August 12, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Sitting on the Fence About

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is the books we aren't sure we want to read. I have a whole ton of books that would go on this list, so these are not really my *top* ten, but just ten that I picked. I'd love your opinion on whether or not they're worth my time and/or money!

Five books I have not read and do not own:

1.) Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien (and the third book, Promised) — I read and enjoyed Birthmarked, but having seen some negative things about the next two books in the series, I'm in a bit of a quandary. Should I continue on with the trilogy? Or should I cut my losses and stop while I'm ahead? Tell me! In fact, please vote in my "Get It... or Forget It?" poll to let me know what you think! (No one has voted so far, so your votes are greatly appreciated :) )


2.) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline — This is a case of "it's outside my comfort zone, but the book has been getting rave reviews." I probably won't get many of the '80s references, and I have never been into video games. Just generally, I'm not big on sci-fi (apart from dystopian and time travel). Is it still worth reading?
 

3.) Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder — this is one that I did a "Get It... or Forget It?" poll about earlier, and the result was a 50/50 split (which doesn't really help me, lol). Let me know if you think I should give this series a try!



4.) Banner of the Damned by Sherwood Smith — Crown Duel was one of my favourite books when I was younger. Has anyone read this newer book of hers, and if so, can you tell me whether or not it has a Crown Duel sort of feel?


5.) Allegiant by Veronica Roth — this is less a matter of if I'll read it, and more a matter of when, just because I'd like to know what happens and why everyone had such extreme reactions to this final book! I am apprehensive, though, given what I've heard about it, and so I think I'll probably get it out from the library rather than buy it. I know a lot of people were upset about the ending, but I haven't read any major spoilers, so please DO NOT SPOIL me :)


Five books I have on my shelves but haven't read yet:

1.) False Covenant by Ari Marmell (and the third book, Lost Covenant) — I felt mixed about the first book in this series, Thief's Covenant. Can anyone comment on whether the series improves as it goes on?



2.) Changeling by Philippa Gregory — I started reading this one but didn't get very far into it, as I just wasn't liking the writing style. Should I give it another chance? Or are my instincts bang on the money?

3.) Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins — I've read mostly good things about this series, but the cover just screams "typical YA paranormal romance." Who's read this book/series, and what did you think of it?


4.) The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze — I like the sound of the premise, but from the overwhelming number of negative reviews it seems like the execution is not on par with its potential. Would you agree?
 

5.) Illuminate (and Infatuate) by Aimee Agresti — Illuminate is intimidatingly chunky. I read a few pages, but it wasn't grabbing me at the time and so I put it down. Is this book/series worth devoting a good chunk of time to reading?



9 comments:

  1. I won't give you any spoilers about Allegiant (I'm impressed you've managed to avoid them!) but I will say that I was very, very disappointed in that entire novel. I'm curious to hear your thoughts, once you do read it.

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  2. I really liked Touch of Power, so you can count this as a vote in favor. I've tipped the scales, I have so much power...I hope it doesn't go to my head.

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  3. I actually forgot to include Allegiant in my list but yeah, I will not be reading this one. I actually already know how it ends and I'm so not going there anymore LOL :) I haven't read Sweet Evil but I do hear a lot of positive feedback on that series and I totally get what you say about the cover having that typical YA paranormal romance vibe going on so I may just pass on this one too. Thanks for sharing and for stopping by my TTT :)

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  4. Oh my goodness, how did I forget to include Sweet Evil!? I am having the same issues with that one. Skip Allegiant. Seriously, I don't usually recommend NOT finishing a series, but in this case, I do. And I still keep hoping that someone will help you out with Prized! I want to know too :)

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  5. So I read the entire Healer series. Touch of Power is pretty good, a fairly fast read and the characters are great along with a cool magic system. There are some quirks with Snyder's writing that kept me from loving them, but I definitely think you should give it a try to see if you like it ;-)

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  6. I love Sweet Evil! I didn't see it as the typical YA paranormal romance, but seeing as I don't actually mind those, that's what it may be. Illuminate started off slow for me, but it picked up quite a bit. I enjoyed reading it!

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  7. Yeah, I'm not sure I want to read Allegiant either. The same for Insurgent. I liked Divergent enough, but I've heard so many mixed reviews about the other two that I'm kind of scared. Plus, I was spoiled and I know what happens. I'm sure I'll read them, though.

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  8. I haven't read SWEET EVIL (well, technically--I started it once but then I think I had to return it to the library) either but I know that it has a big fan following. I won't spoil ALLEGIANT (why would someone in the first place?!), but I will say that, ending not included, this book was not as good as the first two AT ALL, and I thought they were AMAZING. It was a big bummer. Part of it may have been the hype and anticipation, but still--not the best finale. Thanks for stopping by (I replied to your comment)!

    Rachel @ Beauty and the Bookshelf

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  9. I'm in a little minority, but I don't Allegiant. In fact, for the most part, I liked it. I see why it upset people and there were some things that bothered me, but honestly, it felt very fitting to me. I think it will kind of depend on your thoughts on the first book. It seems that people who were super into the world of Divergent end up disappointed with Allegiant. I liked Divergent but had a lot of questions and Allegiant answered them for me, and I liked that it was a departure because I didn't want to read three books that were just like Divergent. Those are just my thoughts!

    Ready Player One can be an enjoyable read without being into video games or knowing the 80s, because I have limited knowledge of both and still enjoyed it. I won't claim it's for everyone, because it's not, but if you're looking for an adventure story with an immersive setting and something just different from normal, you might like it.

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