A weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish
Last week I posted a discussion post about hype and whether or not it is a good thing or a bad thing. Did you read it? Read it here. So when I saw this week's topic I knew I had to talk some more about hyped books. I didn't mention any examples in that discussion post so here are my examples of hyped books I thought I would like and didn't.
A little disclaimer: None of these are bad books. They are just books that a lot of people seemed to love or I was seeing everywhere and I didn't end up enjoying. If this is one of your favorites, that's cool.
1.) Open Road Summer by Emery Lord - My ReviewYeah, let's start out with a bang shall we? I had heard nothing but amazing things about this book when it first came out. I bought myself a copy as a birthday present to myself and didn't love it. I'm a total black sheep on this book but I don't like road trips so it's no surprise.
2.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - My ReviewWell if you didn't hate me before I'm sure that you do now. This book is so freaking beloved within the blogosphere. I listened to the audiobook a few months ago and I was expecting to love it but I just didn't. But I'm realizing lately that I don't love books set in a circus.
3.) Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard - My ReviewOh my god was this book over-hyped. Part of this was definitely from the publisher, they made sure that this book was everywhere. And part of it was from bloggers who seemed to really love it. I did not love it though. I didn't even really like it.
4.) The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi - My ReviewOkay, so hear me out. I did like this book. I enjoyed the world and the characters. The beginning was really interesting and the writing was pretty. But then I just started losing interest. I think that the romance kicked in and I didn't like that. Either way, hyped and I didn't like it as much as I thought.
5.) The Kiss of Deception by Mary Pearson - My ReviewThis is another book that I bought for myself because I had heard so many amazing things from bloggers and was really hyped by the publisher. It was okay but I just didn't love it. I found it a little predictable and then halfway through it became a travel monologue.
6.) An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir - My ReviewAnd another one that was really hyped by the publisher and had great reviews from bloggers. It seems totally up my alley too. Brutal fantasy world, tons of action, audiobook narrated by Steve West and Fiona Hardingham. And yet I wasn't impressed.
7.) A Court and Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas - My ReviewThis one hurts the most. I was super excited about not only because I had heard nothing but amazing things about this but I'm a huge Sarah J, Maas fan. And I was a total black sheep for this book. I didn't like the romance, I didn't like the fae, and I didn't like the characters. Told you it hurts.
8.) Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman - My Review I was super excited about this one too and I know a ton of people loved it. I mean it's historical fiction about pirates. Or is it? There were almost no pirates in this book and I wanted pirates. No, this read like a historical fantasy and that's not my thing.
9.) A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess - My ReviewI picked up a copy of this up at BEA last year and I was pumped. It seems totally up my alley, an alternate Victorian England with monsters and a plot that plays with the chosen one trope. But in the end it felt a little tropey and didn't impress me.
10.) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins - My ReviewI guess I'm ending with a bang too. I know a lot of you love love LOVE this book. I read it because I've heard even people who aren't big contemporary fans still enjoy it and that it was fun and fluffy which I like in my contemp. It did not live up to the hype for me though.
Honorable Mentions (some recent reads):
My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and - My Review
Caraval by Stephanie Garber - My Review
There you have it, all the super hyped books I thought I would love and didn't. Like I said, none of these are bad books, they were just good or okay reads for me and they hyped made me think I would love it. What books made your list? Leave me a comment from your thoughts. Thanks for stopping by and HAPPY READING!
Uh oh...I have so many of these on my TBR list. LOL! I just bought Red Queen, ACOTAR and Anna and the French Kiss recently. I also have The Night Circus and The Star-Touched Queen on my TBR list. I haven't got a chance to read any of these yet tho. Great list
ReplyDeleteah, so many of these are sitting on my TBR pile. Although I actually love ACOTAR, and I did enjoy Anna and the french kiss (however it was years ago when I read it - probably wouldn't enjoy it quite so much now). However one of the books that made my list was The Raven Boys by Maggie Steifvafter - I liked it, I just didn't love it and am in no rush to read the rest of the series at all. Great list though - thanks for sharing your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteNight Circus has appeared a few times today....it's on my list but I wasn't wild about Water for Elephants and have never been a huge circus fan--except for Dr. Suess's If I Ran the Circus lol.
ReplyDeleteInteresting list!
Lisa @ https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/top-10-tuesday-ten-books-or-less-than-other-people/
How did I forget about Anna? That should have been on my list too. I did not like that book. It was WAY over hyped for what was basically a typical slow burn contemporary romance. Ugh! I was also happy to see A Court of Thorns and Roses on your list too. It makes me feel better that you, a fantasy fan, didn't like it either. That shouldn't make me happy, but it does. :)
ReplyDeleteThe Night Circus and ACOTAR were on my list this week too, I definitely didn't love them as much as everyone else seemed to!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/top-ten-tuesday-97/
Oh bummer! Seeing a few that I still need to read and few that I loved! But I always tell myself every book isn't for everyone! There were too many hyped books I had hoped to love too but they fell flat for me. It's been so long with some of those that I couldn't remember what they even were! LOL!
ReplyDeleteHere's my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
I loved a couple of these (Red Queen and Kiss of Deception) and I liked Anna (but didn't love it as much as others seem to). The others I haven't read yet. I'm nervous to read Night Circus because I just have this feeling I won't love it. But eventually I'll break down and read it---it's sitting on my shelf, after all.
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Yeah, Red Queen made my list this week too...
ReplyDeleteI didn't love Open Road Summer either!! I really disliked the MC. So you're not a black sheep on that one. I DNF Red Queen and A Shadow Bright and Burning. I LOVE The Night Circus and Anna! I can understand Anna not living up to the hype, though. Great list!
ReplyDeleteAhh sorry you didn't enjoy the night circus and aatfk! Red queen also totally failed for me, it's just too similar with other YA books!
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress
Too much hype is definitely never a good thing! Sorry these reads didn't live up to their expectations for you! I'm curious about The Night Circus - it's on my TBR but I've seen both rave reviews and disappointed reviews... Guess I'll have to read to find out :)
ReplyDelete