When you mistakenly get excited because you see your TBR in the thumbnail:

The most "offensive" thing about Fourth Wing was that bit before the start of the book that talks about how it's been *translated* into modern language... like she's Tolkien or something.

Bahaha, just hoping Senlin’s wife left is hilarious 😂

I'm so glad I found you!! I have the same exact thoughts about Fourth Wing. I just didn't understand what the hype was about and thought I was missing something but seeing how you've perfectly articulated how I felt while reading it makes me feel less out of the loop.

As I read Senlin Ascends I kept almost DNFing it for similar reasons. But for some reason I stuck it out (I did think Bancroft's writing was masterful even if I wasn't connecting with the story or characters) and the series became one of my favorites - esp books 2&3. It really got under my skin (in a good way) which I never would've expected from the start.

Happy holidays Tori!! Your videos are always a gift to see in my feed :)

Truly glad I found you! Appreciate your honest reviews.

I DNFd the Eleventh Cycle as well... I didn't get the grim darkness that it claimed and it was slightly irritating to me but I can't remember why. I LOL'd when you said I hope his wife just left him when talking about Sevlin Ascends... that was rich. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and it's always good to see you!!

senlin ascends was suuuuch a disappointment! i did love the worldbuilding and tower, they were SO COOL, but senlin himself SUCKED HAHAHA

😂😂, I'm not even trying with this one. My 2 disappointments were Velvet was the night and The atrocity archive by Charles Stross.

The Inheritance Games 😫 it could have been amazing

I just finished Eleventh Cycle a few minutes ago and wow, do I understand you very well. This book had no purpose, no overarching plot. 🙈 Almost 900 pages of wondering when an actual plot is going to appear. 😅🙈

I know this is not relevant but I can't stop staring at your hair/hairstyle (I am new here)! So pretty. Even before watching I see books I'm looking forward to 😂 My worst was definitely The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Fantasy is really hit or miss for me especially a lot of the hyped ones like Senlin. Fourth Wing sounds like it might be a skip/DNF for me based on your review; so does Powder Mage.

Oh no, I have eleventh cycle on my kindle. Just haven't gotten to it yet. Hopefully I'll get to it sometime next year. 🤞🏽

I haven't read Promise of Blood, but I have read some of the author's later series and he gets much better with female characters in his later books. And he seems to be making efforts to include more and more diversity

I felt the same about 4 th wing and the inheritance games

I completely agree about Eleventh Cycle. It was literally the worst book I read in 2023. I’m now hesitating to trust the recommendations of the person who told me to read it. 😂😂 And don’t even get me started on Fourth Wing, I got 40 pages in and had to stop. I liked the Bladed Faith though, I’m a big fan of fantasy tropes as long as I think it’s done well.

😂 i loved Senlin Ascends and the rest of the series. I actually like seeing your opinion on it, though, because i hate so many books that others love. It's fascinating how subjective it all is.

I felt the same about Fourth Wing. I didn't hate it but it didn't live up to the hype for me for sure and I thought that there was too much telling, not enough showing (and not in a wordy kind of flowery prose way, but in a why are you telling me this instead of just doing it I am not incapable of understanding this very basic fantasy concept lol). I have been telling people I liked it okay but it wasn't really made for fantasy readers. I definitely won't go on with the series.

I also had issues with the female characters in Promise of Blood

So thankful to find someone else who didn't enjoy Senlin Ascends. I really don't understand the hype but nobody seems to agree with me on that...

I actually liked p much everything i read this year! The exception was actually a self help book-it was recced by a KZfaqr whose vibes i adored (and still do) but i said out loud ‘shut tf up’ before DNF-ing and returning that audiobook 😭 the way he explained things was just too much like the ‘pull yourself up by your bootstraps’ good old boys tone, which was baffling bc the KZfaqr that recommended the book is a literal ray of sunshine and gentle encouragement.

I still have yet to read any of these. 😅 I hope to enjoy these books. My disappointing books read in 2023 video is in my channel.

The worst books I read all year were Fourth Wing, The Housemaid, and The Hawthorne Legacy (the sequel to Inheritance Games). I thought Inheritance Games was decent (3ish stars), but oh my word.... the second book was AWFUL. Just so unbelievably bad lol. I agree it should have been a standalone!

Nooooo why did I watch this days after I bought Eleventh Cycle 😭😭😭 I haven't read it yet

I see everyone's commenting their worsts, I'll say mine was Wool. And I read a really bad comic book called Ruins.

I see your sweatshirt. Do you live in Alaska?

"Powerless" was a disappointment number 1 for me. It was like reading "Hunger Games" all over again. Sooo many déjàvu moments (trials, survival of the fittest, Resistance) throughout the book, just cocooned into the fantasy mantle. Did someone read it and feel the same??

I also DNFd Eleventh Cycle at 400 pgs. I find it fascinating that the author literally puts a disclaimer at the beginning saying that the plot is slow and seems pointless until the end. Like you were aware your book was unnecessarily slow and boring and did nothing to fix it lmao? I can appreciate a slow, dense, long read if it pays off and I find the characters interesting. But at no point during the 475 pgs I read did I gain any hope that the ending would be worth it and the characters actually got less interesting the more I read.

Senlin Ascends was by far the most disappointing read for me this year! I'm so glad I didn't buy all the books in the series because the concept of the Tower of Babel was so appealing but yeah...Senlin was not the one and I still can't see what most people on the internet loved about it. Oh well XD

I’m slogging through ‘The Empire of Silence’ and I just don’t get the excitement around this book. It’s ok, but I’m just not invested in the protagonist, and the secondary characters are virtually cameos they’re so shallow. I’m 500 pages in and still waiting for something to happen. 😴

It’s okay to disagree since reading taste is very subjective. I really liked Eleventh Cycle (you DNF’d), but I absolutely disliked and DNF’d To Sleep in a Sea of Stars (I believe you liked it). But I always appreciate your opinion and great vids! 😊

If there's a book you DNF it must have been pretty bsd. 😂

Eleventh Cycle was mediocre. sex scene and raping was too much

I think you feel about "senlin ascends" the same way I feel about rick riordan. A lot of people loves rick riordan books. Honestly I think they are childish and trash, hate them. And I had seen people talking wonder about senlin ascends...