The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. It's been too long since I participated, so here I am with this week's topic: books that I reacted differently to (in either a positive or negative way) than expected!
Books That Pleasantly Surprised Me:
1.) The Host by Stephenie Meyer
I'm not much for sci-fi, but I have to say I got totally sucked into this book. Of course, there's more "fiction" than "science" in this sci-fi novel, so hard-core sci-fi fans would probably take issue with it...but if you're not one of those, then be sure to check this one out!
Apparently the movie adaptation flopped, though, so I haven't seen it...not sure I'm going to. Any thoughts on the film one way or the other?
I'm generally a fan of dystopians, but apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic books are usually less my cup of tea. I found myself really absorbed in Enclave, though! Need to get caught up on this series...I've still only read the first one.
3.) Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
This is a book that I found actually lived up to the buzz it got! Anna is just such a relatable narrator. I can't say I was as thrilled with Lola and the Boy Next Door, though, probably because I didn't connect as well with Lola as I did with Anna.
4.) The Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
I tend to steer clear of most vampire books, with a few exceptions...and this series is one of them! These books have wonderful characterization, interesting psychological metaphors, and an awesome unputdownable quality to them.
5.) What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty
I don't read adult books that often because I find I can't relate to the themes/situations that the characters are facing, and the voice is frequently too "mature" for me to connect with. However, I really did enjoy much of What Alice Forgot (in particular, I loved the younger Alice's sense of humor!).
Books That Unfortunately Disappointed Me:
1.) Delirium by Lauren Oliver
I think this book just got hyped up way too much, and for me the execution didn't live up to the potential of the premise. It was a combination of implausible world-building (seriously, how were the 'rebels' able to escape the notice of "Big Brother" for that long?) and characters I just didn't care that much about. I haven't continued on with the series so I couldn't say if things got any better with the later books.
2.) Possession by Elana Johnson
My major problem with this book was the ending...it sort of made the time I spent reading it feel wasted to me. I know there are companion books to this one (I haven't read them), which might change the situation, but as a story in and of itself, the ending made the rest of it come off as pretty pointless.
This was a case of 'concept that sounds neat in theory but really doesn't work out in reality'. It was just too odd a premise, not to mention poor characterization and a writing style I found kind of clinical.
4.) A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton
I just felt like this one had a lot of unharnessed potential...it was really easy to see things that could have been changed to improve it. I think if this one had been edited differently it could have been a much better story.
5.) Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
I saw quite a few glowing reviews of this one before I read it, but I'm very glad I only got it out from the library. There were just too many issues I had with it, from disliking Lena as a character (yep, I flat-out admit it) to the hodgepodge of magical elements thrown into the mix.
Anyone have thoughts about the film version of this one? Worth seeing, or not?
I LOVED Enclave. Forgotten I felt a little iffy about, the audio was good so I kept involved. Beautiful Creatures I read so long ago, I need a reread. I enjoyed it but I can't remember what about it appealed so much.
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten
I really enjoyed The Host, both book and movie. When I picked up the book, I couldn't put it down. Movie-wise, there was the awkward "How are we going to have two voices for one character?" But other than getting use to that, I thought it was pretty awesome. Jeb and the Seeker were cast perfectly.
ReplyDeletecandice @ thecrjreviews
I adore Anna and the French Kiss. It's one of my all-time favs. I tried to read Beautiful Creatures no less than 3 times before surrendering. It's obviously just not the book for me.
ReplyDeleteHere's my TTT
I agree with you about Anna and Lola. After I read Anna (which was because of all the hype and people kept persuading me to read it), I read some of the Lola reviews, many people said that they liked the second better and especially Lola. After I read it, I felt like the black sheep, because I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Anna, plus I didn't connect with her much like I did with Anna.
ReplyDeleteBecause of all the hype around the Delirium series, I requested it from the library and I got one of my sisters to read it and tell me what she thinks of it, since we have similar tastes in books. After she read it, she said that it was boring and that she doesn't want to read the second book even if it does get better. Which means that I'm not going to read Delerium.
-Nazish @ Nazish Reads
I adore Anna and the French Kiss too. It is such a fun story. I just got done rereading it and loved it! :) I'm glad you enjoyed The Host. I did as well!
ReplyDeleteThe Host really surprised me too. I wasn't expecting to like it as much because although I read all of the books in the Twilight series, I thought they got progressively worse.
ReplyDeleteThe Host really suprised me too! I was wary of reading it after reading Twilight, but the premise of it was just too hard to resist. Glad I gave in though.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you enjoyed Enclave. That's one of the main books that got me into apocalyptic/post-apocalyptic books.