Apparently I’ve forgotten how I start these things. Which is always great (not).
I’m just going to get right into it otherwise I’ll be here all day (I have been already, honestly).
Just how important is the ending of a book?
Now that’s not what I mean. I don’t mean the literal words “The End”. I’m not talking about those two words being written on the very last page. I think it’s pretty clear when you reach the last page of a book that it’s the end.
No, what I mean in the ending in general. How the story comes to a close. How important is it? How does it affect our rating? Our enjoyment? Does it actually matter how a book ends?
If I read a book and enjoyed it thoroughly, but then the ending just fell flat…I don’t think it’d necessarily ruin the book – but it’d definitely drop my rating. I mean, to go through all those pages and then to think the end was a bit rubbish compared? It’d be hard not to feel disappointed.
But to me, this is different to just not liking an ending because it didn’t go how I wanted it to go. If I didn’t like it because nothing really happened/it was just a bit of a fall through compared to the rest of a book, then yes, I’ll be disappointed. The entire thing would have felt like an unnecessary build up.
But if I didn’t like it because the plot didn’t go the way I wanted? Because I wanted something different to happen? Sure, I might be slightly annoyed for a bit, but in the end (no pun intended) it’s not my story. I’m just reading it. I don’t get to decide that kind of thing so I won’t dock my rating for it.
I don’t think it’d change my opinion much.
Sure, a good ending might spike my hopes for the sequel (if there is one) a little bit more, and I might be more tempted to continue the series. But if the rest of the book was just “meh” in comparison…well, then I’d probably not bother. That’s the majority of the book we’re talking about. It’s hardly worth going through an entire book just for a half-decent ending when there’s other books out there that are all good.
I think they are, definitely.
They’re the thing that’ll leave a lasting impression on our minds when we close the pages of our latest read. They’re what possibly sets us up for the next book. They’re the conclusion to the hundreds of pages we just trudged through. It needs to be good! It needs to be worth it.
A good ending will keep a reader wanting more. Or it will gather everything up, tie all the loose ends and leave us feeling content with the story. All problems are solved. We can happily move on (or if you’re like me, fangirl some more).
So a bad ending? Well, it could DESTROY EVERYTHING. All the hard work out into those pages just to feel a bit “meh” about it when it’s done. “Meh” isn’t going to get people picking up the next book or rereading that one, is it?
I don’t think endings have to go the way we want them to. Not every story will wind the way we think. We’re all very different people, not everyone will be pleased with the ending of the book. But that’s Okayy.
Now it’s your turn!
Do you think the end of a book is important? Why?
Would you rate a book lower if the ending disappointed you?
Would you consider reading a sequel if the book had a good ending, even if the majority of the book wasn’t that good?
Which books have you read with endings that just left you feeling…shocked? Amazed? NEEDING the next book? (no spoilers!)
Join the discussion in the comments!
Until next time…
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Snapchat username: “frolic_fiction”
A frolic through fiction 
Great discussion post 🙂
I think the end can ruin a book sometimes . Normally if I’m reading a book I’m enjoying and the book has a meh ending my rating won’t be that different but I read a book recently in which at about 80% the main character had a complete change of personality that came out of nowhere. Up until that point I was considering rating that book 4 stars. In the end I rated it 2.5 stars because that change got me mad. In that case the ending really aftected what I thought about the book because that change was only used to cause a lot of drama that ended up being easily solved when it shouldn’t.
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Thank you! ❤
I suppose it depends just how badly the ending affected the plot. Sometimes it'll just feel a bit odd, and then others – like your case – it can ruin the book's rating entirely.
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The end can definitely ruin a book. The first thing that comes to mind is My Sister’s Keeper. I loved the book, but the ending ruined everything it had been building towards by using a cop-out. I can’t say I don’t still like the book because the majority was good, but there’ll be disappointment wherever I think of it. I wouldn’t read a sequel to a book with a bad ending or even vise versa because the pay off won’t be worth it. It’s too much of an investment for something so “meh.”
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True. Having that feeling of disappointment can just surround a book, even if the actual story was mostly good. I don’t think I’d buy the next book either
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Great post! I think the ending is definitely important. There’s nothing worse than a book building you up for a great ending where nothing much actually happens. If a good book has a badly written ending, it will affect my rating. But like you said, if it just doesn’t go the way I wanted, but it at least makes sense, then I just have to get over it!
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Thank you! 😀
Yeah, there’s a difference between a book’s ending not being quite what we wanted and being a complete disappointment in ways of writing. The build up can be too much to just be let down at the end of it all!
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Nice discussion post! For me, the ending of a book is definitely very important. When a book takes you on an incredible journey, introduces you to new characters and to new worlds, it is EXTREMELY disappointing when the ending is not as jaw dropping. If I am disappointed by the ending of a book, my rating will definitely drop. The ending is the most important part! That’s what you are working towards when you’re reading. And if doesn’t do the story justice, I’ll be very, very disappointed.
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Thank you!! 🙂
I agree! The entire book is a build up towards the ending, so to finally get there and be disappointed can leave you feeling so downhearted about it all. Especially when so much time went into reading it in the first place!
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It wouldn’t “ruin” the book, but it would take my rating down.
I’ve been in this situation before…if I HATE the ending, then it def affects the review. If I’m so-so on it, then I try not to bite into the stars too much. I didn’t like the end of Allegiant, but I had enjoyed the series up to that point.
(Though now that I’ve read more, it’s not as amazing as I thought it was…)
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I’m exactly the same with the Divergent series! I used to LOVE it, and the first two used to be on my favourites list on Goodreads. I read Allegiant and I just didn’t like it that much compared to the other two – partly because of the ending (though not the Tris thing, I wasn’t as bothered by that as everyone else). Now I’ve gone off the series completely and took them all off my favourites list a long time ago
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I think endings are important because, like you said, they form much of our lasting impression of the book. My favourite sorts of endings are either the ones where all the big questions are answered, but then a few small details are left to the reader’s imagination, or the endings where there is a nice, full epilogue and I can be satisfied that the story has come to a complete end and I know that everything has been resolved. Speaking of endings that leave you longing for the sequel… Six of Crows!!! ❤
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YAAS! The endings where all the questions are answered are just SO satisfying! Also cliffhanger endings are like a love/hate thing for me ahaha. Leaves you wanting more but QUESTIONS. Which is exactly what Six of Crows was for me!
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The ending of a book is critical. There’s nothing like adoring a book, only to be let down in the last twenty pages. Heartbreaking. And, it will often destroy my trust with that author– I will be much more hesitant to pick up any books they have written after that.
And I have TOTALLY continued series I only moderately enjoyed because the ending compelled me to continue (The Selection, I’m looking at you). I don’t think there is anything wrong with that. 🙂
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It really is heartbreaking. But if the ending is great for a “meh” book, I’d be like you and be tempted to continue the series 🙂 It’s like that extra nudge to keep going!
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Love this topic! Endings are everything for me. Unfortunately, it a great read concludes on a low note, the rating is dropping. I don’t have exceptions as far as happy or sad. I simply must have conclusion though. The book has to feel complete. I understand with series that there will be some points of the plot that remain unanswered, but when a book just fails to feel complete…sigh. I usually will not follow up on that.
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Yeah I’m much the same. It’s like my rating could be high, but then if the ending made my enjoyment drop, my rating will drop along with it. And like you, I don’t necessarily want a happy or sad ending. I just want it to conclude what I read!
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Exactly!
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I completely agree with you. Endings are very important as they have a big impact on the lasting impression of a book. I also don’t think that the ending has to go exactly the way you wished it to for it to be good, not at all.
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There’s even been endings I’ve read that ending COMPLETELY differently to what I thought because of an unexpected plot twist. But the fact it didn’t end how I thought doesn’t change anything. I was more impressed the story could change so drastically so quickly and still make perfect sense 😆
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I know! I mean it’s also rather boring if the ending is predictable from the start, so there’s that..
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Very true. If you already guessed the ending from the start, the entire book would just feel like a waste of time.
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I think the ending of books are quite important as it leaves a sense of closure in a way. If a book doesn`t have good ending it will leave me feeling empty and I completely agree with you that the ending of books help you choose if you want to read the sequel. 😀
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There’s nothing worse than getting to the end of a book that doesn’t have a “next book” and still having unanswered questions! THAT makes me dock my rating definitely, because I’ll usually get annoyed if I’m still left confused by some things 😆
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Loved your thoughts! I think the ending of the book is the utmost important thing. For example, I definitely had some issues with the rising action of A Torch Against the Night, but the ending was so flawless that it made up for everything else, and now I can’t wait to read the third book!!! I’m being totally biased though, because the PERFECT first book has given me more than enough hope to last through one bland middle 😉
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Thank you!!
I’ve not read those books yet, I’m always in a constant debate about whether I should read them or not. Glad to hear you enjoyed the first one so much though!
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I rather read a good book with a bad ending. At least I enjoyed almost the whole story. Yeah, the ending was bad, but maybe it’s just because I didn’t wanted an ending like that one. And yes, sometimes a bad ending ruin my rating, but not all the time. Great discussion as always!
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Thank you!! 🙂
I’m the same. If I enjoyed the majority of the book, I’d bare that in mind. Sometimes you can’t help but feel a bit disappointed though
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Yeah, that’s normal!
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I think an ending is one of the most important oarts beside the beginning a perfect book for me will have me closing it and just thinking about how great the ending was. If a book has an absolutely horrible ending I may dock a star depending on my thoughts through out the book but then again it depends on the whole book for me 😊 I didn’t enjoy Glass Sword but the ending was pretty cool but I don’t think I’ll continue with the series unless someone really convinces me to. Great post!!
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Thank you!
Yeah I think how the ending is received depends a lot on the rest of the book too 🙂
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I completely agree! I do sometimes think an absolutely terrible ending can ruin a book, but if it just didn’t go the way I was thinking I wanted it to, it probably won’t be as big of a deal. But where would we be without endings? Some books really jsut don’t really have them and sort of trail off into nothing (cough cough Dorothy Must Die) and then that is absolutely upsetting.
-Amy
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I get what you mean! You’re either left just thinking “what?” or something along the lines of “…so what actually happened then?” You read a book to know the story, not half of one!
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Exactly! There’s a reason “resolution” is a part of the “story process” (or whatever it’s called). Because it’s super important and necessary, and that’s what the whole book is leading up to!
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