It’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by the wonderful blog at The Broke and the Bookish!
This week’s topic IS (Survey says!): Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE/LESS Than I Did
Let’s split this into two, shall we? We’ll start negative and end positive.
TOP TEN BOOKS I THOUGHT I’D LIKE MORE THAN I DID
(meaning, what a bummer… and omg you guys are going to kill me)
** DISCLAIMER: While I marked these books as ones that I was a little disappointed by, many of them were still 3-4 star ratings, just not the 5-star rating I had hoped for! **
1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: DON’T HATE ME FOR THIS. Please? I just heard how everyone looooved this book and they cried and it was amazing. I was expecting something phenomenal and I think the hype kind of ruined it for me. I kept “waiting for something to happen” and the story just didn’t go how I thought it would. I found out later I MAY not be a John Green fan. Oh wait, maybe I shouldn’t have started with this one because now everyone is going to stop reading my blog….. Please don’t leave me! Haha.
2. Dualed by Elsie Chapman: DUALED was one of my most anticipated dystopian reads of 2013. I just felt like there were several plot holes and a disconnect from the MC that totally didn’t do it for em.
3. Requiem by Lauren Oliver: I think we all know the issues here.
4. Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: Another one that was so hyped and I was just SO LOST the first half of the book. Maybe it’d be better on a re-read?
5. Golden by Jessi Kirby: Don’t get me wrong, I did still really enjoy GOLDEN, but that mention of Robert Frost in the book’s description on Goodreads…. I just REALLY wanted the MC to be related to Robert Frost and I expected her to go on some wild journey to prove the relation. Maybe I should write that book because this is not what that was about! Still very, very good but I was just so bummed that for a non-poetry fan, I was hoping to see that poet connection.
6. Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black: The romance was totally bizarre to me and the twists that this book took… Not to my liking.
7. Nobody But Us by Kristin Halbook: This is NOT “If I Stay meets Bonnie & Clyde”. I didn’t like either main character and it was a frustrating read for me.
8. Mind Games by Kiersten White: Another frustrating read. I didn’t like the stream of consciousness from our MC Fia and then ending did not make sense to me at all.
9. Origin by Jessica Khoury: Another disconnect from the MC (see a pattern here!?!) and everyone felt very cold. Add a dash of insta-love and I was out.
10. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare: Am I the only one who wasn’t blown away by this? I just didn’t quite get the appeal. It was okay, but I honestly don’t think I’ll continue the series. I may see the movie though haha.
TOP TEN BOOKS I THOUGHT I’D LIKE LESS THAN I DID
(meaning I liked them a lot more!)
1. The Trouble WIth Flirting by Claire LaZebnik: I can’t believe I almost passed this one up! It was my first LaZebnik book and it was just so much fun!!
2. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: I knew I would like E&P but I had no idea I would fall in love with it!
3. The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay: I was invited to this galley by the publisher and I was like, “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” I dove head first into THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY (no pun intended but hah!) and fell in love.
4. How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller: I totally didn’t know what this story was when I started it, but it was delightfully dark and sinister in a realistic way.
5. Confessions of an Angry Girl by Louise Rozett: I first thought this would be some sort of silly book about an angry teenage girl. It actually had a ton of depth and a swoony romance.
6. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead: I was so burned out on the vampire scene when my friend loaned me her copy of VA. I’m so glad I gave it a shot!
7. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Steifvater: I wasn’t a fan of Shiver and decided not to continue that series. THE SCORPIO RACES was so different and the audio was amazing!
8. Insignia by S.J. Kincaid: It was a boy book. Something about space ships? And technology… Snooze. OR NOT. It was so awesome and for a male MC, it was totally relatable!
9. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: I thought I’d enjoy RPO, but it was AMAAAAZING. The audio with Wil Wheaton narrating was that much more fun.
10. Everbound by Brodi Ashton: I wasn’t a huge fan of Everneath so I was concerned to read EVERBOUND. The good news is that I liked it so much more than I thought I would! Still not stellar, but it convinced me to read the third book.
19 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday – April 23, 2013: Top Ten Books I Thought I’d Like MORE/LESS Than I Did”
Wow, I’m pretty surprised by a lot of your bummer list! I just finished Jellicoe last week and I just wanted to hug the book I loved it so much. Of course we all have our shocking ones (I wasn’t blown away by If I Stay). I really want to read Sea of Tranquility, especially after I read your review of it! Great lists, even if they were surpising 🙂
I didn’t like Origin at all either, even though I flew through it, after the ending I was severely let down. I still desperately need to read the Scorpio Races! Soon!
Oh man, so many books I’ve never heard of on this list – and of the ones I have heard of, I haven’t read a single one. I feel so out of touch! There are several on your list, however, that fall into my category of, “not interested in reading but would like to just sit and stroke their pretty, pretty covers for an hour or two” 🙂
I LOVED The Scorpio Races, the Vampire Academy series and Ready Player One – so I’m with you on those. But I also loved Jellicoe Road, so sad to see you weren’t impressed 🙁
I am right there with you with City of Bones. I found myself saying “is this for real?” at several points while reading. I am slightly hesitate to pick up The Infernal Devices because I didn’t enjoy these but people keep recommending it! Also yay! another person who doesn’t feel like TFiOS is a book sent from god. I did enjoy the book but the way some people talk about it make me wonder if we were reading the same book. Totally agree with your thoughts on Insignia, I have tried again and again to recommend this to people and everyone is just like “ehh”. Whatever they are missing out!
Ready Player One and Eleanor and Park are two books I’ve meaning to read for some time now but still haven’t got round to them… You seem pretty smitten with them though.
Haha. I’m not shocked to see TFIOS on your list of bummer books, it made my list as a book I enjoyed more than I thought I would because whilst I read all the rave reviews etc, I didn’t ‘buy’ in to the hype so I ended up being pleasantly surprised.
You’re not the only person I’ve seen with John Green on the bad list today! And I agree with you about Origin and City of Bones. Both were okay, but I definitely wasn’t blown away by either. So many people LOVE the Mortal Instruments series, but for me it’s always just been middle-of-the-road.
Yay for Insignia be on your good list! There was a lot of hype about this one from my local indie bookshop, so I was already expecting it to be great — and I loved it. 😀
Kill you? I’m in agreeance with you for most of them! And psst: Not a Green fan either. YOU AREN’T ALONE
I loved TFIOS, but I saw on another TTT today where someone said that the book has stuck with her, and I have to agree. I don’t really think about it now at all. I loved it at the time, though.
Sorry you were disappointed with City of Bones. I love TMI and am so so so excited for the movie. I’ve seen VA on so many TTTs today, and everyone says it’s a greats series. I really need to read them!
And LOVE Eleanor and Park!
Girlll, your list is long! Let’s see, I’m sad you didn’t like Golden because according to everyone and their mother I will love it. But that would make sense since our opinions on contemporary often differ. The Fault in Our Stars made me cry but it’s not my favorite book ever so you’re not alone. YES to Requiem. That was terribly disappointing. And Mind Games. Ugh, that book. I should’ve listened to reviews and avoided reading it. I share your love for How to Lead a Life of Crime. I think that was one of the biggest surprises of my year so far!
I wasn’t blown away by The Fault in Our Stars which you already knew since you read my review lol. Also, I enjoyed Requiem except for the ending! And VA, love that series!!
You didn’t make me mad! 🙂
I completely felt the same way about Nobody But Us – I can’t believe they compared it to If I Stay!!
Okay, the only one I have a problem with is Jellicoe Road because hello… I loved it. BUT…. the first part of the book wasn’t amazing. I kept WAITING to love it and didn’t. It was like all of a sudden, you know? Like wait a minute… I love this book! I’m glad to hear that you liked Everbound more than you thought you would. I just didn’t remember liking Everneath so I’ve put off Everbound. Maybe now, thanks to you, I’ll give it a shot!
Oh… I listed TFIOS on my list too. I didn’t like it as much as everyone else did!
I am 100% on board with Eleanor and Park and Sea of Tranquility. It’s so nice when a book can live up to/exceed its hype. I think I’m pretty much the only person in the blogging world who hasn’t read The Fault in Our Stars (or any John Green) so I love seeing it on your list since it helps justify my lack of desire to read it 😉
Great lists!
I definitely thought I’d like Mind Games more than I did. Level 2 is another one that was disappointing for me. In both cases, I thought the books should’ve been longer, because they felt a little incomplete to me.
I LOVED The Scorpio Races so much more than I thought I would, although for me it was mostly because horse books usually bore me to tears.
Daaaaang….. City of Bones. Please read Infernal Devices and if you hate that too…. we are going to have some words. hahhaha (did you have trouble getting passed the whole incest theme?? ha) Keep reading– I promise it gets better!!!)
Also, what’s the deal with Jellicoe Road??? It is constantly raved about, yet I see it popping up on some of these lists as disappointments! YIkes! I need to read it and see what side of the fence I land on. 🙂
I will forgive you about John Green because I do understand that book hype can seriously take away from a read – fortunately I read TFIOS before I read anything about it so I was able to love every minute.
I too was not blown away by City of Bones and it makes me feel like a bit of a literary outcast.
I actually really liked The Fault in Our Stars and City of Bones (although with that one is did get better as the series went on in my opinion) I haven’t read Jellicoe Road yet but I do want to, I’ve heard mixed reviews and I want to see where I’ll fall in the mix.
I absolutely ADORE The Vampire Academy series and Scorpio Races!!! They’re both on my favorites for life list! And I’ve got The Sea of Tranquility which I can’t wait to start! And I’m dying to get my hands on Eleanor and Park!!
Here’s my Top Ten
I’m a new follower of yours!! 😀
<3
Taylor
Ahahah TFiOS was the first book in my I thought I’d like it more list too. It was a big disappointment. I’ve heard that the first sixty pages or so of Jellicoe Road are confusing, but then it gets better after that. So maybe when you have some time you can re-read the book? I’ve heard a lot of good things about The Scorpio Races, but I haven’t read it yet. I adore The Raven Boys, so I wonder if I’ll have way too high expectations TSR.
Great list Brittany!