Popular Books I Will Probably Not Read

Mae Polzine

2 years ago

Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

I was obsessed with Twilight when I was in high school, as many people were at the time. I helped run a Twilight fan forum on Gaia Online. Heck, my username came out of that fan forum.

But I will likely not ever read Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer. Which is a retelling of the original Twilight book from Edward Cullen’s POV. I read the beginning portion of the book when Stephenie Meyer originally posted it on her website after it was leaked. While it was alright, it wasn’t something that I was running for the hills for either. And since then my obsession with Twilight has gone away. There are a lot of problematic aspects of that series, and looking back at that series, there were a lot of things that could’ve been done better. Like the love story wasn’t even that great, I was more invested in the world outside of Bella and Edward, and while there were snippets of that. I know I’m not going to find that in Midnight Sun, so I probably will never pick up the book to read it in its entirety. That being said, I will probably still get the book (at some point) to have on my bookcase to go with the others.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

A tale inspired by Elizabeth Taylor. Evelyn is loosely based on the famous actress in that she was married eight times to seven different men, and a journalist, who is writing about the secrets of Evelyn Hugo’s life.

I will probably not read this book as it’s historical fiction, while I don’t mind stories that take place in the past, I need something divorced from reality I can disassociate to. And The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid is not it.

I gave my copy of the book to my mom and she immediately texted me, “Oh yeah, I know you wouldn’t enjoy this,” after she read a bit of the book. My mom knows my taste in books well, and if she can instantly pick up on that fact then I know I’m not wrong in the belief that this book isn’t going to be for me. Oh well, not everything is for everyone.

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

I love Greek mythology and retellings of the stories. The problem is I also like when they are divorced from the original tale. So, it doesn’t follow it to the letter.

And according to what I’ve read The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller does. So, I know exactly how the book ends. Spoiler warning but also like not because it’s the literal mythology, Achilles is going to die at the end of the book using the war between Troy and Sparta, that started over the kidnapping of Helen.

While I love Patroclus and Achilles, why would I want to read a book where I know what’s going to happen at every turn?

I’ve done that before with Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, and it ruined the experience and enjoyment for me. So, I can already bet it’s going to be similar going into this book. And I’d rather read something new or inspired by the tale that doesn’t follow it completely.

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

I love enemy-to-lover books and romances. But I’m not a RomCom type of reader. Which Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston is.

The tale follows Alex Claremont-Diaz and Prince Henry, who are long-running nemeses. But when the tabloids catch the two in a confrontation, the plan for damage control includes staging a fake friendship between the boys. The two are in a relationship by the end of the book.

Sounds like a movie I would watch, but not a book. And the fact that it is being turned into a movie means I’ll likely just watch it when it comes out instead of reading the book.

The Selection by Kiera Cass

This book series was insanely popular and I remember when I was in high school putting it on my TBR, then I never got around to it before I went to college. And it remained in that TBR wishlist until recently, when I went through and purged a bunch of books I know I’ll probably never end up reading.

This book series focuses on America as she competes against 35 other girls for the chance to marry Prince Maxon, but she’s also dating her bodyguard, Aspen. Kind of like The Bachelor, which I don’t enjoy. So, why would I want to read a book series focused on the same thing? Not only that but I know how it ends since it’s been all over TikTok. Plus, it’s going to be turned into a Netflix series. Maybe I’ll check out the first season of that and see if my opinion still stands, but right now it’s a nope from me.

Emily Henry Books

For this one, I realized it’s better just to lump them together instead of listing each of them out. Most of Emily Henry’s books seem like beach reads or poolside reads. Meaning they are lighthearted, and romantic with a bit of comedy. There is nothing wrong with that, but it’s not what I’m looking for. The three most popular at the moment are: Book Lovers, People We Meet On Vacation, and Beach Read.

Also, total side note and not at all why I won’t read these books, but the covers aren’t my jam. They look too empty and busy at the same time with clip art. It’s a very popular style right now with romance books, and I’m honestly not a fan. I get not wanting half-naked men on the covers, but there has to be an alternative to this.

There are other books I probably won’t read either and I might do more of these posts in the future. Like how in the beauty space there are Anti-Hauls for products. Maybe I’ll do an Anti-Read series… though probably under a different title. I’m going to workshop that idea. But I think it would be a fun thing to do from time to time. I don’t know, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Also…

What popular books are you probably never going to read? And why?

Love ya,