Books That Wasted My Time #4 🔱 (New Releases) [cc]

TL;DR

Messy Jesse reviews five books that disappointed her, including Children of Blood and Bone, The Subtweet, The Life We Bury, Dear Haiti, Love Elaine, and Mexican Gothic.

Transcript

What up my channel? Welcome back to another video: I'm messy Jesse and you're watching... Welcome to my quarterly books that wasted my time video! I started this books that wasted my time series last year in 2019 and it was just a way for me to talk about books that had disappointed me or just books that I read that I ultimately despised. If you ar... Read More

Key Insights

• 👎 Messy Jesse reviews five books that she felt wasted her time in 2020, including Children of Blood and Bone, The Subtweet, The Life We Bury, Dear Haiti, Love Elaine, and Mexican Gothic.
• 🖤 Common criticisms in the books include inconsistent rules, heavy-handed melodrama, underdeveloped romances, poor representation of autism, lack of depth in social commentary, lack of horror, and absence of Mexican cultural elements.

Questions & Answers

Q: What are some issues Messy Jesse had with Children of Blood and Bone?

Messy Jesse was disappointed with inconsistent rules in the book's magic system and the heavy-handed melodrama employed by the writer. She also felt that the romance was forced and lacked chemistry.

Q: Why did Messy Jesse find The Subtweet disappointing?

Messy Jesse expected deeper commentary on social media and miscommunication but felt that the book fell short in exploring these themes. She also disliked the minimalistic and dialogue-heavy writing style and found the central friendship unrealistic and surface-level.

Q: What were Messy Jesse's criticisms of The Life We Bury?

Messy Jesse felt that the representation of autism in the book was stereotypical and criticized the author for using the autistic character as bait. She also found the love interest to be a Manic Pixie Dream Girl and disliked the book's subtle exploration of themes related to ex-convicts.

Q: Why did Messy Jesse feel disappointed by Dear Haiti, Love Elaine?

Messy Jesse found the book to be different from its marketed description as a light-hearted contemporary. She also disliked the protagonist, Elaine, finding her childish and annoying. While the book contained elements of Haitian culture, it lacked depth and failed to deliver on its promises of social media commentary and healthy bond formation between women of color.

Q: What were Messy Jesse's thoughts on Mexican Gothic?

Messy Jesse expected a horror novel set in Mexico during the 1950s but found it lacking in horror and suspense. She was disappointed with the lack of Mexican cultural elements and felt that the writing was repetitive and cyclical. Additionally, she did not connect with the characters and found the romance unnecessary.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Messy Jesse discusses her quarterly review of books that wasted her time in 2020.

• She shares her disappointment with five books, including Children of Blood and Bone, The Subtweet, The Life We Bury, Dear Haiti, Love Elaine, and Mexican Gothic.

• Messy Jesse critiques various aspects of each book, such as inconsistent rules in Children of Blood and Bone, surface-level social commentary in The Subtweet, poor autism representation in The Life We Bury, lack of depth in Dear Haiti, Love Elaine, and lack of horror in Mexican Gothic.