Sometimes when other people love talking about a book they read, you want to read it too. That’s why recommendations are so amazing!

BUT, sometimes they fall pretty flat… this is a post looking at those books. Youtube told me to read it, and I didn’t like it at all – let’s go

Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

I made it three chapters into this book before giving up.
The mystery didn’t grip me and I didn’t really care what happened to the brother. The characters were unlikable and I did not appreciate the sexual sense of humour that seemed a feature in one group of people.
It reminded me of Only Murderers In The Building, but not as good… not the same charm that show had.

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

Pretentious? Yes. Shakespearian? Oh yes. Tragic? Yup. Worth it? Uhhh….

So this one was interesting. I didn’t read much of the middle, just the first few sections and the last few sections. After finding out what happened in the end of the book,I actually had no desire to read the rest. I knew how it ended and honestly, that was enough for me. It was set up in an interesting way, and I can get behind snobby writing and characters, but this level of tragety and snob combined was just a little much for me.

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I’m going to try and condense my review to short and sharp with no spoilers… so here we go.
Lots of drug abuse and sexual references.
Selfish characters who were horrible to each other and I didn’t feel sorry for any of them.
The writing structure of interview was fun, and it was an easy style to get through quickly, but that wasn’t enough to save it from me.
Some of the trigger warnings should be noted and I will include them here:

Content Warning: drug abuse; sexual references and content; abortion; domestic abuse; alcoholism; cursing

When Gracie Met the Grump by Mariana Zapata

Another case of beginning chapter and final one. I didn’t like the over use of swearing, the disrespectful slant towards Christians, and the toxic relationship between grumpy and grumpier… yeah it was a no for me.

Also, waiting until basically the end of the book to see if the characters end up together is a hard pass for me.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

The only reason this one is a “fail” is because I’m not going to hold onto it. I don’t think I would ever read it again, but warning – I did actually somewhat enjoy this book when I read it.

I really liked The Midnight Library. I honestly don’t understand why some people have compared this to a self help type of book – it isn’t. It’s more of a contemplating life and what that means book. Thinking, not feeling (which I feel is a major difference between self help and philosophical).
The writing did at times, feel quite pretentious- like someone who wanted you to know they were well educated. On the whole though, if you accepted that fact, it still felt very well done.
I loved the idea explored of parallel lives and what small decisions and regrets can look like if they are changed.
Overall, thumbs up.

Those were my most recent Booktube fails, which goes to show that sometimes you CAN’T trust a stranger on the internet when you’re getting book reviews.

See You in the Adventures
Christy Grace