserve more than 2 out of 5. The romance was boring and the rest was pretty silly. I only kept reading because I was curious what would happen with the family drama (and in the end I was disappointed in the resolution for that, too).

It’s that time of year again. The time where we come together and look over the books that we’ve read over the course of 2021 and list our favorites. Today’s list will include all of our least favorite books that we read didn’t read in 2021. Join us for a week of reflecting on our favorites and not so favorite reads, authors, heroes, heroines, and series.

Casee

I had more DNF’s last year than I have in the last five years combined. The whole adage “So much to read, so little time” really forced me to decide that I need to be more selective. I don’t need to stick to it until the bitter end unless I want to.

When Heroes Fall by Giana Darling: I don’t love or hate mafia romances. I love the characters more than the trope. This one was a bit over the top for me & I threw in the towel pretty early.

Vigilante by Jessica Gaziala: This one pains me. I’m a huge Jessica Gadziala fan. I absolutely could not stand the hero. I don’t even remember his name. I do remember that he was insufferable.

Violent Delights by Jessica Hawkins: I don’t remember why I DNF’d this one, but I vaguely remember it being the heroine I had a problem with. And the whole cartel thing really didn’t work for me here.

Explosive by K.E. Osborn: I DNF’d this one at 72%. I was annoyed as I was reading the book, but I liked the hero. Considering who she was and what happened to her, the heroine’s story should have been more poignant or something. Instead, she made decisions and started doing things that were so out of character that I had a hard time suspending my disbelief. A big no from me on this one.

Trigger by J.L. Drake: I remember exactly why I DNF’d this one. It happened early on in the book, which I am forever grateful for.

Holly

I was a lot better this year about quitting books if I wasn’t into them or if they weren’t working for me. Still, a few slipped through. A couple of these weren’t bad reads, they just didn’t live up to my expectations for them.

Red by J.E. Taylor: This was pretty bad all the way around. The writing was choppy and the story was disjointed. There was no clear direction the story was moving and it ended very abruptly.

Heart on a Leash by Alanna Martin: This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2021. The cover, the premise…all of it appealed to me. Sadly, the whole family feud was really over the top and just killed it for me. Not a bad book, but definitely not as good as I was hoping for.

Hardest Fall by Juliette Cross: I didn’t dislike this book, it just wasn’t what I was hoping for. I loved Bone, the heroine, in the first book and expected something different than I got from her. This was definitely a case of my expectations getting in the way, but still. It was disappointing to not get the story I anticipated.

The Monster MAS*H by Angie Fox: Parts of this worked for me, but there were a lot of inconsistencies in the story and the writing, so it didn’t feel like a cohesive book. Plus, the ending was…not my favorite.

Apprentice of Magic by K.M. Shea: This was a DNF for me. I didn’t understand the motivations of either character, the attraction between mentor and student felt a little icky (even if it wasn’t explored) and more importantly, I just didn’t like the main character. She was pretty awful.

That’s a wrap on 2021. Thanks for reminiscing with us this week!