Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I thought I'd like more/less than I did

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week the participants post their top ten to a specific topic.


This week's topic is about books that we liked more or less than we'd expected before reading them. I think I'll give you some of both :)



Books I liked more than I thought I would:

Glenraven_27's books I liked more than I thought album on Photobucket


The Replacement, by Brenna Yovanoff
I'd heard great things about her writing but wasn't sure the topic was for me. I should have paid more attention when reading the blurb. Anyhow, I bought this one when the paperback was on sale for 3 euros or so. IT TORE MY HEART OUT. Seriously, I hurt so much when I read it! My chest tightened up. I ached. I put a ton of sticky notes into it! I savored every word! And I resolved to read all the rest of Brenna's books. And of course to re-read this one many times.

Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
I heard everyone swooning over it, but honestly if I hadn't won a giveaway and the only not-yet-claimed book that appealed to me was this I might have never read it. What a shame that'd have been! It got me more interested in contemporaries again after almost 10 years of reading nearly only fantasy/paranormal books!

The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa
I know! Again, a huge hype. But I just doubted that Julie could do vampires after having read the first two (or was it only 1? Can't remember) of her Iron Fey books. Turns out I couldn't put it down and loved it even more than her Fey books! And that coming from a person who was utterly uninterested in dystopias before.

If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
Again, I seem to mistrust hypes. Here it was mostly the exact subject matter that put me off though. But after reading Just One Day (sounded more appealing) I had to have it immediately. The day after I finished it I bought Where She Went and read it front to back the same day. It was just that good, and that heartbreaking!

The Pledge, by Kimberly Derting
I was actually sure I'd like this one - I'd been waiting for the paperback for forever. But I was still blown away with just how much I loved it! I was writing a paper about queens during the time and this book fit in perfectly. It's basically a manifestation of the idea of the two bodies of the queen (natural/mortal & politic/enduring --> essence).




Books I liked less than I had hoped:

Glenraven_27's books i liked less than i thought album on Photobucket


Pretty in Black, by Rae Hachton
*sigh* Yeah, I had really hoped I'd love it. But the writing was choppy, the plot at times erratic, and though I enjoyed some of the world building it all just never really came together properly. And I couldn't get behind the romance in the way I had hoped. I bought all three books as a package so I'll continue the series, but I'm not in a hurry.

Darker Still, by Leanna Renée Hieber
I liked it. I actually liked it quite a lot. But I had somehow expected... more. I also found it rather predictable and didn't click with the setting in quite the way I had hoped. Still debating whether or not I'll buy the sequel...

Beautiful Disaster, by Jamie McGuire
It was among my first NA books and I'd had hight hopes. College characters! A tattooed guy! But yeah, I'd thought he'd be the musician kind of tattooed, not some super-muscled fighter. That was my bad though, and I just had to readjust. But then their whole 'love' and the way the plot was all over the place and I couldn't get a hold of Abby's actual character and how stupid they sometimes were just turned me off. During the last 15% or so I just continually snorted and rolled my eyes, but I somehow felt like I had to finish. Never again though... *prepares for angry mob*

Crescendo, by Becca Fitzpatrick
I really liked Hush, Hush! It wasn't perfect but it kept me intrigued and I adored Patch :) I also got it signed at an author event, so yeah... but Crescendo? Nope. I was really annoyed with Nora and how little she trusted Patch and how she jumped to conclusions. Silence was better. I haven't read Finale yet...

Strange Fates, by Marlene Perez
The world building and general idea were great! But the execution left something to be desired. It started out great but then it couldn't really hold my interest. I couldn't understand what Nyx saw in his sort-of-girlfriend, who'd lied to him more times than I can count. There were aspects I liked and others that were a total let-down. I still have to review it...


So, that's it from me. I'm sure I could have picked other, maybe better-suited books, but I wanted to keep it somewhat recent. Did you have similar/completely opposite thoughts about the books I featured? And what made it onto your lists?

13 comments:

  1. Cool list! I like your slideshows :) I liked Anna and the French Kiss more than expected too. It looks like it's just going to be like a typical contemporary, but it's so much better.

    I don't think I'll ever read Beauiful Disaster even though part of me wants to bc of the hype. I just don't think I'll connect with a dude like Travis... and the whole relationship just sounds insane and dysfunctional. I don't like agressive scary dudes or authors who romanticize violence towards women or stalkerish behavior.

    My TTT

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  2. The Immortal Rules and The Pledge are both in my TBR pile... glad to hear that they were great!

    I had the same reservations about If I Stay. I ended up really loving it too.

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    1. Oops... I logged in with the wrong account... my list is here if you'd like to check it out. :)

      http://theavidreader.typepad.com/the-avid-reader/2013/04/top-ten-tuesday-books-i-unexpectedly-loved-plus-a-few-i-didnt.html

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  3. Love Stephanie Perkins. And Hush Hush, then the sequel bombed for me - urgh - I haven't read further. It was a crime, that's what it was, Patch was so amazing in Book 1!!! Ahhh. I want to scream. Lol.

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    1. Hey :) thanks for stopping by! I couldn't find a blog on your profile so I'm replying here. Seems lots of people disliked Crescendo o.O As I said, Silence was somewhat better but it still wasn't outstanding. I hope Finale at least rounds the series off properly :)

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  4. Great list! I definitely loved THE REPLACEMENT and just could NOT get through CRESCENDO.

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  5. I just started If I Stay after seeing so much hype/enjoying Just One Day. I am slightly hesitate because there is so much good hype but sometimes it deserves the hype. I think I am in the minority among YA readers who did enjoy Beautiful Disaster but everyone has their guilty pleasures.

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  6. I am really skeptical of getting into Beautiful Disaster and Crescendo was the worst out of the Hush Hush books to me. Love The Immortal Rules, The Pledge, and If I Stay :)

    Awesome list!

    Janina @ Synchonized Reading

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I couldn't find a TTT on your blog so I'm answering here. I honestly cannot recommend Beautiful Disaster to anyone. I think it sends a very dangerous message, especialyl to the younger readers who will undoubtedly read it anyway.
      Crescendo made me so angry :(

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  7. Yay for Anna and the French Kiss! I was skeptical too, but I'm glad I read it! :D
    And The Immortal Rules! I thought Julie's Iron Fey series was just okay, not amazing, but The Immortal Rules completely blew me away.
    Thanks for stopping by my TTT Carmen! (:

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  8. I loved Anna and the French Kiss! I just read it recently and thought it was super adorable. And I also liked Immortal Rules! I was wary myself because I wasn't sure how she would do with vampires. Silly me for even doubting her. I'm with you on Crescendo though. I didn't care much for that one.

    Thanks for stopping by my TTT!

    Jessica@Lovin' Los Libros

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  9. THE IMMORTAL RULES! *flails* So epic. Are you excited for The Eternity Cure?? SQUEE!

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    1. I've already read The Eternity Cure and it's FANTASTIC!! My review will be up in the next few days :D

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