I'm back doing another Month of Faves prompt:
Popular Books - Worth the Hype or Not
What I decided to do for considering a 'popular book' was either a book I heard about from several places {other blogs largely ha} or a top seller for the year, so some of these are older books that I just now heard about, ha.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
So worth the hype. This book was really thought provoking but also a great story.
Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
Nope. The last few books I've read of hers have been 'meh' at best.
Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Yes! I got really invested in this story, and it was so heartbreaking to learn it was based on actual events during the 1950s.
The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
I thought this book was good, but the hype made me expect AMAZING.
So even though I enjoyed it, I would say it wasn't worth the hype. We need to stop describing every thriller as 'the next Gone Girl'!!!
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
I have a love/hate relationship with Kristin Hannah. The first book I read of hers was The Nightingale which was amazing, and I think everything I've read since was either 'blah' or 'good' but even good felt like a disappointment after The Nightingale. I would say this was one of the better ones that I read by her. Worth the hype? Maybe?
Educated by Tara Westover
OMG, yes. This book was worth every second of hype.
Still Me by JoJo Moyes
I felt like this series got better each book and this one was my favorite.
If you even remotely liked the first book, then yes, this was worth the hype.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
I didn't like this book as much as it seemed the entire world did, but similar to Still Me, the series has gotten better, so I would say it was kind of worth the hype.
Class Mom by Laurie Gelman
I've heard about this book for years and finally read it. It lived up to what I hoped for it, so I would say it was worth it.
In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson
Nope. I've had numerous people tell me how much they LOVED this book, one person even said it was her favorite book of all time, so I went in with high expectations. The subject matter {being the US Ambassador to Germany in the decade before WW2} was fascinating, but the book was SO DRY.
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Another book I heard about for years before taking the plunge on. You guys know I love futuristic, dystopian series, and I think this was pretty solid, but I could see if you didn't love YA or dystopian stories this wouldn't be.
What do you think lived up to - or didn't - the hype??
5 comments:
So this post reminds me why I get so many book suggestions from you. Oh my goodness!!! I agree with almost everything you've written here except I just couldn't really get into the Crazy Rich Asians series -- which I may have said before.
And yes, please can we stop describing EVERY SINGLE BOOK as "the next Gone Girl." I really liked The Wife Between Us but I'm so freaking sick of seeing that description everywhere. (Okay, rant over. Mostly.)
The only books I haven't read here are Surprise Me (too many people saying it wasn't that great) and In The Garden of Beasts which I hadn't heard of and despite the fact that you didn't like it, I might still have to check it out.
Very much agree with your assessments here (of the ones I've read, anyway!!)! I'm 2/3 through Still Me right now and LOVING it!!!
I didn’t realize you read Cinder too! I must’ve missed that in your book recaps. I’m not very into dystopia but I love fairy tales. Have you started any of the subsequent books?
Hi! I messaged you on IG, but I don't know if you got it. I saw a book recommendation on another blog (I can't remember which one because I found it through a link up). I think you'd really enjoy this book (I love it so far!). It's called "Last Christmas in Paris" by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb. It takes place during WWI and is written in letters between the main character and other characters. I just wanted to share with you. Happy Holidays! :)
I will have to look into some of these! You know I loved the cinder series. NOT a fan of The Great Alone-the end obviously was great and i cried but i could have done without the other stuff..ha!
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