There are few things more disappointing to a book dragon than enjoying a series, and then have it fall... flat. The rest of the books in the series just don't measure up to the magical, magical potential it once had. We've all had our fair share of them. And often we can't decide if it's worse that we invested our hopes and dreams in the series, or that we invested our time and money. Whichever of the two you go for, the bottom line is...

Disappointment. Bitter disappointment.

That we have enough of these books/series to fill a Top 10 list probably says nothing good. We're still unclear as to whether it says nothing good about us, or about these series themselves. But either way, we were let down.

These are the top ten offenders.





1. Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

Picked by: Lexie

Without any need for embellishment, Never Never is the biggest disappointment in the history of book series ever. Ever. Ever. But in case anyone dares doubt this highly-scientific evaluation, I have numerical data, too: each of the installments in this 3-novella series got 2 stars less from me. And most people, really. (SCIENCE!)

Never Never is what happens when two romance authors pair up to write a YA mystery. The premise was fantastic: a couple in the process of breaking up wake up with no memories of their lives up to that point, and race to work out what happens before they lose even what little memories they've gathered. The New Orleans setting really worked in the books favor, too. But somewhere along the lines, one or both of the authors woke up with no memory of where they were heading with the story. So they just decided to wing it, and fall back to their own tried-and-true staples. Cue sigh of disappointment. It could have been so, so good.




2. The Divergent series by Veronica Roth

 Picked by: Natalie

 I'm not sure how many people will agree with this, but I instantly thought of the Divergent series. I remember picking up the Divergent books when I was in a dystopian high post-Hunger Games, and loved it. Sadly, Insurgent fell a little flat for me, mostly due to the constant annoying arguments and drama between Tris and Four. I grew bored of it, and the book is mahoosive, so did we need that?

I didn't really have any interest in picking up Allegiant, and after getting spoiled - yes, that spoiler - I have no desire to continue. It was a strong start but it just got weaker as it progressed.




3. The Girl At Midnight by Melissa Grey

Picked by: Lexie

The Girl At Midnight was marketed as the promising fantasy debut for fans of (1) Daughter of Smoke and Bone, (2) The Mortal Instruments, and (3) Shadow And Bone. And having LOVED most of those series, I was ecstatic. I requested and received an advanced copy months before the release, and I read the advanced copy months before the release.

It was all downhill from there. I have yet to put my thoughts about this series into a coherent review, but the bottom line is this: there is a very thin line between "for fans of" and "actually that". And from the beginning until the very end, I felt like The Girl At Midnight was crossing it.



4. The Legend series by Marie Lu

Picked by: Natalie

 I can't deny that Legend is an amazing book. I flew through it, the story was well-written and constantly entertaining, with characters that I loved instantly. I picked up Prodigy and I was still okay with it but it didn't have that hold on me that kept me reading. I still enjoyed it though, so I got myself a copy of Champion. Well, let's just say I didn't finish it. I grew tired of the characters annoying traits, and the story didn't really interest me anymore. 

 I'm sorry, Ms Lu. I do have The Young Elites on my bookshelf, so I will be continuing with her books. She is a wonderful writer, I just got bored of this story. 



5. Passenger by Alexandra Bracken

Picked by: Lexie

Don't hate me, world. I'm well aware of the minority that I'm in on this. And I'm perfectly happy to accept that I just misunderstood this book or that I didn't give it the attention it deserved. Both are entirely possible.

Because Passenger, with its premise of a treasure hunt through time, sounded every kind of fantastic there is. And when violinist Etta Spencer is yanked from 21st century New York City and onto a 17th century pirate ship, it seemed like it would make good on all its promise.

But the pacing. The dense prose. The instalove. It broke my heart a little to feel so let down. But let down I felt.


6. The Delirium series by Lauren Oliver

 Picked by: Natalie
Such a promising series! I really enjoyed Delirium, the first book in the series. For me, it was an interesting take on a dystopian future, where love is classed as a sickness.


Where the first book was thrilling, the second book was just okay. We're introduced to new characters and the setting is different, but as a whole, it was still reasonably alright with me. But before I picked up the final book, I watched a BookTube review of it, and it seems that the last one isn't a popular one. Characters changed, the story ends abruptly and there's no resolution to the story. Why would you do this? I, again, lost interest in the story by the time I was going to read Requiem, so I'm glad I didn't put myself through that torture. Also, me no like love triangles. 



7. This Raging Light by Estelle Laure

Picked by: Lexie

 This Raging Light has so much going for it. It was a highly anticipated YA Contemporary. It is written and narrated beautifully. Its story - one of two young sisters who find themselves effectively abandoned by their parents and struggle to survive on their own. And if this were all there was, This Raging Light would have been a 5-star read. I expected it to be a 5-star read.

 But what This Raging Light doesn't do well is the pacing. The subplots. The occasional monstrous improbability delivered as casually as though it were coming all along. And especially how many stories it seemed to start, but never quite develop, or wrap up in a proper way. This Raging Light didn't disappoint me wholly. But I had spent months hoping it would turn out to be a lot smoother ride than it actually was.


8. The Selection series by Kiera Cass

 Picked by: Natalie
I know that this is a well-loved series, and I did enjoy it at first. The problem came when book 1 finished. Because... what was the point of the other two books? I reckon that the author could have wrapped this story up in one large book. Just one. The Elite was pointless, where nothing remotely interesting happens and only one girl is out of the competition. In a 336 page book. 
The world-building was also a bit weak, but I let that go because the main point of it was the Selection process.
I also like that the cover is really the main protagonist. It's annoying when it doesn't match the story.
Now the author is dragging this series out even longer by continuing a finished trilogy. Please stop. I think it's done now. 



9. Air Awakens by Elize Kova

 Picked by: Lexie
In this series' defense, it has a long way to go yet. So in all probability, it will deliver a few more good and bad surprises along the way.

But for now, I'm less than impressed. While Air Awakens (#1) was a potentially solid start to a fantasy series, its successor failed me in so many ways, I wound up in endless one-sided arguments with the book as I read. Instead of a fantastical story about a librarian's-apprentice-turned-soldier, I felt like the story segued into endless romantic angst and drama, all stemming from the kind of arguments that could be solved with one conversation. (Not that any of the characters were inclined to communicate.) But this is a personal preference, really. While I love fantasy and I love romance in a fantasy, I never much like it when the romantic aspect takes over and the actual fantasy elements fall by the wayside.




10.  To All The Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han

Picked by: Natalie

Please don't hate me. I should start out by saying that I love the first book. When I finished it, I was so happy to get onto the sequel, curious as to where it was going to go. What could it possibly be about?

Nothing. Nothing happened but unnecessary drama. That really let me down. I like it more when an author knows when to stop and move on to another series. But to keep it dragging? Stop, please. I was so disappointed that I didn't even finish the second book. Unpopular opinion, I know. I just wasn't in the mood for high school drama. And I couldn't bring myself to care.





You can't see us - we're currently hiding in an undisclosed location, awaiting rancor and judgment and stoning. Unpopular opinions are never easy to write. But if you're a pacifist, or just feeling kindly and non-murderous today, please leave us a comment below and let us know what series started out well for you and then let you down somewhat. We'll feel better, being in good company. And we make a pinky swear not to judge you.