Disappointing Endings

One of the most irritating things when you read a book is an unsatisfying ending. Especially when the entire plot leading up to the home stretch, those precious last thirty pages, is so addicting and marvelous, and then the ending falls utterly short of your expectations. Of course, how to end a novel is completely up to the discretion of the author, but there’s always at least one thing that you want to happen before the end, and it is so disappointing when it doesn’t turn out the way you had hoped. There are some things that feel justified at the end of the book or series, and sometimes the ending feels unfinished when they don’t occur.

                Or sometimes things happen that you are absolutely against, like maybe the main character ends up with the “wrong” person in the love triangle. No matter what your dissatisfaction is with the ending, there’s no denying that it just feels wrong. For me, it’s especially apparent when the whole novel is packed full with action, and then the ending sort of tapers off without a super engaging fight scene. My biggest pet peeve is when the book is filled with heartache and devastating consequences, but then the story ends with a perfect “Hollywood” ending. That always seems to me like a little unrealistic, despite it being a sci-fi or action-based novel. There has to be some sort of suffering after an epic adventure due to the choices and sacrifices made along the journey. Without it, the ending is sort of one-dimensional, and an overall let down when finishing a great story.

                Insufficient endings also seem like sort of a betrayal of the characters. After all they went through throughout the adventure, they deserve the right kind of closure. And as the reader, I feel like I’m entitled to it as well. I spend my time reading something that I end up loving, and I’m engulfed in the story and what happens to each individual character, and then the ending is inadequate for what happens after. This is especially true when there isn’t going to be a sequel. I just finished reading Girl of Nightmares, the sequel to Anna Dressed in Blood, and I was thoroughly impressed with the plot—up until the ending when nobody died. I mean, it was just one of those novels where so many horrible things are happening, and the characters are in constant danger so it would have seemed fitting for one to die a gruesome death. But it wasn’t meant to be, obviously, and I was disappointed with the overly-happy happy ending.