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I am Lover of romance, who indulges in the romantic adventures of literature

My name is Renee, and I am the host of this site. I am a 34 year old woman, on the prowl for her mate, searching out the best of books, exploring the wilds of the imagination and delving into the heart of a beautiful love story.

 

Elite Let Downs of 2021

by | Dec 20, 2021 | End of Year Survey | 7 comments

Welcome to the next segment of the Elite Romance series of 2021.  This post is where I am going to list my TOP reads of the year, which wasn’t easy to narrow down. I have had a decent reading year and I am thrilled to be able to share all the delicious reads that I have here.

In this post, I will be sharing the books that were the biggest disappointments. And there were quite a few, unfortunately. And some of these might surprise you all.

I will admit that I was highly disappointed in this one here. I just struggled with this one. It just didn’t keep my interest, through quite a bit of it and if it hadn’t been for Maya Banks is the head of this book I wouldn’t have stuck with it.

Now this book was part of a challenge earlier in the year with a taboo book club that I am a part of. And honestly, I read this for various reasons, one it’s a diverse author but after reading this, it only confirms that this style of step romance is NOT for me. It felt too much like incest as the hero is the heroine’s stepfather and raised her and just felt too taboo for me and I just couldn’t do this one. I can do step relationships but only if it’s not in the circumstance where there is no being around each other growing up. Like the Filthy Trilogy by Lisa Renee Jones, they are step-siblings but what makes it different is that when they are older their parents marry so to me that is far far different as there is no family bond present.

Twisted Cravings is the book that I was so disappointed in, this was a book I so wanted to enjoy and it was not like the rest of the series at all. It just wasn’t well done at all, it felt almost forced in many respects and the romance was so dramatic.

I have mixed feelings about this author. Her books I don’t think are for me, its her writing style, I just have never been really involved in her books. And while I support her as an author (as some members of the community tried to cancel her this past year) her books just aren’t for me I think.

So this is a book I had lots of mixed feelings on. I wanted to love this one so much, but it just didn’t engage me as her other books have. While I loved the characters, the romance and the story as a whole felt lackluster.

This was the HARDEST book for me and I actually ended up DNF’ing it, unfortunately. It wasn’t easy for me though. I will be honest, this book wasn’t for me. And I LOVE and adore this author so this killed me and it made my heart sad but I knew I needed to do it. The narrator is not one I can listen to, she just rubs me the wrong way when listening. So I may return to this one someday.

I know that so many will disagree with me, but this book disappointed me so much. One I am not one to read much women’s fiction, it just doesn’t really work for me. And I felt like Quan got betrayed in this one, because I had been looking forward to his book so much and it was like blip of seeing him.

This book was so HARD to read, this heroine in this one was awful, to be honest. She just felt so spoiled and stuck up and those types of heroines just aren’t going to work for me. And yes she was way too modern for the time and setting to be honest.

The thoughts I have on this one might actually cause a RIOT haha because I HATED this book. My review was actually nice for how I actually felt. I try to never bash a book even if it’s a temptation. I will be honest this book was horrid and I don’t understand the love for this one. Because the heroine was spoiled, stuck up, abusive to others. There is nothing even close to realism in this book, it’s basically a feminist contemporary dressed up as a historical. I have discovered these types of books aren’t for me. If it’s for you that is great, but I just can’t be okay with these books.

This book has been hyped by so many people so I was expecting this book to blow me away, but honestly while it was a likable book …..I am confused why it’s so highly rated. I mean it was an okay read but my least favorite of this author and left me feeling down afterward because I was expecting so much more than what I received.

This is a story that I was so excited about and like I have said previously this type of taboo just isn’t for me. And this is pretty much just smut haha there is NO depth to this book. I am sure I will read the rest of the series because its Katee Robert and maybe some of the others will work better for me but this one was a struggle.

This book failed me so much here. I had heard so many good things about this one and I had such high hopes because I have seen lots of interviews with this author and I can tell she and her husband are the best down-to-earth people you could ever meet. BUT her books I think don’t work for me. This heroine in this one especially was awful and made me want to chuck my kindle against the wall. haha

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7 Comments

  1. Deanna (A Novel Glimpse)

    I understand where you’re coming from on The Heart Principle. I honestly think her editor/publisher steered her wrong on the direction that one took. I think it was a fantastic women’s fiction read, but Quan shouldn’t have been the love interest. I wish she would have given him another book outside of this one. I did enjoy reading it, though. Luckily, I knew what to expect before diving in.

    Yeah, I wouldn’t read the rest of the Taboo series if Your Dad Will Do didn’t work out for you. You described it as smut, and I would agree, but the rest of the series is different taboo type relationships and there isn’t a lot of depth to any of them. That’s kind of the way she designed them. I would actually say that first book was my favorite of them all. (Hides eyes.)

    Reply
  2. Sam@WLABB

    I still have not read The Love Principle, but I can understand where people are coming from. The book took one of our favorite characters, Quan, and put him in a romantic plot that was a small part of the book. He was kind of cheated.

    Reply
  3. Carole @ Carole's Random Life

    I am sorry that these didn’t work for you. The only one from this list that I have read was The Heart Principle, which I loved, but understand why it might not be for everyone.

    Reply
  4. Jen

    I know the end of the year is usually about celebrating what we loved about the previous year – but I have to say, I’m loving the concept of this post. I haven’t read these books, but I love that you can express what disappointed you. Now I’m curious about my books and what I would consider a disappointment. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  5. Nath

    Totally agree about Bombshell – I was super disappointed and could not finish it.

    Reply
  6. Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

    I’ve put off reading The Heart Principle for that very reason. The more reviews I read the more I’m convinced that it’s not the book I’ve been waiting/hoping for. I’ve waited so long for Quan’s story and I think I would be very disappointed if I read this. I’m probably going to give it a pass. 🙁

    Reply
  7. Carol Carver

    I’m with you on Bombshell – pure and simple did not like while I usually love her writing. While I didn’t feel as strongly about Heart Principle, I don’t know that I’ll reread, unlike the previous two which I have done numerous times, especially Kiss Quotient.

    Reply

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