JKR defenders - by all means, keep downvoting and commenting on this video without even listening to what I said about my thoughts about her work even before she was "cancelled." Please continue to cry about cancel culture's effects on one of the most famous authors of our time, who will continue to sit in her fame and fortune, and doesn't even know or care that you are defending her on the internet. Please continue to accuse me of telling you that you cannot enjoy Harry Potter, which is not what I said as someone who still owns the series. All engagement, even negative engagement, helps me in UA-cam's eyes. So thank you xoxo
@@ThoughtsOnTomes I hope I didn’t start/cause something with my comment. I wasn’t trying to be negative. And I totally understood what you meant in the video, and I agree with you! ❤️ much love
Huh I think you just explained why her curse workers series is my favorite, because it's a con story, so it's more natural to have a slower burn with a bunch of stuff at the end
@@jordanreadsalot This was my exact problem with Cruel Prince. The first book was alright because a lot of first series books choose a slow burn type of thing. But the others really should have paced better.
I've only ever cared about JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. every time she's written a book outside of that I'm just like yeah no thank you I'm just gonna see what Harry is up to.
Conspiracy theory: That's is maybe because she's actually Reeta Skeeter and she wrote an amazing exposé and people thought it was a fantasy book. Then she realized she could profit by being a author in the muggle world. That's why everything else is shitty. Cuz she isn't a good author irl
Same. After everyone gushed about ACoMaF I gave her a shot and ended up being utterly disappointed. If that’s her “best” work then she really isn’t for me
I am very late into the fandom and I´ve taken an unusual route, too. I read House of Earth and Blood and loved it. Then I read Throne of Glass and was a bit "meh" about it, but I like the audiobook narrator, so I´ll probably continue at some point. But I have absolutely no interest in the whole ACOTAR series whatsoever. Not sure why, but it just failed to interest me on the synopsis basis, so I´m not going to bother.
I gave up on Tomi Adeyemi ...and the Nora Roberts drama cemented it. I remember finishing the first book and thinking, she has no idea where this story is going and after the second book and the announcement of a fourth in the series, my suspicions were confirmed. I'm only willing to go on a journey with an author if they know where they are going and how they are going to get there
I initially loved the first book but upon reflection and the Nora Roberts drama I dropped it to 4 stars. Then book 2. They literally went in circles. Gave it 3 stars and donated the books. I’ll finish the audiobooks from the library though cuz Bahni Turpin is perfection.
I haven’t read Tomi Adeyemi’s second book yet. I can’t even get through a re-read of the first book. I wanted to love the series, but it didn’t meet any of my expectations. The only reason I may consider reading future works is that she’s admitted that those books were rushed and she could’ve done better. She was definitely out of line for calling out Nora Roberts like that.
I also gave up on Tomi Adeyemi without actually knowing about the Nora Roberts drama. I thought the first book of Children of Blood and Bone was poorly written and the romance was horribly toxic. It also put me in a 2-month-long reading slump so there is that...
Yeah, I saw the drama with Nora Roberts and was like NOPE. Didn't even pick the book up because I don't want to support women hating on women. It wasn't even Nora Roberts fault!
I've given up on the majority of the popular YA contemporary writers. I'm not the biggest romance fan in general, but they managed to completely kill any sort of interest I had towards the genre.
At this point in my life, I have drifted away so hard from any YA and NA popular authors, not because they are bad, just because I don't vibe like that anymore... Still, I have a few exceptions (like Leigh Bardugo) and some that, as you said, are on thin ice (like Cassandra Clare)
An author I'm super on the fence about is Sarah J. Maas (which seems to be a more popular opinion than I thought, judging by some comments here!). I read the first three books in the Throne of Glass series and ACOTAR back when they came out and absolutely loved them, however, I never continued either series (due to not being able to afford the sequels at the time). Now I have reread ACOTAR and the first Throne of Glass book and gave them both 2 stars. I don't know why I loved them so much a few years ago - maybe I really was a very different person back then. But now I just don't vibe with her writing style and especially not with her way of writing romance. I'm currently reading ACOMAF so I know what all the hype is about, but I don't think I'll continue with any of her other series.
This was Harry Potter for me. I kept hearing people say how many times they reread and re-loved the series so I was sucked back in. Quickly found out that what entertained me as a child did not translate to my adult reading tastes! 😅 So now I'm a little skeptical when someone tells me it is still their favorite as an adult reader.
I had this conversation with a friend and I think, if Crescent City book 2 goes in the direct A Court of Silver Flames I think I’m gonna call it quits on Sarah J Maas which for me just feels so :( bc I found Throne of Glass in 2013 right after it came out and it was everything I needed and as her books have come out I think her desires for what she wants to write had changed and of course it’s her right to go in whatever direction she wants but I feel like she’s losing the touch on character she used to have in place the increased sex between the characters. Like I wouldn’t MIND 😩 but it just seems like she can’t balance character development with sex scenes. Idk I’m just kinda sad to have to let go of someone I really did enjoy (despite all her nonsense, as a gay black reader lmao 😭). But idk hopefully Crescent City 2 is gonna keep me around for a little bit.
@@Doomslug Yea same. Like she was never the strongest writer but she had some cool concepts and great characters, but even that is just losing its touch, the characters by the end of Throne of Glass were all so stripped bare, the only person who had any development by the end or dynamic personalities were Manon and Chaol. Dorian became so lackluster, Aedion and Rowan had no personalities. The same thing with Acotar, the characters has just become vessels for sex and it’s so EXHAUSTING to read abt people fucking when they have no chemistry. Nesta and Cassians relatio ship has NO DEVELOPMENT in acosf 😭 and the book is 700 pages. That’s outrageous.
@@dreferre21 You have just consolidated all my feelings about Sarah J Mass, and I thank you very much (because I was trying to figure out what I felt about her). It's just when I read her books I enjoy the tropes she writes about, but she just cheats out of writing proper character development and then I just hate it. And like a well-written sex scene can add so much dynamic into a relationship (for example the Nevernight chronicles), and the fact that Mass probably writes smut scenes just so she can fill pages or idk sell more books just makes me more disappointed.
@@Doomslug Yes! This! I was so disappointed with Silver Flames and apparently Crescent City 2 will be even worse. (She said in her live it has way more sex than ACOSF and ACOSF had too much!!!) There is no plot. Just faerie porn.
Yeah, she also as a person isn't that great, like she continuously talks about how we need diverse stories but then doesn't deliver in any meaningful way. If that is what she wants to do then good for her, but it feels kind of performative. :/
I took this a step further with Sarah J Maas’s ACOTAR series... I hate read the whole trilogy with a friend a highlighted all the lines that made me groan or roll my eyes or shit myself in pure anger and I ended up with more than 200 highlighted passages between the three of them
If you ever try holly black again I would say the coldest girl in cold town is the most worth it. its one of the more unique vampire books out there (especially with YA) and its standalone
It’s such a shame about JK Rowling. I’m a part of the Harry Potter generation. It’s the series/author that got me into reading in the first place. The story got me through so much for several years and I want to say that it still does. But now I find myself hurt and confused. Though I’m not trans and don’t associate myself as another gender, I do associate myself on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum so it just devastates me. I want to separate work from author but it’s not easy. I’m torn between rereading the series from here on out or just leaving it at that. Thank you for joining my Ted Talks...
I’m still gonna love the Harry Potter series and her work despite her comments. I am a bisexual teen and yeah, it sucks what she said, but it’s her opinion and we can’t change that. No one is fully accepting of everything, and we can’t cancel everyone. People just need to stop going on and on about things like this and just let it be, because nothing will change. We should appreciate authors and celebrities for their works of art and good things, not one bad trait or opinion, even if it completely sucks and isn’t fair.
You can still enjoy the series and not support the author. Some people can separate art from artist and some can't. It's a personal choice and neither is wrong.
I know I'm going to reread the series plenty of times more, but I won't spend any more money on Harry Potter stuff and try not to do anything that would support her
@@nelesophie174 that’s my thought.. I own the books already, so i might pick them up again someday if I’m feeling really nostalgic, but I’m not gonna buy stuff that kicks back royalties to her. She sucks 👎🏻
From a "not giving them more money" kind of done standpoint, I was done with JK waaaay back when the travesty that was Cursed Child came out. Yes, I know there were two other writers (if she did any writing at all), but it was her basic idea and she green-lit the final product, so... I haven't actually finished books by enough other authors lately to say yay or nay (aside from the ones I don't want to get into to start with).
I'm not a huge fan of Gaiman. I read Ocean at the End of the Lane and found it kind of boring at times. I liked a lot of the ideas he presented in the novel, but even the climax wasn't very exciting. (The boy was literally just sitting in a protective circle just waiting for his magical friend to come get him! *rolls eyes*)
I think one author that I've given up on is Adam Silvera. I've read both More Happy Than Not and History Is All You Left Me and I hated both of them, the latter irritating me the most. I did enjoy the book he co-authored with Becky Albertalli, but on his own, I don't think his books are for me and that's okay.
Loved the intro. YES, it is ok to not like an author, just because everyone else does. That's what's great about reading, music, art, it's all subjective. What's the saying? One person's garbage is another person's treasure.
I wonder if quarantine has affected people in the sense that I too only want to read books that I KNOW I really want to read. I'm just not giving energy to books that are just ok. I want to feel a potential 4.5-5 from a book now. Maybe it's just me.
nice to hear some validation on the holly black front...i read the cruel prince a while back and it just made me SO mad. but then I checked Goodreads and everyone was like...raving about it?!?!?!? that is the only book I've read by her and that was enough to solidify that I don't wanna read any more, even if the next book in the series is great, just the fact that it's leading on from the chaos of that first book makes it a no from me :')
As someone who has enjoyed every Holly Black I've read, Cruel Prince sounds like something I just don't want to read. So I would say it's worth checking out her earlier work. The Darkest Part of the Forest and The Curse Workers are the ones I've read, and they were all great.
@@bookswithike3256 i’ll certainly consider it! it seemed like there was a lot of lore in the cruel prince that may have been introduced in other books she’s written 🤔
A lot of the authors I used to read when I was new to bookube I don't think I'll read anymore. Marissa Meyer, SJM, Morgan Matson etc. My tastes have vastly changed. JKR will not be getting a CENT more from me.
I'm becoming this way towards Gena Showalter. I used to be excited when a new Lords of the Underworld came out and though I have all the books I'm really just staring at the last three like "Do I have to?" I never really read anything by J.K. Rowling after Harry Potter and I didn't even finish that. I tripped at the finish line and the only reason I know anything about the last book is because of osmosis. I kept the first three books and cut out the others, though part of me is considering finding the fourth book because I didn't hate it or feel like I was being dragged over nails on a meandering plot.
@@danielleoliver1734 I'm interested in the unicorn just because I like unicorns but the last book I read just left me dissatisfied with how the mains were put together. It was more like an "Because I said so." instead of organic connection
I've tried so many times to get into Kameron Hurley and would love to see her succeed as an author, but like you I haven't enjoyed the books in the end. Ah well.
Irony! I actually googled this morning to see what the problem with JK is. I do remember seeing some stuff months ago and talking about it a bit. I'm just surprised it's still a problem. Hmm it seems to me that she said something really unfortunate she probably shouldn't have and she doesn't know how to say she made a mistake. I don't get why she feels using terminology that's inclusive for transgendered people is somehow damaging to women who have lived through abuse. It seems to me she's made it about two separate issues. I get the feeling that maybe her own experiences have made her a bit over sensitive to the issues of women and make her feel the need to defend her position on this when all she really needed to do in the beginning was acknowledge she spoke out of turn and say my bad. I think she may have gone through something pretty awful and l feel like we could show a little sympathy, you know? I'll be honest, I don't hate JK now because of this. I just feel she made a mistake and doesn't know when to back off. Of course! I get why transgendered people are pissed too. Of course I do. I just don't feel JKs comments came from a place of hate towards transgendered people but from a stronger need to defend women's rights. I don't agree with what she said at all, but compared to hating transgendered people just for being transgendered, I don't think her comments make her the monster people seem to feel she is right now. I think everyone's really heated and just needs to take a step back.
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Thank you for the video. I know you probably gave it to me in annoyance and I'm sorry about that. But I did find it informative and her views were very educational for me.
I feel that way with Sarah J Maas. The hyper masculinity in her books... I can’t. It’s been around 5 years since I’ve read a book from her and I couldn’t even finish it. I wish her well but I just can’t.
Julie Kagawa. I read two of her books. Talon and Shadow of the Fox. I tried with Talon (mostly because I love dragons) and was admittedly interested in the premise of Dragons in modern world, training to hide themselves with magic and a military style dragon hunting group. But the story became a very dull romance and i quickly became irritated with the main character. Then I tried Shadow of the Fox. Again, i was interested in the Japanese fantasy world. However, once more it devolved into a cliche romance that was very predictable and the lead annoyed me so much. I was much more interested in the the second lead..until he became part of the romance. I dnf and have refused to finsh. Next I would say is Kylie Chan. I have only read 3 books, the Dark heaven trilogy Again, interesting and fun premieres. A romance story of an Australian child care worker who falls in love with the Chinese god of martial arts and he trains her to fight demons. The books is kind of problematic and its a mess plot wise and while I was intrigued with the world building....i ended up hating the characters. By the end of the third book. I was so done with the characters that i couldn't continue and decided to not pick up her other books.
I've fully given up on Cassandra Clare. I used to be obsessed with TMI when I was around 13, but I've since lost all interest in the Shadowhunter world and I just don't get along with her writing anymore. I can't decide if V. E. Schwab is someone I've given up on or if she's on thin ice. I read ADSOM last year and DNF'd it. Nothing else of hers seems interesting to me now and I've heard all her female characters are very similar to Lila Bard, who I *hate* with a passionate fury. Victoria Aveyard and Stephanie Garber are both on thin ice too. If I don't like their next books, I won't be picking up any more of their work.
@@Clamfaced Do you mean Cassandra Clare? If so, then yes, I absolutely agree! It's one of the reasons I grew out of the series. I just got tired of the same drama over and over again.
@@chloefranklin5324 CC. She makes the same protagonist in terms of personality, the same love interest in terms of personality (and looks, she certainly has a type), the same guy best friend involved in the same love triangle with the same outcome to that love triangle (the hot blonde guy with the attitude always wins) and she's now even doing the same villain (The "I hate shadowhunters because a shadowhunter did something bad to me once" type)
Speaking as someone who used to be firmly up JKRs arse, pre-TERFiness, I think I agree with you. Even when I was a kid, I only wanted more Harry Potter content and I hesitated to call her my favourite author because I only liked the one series by her. I read The Casual Vacancy when it first came out but...I never think about it. I'm just not interested in anything else she's written.
I think we can all acknowledge diminishing returns in her writing before the more awful details about her popped off. I was done personally when she canonized the Cursed Child. So no love lost there her Terf-ness is just icing on my confirmation bias that she deserves no more of my money and no more personal praise in general by the public at large. I’m not gonna proselytize to people who still enjoy the series but I’m also not gonna pretend it’s sacred either or that I simply must share the series with my future children as a binding device...
I also gave up on Sarah Raasch. I read 2 of her books and they were both meh. Same with Marie Lu. I also think I've mostly given up Sarah J. Maas. I used to love her stuff, but now she just writes an annoying amount of smut and it's boring. I'd read like a censored version of her books lol They'd probably be 500 pages instead of 800 that's how much smut there is.
I kind of get the feeling with Maas and the smut is that she is trying to break away from YA and this is how she is going it. I loved her latest book, though even for me an erotica reader it was like damn guys knock it off. But how she treated her characters made for a good read. The fact we saw how she was both made into and stayed the person she was, and also how she overcame it was done really well in my opinionIt was a book I read in two nights because i wanted to see what happened. Saying all that I realize everyones taste is different. I just know for me both serries are pretty solid with some huh okay parts lol
@@aliciavelice3806 yeah, I'm not really a fan of sex scenes. One or two here and there are fine, but I don't want to read one every other page. It's just annoying. The last book of hers I've read was ACOWAR and it was just ridiculous how much smut there was in it.
Taylor Jenkins Reid does nothing for me. Hate to say it because her books are popular and highly rated but, I've tried The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six and couldn't get into either of them. I don't like her writing style.
I'm so glad to see someone else with a similar opinion! I thought there was something wrong with me, because everyone just speaks so highly of her and I just felt that the books were very meh..
I think you would love Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom! It’s very much better than her other books, the characters are older and some super angsty/sexy romance!
oh man i feel you on kameron hurley! it makes me so sad because all of her synposys are *so cool and tempting* but every time i try her something about the writing style just puts me off and makes the reading experience a sludge! tho i did really like her essay collection! you're so right about jk - i felt iffy on her ever since the whole native American appropriation in the American school thing, anyone else remember that? and obviously the transphobia is unforgivable
I have long since given up on James Patterson for sure - and I think after I’m finished with Blood and Honey, I’m unfortunately going to give up on Shelby Mahurin. I’ve only read Serpent and Dove, and Blood and Honey is fine so far, but I have a feeling it’ll just be another 3 star “meh” for me. Also, Holly Black and Laini Taylor; I have only ready The Cruel Prince series and I’ve read Strange the Dreamer (yet to read Muse of Nightmares) but Cruel Prince was a 3 star series overall, and I think for me Laini Taylor’s writing is just too flowery for me to fully understand what it is going on sometimes while reading.
I totally agree with you about Alexandra Bracken, I've tried to read The Darkest Minds three times and I just don't jive with her writing. Victoria Roth and Victoria Aveyard are both in thin ice for me. No more Becca Fitzpatrick, Sarah B. Larson, Gena Showalter, Michelle Hodkin, Ally Condie and probably more I'm forgetting.
Maybe it's just cause I'm not a teenager anymore but I've pretty much given up on most YA authors, with the exception of authors whose books I got really attached to when I was younger. I always thought I'm always gonna be into YA I love these books and Adult seems so boring but now that I'm in my 20s.... yeah, that's changed. Makes me a bit sad but :/
I have mixed feelings about SJM. Throne of Glass is one of my favourite series. I just started a reread and am loving it so far (although I know it’s more nostalgia than anything). ACOTAR I did not love. Everything that everyone loved about ACOMAF and a certain character, I didn’t and it annoys me so much. I haven’t read Crescent City yet but I still want to give it a try despite the mixed reviews.
I'm Giving up on Guy Gavriel Kay. I read Tigana and hated how he portrayed the women. I heard similar things about Under Heaven from others and I just don't want to put myself through that again. So, I'm done with his books.
marie lu is also on my list. i read the Legend trilogy as a teenager and enjoyed it at the time, but i have a feeling that if i reread them as an adult, i won't like them. i also read the young elites and warcross and was completely underwhelmed. there's nothing particularly *bad* about her books per se, but sometimes i feel like she tries to add depth to her characters in a way that feels a bit forced or arbitrary?? i don't quite know how to articulate it
I think I am sort of giving up on Cassandra Clare, I read three of her trilogies and while I really enjoyed the last one The Dark Artifices, I think I am just done with shadow hunters period and all the characters who are named after other characters, it all starts to bleed together in my mind after a while. Maybe if she writes another genre all together or something that has nothing to do with any of her Shadow Hunter universe I might give it a try.
She’s doing an adult fantasy series (supposedly) and I’m actually really curious. I feel the complete same about the shadowhunters though. She’s done the same plot with the same character archetypes over and over.
I only have one and it's VE Schwab. Even her personality isn't for me but I always get caught up in hype and am ultimately disappointed with her and her books. Every thing I've read has been 3 stara or below 😩
Holly Black definaitely I could not even get into the first book, Cassandra Clare, she is very soap opera and not my thing. Tamora Pierce, man I tried I just think they are for younger people than I am. I am sure there are more. One I would recomend only because the concept was pretty cool and the story was as well was The Merciful Crow Book by MARGARET OWEN and The Faithless Hawk. Also was going to say Yes read the Demon King, it was really good. The story was so good i often stayed up late to finish them lol Also I still have not finished the Gilded Wolves. It is good, i enjoy it while i am reading it i put it down and go on to the next book that catches my fancy. I am pretty sure this issue is mine and not the books, as I know you loved them and i trust your good judgement lol
For me it's definitely Sarah J Maas, as curious as I am of her stuff, I know that I will not like it because her writing is lack luster and she's only gotten worse with popularity and I hate her characters. I also might be giving up on Cassandra Clare, her ideas I like and I enjoy her writing more since she's improved, but I can't get with her characters most of the time. Another I am giving up on is Brandon Sanderson, everyone says his stuff is good but his writing style is so bland and boring that I can't get into him. And I've tried. I might give up on Jay Kristoff because as much as I like his ideas, his writing is oversaturated, I still want to get through his Nevernight series if I can. Also with JK Rowling, I haven't been checking for her writing since Harry Potter ended, so letting her go is easy. Plus I hated the last Fantastic Beasts movie that came out so I'm not eager to see what happens next, so I'm okay with giving up on her.
Yeah the only different JK being cancelled has made on my reading is that it's tarnished my nostalgia for the series as it was. As someone who creates content online I'll never promote her stuff/mention it, but I'd like to have the nostalgia back for me, with the copies I already own. Fingers crossed if you ever give any of those "on the edge" authors another shot that they don't disappoint!!
i’ve given up on veronica roth and rainbow rowell. they are not bad writers, it’s just that I couldn’t care less about their characters. I thought I was gonna love RR’s Simon Snow but I just thought it was a hp fanfiction, and not even a good one - i’m a huge hp fan and read ff all the time, so I could see the similarities. About jkr, besides hp, i’m not interested in her other books. I love fantasy, and since they’re mistery novels (i think), i’m not interest at all. if one day she decides to write another magical world book, maybe i’ll read it. but right now, nothing she writes appeals to me.
For me I used to love SJM books a lot and then after the 4th throne of glass one i kinda stopped readings her books for like 2 years and last year i tried so many of her books and ended up hating them i will probably not read anything by her ever again
Becky Albertalli was an auhtor I highly enjoyed for a time but her last few books just kept disappointing me and now I'm not inclined to pick up any more,... same with Rainbow Rowell. Ohter authors are Jeff VanderMeer (I don't get his work), Diane Setterfield (always ranks 3 stars), Dan Brown (if you've read one of his books you've read them all), Adam Silvera (too depressing), John Green (just don't vibe with his work anymore) and Tomi Adeyemi (I immensly disliked Children of Blood and Bone, the romance was so toxic). With Holly Black I'm still indecisive ... I love "The darkest part of the forest" but other books just have been meh for me.
Elizabeth May writes historical romance under the name Katrina Kendrick, I've never read any of them but they look fun if you ever want to give her another chance with the adult age range
Your thoughts on Holly Black are interesting! In my case if I enjoy 1 book in a trilogy and the others are not *bad* but meh, I see it as “well there’s potential” and remember to keep an eye on the author’s new releases :) not as in omg excited 🤩 but as a hm let’s see what the early reviews look like 👀
Amie Kaufman has a solo book series. It is a middle grade fantasy and the first is called Ice Wolves. It was cute and I really think it is great for the middle grade age group but as someone who reads mainly adult fantasy it did feel super young and I didn’t love it.
I agree on Marie Lu! I always love the sinapsis of her books but I never end up liking them. It might be her writing style or the development of the story as a whole, but her premises always have great potential and end up being disappointing to me.
I've personally given up on SJM, Bracken, Kristoff, Mafi... JKR was never a thing for me either, there was the original HP and that was it. Schwab and Bardugo are on thin ice for me
I have fully given up on Schwab 😂 Took me too long to realize that I don't actually like any of her writing/books after trying to get into every single one of her series and failing
@@SamSlamJam funny thing is I do love her earlier works (Archived, Vicious #1, ADSOM) but the rest is meh, and all her recent books I've hated with passion 😁
Thank You for saying out loud it is okay not to like a book or writer just because they don’t jive with you. Why can’t people have opinions anymore. I love WW2 and biographies but I don’t go around bashing people that don’t. That is the beauty of reading there is something out there for everyone. If we all liked the same thing reading would suck.
It’s funny, the only Holly Black book I’ve read is White Cat. I’ve steered clear of her other books because it’s just not for me, but that one was a good one.
Laini Taylor. I wanted to read her stuff and love it like everyone else. But I just really dont connect with her writing for reasons I don't understand to this day.
With Marie Lu I absolutely loved the Legend trilogy but haven't enjoyed anything else she's written. I just got Kingdom of Back and really hope I'll love it because I'm a music buff and the Mozart plot sounds interesting, but I'm worried that I won't enjoy it either /:
The beginning of this list is entirely authors I enjoyed 9 years ago but I just lost interest in so I feel you. I still have Passenger wrapped (and signed!) somewhere on my shelves but I'm feeling there's a 50/50 chance I will DNF. It's so hard when an author seems like such a great person but their work just does not work for you. It's not personal! I did pick up 3 of the Robert Galbraith books but I hated the direction they were going in and realized I was only reading them because everyone was and not because I actually liked them? (It's helps that I'm EXTREMELY PICKY about mysteries) It's much harder to give up an author whose work you are actively enjoying or that has been part of your identity formation so I feel for people trying to do that with Rowling, I'm just not them. Oh and finally, I ALSO FOUND THE FALCONER A HUGE LETDOWN AND FEEL SO VINDICATED BY THIS.
Thank you for your intro. I am trying to be more confident in my opinion and less insecure when someone dislikes something that I like. Because it's not personal. Also, I am currently struggling with the "Red Queen" series. I just started the last book ("War Storm") and it's so frustrating, that I am unsure if I should read Victoria Aveyards new series "Realm Breaker". Thoughts on that?
I agreed with most of what you said to the tee in regards to Holly Black, I'm definitely in the minority with you surrounding The Cruel Prince-UGH. I've given up on Alexandra Bracken for the same reasons. I've read three of her books and Lore will definitely make my worst of 2021. I gave Marie Lu one more chance with with Kingdom of Back and YIKES! I'm over her and Kirsten White. I, however, loved The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman, it was in my top five of 2020. I didn't like Illuminae tho so I get where you're coming from.
I love this! Especially what you said in the beginning... so important!! I haven't read a lot of these authors works, but I have a list as well of authors I probably won't read more from... 😅
Holly Black is such a hit or miss author for me. Darkest part of the forest was the first book I read by her and I really enjoyed it, and then Tithe was a huge let down and I couldn’t even get through itC then Coldest Girl in Cold town was mediocre at best and then the cruel prince series was on and off, although I felt the opposite about it with the first and third being my favourites and the second almost making me drop the series. I think I’d still pick up. A book buy her but I wouldn’t spend the money on a new copy, either borrow it from the library or get it used
I’ve read a couple Marie Lu books and I am legitimately sad I didn’t have them when I was like 14, I would have loved her but in my 30s they’re not enough. When I was an angsty artsy teen in a catholic school with conservative parents I thought Holly Black’s Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside were these dark edgy faerie stories that were amazing and I will always love her for giving me that escape but her books feel like they belong to someone else now.
Kiersten White and Marie Lu are definitely on the list for me, which is frustrating because I read the synopses of their books and I SHOULD love them. Holly Black is also on the list. I tried to read The Cruel Prince and couldn’t get into it, and read an earlier book from her (I think it was called The Darkest Part of the Forest) and really disliked it. Thin ice for me: Tehereh Mafi (the second half of the Shatter Me series was hot garbage) Also, Christina Lauren. The last book I loved from them was The Unhoneymooners. I enjoy some of their earlier books, but the past couple years it’s been mediocre book after mediocre book and I kind of wish instead of pumping out 2-3 meh books a year they focused on one really excellent one.
@@jsth2breethe I honestly don’t know if I even made it that far. There is just something about her writing that doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. And maybe it’s just that I don’t like fae stories as much as other types of fantasy. 🤷🏼♀️
I read The Cruel Prince and honestly it was so hard for me to get through it, first because of the writing style and the plotting which came across as more childish than I enjoy, but mostly because of how disturbingly problematic the whole story, characters and scenes were, without making any attempt to denounce it in any way. Granted this is a problem with a lot of YA books but I just can't take Holly Black seriously after that.
Brandon Sanderson is on the fence for me. I DNF'd the first Mistborn book half way through. I might try to finish it in a few months. I have heard wonderful things about his next series but was told I HAD to read the Mistborn trilogy first. 🥴🙄 Deborah Harkness is 100% done for me. I tried to read A Discovery of Witches. I'm 200 pages from the end but I'm so damn tired of hearing about exercise and wine. I DNF'D ADOW last month. I'm a huge sci-fi/fantasy reader and these were my big fails so far this year. My FAVORITE of the year is John Gwynne. Literally anything by John Gwynne.
The first Mistborn book is a slog for the first third or so for sure, but gets better from there, the second book in the series is a lot better paced though. I haven’t started the third yet but Even Sanderson doesn’t think the first mistborn book is him at his best, or always the best place for people to start reading his work.
@@salamadestron thank you! I hear so many wonderful things about Sanderson so I'm not ready to write him off just yet. I hope to pick up mistborn again next month.
Jim Butcher got added to my list last year after I DNF’d the last Dresden novel. I’ve never seen an author shit the bed so hard so far into a long running series. It also revealed how right his critics were about his earlier stuff. I don’t understand anyone who gave that book a positive review. I should have known it would be bad after taking 6 years, and being split into two books. It killed the series for me and made me take all his books off my book shelf.
I think I'll not try Laini Taylor and Jay Kristoff again. I couldn't even get 30 pages into Nevernight because of the writing style, it just fried my brain. Too many metaphors and 'sugar coating' of the text. If you wanna go grim-dark, go grim-dark and don't overdo it with the prose. I love the Green Bone Saga and really liked the Raven's Mark trilogy. I'm down for grim-dark, just not that overly prose-y kind. Laini Taylor is similar on the prose end but in her case, I can see the appeal, it's just too much linguistical bling for my liking. I made in halfway through Strange the Dreamer before I DNF'ed and still have the book (both because I annotated and because my brain won't let go of the thought that I might wanna finish it one day). Stephani Meyer is another one, but more so because I can't stand her use of domestic violence and abuse as a plot device without exploring the emotion ramifications it has. Granted, I only read Caraval, but I asked people who read the other books and they said it didn't come up in Legendary and Finale and I don't see a reason for someone to lie in that direction. My experiences with a rough home life as a child felt so disrespected by Caraval that I can't overlook it. On J.K. Rowling. I've separated HP from her person for years because I never felt a parasocial relationship with her. I think autism might help with this. I need to have closer contact with someone to feel a bond than just what you get from regular videos and interviews or even just 1 meet and great. The only band I'm ever considered myself a fan of (I probably like the music of other bands just as much but for different reasons) and that I ever actively joined the fan club/fandom of I have way deeper ties to than just a simple meet and greet. I accidentally rolled into the friend group of their main photographers on festivals (who do it because they love doing it and do it well). Their music helped me through the roughest part of my teens (where home life was the most intense) and they truly talk and listen to their fan's stories. It's just great to see genuinely good people going into entertainment (hiring people with mental illness because they want to help and accommodating their needs was so inspiring when I saw them do it and publicly post on why it is so important to listen. Disability validation at its finest :D ) Hope my ramble was interesting.
These are controversial so don't kill me, but Kiera Cass, Sara J Maas, and Cassandra Clare never quite do it for me. Cass has too much romance and it's way too sappy and predictable, Sara J Maas is just very smutty and the plot makes absolutely no sense (I liked ACoTaR a lot more than ToG; ACoTaR was meh, ToG was completely disappointing), and Cassandra Clare's books just aren't to my reading taste. I've somewhat enjoyed three of Marie Lu's series, but none got even close to blowing me away. I'm going to read Kingdom of Back and if that's a three stars too I don't think I'll pick up much more from her.
Laura Thalassa. I read her Bargainers series (starting in 2017) and really enjoyed the fae smuttiness. It was exactly what I needed at the time, I was going through some very serious surgeries and the distraction was perfect. I know I’ll read them again. Every other book I’ve tried from her is complete garbage. She was a one hit wonder for me. Blah.
If you are talking about Danielle Jensen’s adult series Bridge Kingdom, you are right not to read it. Characters were flat and predictable. Romance was boring. Good call.
Kiersten White for me too. I read the first two books of the And I Darken series and Slayer. I have no interest in continuing. I don’t even want to find a synopsis of the 3rd And I Darken book because I just don’t care.
I am still reading Lore and this is my first Alexandra Bracken book. I will let you know either way how I feel, but I think it's healthy and produces discussion on why you don't like an author's work. I like the baseball rules; three strikes and you're out, unless the book was seriously unreadable. I am not offended, by anyone liking or disliking the opposite of how I feel and there are so many books out there why waste your time on a book by an author you have read that's not doing it for you. Also, with the Harry Potter series, I was done when the last movie came out. HP had his time and I can't deny that it took the world by storm, but now it's someone else's turn and Rowling needs to give it up, she's made her coin and will continue until she dies, but I have been done and when she refused to let it die then I have to wonder if she's a greedy person. No, I am not going to buy anything else from you because I want to move on and then those hateful comments she made turned me away from her forever. I can separate author from art, I still love the original series, but I don't like Rowling as a person.
Margaret Atwood is the big one for me. I've read a few of her books and always feel gross and mad when I finish them. Not mad about the subject matter, but mad that all of the characters are unpleasant people that I think I was supposed to root for? I have no desire to read books that make me feel like the world has no good people in it
I'm surprised you didn't like And I Darken. I thought it would be right up your alley. I never really give up on authors. If I like the synopsis I'll at least read the sample.
I read the Stolen Songbird Series Danielle Jense. It was ok there were some things I really liked but looking back I can say it was ok I dont regret reading it but didn't like the ending at all.
I think there are going to be more of the Sarah Morgenthaler Alaska series books than the three but I could be mistaken. I do feel like the third book was better than the previous two but I agree that it’s not a series that wows me.
JKR defenders - by all means, keep downvoting and commenting on this video without even listening to what I said about my thoughts about her work even before she was "cancelled." Please continue to cry about cancel culture's effects on one of the most famous authors of our time, who will continue to sit in her fame and fortune, and doesn't even know or care that you are defending her on the internet. Please continue to accuse me of telling you that you cannot enjoy Harry Potter, which is not what I said as someone who still owns the series. All engagement, even negative engagement, helps me in UA-cam's eyes. So thank you xoxo
Eww. And I really don't think anyone thought you said to others not to enjoy Harry Potter.
@@skywithdiamonds5109 I got comments regarding that so yes, in fact, people did.
@@ThoughtsOnTomes I hope I didn’t start/cause something with my comment. I wasn’t trying to be negative. And I totally understood what you meant in the video, and I agree with you! ❤️ much love
HER views aren’t a reason to cancel her
@@lionheart3290 lol wdym? they’re the exact reason to cancel her... she’s harmful to society
I can't do Holly Black's pacing anymore. It's dear god slow and then all of a sudden 80 things happen at once.
I've never had any interest in reading Holly Black's Books I've met her she is very nice But yeah not interested
yes! does she always do that?? it was such a problem in CP.
@@ThoughtsOnTomes the only other thing I've tried from her was Tithe and I DNFed the first book a third in because of the pacing.
Huh I think you just explained why her curse workers series is my favorite, because it's a con story, so it's more natural to have a slower burn with a bunch of stuff at the end
@@jordanreadsalot This was my exact problem with Cruel Prince. The first book was alright because a lot of first series books choose a slow burn type of thing. But the others really should have paced better.
I'm loving the *sorry-not-sorry* disclaimer. _That's how it's done!_
my guess before the vid begins: alexandra bracken
sam: alex-
me: I KNEW IT!!!!!!!!
you see me lol
LOL SAME, I aint gonna read Passenger if it has the same writing as The Darkest Minds 😶
I've only ever cared about JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. every time she's written a book outside of that I'm just like yeah no thank you I'm just gonna see what Harry is up to.
exactly! same! I could not care less.
I tried to read the book she put out right after Harry Potter and it was horrible.
Same here honestly
Conspiracy theory: That's is maybe because she's actually Reeta Skeeter and she wrote an amazing exposé and people thought it was a fantasy book. Then she realized she could profit by being a author in the muggle world.
That's why everything else is shitty. Cuz she isn't a good author irl
I feel this with Sarah J Maas
Same. After everyone gushed about ACoMaF I gave her a shot and ended up being utterly disappointed. If that’s her “best” work then she really isn’t for me
@@ivingzuniga841 I read her ToG and then read a spoiler and was like well poopie. So I Read aCoTaR and read the series and hated it
I feel the same way, especially after Silver Flames.
I am very late into the fandom and I´ve taken an unusual route, too. I read House of Earth and Blood and loved it. Then I read Throne of Glass and was a bit "meh" about it, but I like the audiobook narrator, so I´ll probably continue at some point. But I have absolutely no interest in the whole ACOTAR series whatsoever. Not sure why, but it just failed to interest me on the synopsis basis, so I´m not going to bother.
Same
damn, you gave so many of these authors so many chances. I usually drop authors after 1 bad book.
really? also if you loved the six books from that author you read before?
sometimes there's just one sour apple for you in their published works.
I gave up on Tomi Adeyemi ...and the Nora Roberts drama cemented it. I remember finishing the first book and thinking, she has no idea where this story is going and after the second book and the announcement of a fourth in the series, my suspicions were confirmed. I'm only willing to go on a journey with an author if they know where they are going and how they are going to get there
I initially loved the first book but upon reflection and the Nora Roberts drama I dropped it to 4 stars. Then book 2. They literally went in circles. Gave it 3 stars and donated the books. I’ll finish the audiobooks from the library though cuz Bahni Turpin is perfection.
Agreed. That first book too was such a let down.
I haven’t read Tomi Adeyemi’s second book yet. I can’t even get through a re-read of the first book. I wanted to love the series, but it didn’t meet any of my expectations. The only reason I may consider reading future works is that she’s admitted that those books were rushed and she could’ve done better. She was definitely out of line for calling out Nora Roberts like that.
I also gave up on Tomi Adeyemi without actually knowing about the Nora Roberts drama. I thought the first book of Children of Blood and Bone was poorly written and the romance was horribly toxic. It also put me in a 2-month-long reading slump so there is that...
Yeah, I saw the drama with Nora Roberts and was like NOPE. Didn't even pick the book up because I don't want to support women hating on women. It wasn't even Nora Roberts fault!
I've given up on the majority of the popular YA contemporary writers. I'm not the biggest romance fan in general, but they managed to completely kill any sort of interest I had towards the genre.
I feel you. I am planning on reading Radio Silence because I’ve heard great reviews about that. If it’s trash, I’m just gonna throw in the towel. 😂
@@titanynahudson5890 I hope you have better luck than me!
At this point in my life, I have drifted away so hard from any YA and NA popular authors, not because they are bad, just because I don't vibe like that anymore... Still, I have a few exceptions (like Leigh Bardugo) and some that, as you said, are on thin ice (like Cassandra Clare)
Same! It’s just not the writing style for me anymore but it doesn’t mean it’s bad.
An author I'm super on the fence about is Sarah J. Maas (which seems to be a more popular opinion than I thought, judging by some comments here!). I read the first three books in the Throne of Glass series and ACOTAR back when they came out and absolutely loved them, however, I never continued either series (due to not being able to afford the sequels at the time). Now I have reread ACOTAR and the first Throne of Glass book and gave them both 2 stars. I don't know why I loved them so much a few years ago - maybe I really was a very different person back then. But now I just don't vibe with her writing style and especially not with her way of writing romance. I'm currently reading ACOMAF so I know what all the hype is about, but I don't think I'll continue with any of her other series.
This was Harry Potter for me. I kept hearing people say how many times they reread and re-loved the series so I was sucked back in. Quickly found out that what entertained me as a child did not translate to my adult reading tastes! 😅 So now I'm a little skeptical when someone tells me it is still their favorite as an adult reader.
I had this conversation with a friend and I think, if Crescent City book 2 goes in the direct A Court of Silver Flames I think I’m gonna call it quits on Sarah J Maas which for me just feels so :( bc I found Throne of Glass in 2013 right after it came out and it was everything I needed and as her books have come out I think her desires for what she wants to write had changed and of course it’s her right to go in whatever direction she wants but I feel like she’s losing the touch on character she used to have in place the increased sex between the characters. Like I wouldn’t MIND 😩 but it just seems like she can’t balance character development with sex scenes. Idk I’m just kinda sad to have to let go of someone I really did enjoy (despite all her nonsense, as a gay black reader lmao 😭). But idk hopefully Crescent City 2 is gonna keep me around for a little bit.
Everything I used to love about her books are nowhere to be found again. I'm sad too, those books are just porn now
@@Doomslug Yea same. Like she was never the strongest writer but she had some cool concepts and great characters, but even that is just losing its touch, the characters by the end of Throne of Glass were all so stripped bare, the only person who had any development by the end or dynamic personalities were Manon and Chaol. Dorian became so lackluster, Aedion and Rowan had no personalities. The same thing with Acotar, the characters has just become vessels for sex and it’s so EXHAUSTING to read abt people fucking when they have no chemistry. Nesta and Cassians relatio ship has NO DEVELOPMENT in acosf 😭 and the book is 700 pages. That’s outrageous.
@@dreferre21 You have just consolidated all my feelings about Sarah J Mass, and I thank you very much (because I was trying to figure out what I felt about her). It's just when I read her books I enjoy the tropes she writes about, but she just cheats out of writing proper character development and then I just hate it. And like a well-written sex scene can add so much dynamic into a relationship (for example the Nevernight chronicles), and the fact that Mass probably writes smut scenes just so she can fill pages or idk sell more books just makes me more disappointed.
@@Doomslug Yes! This! I was so disappointed with Silver Flames and apparently Crescent City 2 will be even worse. (She said in her live it has way more sex than ACOSF and ACOSF had too much!!!) There is no plot. Just faerie porn.
Yeah, she also as a person isn't that great, like she continuously talks about how we need diverse stories but then doesn't deliver in any meaningful way. If that is what she wants to do then good for her, but it feels kind of performative. :/
I took this a step further with Sarah J Maas’s ACOTAR series... I hate read the whole trilogy with a friend a highlighted all the lines that made me groan or roll my eyes or shit myself in pure anger and I ended up with more than 200 highlighted passages between the three of them
“Use google... cause it’s everywhere” 😂 I love you
If you ever try holly black again I would say the coldest girl in cold town is the most worth it. its one of the more unique vampire books out there (especially with YA) and its standalone
That’s actually one of the only ones I’m interested in
I second this! I haven't read most of her books because they just don't interest me that much, but I *really* enjoyed The Coldest Girl in Coldtown.
Absolutely! It's one of the books I always go back too and I don't like anything else by Holly Black
It’s such a shame about JK Rowling. I’m a part of the Harry Potter generation. It’s the series/author that got me into reading in the first place. The story got me through so much for several years and I want to say that it still does. But now I find myself hurt and confused. Though I’m not trans and don’t associate myself as another gender, I do associate myself on the LGBTQIA+ spectrum so it just devastates me. I want to separate work from author but it’s not easy. I’m torn between rereading the series from here on out or just leaving it at that. Thank you for joining my Ted Talks...
I’m still gonna love the Harry Potter series and her work despite her comments. I am a bisexual teen and yeah, it sucks what she said, but it’s her opinion and we can’t change that. No one is fully accepting of everything, and we can’t cancel everyone. People just need to stop going on and on about things like this and just let it be, because nothing will change. We should appreciate authors and celebrities for their works of art and good things, not one bad trait or opinion, even if it completely sucks and isn’t fair.
You can still enjoy the series and not support the author. Some people can separate art from artist and some can't. It's a personal choice and neither is wrong.
I know I'm going to reread the series plenty of times more, but I won't spend any more money on Harry Potter stuff and try not to do anything that would support her
@@nelesophie174 that’s my thought.. I own the books already, so i might pick them up again someday if I’m feeling really nostalgic, but I’m not gonna buy stuff that kicks back royalties to her. She sucks 👎🏻
I say still enjoy the series, get them from the library if you don't want to monetarily support her but still enjoy the stories.
From a "not giving them more money" kind of done standpoint, I was done with JK waaaay back when the travesty that was Cursed Child came out. Yes, I know there were two other writers (if she did any writing at all), but it was her basic idea and she green-lit the final product, so... I haven't actually finished books by enough other authors lately to say yay or nay (aside from the ones I don't want to get into to start with).
I'm not a huge fan of Gaiman. I read Ocean at the End of the Lane and found it kind of boring at times. I liked a lot of the ideas he presented in the novel, but even the climax wasn't very exciting. (The boy was literally just sitting in a protective circle just waiting for his magical friend to come get him! *rolls eyes*)
I’ve tried Gaiman three times because he feels like an author I should but but I’ve officially called it quits on him
I've read two books by Gaiman and not liked either at all.
I think one author that I've given up on is Adam Silvera. I've read both More Happy Than Not and History Is All You Left Me and I hated both of them, the latter irritating me the most. I did enjoy the book he co-authored with Becky Albertalli, but on his own, I don't think his books are for me and that's okay.
His book always put me in a depressing mood and cause reading slumps. :/
@@writtendell Aww, that sucks. :( No doubt that's another reason to not read his books, but for me, I just hate his characters.
Loved the intro. YES, it is ok to not like an author, just because everyone else does. That's what's great about reading, music, art, it's all subjective. What's the saying? One person's garbage is another person's treasure.
I wonder if quarantine has affected people in the sense that I too only want to read books that I KNOW I really want to read. I'm just not giving energy to books that are just ok. I want to feel a potential 4.5-5 from a book now. Maybe it's just me.
nice to hear some validation on the holly black front...i read the cruel prince a while back and it just made me SO mad. but then I checked Goodreads and everyone was like...raving about it?!?!?!? that is the only book I've read by her and that was enough to solidify that I don't wanna read any more, even if the next book in the series is great, just the fact that it's leading on from the chaos of that first book makes it a no from me :')
As someone who has enjoyed every Holly Black I've read, Cruel Prince sounds like something I just don't want to read. So I would say it's worth checking out her earlier work. The Darkest Part of the Forest and The Curse Workers are the ones I've read, and they were all great.
@@bookswithike3256 i’ll certainly consider it! it seemed like there was a lot of lore in the cruel prince that may have been introduced in other books she’s written 🤔
A lot of the authors I used to read when I was new to bookube I don't think I'll read anymore. Marissa Meyer, SJM, Morgan Matson etc. My tastes have vastly changed. JKR will not be getting a CENT more from me.
I'm becoming this way towards Gena Showalter. I used to be excited when a new Lords of the Underworld came out and though I have all the books I'm really just staring at the last three like "Do I have to?"
I never really read anything by J.K. Rowling after Harry Potter and I didn't even finish that. I tripped at the finish line and the only reason I know anything about the last book is because of osmosis. I kept the first three books and cut out the others, though part of me is considering finding the fourth book because I didn't hate it or feel like I was being dragged over nails on a meandering plot.
I still haven’t read the last 2 LOTU books, I don’t want to read the Gily book, or the follow up with the love interest being a unicorn
@@danielleoliver1734 I'm interested in the unicorn just because I like unicorns but the last book I read just left me dissatisfied with how the mains were put together. It was more like an "Because I said so." instead of organic connection
Your lipstick looks like satin. I'm here for it :^)
I've tried so many times to get into Kameron Hurley and would love to see her succeed as an author, but like you I haven't enjoyed the books in the end. Ah well.
Irony! I actually googled this morning to see what the problem with JK is. I do remember seeing some stuff months ago and talking about it a bit. I'm just surprised it's still a problem. Hmm it seems to me that she said something really unfortunate she probably shouldn't have and she doesn't know how to say she made a mistake. I don't get why she feels using terminology that's inclusive for transgendered people is somehow damaging to women who have lived through abuse. It seems to me she's made it about two separate issues. I get the feeling that maybe her own experiences have made her a bit over sensitive to the issues of women and make her feel the need to defend her position on this when all she really needed to do in the beginning was acknowledge she spoke out of turn and say my bad. I think she may have gone through something pretty awful and l feel like we could show a little sympathy, you know? I'll be honest, I don't hate JK now because of this. I just feel she made a mistake and doesn't know when to back off. Of course! I get why transgendered people are pissed too. Of course I do. I just don't feel JKs comments came from a place of hate towards transgendered people but from a stronger need to defend women's rights. I don't agree with what she said at all, but compared to hating transgendered people just for being transgendered, I don't think her comments make her the monster people seem to feel she is right now. I think everyone's really heated and just needs to take a step back.
ua-cam.com/video/7gDKbT_l2us/v-deo.html
@@ThoughtsOnTomes Thank you for the video. I know you probably gave it to me in annoyance and I'm sorry about that. But I did find it informative and her views were very educational for me.
I was expecting V.E. Schwab to be on the “almost there” list.
I think I mentioned her in a previous video like this but that’s absolutely true
I feel that way with Sarah J Maas. The hyper masculinity in her books... I can’t. It’s been around 5 years since I’ve read a book from her and I couldn’t even finish it. I wish her well but I just can’t.
Same.
Julie Kagawa. I read two of her books. Talon and Shadow of the Fox.
I tried with Talon (mostly because I love dragons) and was admittedly interested in the premise of Dragons in modern world, training to hide themselves with magic and a military style dragon hunting group.
But the story became a very dull romance and i quickly became irritated with the main character.
Then I tried Shadow of the Fox. Again, i was interested in the Japanese fantasy world. However, once more it devolved into a cliche romance that was very predictable and the lead annoyed me so much. I was much more interested in the the second lead..until he became part of the romance.
I dnf and have refused to finsh.
Next I would say is Kylie Chan. I have only read 3 books, the Dark heaven trilogy
Again, interesting and fun premieres. A romance story of an Australian child care worker who falls in love with the Chinese god of martial arts and he trains her to fight demons.
The books is kind of problematic and its a mess plot wise and while I was intrigued with the world building....i ended up hating the characters.
By the end of the third book. I was so done with the characters that i couldn't continue and decided to not pick up her other books.
I've fully given up on Cassandra Clare. I used to be obsessed with TMI when I was around 13, but I've since lost all interest in the Shadowhunter world and I just don't get along with her writing anymore. I can't decide if V. E. Schwab is someone I've given up on or if she's on thin ice. I read ADSOM last year and DNF'd it. Nothing else of hers seems interesting to me now and I've heard all her female characters are very similar to Lila Bard, who I *hate* with a passionate fury. Victoria Aveyard and Stephanie Garber are both on thin ice too. If I don't like their next books, I won't be picking up any more of their work.
Also its the same book OVER AND OVER again. Like she's made bank on repeating the same story and characters
@@Clamfaced Do you mean Cassandra Clare? If so, then yes, I absolutely agree! It's one of the reasons I grew out of the series. I just got tired of the same drama over and over again.
@@chloefranklin5324 CC. She makes the same protagonist in terms of personality, the same love interest in terms of personality (and looks, she certainly has a type), the same guy best friend involved in the same love triangle with the same outcome to that love triangle (the hot blonde guy with the attitude always wins) and she's now even doing the same villain (The "I hate shadowhunters because a shadowhunter did something bad to me once" type)
@@Clamfaced Literally only one of her love interests is blond.
Speaking as someone who used to be firmly up JKRs arse, pre-TERFiness, I think I agree with you. Even when I was a kid, I only wanted more Harry Potter content and I hesitated to call her my favourite author because I only liked the one series by her. I read The Casual Vacancy when it first came out but...I never think about it. I'm just not interested in anything else she's written.
I think we can all acknowledge diminishing returns in her writing before the more awful details about her popped off. I was done personally when she canonized the Cursed Child. So no love lost there her Terf-ness is just icing on my confirmation bias that she deserves no more of my money and no more personal praise in general by the public at large. I’m not gonna proselytize to people who still enjoy the series but I’m also not gonna pretend it’s sacred either or that I simply must share the series with my future children as a binding device...
"The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein" and "Mind Games" by Kiersten White were awesome.
I second The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein! The audiobook was lovely!
I also gave up on Sarah Raasch. I read 2 of her books and they were both meh. Same with Marie Lu. I also think I've mostly given up Sarah J. Maas. I used to love her stuff, but now she just writes an annoying amount of smut and it's boring. I'd read like a censored version of her books lol They'd probably be 500 pages instead of 800 that's how much smut there is.
I kind of get the feeling with Maas and the smut is that she is trying to break away from YA and this is how she is going it. I loved her latest book, though even for me an erotica reader it was like damn guys knock it off. But how she treated her characters made for a good read. The fact we saw how she was both made into and stayed the person she was, and also how she overcame it was done really well in my opinionIt was a book I read in two nights because i wanted to see what happened. Saying all that I realize everyones taste is different. I just know for me both serries are pretty solid with some huh okay parts lol
@@aliciavelice3806 yeah, I'm not really a fan of sex scenes. One or two here and there are fine, but I don't want to read one every other page. It's just annoying. The last book of hers I've read was ACOWAR and it was just ridiculous how much smut there was in it.
@@romana316 No i agree she is going over board, to be honest i read the first one and skip the rest of them lol
Taylor Jenkins Reid does nothing for me. Hate to say it because her books are popular and highly rated but, I've tried The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six and couldn't get into either of them. I don't like her writing style.
I'm so glad to see someone else with a similar opinion! I thought there was something wrong with me, because everyone just speaks so highly of her and I just felt that the books were very meh..
Maggie Steifvater is my done. I’ve tried her stuff and I just don’t like it. I won’t be reading any of her books.
Have you read From Blood and Ash?
I think you would love Danielle L. Jensen’s The Bridge Kingdom! It’s very much better than her other books, the characters are older and some super angsty/sexy romance!
Why do people write comments like this? It's so annoying. She doesn't want to read her stuff.
oh man i feel you on kameron hurley! it makes me so sad because all of her synposys are *so cool and tempting* but every time i try her something about the writing style just puts me off and makes the reading experience a sludge! tho i did really like her essay collection!
you're so right about jk - i felt iffy on her ever since the whole native American appropriation in the American school thing, anyone else remember that? and obviously the transphobia is unforgivable
I have long since given up on James Patterson for sure - and I think after I’m finished with Blood and Honey, I’m unfortunately going to give up on Shelby Mahurin. I’ve only read Serpent and Dove, and Blood and Honey is fine so far, but I have a feeling it’ll just be another 3 star “meh” for me.
Also, Holly Black and Laini Taylor; I have only ready The Cruel Prince series and I’ve read Strange the Dreamer (yet to read Muse of Nightmares) but Cruel Prince was a 3 star series overall, and I think for me Laini Taylor’s writing is just too flowery for me to fully understand what it is going on sometimes while reading.
Does James Patterson even write his own books anymore?
@@ThoughtsOnTomes that is a good question! 🤣
I totally agree with you about Alexandra Bracken, I've tried to read The Darkest Minds three times and I just don't jive with her writing.
Victoria Roth and Victoria Aveyard are both in thin ice for me.
No more Becca Fitzpatrick, Sarah B. Larson, Gena Showalter, Michelle Hodkin, Ally Condie and probably more I'm forgetting.
I hope this video helps other people see that it’s ok to not like the same popular authors that “everyone else” seems to like. 🙌🏽
Maybe it's just cause I'm not a teenager anymore but I've pretty much given up on most YA authors, with the exception of authors whose books I got really attached to when I was younger. I always thought I'm always gonna be into YA I love these books and Adult seems so boring but now that I'm in my 20s.... yeah, that's changed. Makes me a bit sad but :/
I have mixed feelings about SJM. Throne of Glass is one of my favourite series. I just started a reread and am loving it so far (although I know it’s more nostalgia than anything). ACOTAR I did not love. Everything that everyone loved about ACOMAF and a certain character, I didn’t and it annoys me so much. I haven’t read Crescent City yet but I still want to give it a try despite the mixed reviews.
Im not going to read anything by Rainbow Rowell. Her books bore me 🤣
I'm Giving up on Guy Gavriel Kay. I read Tigana and hated how he portrayed the women. I heard similar things about Under Heaven from others and I just don't want to put myself through that again. So, I'm done with his books.
marie lu is also on my list. i read the Legend trilogy as a teenager and enjoyed it at the time, but i have a feeling that if i reread them as an adult, i won't like them. i also read the young elites and warcross and was completely underwhelmed. there's nothing particularly *bad* about her books per se, but sometimes i feel like she tries to add depth to her characters in a way that feels a bit forced or arbitrary?? i don't quite know how to articulate it
I think I am sort of giving up on Cassandra Clare, I read three of her trilogies and while I really enjoyed the last one The Dark Artifices, I think I am just done with shadow hunters period and all the characters who are named after other characters, it all starts to bleed together in my mind after a while. Maybe if she writes another genre all together or something that has nothing to do with any of her Shadow Hunter universe I might give it a try.
She’s doing an adult fantasy series (supposedly) and I’m actually really curious. I feel the complete same about the shadowhunters though. She’s done the same plot with the same character archetypes over and over.
Sam: "Never say never"
Also Sam, for the previous 5 minutes: "I'm never reading another book by these authors"
I only have one and it's VE Schwab. Even her personality isn't for me but I always get caught up in hype and am ultimately disappointed with her and her books. Every thing I've read has been 3 stara or below 😩
Holly Black definaitely I could not even get into the first book, Cassandra Clare, she is very soap opera and not my thing. Tamora Pierce, man I tried I just think they are for younger people than I am. I am sure there are more. One I would recomend only because the concept was pretty cool and the story was as well was The Merciful Crow
Book by MARGARET OWEN and The Faithless Hawk. Also was going to say Yes read the Demon King, it was really good. The story was so good i often stayed up late to finish them lol Also I still have not finished the Gilded Wolves. It is good, i enjoy it while i am reading it i put it down and go on to the next book that catches my fancy. I am pretty sure this issue is mine and not the books, as I know you loved them and i trust your good judgement lol
I had a good laugh at the ‘I. Dont. Care.’. I appreciate this energy a lot 😹
and yet... I still got sass from people lol
For me it's definitely Sarah J Maas, as curious as I am of her stuff, I know that I will not like it because her writing is lack luster and she's only gotten worse with popularity and I hate her characters. I also might be giving up on Cassandra Clare, her ideas I like and I enjoy her writing more since she's improved, but I can't get with her characters most of the time. Another I am giving up on is Brandon Sanderson, everyone says his stuff is good but his writing style is so bland and boring that I can't get into him. And I've tried. I might give up on Jay Kristoff because as much as I like his ideas, his writing is oversaturated, I still want to get through his Nevernight series if I can. Also with JK Rowling, I haven't been checking for her writing since Harry Potter ended, so letting her go is easy. Plus I hated the last Fantastic Beasts movie that came out so I'm not eager to see what happens next, so I'm okay with giving up on her.
Yeah the only different JK being cancelled has made on my reading is that it's tarnished my nostalgia for the series as it was. As someone who creates content online I'll never promote her stuff/mention it, but I'd like to have the nostalgia back for me, with the copies I already own. Fingers crossed if you ever give any of those "on the edge" authors another shot that they don't disappoint!!
i’ve given up on veronica roth and rainbow rowell. they are not bad writers, it’s just that I couldn’t care less about their characters. I thought I was gonna love RR’s Simon Snow but I just thought it was a hp fanfiction, and not even a good one - i’m a huge hp fan and read ff all the time, so I could see the similarities. About jkr, besides hp, i’m not interested in her other books. I love fantasy, and since they’re mistery novels (i think), i’m not interest at all. if one day she decides to write another magical world book, maybe i’ll read it. but right now, nothing she writes appeals to me.
For me I used to love SJM books a lot and then after the 4th throne of glass one i kinda stopped readings her books for like 2 years and last year i tried so many of her books and ended up hating them i will probably not read anything by her ever again
Becky Albertalli was an auhtor I highly enjoyed for a time but her last few books just kept disappointing me and now I'm not inclined to pick up any more,... same with Rainbow Rowell. Ohter authors are Jeff VanderMeer (I don't get his work), Diane Setterfield (always ranks 3 stars), Dan Brown (if you've read one of his books you've read them all), Adam Silvera (too depressing), John Green (just don't vibe with his work anymore) and Tomi Adeyemi (I immensly disliked Children of Blood and Bone, the romance was so toxic). With Holly Black I'm still indecisive ... I love "The darkest part of the forest" but other books just have been meh for me.
Elizabeth May writes historical romance under the name Katrina Kendrick, I've never read any of them but they look fun if you ever want to give her another chance with the adult age range
Thanks for that I'll check that out
Your thoughts on Holly Black are interesting! In my case if I enjoy 1 book in a trilogy and the others are not *bad* but meh, I see it as “well there’s potential” and remember to keep an eye on the author’s new releases :) not as in omg excited 🤩 but as a hm let’s see what the early reviews look like 👀
Amie Kaufman has a solo book series. It is a middle grade fantasy and the first is called Ice Wolves. It was cute and I really think it is great for the middle grade age group but as someone who reads mainly adult fantasy it did feel super young and I didn’t love it.
I agree on Marie Lu! I always love the sinapsis of her books but I never end up liking them. It might be her writing style or the development of the story as a whole, but her premises always have great potential and end up being disappointing to me.
I've personally given up on SJM, Bracken, Kristoff, Mafi... JKR was never a thing for me either, there was the original HP and that was it. Schwab and Bardugo are on thin ice for me
I have fully given up on Schwab 😂 Took me too long to realize that I don't actually like any of her writing/books after trying to get into every single one of her series and failing
@@SamSlamJam funny thing is I do love her earlier works (Archived, Vicious #1, ADSOM) but the rest is meh, and all her recent books I've hated with passion 😁
Thank You for saying out loud it is okay not to like a book or writer just because they don’t jive with you. Why can’t people have opinions anymore. I love WW2 and biographies but I don’t go around bashing people that don’t. That is the beauty of reading there is something out there for everyone. If we all liked the same thing reading would suck.
It’s funny, the only Holly Black book I’ve read is White Cat. I’ve steered clear of her other books because it’s just not for me, but that one was a good one.
On topic _(which is rare for me on BookTube ;^P),_ I should say that there aren't any authors on who I'd give up. I'm an eternal optimist.
Laini Taylor. I wanted to read her stuff and love it like everyone else. But I just really dont connect with her writing for reasons I don't understand to this day.
With Marie Lu I absolutely loved the Legend trilogy but haven't enjoyed anything else she's written. I just got Kingdom of Back and really hope I'll love it because I'm a music buff and the Mozart plot sounds interesting, but I'm worried that I won't enjoy it either /:
The beginning of this list is entirely authors I enjoyed 9 years ago but I just lost interest in so I feel you. I still have Passenger wrapped (and signed!) somewhere on my shelves but I'm feeling there's a 50/50 chance I will DNF.
It's so hard when an author seems like such a great person but their work just does not work for you. It's not personal!
I did pick up 3 of the Robert Galbraith books but I hated the direction they were going in and realized I was only reading them because everyone was and not because I actually liked them? (It's helps that I'm EXTREMELY PICKY about mysteries)
It's much harder to give up an author whose work you are actively enjoying or that has been part of your identity formation so I feel for people trying to do that with Rowling, I'm just not them.
Oh and finally, I ALSO FOUND THE FALCONER A HUGE LETDOWN AND FEEL SO VINDICATED BY THIS.
Thank you for your intro. I am trying to be more confident in my opinion and less insecure when someone dislikes something that I like. Because it's not personal.
Also, I am currently struggling with the "Red Queen" series. I just started the last book ("War Storm") and it's so frustrating, that I am unsure if I should read Victoria Aveyards new series "Realm Breaker".
Thoughts on that?
haven't even started watching yet but the pile of sanderson books on the shelf tells me these will be excellent takes
I love your videos, kisses from Poland! 🖤
I agreed with most of what you said to the tee in regards to Holly Black, I'm definitely in the minority with you surrounding The Cruel Prince-UGH. I've given up on Alexandra Bracken for the same reasons. I've read three of her books and Lore will definitely make my worst of 2021. I gave Marie Lu one more chance with with Kingdom of Back and YIKES! I'm over her and Kirsten White. I, however, loved The Other Side of the Sky by Amie Kaufman, it was in my top five of 2020. I didn't like Illuminae tho so I get where you're coming from.
Again an excellent topic ! For me, it'll be B. Sanderson and SJ Maas.
Would equally be interested in your auto-buy list! (Just a thought😉)
I love this! Especially what you said in the beginning... so important!! I haven't read a lot of these authors works, but I have a list as well of authors I probably won't read more from... 😅
Holly Black is such a hit or miss author for me. Darkest part of the forest was the first book I read by her and I really enjoyed it, and then Tithe was a huge let down and I couldn’t even get through itC then Coldest Girl in Cold town was mediocre at best and then the cruel prince series was on and off, although I felt the opposite about it with the first and third being my favourites and the second almost making me drop the series. I think I’d still pick up. A book buy her but I wouldn’t spend the money on a new copy, either borrow it from the library or get it used
I agree with so many of these authors! Bracken, Rowling, Jensen, and White
I’ve read a couple Marie Lu books and I am legitimately sad I didn’t have them when I was like 14, I would have loved her but in my 30s they’re not enough. When I was an angsty artsy teen in a catholic school with conservative parents I thought Holly Black’s Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside were these dark edgy faerie stories that were amazing and I will always love her for giving me that escape but her books feel like they belong to someone else now.
AG Howard, Colleen Houck, and Cassandra Clare are authors I've completely given up on.
Kiersten White and Marie Lu are definitely on the list for me, which is frustrating because I read the synopses of their books and I SHOULD love them.
Holly Black is also on the list. I tried to read The Cruel Prince and couldn’t get into it, and read an earlier book from her (I think it was called The Darkest Part of the Forest) and really disliked it.
Thin ice for me:
Tehereh Mafi (the second half of the Shatter Me series was hot garbage)
Also, Christina Lauren. The last book I loved from them was The Unhoneymooners. I enjoy some of their earlier books, but the past couple years it’s been mediocre book after mediocre book and I kind of wish instead of pumping out 2-3 meh books a year they focused on one really excellent one.
I think I only made it through 3 chapters of Cruel Prince before I DNF’d it.
@@jsth2breethe I honestly don’t know if I even made it that far. There is just something about her writing that doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. And maybe it’s just that I don’t like fae stories as much as other types of fantasy. 🤷🏼♀️
I read The Cruel Prince and honestly it was so hard for me to get through it, first because of the writing style and the plotting which came across as more childish than I enjoy, but mostly because of how disturbingly problematic the whole story, characters and scenes were, without making any attempt to denounce it in any way. Granted this is a problem with a lot of YA books but I just can't take Holly Black seriously after that.
Completely agree with Alexandra Bracken. I feel exactly the same.
Me with Sarah J Maas
There is far too much amazing fanfic written by good people that no one needs to touch JKR anymore
Brandon Sanderson is on the fence for me. I DNF'd the first Mistborn book half way through. I might try to finish it in a few months. I have heard wonderful things about his next series but was told I HAD to read the Mistborn trilogy first. 🥴🙄 Deborah Harkness is 100% done for me. I tried to read A Discovery of Witches. I'm 200 pages from the end but I'm so damn tired of hearing about exercise and wine. I DNF'D ADOW last month. I'm a huge sci-fi/fantasy reader and these were my big fails so far this year. My FAVORITE of the year is John Gwynne. Literally anything by John Gwynne.
The first Mistborn book is a slog for the first third or so for sure, but gets better from there, the second book in the series is a lot better paced though. I haven’t started the third yet but Even Sanderson doesn’t think the first mistborn book is him at his best, or always the best place for people to start reading his work.
@@salamadestron thank you! I hear so many wonderful things about Sanderson so I'm not ready to write him off just yet. I hope to pick up mistborn again next month.
i've given up on Veronica Roth
This made me thinking who I suddenly gave up on reading.
Jim Butcher got added to my list last year after I DNF’d the last Dresden novel. I’ve never seen an author shit the bed so hard so far into a long running series. It also revealed how right his critics were about his earlier stuff. I don’t understand anyone who gave that book a positive review. I should have known it would be bad after taking 6 years, and being split into two books. It killed the series for me and made me take all his books off my book shelf.
I think I'll not try Laini Taylor and Jay Kristoff again. I couldn't even get 30 pages into Nevernight because of the writing style, it just fried my brain. Too many metaphors and 'sugar coating' of the text. If you wanna go grim-dark, go grim-dark and don't overdo it with the prose. I love the Green Bone Saga and really liked the Raven's Mark trilogy. I'm down for grim-dark, just not that overly prose-y kind.
Laini Taylor is similar on the prose end but in her case, I can see the appeal, it's just too much linguistical bling for my liking. I made in halfway through Strange the Dreamer before I DNF'ed and still have the book (both because I annotated and because my brain won't let go of the thought that I might wanna finish it one day).
Stephani Meyer is another one, but more so because I can't stand her use of domestic violence and abuse as a plot device without exploring the emotion ramifications it has. Granted, I only read Caraval, but I asked people who read the other books and they said it didn't come up in Legendary and Finale and I don't see a reason for someone to lie in that direction. My experiences with a rough home life as a child felt so disrespected by Caraval that I can't overlook it.
On J.K. Rowling. I've separated HP from her person for years because I never felt a parasocial relationship with her. I think autism might help with this. I need to have closer contact with someone to feel a bond than just what you get from regular videos and interviews or even just 1 meet and great.
The only band I'm ever considered myself a fan of (I probably like the music of other bands just as much but for different reasons) and that I ever actively joined the fan club/fandom of I have way deeper ties to than just a simple meet and greet. I accidentally rolled into the friend group of their main photographers on festivals (who do it because they love doing it and do it well). Their music helped me through the roughest part of my teens (where home life was the most intense) and they truly talk and listen to their fan's stories. It's just great to see genuinely good people going into entertainment (hiring people with mental illness because they want to help and accommodating their needs was so inspiring when I saw them do it and publicly post on why it is so important to listen. Disability validation at its finest :D )
Hope my ramble was interesting.
These are controversial so don't kill me, but Kiera Cass, Sara J Maas, and Cassandra Clare never quite do it for me. Cass has too much romance and it's way too sappy and predictable, Sara J Maas is just very smutty and the plot makes absolutely no sense (I liked ACoTaR a lot more than ToG; ACoTaR was meh, ToG was completely disappointing), and Cassandra Clare's books just aren't to my reading taste. I've somewhat enjoyed three of Marie Lu's series, but none got even close to blowing me away. I'm going to read Kingdom of Back and if that's a three stars too I don't think I'll pick up much more from her.
Laura Thalassa. I read her Bargainers series (starting in 2017) and really enjoyed the fae smuttiness. It was exactly what I needed at the time, I was going through some very serious surgeries and the distraction was perfect. I know I’ll read them again.
Every other book I’ve tried from her is complete garbage. She was a one hit wonder for me. Blah.
I just bought the bind up of that series......LOL! I'm going to give it a chance but if the first book blows, I'm selling it. LOL!
If you are talking about Danielle Jensen’s adult series Bridge Kingdom, you are right not to read it. Characters were flat and predictable. Romance was boring. Good call.
ooh good to know.
Kiersten White for me too. I read the first two books of the And I Darken series and Slayer. I have no interest in continuing. I don’t even want to find a synopsis of the 3rd And I Darken book because I just don’t care.
There’s something about her writing that is so slowwww
I am still reading Lore and this is my first Alexandra Bracken book. I will let you know either way how I feel, but I think it's healthy and produces discussion on why you don't like an author's work. I like the baseball rules; three strikes and you're out, unless the book was seriously unreadable. I am not offended, by anyone liking or disliking the opposite of how I feel and there are so many books out there why waste your time on a book by an author you have read that's not doing it for you.
Also, with the Harry Potter series, I was done when the last movie came out. HP had his time and I can't deny that it took the world by storm, but now it's someone else's turn and Rowling needs to give it up, she's made her coin and will continue until she dies, but I have been done and when she refused to let it die then I have to wonder if she's a greedy person. No, I am not going to buy anything else from you because I want to move on and then those hateful comments she made turned me away from her forever. I can separate author from art, I still love the original series, but I don't like Rowling as a person.
Margaret Atwood is the big one for me. I've read a few of her books and always feel gross and mad when I finish them. Not mad about the subject matter, but mad that all of the characters are unpleasant people that I think I was supposed to root for? I have no desire to read books that make me feel like the world has no good people in it
I'm surprised you didn't like And I Darken. I thought it would be right up your alley.
I never really give up on authors. If I like the synopsis I'll at least read the sample.
i don't know why my youtube algorithm forgot about you but god it's good to be back
I read the Stolen Songbird Series Danielle Jense. It was ok there were some things I really liked but looking back I can say it was ok I dont regret reading it but didn't like the ending at all.
I agree with Marie Lu bc I read the Young Elites and the concept made me think I'd love it but i just don't care
yessss
I tried reading And I Darken too and it's just so bizarre
i was so afraid this was gonna be another steven erikson "call-out" thing.
I think there are going to be more of the Sarah Morgenthaler Alaska series books than the three but I could be mistaken. I do feel like the third book was better than the previous two but I agree that it’s not a series that wows me.
oh that's good to know. I do plan to read that third book soon.