Most Disappointing Books of 2023

I keep hoping to one year like all the books that I pick up to read. That was not the case in 2023. Although I didn’t fully dislike any of the books that I read until the end, I gave one of them a much lower rating than I was expecting to. Furthermore, I also decided not to finish four books, three of them I even had high expectations for. Our favourite authors can sometimes disappoint us as well.

Below, I’ll endeavour to explain what I didn’t like about the books that disappointed me. If such elements don’t bother you, maybe these books can catch your interest. If you prefer to focus on the bright side of life, you can read about my favourite books of 2023 instead!

The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton

Having loved the first two novels published by Jessie Burton, I always have high expectations for her books. The House of Fortune is a sequel to the wonderful The Miniaturist, but it’s nowhere near as impressive. Set in 1705, it’s told in the third person from the perspectives of Nella and Thea, who has just celebrated her 18th birthday. Since the Brandt family has been facing serious financial troubles, Nella wants to find Thea a future husband. She has already fallen in love with the chief set-painter of the theatre she enjoys attending, though. Despite being extremely gripping, the novel has also many faults, such as the plot being predictable and run-of-the-mill, the states of mind of the characters not being explored enough, and some ideas being repeated more than once.

‘The House of Fortune’ by Jessie Burton

My rating: 3 stars

Books like The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton accomplish what in theory may seem unlikely – to be indubitably gripping, while not featuring characters who live off the page, not having a remarkable plot, and not being particularly challenging, exciting, thrilling or mysterious. Although Burton’s fourth novel has the power to make readers incessantly turn the pages, the more we do so the more we find faults. Set in the same world as the fantastic The Miniaturist (a book that should be read first if you ever want to pick it up, since its resolution is mentioned throughout), it pales in comparison, as characters continue to try to navigate the constraints and prejudices of Dutch society.

It’s 1705 and Thea has just turned 18. She was hopeful that, on this day, she would learn more about her mother, who died giving birth to her. That doesn’t happen, however. Her father, Otto, her aunt, Nella, and Cornelia have always tried to evade the subject of her mother as quickly as possible. As a birthday present, Thea receives a ticket for that afternoon’s performance of Titus. She loves going to the theatre. Not only does she adore seeing the actors perform, but it’s also a great opportunity to be with Walter Riebeeck. He is the chief set-painter at the theatre and Thea has fallen head over heels in love with him. Does he love her as well or does he have ill intentions, though? Rebecca, an actress Nella has befriended, doesn’t seem to trust him.

The book doesn’t focus solely on Thea, nevertheless. It is told in the third person from her and Nella’s perspective. It’s Nella who wants to take Thea to a ball in the hope that she will catch the eye of a future husband. After all that happened in the past, the Brandt family is struggling financially. But Otto believes that people will just stare at Thea for being different. 

Favourite Books Since I Started Blogging

Last Saturday was my blog anniversary! I can scarcely believe that I have been blogging for seven years. It definitely doesn’t feel like that long. Time flies when we’re doing something we enjoy, right!? However, to be honest, I’m not in my best blogging period at the moment, since I have not been writing as many posts as I used to, don’t have that many new ideas anymore, nor have I been reading much. Since last year, I’ve been in a strange reading slump. I don’t feel like reading for long periods of time for some reason… I’ve only been reading around 20 minutes a day even books that I’m enjoying, reason why I have not been writing as many reviews as I used to lately.

Nevertheless, blogging has been overall a lovely experience (it helps that I avoid interacting with the idiots out there and mostly try to ignore those who are offended by people who have different opinions to them). It has been great to share my thoughts with other bloggers, discover books I probably never would otherwise and (hopefully) also improve my English writing skills.

To celebrate this anniversary, nothing better than to share with you my favourite books since I started blogging. I’ve chosen the seven books that I loved the most from the ones that I read since June 2016. There is not necessarily one per year, they are listed in no particular order, and I only considered the ones that I read for the first time during that period.

First Books to Read by My Favourite Authors

The first book we choose to read by some authors may end up having a significant impact on whether we decide to continue to explore their work or not. When someone asks us to recommend a first book to read by one of our favourite writers, we surely want to mention one that will make that person want to continue to read their books. Which should we recommend? The first one we read? Our favourite? Or some other? I tried to answer these questions regarding my current favourite authors: Daphne du Maurier, Jane Austen, José Saramago, Eça de Queirós, Jessie Burton and Margaret Atwood.

 

Daphne du Maurier: Jamaica Inn

When we fall head over heels in love with the first book we read by an author, it’s difficult not to keep comparing our subsequent reads by them to it. That’s what happened to me with Daphne du Maurier and the magnificent Rebecca. For that reason, if you still haven’t started exploring Du Maurier’s work, I recommend starting with Jamaica Inn instead. It’s a great novel that will make you want to continue reading her books, while still having her best book (in my opinion) to look forward to.

Jamaica Inn is atmospheric and mysterious. After the death of her mother, the main character, Mary Yellan, went to live with her aunt Patience, who was married to Joss Merlyn. He was the new landlord of Jamaica Inn. Mary soon realised that her uncle was involved in some kind of criminal activity. Throughout the book, there are various instances which shine thanks to a tangible sense of menace. The believable characters and realistic dialogues make the book captivating.

Books Set in Different Time Periods

There are various ways to create a compelling and intriguing narrative. One of them is to write a story taking place in different time periods, that is to say to pen a book whose chapters are set in various identifiable years, or even centuries, more often than not alternatively. Such books can sometimes be more mysterious and seem more complex than ones that are mainly set during the same time period throughout and that just feature flashbacks and prolepsis within chapters. From the ones that I’ve read and enjoyed to varying degrees, five immediately sprang to mind.

 

The Muse by Jessie Burton

An enthralling and atmospheric book, The Muse by Jessie Burton is a novel that delves into racism and explores the unequal treatment of women. Two time periods are connected by a mysterious painting. In 1967, Odelle Bastien, who moved from Trinidad to London, starts working as a typist at the Skelton Gallery. While at a wedding party, she meets Lawrie, who has a painting to sell. In 1936, Olive Schloss arrives at a house in rural Spain and wonders how to tell her parents that she has been accepted to do a Fine Arts degree.

 

The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel

The many chapters of The Glass Hotel by Emily St John Mandel are set in different years, some of them being 1999, 2005 and 2008. Vincent lost her mother when she was only 13 years of age, so she had to go live with her aunt for a couple of years. Her half-brother also had a complicated life, having spent several years in rehab. Her life changes thanks to an encounter with Jonathan Alkaitis, a New York financier, at the hotel she works in.

The Book Design Tag

When a book I’m interested in is published wrapped up in a beautiful cover, I cannot hide my excitement! I know that what truly matters is the text inside. However, an appealing cover, gorgeously designed, is always a more than welcome extra. As soon as I watched the Book Design Tag on Lil’s Vintage World YouTube channel, I knew that I had to answer the questions myself. How could I miss another opportunity to share and showcase some of the most stunning books that I have on my shelves?

 

1. A book you bought primarily (or completely) because of the cover

I bought The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton solely because I fell in love with its gorgeous cover that tries to replicate a cabinet house. When I finally read it, I loved it so much that the first post I wrote for this blog was a review about it, although I had finished it a couple of months previously.

 

2. A book you want to buy that has a beautiful cover

There are so many stunning books on my wish list that it isn’t easy to pick just one. So, I decided to mention the last beautiful book I added to the list of those I want to buy at some point in time – The Haunting Season. It is a collection of ghost stories written by various authors for this particular purpose.

Favourite Authors of All Time

There are authors whose work we, as dedicated readers, want to continue to explore for years to come. We treasure almost all of the books that we read by them and, thus, cannot wait to pick up again a few more of the novels, poetry or short story collections that they wrote for our enjoyment.

My favourite authors of all time are those whose work I’m constantly recommending to other readers, even though I didn’t equally love all of the books that I read by them and don’t think that all of them are perfect. I have read three or more books by the authors below, and their work has a special place in my heart.

 

Daphne du Maurier

I fell in love with Daphne du Maurier the moment I read Rebecca, my favourite book by her followed by Jamaica Inn. Her work doesn’t fit neatly into one genre, comprising both historical fiction and sci-fi, for example. But both her novels and short stories tend to be atmospheric, enthralling, gripping and slightly mysterious. The characters that she created are vivid and many unforgettable. I’ve read nine of Daphne du Maurier’s books so far! I haven’t finished exploring her work yet, though. I still have at least eight of her other books on my wish list.

Exploration of Motherhood in Books

Depicting mothers has always been a challenge that authors were willing to accept throughout history, particularly in adult fiction. They can be portrayed as the “ideal” mums, the ones that get everything right and do no wrong, but more often than not the most interesting mothers are those who are struggling in some way, that have conflicting feelings towards motherhood, that are afraid of failing, or that try incredibly hard to protect their offspring, occasionally to no avail.

In the latest years, I read some books that made me ponder on the importance that motherhood plays in stories. The mothers in Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, Circe by Madeline Miller, The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante, The Muse and The Confession by Jessie Burton are all dissimilar. Nevertheless, they have a huge relevance in the plot of the novels they are a part of, even when they are not the main characters.

If you have not read the novels I mentioned previously, I warn you that I’ll allude to some occurrences that may be considered spoilers.

Favourite Book Covers VI

It has been almost two years since I last shared with you a few of my favourite book covers. Since then I added to my shelves various books that were not only worthy reads, but whose covers are also a feast for the eyes. All of them are paperback editions, which is unsurprising. I mostly only buy paperbacks, as they are cheaper, lighter, and I have a complicated relationship with dust jackets.

Let’s get a good look at my five new favourite covers!

 

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Cover design: Leanne Shapton

Publisher: Vintage

Collection: Vintage Classics Austen

Love a Book, Judge the Next

Loving the first book that we read by an author is a fabulous experience, regardless if they are at the beginning of their writing career or if they already have various books published. The downside is that it can make us be much harsher when reading a second book by them. I think this happened to me a few times. I loved the first books that I read by certain authors so much that I ended up being much severe when judging my following reads by them.

 

Rebecca and My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier

The first book that I read by Daphne du Maurier was the magnificent Rebecca, an enthralling, enigmatic and atmospheric novel, which is full of fleshed out characters. After marrying Maxim de Winter, the unnamed narrator moved with him to his family home, Manderley. She already felt inferior to his first wife, Rebecca, before, but living there only increased her insecurities and her sense of inaptitude.

After loving Rebecca, I was eager to continue exploring Du Maurier’s work. I soon picked up My Cousin Rachel. Philip, the narrator of the story, was raised by his older cousin Ambrose, who married Rachel while in Italy. Not long after his marriage, he died. Although Philip harboured suspicions about the role of his cousin Rachel in Ambrose’s death, he ended up falling in love with her. There’s a mysterious ambience throughout, as readers are skilfully led to have conflicting feelings about the characters. I was not fully convinced by how Philip fell so head over heels with Rachel, though. Despite being certain that I didn’t like it nowhere near as much as Rebecca, I feel like I was a bit too harsh on my review.