Worst Reads of 2025👎

Welcome back to another post on our reader wrap-up journey for 2025! This time, we are screaming about the worst books we each read this year. Now, this list doesn’t necessarily mean they were bad books (even though some of them definitely are), but rather that they were pieces of literature we just didn’t vibe with. This list is purely formulated by our own opinions so if you read any of these books and enjoyed them, then that’s great! I wish that could have been me. Without further ado, let’s get into it.

Danni’s Worst Books of 2025

#5. Avalon Tower by C.N. Crawford and Alex Rivers. Rating: 2.5⭐Okay, I kind of feel bad saying this is in my bottom five, but honestly, I just didn’t vibe with the story. The concept was interesting, but it felt like four different ideas were slapped together and called done. I was underwhelmed by the stakes, the character depth was missing, and the execution left a lot to be desired. There is no character development, and I just couldn't connect with their voices. The amount of time-jumping is also confusing and takes away from the plot, especially since there are no reflective moments of growth. The story itself isn’t terrible, but it’s lacking in so many other departments that I can’t contemplate ever reading it again.

#4. Broken Flames by MK Ahearn. Rating: 2.5 ⭐ This one was just a disappointment. Once I saw it was a Zutara rewrite, I really thought it was going to give me the ship that absolutely should have set sail. How wrong I was. This book was just lackluster; honestly, I forgot parts of the plot while trying to write this up. The characters felt flat, the plot was mediocre, and I didn’t feel any chemistry between the FMC and MMC. The pacing was a constant mix of sprinting and slamming on the brakes, and the dialogue just felt awkward. It was average at best. I finished it, but I wasn't driven by a desire to know what happened next. It was completely ordinary.

#3. The Female by Invi Wright. Rating: 2 ⭐ What in the Wattpad story was this? Oh no! Females are so rare! I guess we’ll have to capture them and auction them off because... patriarchy?! The absolute lack of rights for women is atrocious (though a common theme in literature); what isn't a good theme is an FMC who is pretty much into having no autonomy. This book was almost exclusively relationship-building with very little action. Despite that focus, the characters still lacked dimension. They fall flat and the dynamics are uninteresting. All in all, this feels like it was written to be a purely self-indulgent why choose with lots of nonsensical spice.

#2. Fairydale by Veronica Lancet. Rating: 1.5 ⭐ I read this book cover to cover, and I still have no clue what the hell was going on. This has to be one of the most confusing pieces of literature I have ever read. It started with a decent build-up and some good mystery elements, but it quickly tanked. Between the back and forth perspectives, past lives, and soulmate mess, I couldn't keep up. Also, I actually just hate the MMC? He just sucks, and not in a good way. If I could go back in time to my own previous life, I would stop myself from reading this just to maintain the sanity I lost trying to keep the sheer amount of disorder straight. Also, why were there so many scenes written purely for shock value? They contributed nothing and were clearly just there to force a "dark romance" label.

#1. Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube Rating: 1.5 ⭐ The only reason this book has an extra half-star is that the concept was somewhat original. Regardless, I hated every second of my life that I spent reading this thing. This was a pick from Bear for the Sizzle Shelf, and even she gave up and DNF’ed it. I, on the other hand, pursued this to the bitter end, and I despised it. The whole time I felt uncomfortable with the character dynamics. The spice level is high, but it wasn’t even written well. In my opinion, there was zero character development, and the tropes of forbidden romance, mean girls, and the battle for the prince’s favor were weak at best. Also, why did we have to bring daddy dearest into this? We could have gone the entire book without spicy scenes involving the main love interest's father and been perfectly fine. I’m unsure why this has such a high rating, but I suppose it’s someone's cup of tea.

Bear’s Worst Books of 2025

While I had a very good reading year overall, I did have some stinkers. Don’t worry, I will also be sharing my very best books of the year soon, but for now, let’s go over my worst reads of 2025.

#5. Fear the Flames by Olivia Rose Darling Rating: 2.5 ⭐ While this is on my lowest of the year list, I didn’t hate it! I actually really enjoyed the concept of breaking dragons out of another kingdom, and I liked some of the characters, especially Finnian and Ryder. My biggest issues were the plotting and a lack of detail. The story either took far too long to progress an unimportant scene or rushed through the most interesting parts. Also, while I loved the chemistry between two of the characters, their relationship arc felt like it skipped the first chunk of them getting to know each other which is a huge issue considering they hadn't interacted before the book began. My main gripe, however, was that I’d be reading and suddenly hit a plot point that made me think I'd missed a key piece of info. I would turn back to check, only to realize that information was never given. It yanked me out of the story every time.

#4. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore Rating: 2 ⭐ This one was all vibes, no plot, and featured two fully grown adults acting like fifteen year olds. My god, I could not STAND Jeanie for the majority of this book! Logan at least seemed to care about his friends, but he was so hung up on a past love that he kept pushing Jeanie away like a moody teenager. The third act breakup was the epitome of stupid miscommunication, and the main mystery was so ridiculous it felt like a telenovela. It was a short, "vibe" read, and I wouldn't recommend going into it expecting anything more.

#3. Libriomancer by Jim C. Hines Rating: 2 ⭐ Now, this one had an amazing concept! Hines is a very good writer with prose that is neither too bare nor too embellished. The idea is that there is a community of magical people who can pull anything out of fictional books. I loved this, and the first chunk of the book was fabulous. Then, you find out that a main female character can only exist if she belongs, sexually, to another person. Her "owner’s" sexual desires actually change who she is as a person! And the main male character basically goes along with it! Needless to say, this aspect totally ruined the book for me.

#2. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Rating: 1.5 ⭐ This is easily my most unpopular opinion of the year. It actually took me 2.5 years to finish this one because I would get a third of the way in and get so bored that I’d put it down. The middle chunk simply didn't have anything interesting happening. This year, I was determined to make it through because I own all five books and absolutely adored the Throne of Glass series. Thankfully, the last 20% was actually pretty interesting, but my goodness was it a slog to get there! (Don’t worry, I’m still going to finish the series.)

#1. Get In My Swamp by G.M. Fairy Rating: 1 ⭐ I am so sad that I didn’t enjoy this one! I chose this novella for the Sizzle Shelf and was so excited about the concept, but I HATED IT! I love Shrek, and I thought the idea of a spicy Shrek story sounded fun, but boy was I wrong. This was extremely poorly written, Donkey’s character was a sexual predator, and I got tired of the term “pornstar lips” very quickly. Overall, definitely would NOT recommend.

All of these books definitely had us questioning our choices of hobbies after reading them. Here is hoping that our picks for 2026 turn out to be much better than some of these hot messes. Happy Reading!