The Bookish Struggle to Find Great Books ♥

                                                                  Feminist Reflections is a feature I created on my blog to share my personal thoughts.

I'm probably one of the weirdest people you'll meet, because I actually dislike most of the books I've read. It's not because I'm looking in the wrong genre - I read a handful of genres such as Literary Fiction, Young Adult, New Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Memoirs, Crime, Contemporary Romance, Women's Fiction, and erotica sometimes. It's just getting difficult day by day to find a book that clicks with me. I don't look for characters that I can relate to, I look for ones that I can try to understand .. Most books have potential in their way, but a lot of factors spoil it from becoming the very best.


I feel nowadays there are many releases coming out these days, due to bloggers and massive promoting - they get hyped, even if they might not be that great. I've noticed that happening more this year, I read some of the hyped books and I've been let down most of the time.. I'm also one of those people who are behind in reading popular books, because I'm still catching up on the previous old releases. Honestly, being behind doesn't matter to me because I much rather read books that matter to me.



I really miss it when books were like 1984, Harry Potter, Fahrenheit 451, The Book Thief, Memoirs of A Geisha, The Help, On The Island and so forth ..  Most of the books I have found don't work out for me, it's not because I have high expectations - I don't expect much besides quality work. I don't pin point every little thing in novels, unless it's frequently often. I need an actual great plot and well-structured characters. The dialogue has to leave me in awe if possible. I still have found some amazing gems in new released books such as Becoming Rain, and I'll Meet You There, I was Here, Rites of Passage, and The Glass Arrow this year. Below are my lists of books that I have read in 2015 so far (Some books are from 2014 and older) Just look at the difference ..

My List of reads in 2015 - Great Books

My List of reads in 2015 - The Not So Great Books.

The Top Reasons Why I struggle Finding Great Books:

Cliche Concepts especially, Good Girl, Bad Boy concept - This is the most common concept in novels these days. It's also a hit or miss with me, sometimes it works with me such as the books, Bully, I'll Meet You There, and Becoming Rain. Other times it fails such as in the books Rule, Dating Down, The Boy Who Sneaks Into My Bedroom Window. I'm guessing, there's a slight obsession with bad boys in novels which is alright. Sometimes, I pick up a book myself hoping the bad boy wows me! I do believe there's a difference between being bad, and just being plain horrible though. It's kind of ironic how the power of "love" saves the bad guy. It is sweet, but too good to be true.. 

I can handle bad boys in novels as long as they're like Josh from I'll Meet You There - technically he's a reformed bad boy, so I'm not exactly sure. The book also had a cliche concept, but it works because they added originality to the plot. Cruel Beauty has a cliche concept as well , but the author executes it so well. I don't mind cliche concepts, as long as the author can make it work with their writing. Unfortunately, most books I've read in this department are a fail.


Unhealthy Romance. I like strong, alpha males in stories .. but I hate it when they become too dominating, too domineering, and just plain mean. The main reason I don't like Fifty Shades of Grey is because it doesn't portray a healthy lifestyle of BDSM, If people can tell fiction from real life, it's okay to have your own preference and like these books. I liked some books that had Stockholm Syndrome such as, Criminal, Comfort Food, and Captive in The Dark - I could have liked Fifty Shades if the characters were well-structured, and the plot was better such as these previous books.

When I read these books, I know this isn't how love is supposed to be, at least not for me, it's just showing characters through fiction. However, it bothers me when a lot of younger teenagers, sometimes even adults are mislead by what these books propose because their mindset doesn't know fiction from real life. It's as if these books are telling them this is what love is supposed to be like. I feel even more upset, how parent's let their children read these books. I've had young teenagers tell me, they're going look for their own Christian Grey. I mean, I've seen instagram bios stating that? You're only 13 though.. It depresses me. 

Love Triangles that have cheating. I don't mind love triangles that are executed well, I loved both male leads in the Vampire Academy series, and Unravel. I disliked 99 Days, One Tiny Lie, and Torn that is mainly about cheating back and forth. If you're not happy with someone, just leave.. I actually like it when the heroine or hero confesses the truth after one mistake, and the book gets better that way. I hate reading about sneaking around and going back and forth between the two until that person finally gets caught.

Same concept in another book.  This is getting highly common in novels especially dystopian. Red Queen, and Red Rising anyone? I do believe that it is alright to feel inspired from another author, but there has to be originality in your own work too otherwise it becomes predictable, and the same as the previous work I have read.

"Love" can sure suicide. This is one of the dumbest logic's ever, and one of the main reasons a lot of books are failing for me .. All The Bright Places, My Heart and Other Black Holes ..  Yes, they're cute books overall - but I really dislike this mindset - Yes, a person can get better if they receive love from another human being especially when it's  romantic love, but it DOES NOT make them well again. They were depressed before they met you, they will still be depressed even with you in their life. You're not a doctor, the only way people can truly help themselves is if they choose to. My Beautiful Failure does a beautiful job addressing this issue.

Stupid heroines - This is the number one reason most books fail for me. I like strong heroines, I'm not expecting every novel to have that though. I like vulnerable heroines as well, but I cannot stand stupid heroines. Nowadays, I see a lot of heroines who need a "hero" to save them .. I mean come on, honestly? The stupid heroines are followed as in Selection, The First Wife, and Breathe. Why pretend to be damsel in distress? Have a mind of your own. In real life, your rescuer will most likely be a forty-four year old man honestly.

Top Three Things I Look For In Books♥

Great plot, preferably original such as, Mud Vein, Harry Potter, Unravel, Battle Royale, On The Island, and Game of Thrones. These are all unique plots, I did like Bully, Cruel Beauty, and The Glass Arrow which aren't original concepts.

Well-Structured Characters such as Katniss From The Hunger Games, and Sam from Rites of Passage. I love Adrian from Vampire Diaries and Bloodlines, he's my ultimate favorite bad boy in novels.. because even though he's a womanizer - I could still see the good in him. That's the type of bad boy there should be. I also like quite, brooding, and intelligent male leads such as, Lachman from Unravel, Drill from Rites of Passage, and Four from Divergent. I don't always look for romance in novels. 

Great Dialogue such as Cruel Beauty, Me Before You, and If I Stay. The ones that can make me smile, cry, and move me all at once. Is that too much to ask? I don't have that much of a specific criteria on what I look for in novels, as long as the book gets to me. 

I know there are more gems out there, because I have found some of them! Slowly, but surely :) What do you guys think, do you struggle as well?

Shukran for reading this! Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & drop by to say hello  :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures.. 

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron 

Personal Instagram | Beauty Instagram | Tumblr | Bloglovin

femmmefatalee@gmail.com