You know those books that everyone around you love so hard and recommended to you saying you will love them too, but then you're left wondering what all the hubbub is about? This week is all about those books. Ruby from Feed Me Books Now!!! suggested that we talk about "books you wanted to love, but couldn't." It seems like this is something that happens quite a bit and it just shows what I love so much about book blogging. We've even gone so far as to use the term "black sheep" to describe these situations. Everyone perceives literature so differently and one person can take away something completely different from a novel than any other person. So I guess in a way this topic ties into the hype one we had done earlier but there is much more to this one.
Being the black sheep isn't the only time I have found myself in these situations. It seems so often lately there are books coming out with kick-ass covers and blurbs that have me salivating for more only to leave me wondering how they put something so disappointing in such a pretty package. I've gone through so many books this year that I have been waiting months to get my hands on that leave me less than impressed.
So here are a few books that I went into wanting to love them so bad, but in the end I felt completely let down. For those who are curious you can click the cover to see my full review (except for Mockingjay because that was read before I started the blog.)
The First Days: This is one that let me down on both fronts. Not only does this one have huge amounts of hype surrounding it amongst my Goodreads friends but it also has the cool cover and a blurb that had me wanting more. I loved the idea of these two kick-ass bitches battling it out and surviving on their own terms. Unfortunately, the characterizations and dialogue left much to be desired from me.
Renegade: Pretty cover? Check! Also I had read so much about the gore in this one that I was expecting a bloody good ride and instead I got an evil prude and an MC I didn't give a hot damn about. Too bad because it's gorgeous!
Onyx: When I read Obsidian I remember totally fangirling over it. I was in love with Daemon and Katy had so many great aspects to her personality that she had me connecting with her quickly. In the second instalment however, I found myself so annoyed by the way these two were constantly going back and forth on their feelings for one another. That whole "I love you but I can't be with you" thing drives me insane!
Dualed: Another one that had me so excited about meeting a kick ass girl that left me wanting more, a lot more. West's decisions and actions were so flip floppy and I never did get a grasp of exactly why she became an assassin and yet ran her ass off when the time came to meet her alt. What left me wanting a lot more though was the world building, where was it?
Siege: I've said it before and I will again: I have a weird obsession with school shooting books. So when I read the shocking blurb for this and the warning that comes along with it I was so excited. I was expecting a gritty contemporary type story but it turned into something completely different and lost me along the way. I was really sad after this one.
Mockingjay: I really don't even want to get started on this one. So I won't. *rages*
Daughter of Smoke & Bone: I can see why people would love this one but I think my reading ADD kicked in for it so I was bored through most of it. I do still plan to read the sequel though!..... One day..... Someday.
What books did you want to love but couldn't? We all have them so lets dish!
Jenni, this seems to be a recurring problem this year, especially! So many books this year have awesome looking covers and intriguing premises, but they just aren't good! I actually haven't read any of those books yet, for the fear that I won't enjoy them. It must've sucked to not like Mockingjay, since book one and two were awesome. Fantastic post, Jenni! Good luck for future reads :)
ReplyDeleteJENNNIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!! YOU HAVE 2000 FOLLOWERS VIA GFC O_O Yay!
ReplyDeleteI did like Onyx, but I think you're right with the back and forth. Opal is supposedly better and since they are together there, it's not that um.. yeah. I have a feeling I'm gonna love Opal, but I haven't started it yet since there's supposedly a HUGE cliff hanger and I don't handle them well. I'm going to wait at least until July to read it.
DoSaB - liked it a lot, but didn't love it. Same reason - throughout parts of it I was bored.
Mockingjay - hmm.. I liked it, but didn't love it. I mean.. THG and Catching Fire set the bar so high that S. Collins would have had to be inhuman to surpass this bar. I do think it's one of the best series of all time though.
I should have loved Anna and the French Kiss -.- Clockwork Angel (didn't love it as much as TMI series). Deity by JLA. Fallen by Lauren Kate. Love Unscripted by Tina Reber. Shatter Me. Ruining Me by Nicole Reed.
I too was bored during DoS&B. the story was interesting but for some reason it could never fully keep my attention. ii caught myself falling asleep sometimes when I listened to it & would have to go back and reread parts. reading the next book isn't high on my priority list. I'll probably get to it next year.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually still all over the place with Obsidian and Onyx, I don't think I was able to connect with the characters at all, where everyone else I knew loved it! I also weren't able to enjoy The Statistical probability of Love at First Sight or This is What Happy Looks Like, they sounded like the perfect fluffy reads, but ended up really disappointing for me. I adore today's discussion post Jenni! I'm glad I'm not the only black sheep when it comes to a lot of books! :)
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ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I'm not a fan of the HG trilogy. I liked Gale, but I really couldn't get on with mc. The romance as well was just meh. Sorry the third book didn't work out for you!
ReplyDeleteAww darn. I was hoping you enjoy Smoke and Bone! YOU MUST READ THE SEQUEL! And as for Movkingjay- BLEH. That ending was poor.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post, Jenni! I love the topic. <33
Great list hon!! I hate it so much when I want to love a book and it just doesn't do it for me. I have had quite a few lately. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I've been here Jenni! I usually tend to love the books that most bloggers are raving about, but there have been a few very large exceptions. The biggest one for me was Throne of Glass. I think I might be out in left field all by myself on that one as I still have yet to find a review (other than mine) that wasn't gushing. FAIL. I wanted to like it, I was all set to like it, and then I thought the writing wasn't quite as great as I expected given all the hype and I couldn't quite relate to the heroine/assassin until the very end, and by then it was nearly too late. Oh well. Differing opinions keep things interesting I think!
ReplyDeleteAnd I really liked Mockingjay as I was reading it, it wasn't until after I'd finished and really thought on it (and had already written my review) that I realized how much the way things turned out irritated me:)
I am SO glad to see I wasn't the only one not entirely impressed with Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I like it well enough, and I plan to read the sequels, but I just didn't fall completely head over heels for it like others did.
ReplyDeleteI'm so often the black sheep it isn't funny. I hate books that people LOVE and I LOVE books that a lot of people dislike. But that's okay. I love the diversity of the book blogger community, and I think my views, as wildly different from the norm as they are, can offer a unique perspective.
Anyway, great topic this week!
Ahhhh, that is the worst, wanting to love a book but then ending up totally disappointed. I am sad you did not love Daughter Of Smoke And Bone, that's one of my favorites, but I also realize that it won't be a winner for everyone. Ah well.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE. It was a little too out there for my tastes.
ReplyDeleteOh, man. We agree on several of those books, Jenni. Onyx, Smoke & Bone--although I did like it, I wasn't crazy about it, First Days (see prev comment), Dualed (see prev comment), and eff Mockingjay. Seriously, EFF IT.
ReplyDeleteThe ones I don't agree with you on? I haven't read those yet, and since we agree on half, I think I'm probably safe in skipping the others! Heh.
Wendy @ The Midnight Garden
Lol, I should have expected to see Renegade on here. Bahaha. You will never let that go. I'm scared to read Armentrout for that reason. Everyone loves her so much, but I suspect her stuff isn't my thing. Dualed, Mockingjay and Smoke & Bone I do agree with you on. They weren't my biggest disappointments, but they weren't what I'd hoped either.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've heard of Siege...bummer you didn't like it. I have a bit of an obsession with school shooting books too. They are just quite fascinating. Have you ever read the novel Project X? I think it's by a John Shephard or something....
ReplyDeleteI can't really think of a book for this list. There are so many popular books out right now (especially with series) that I have yet to read. I'm sure I wouldn't love a lot of them, despite all the love people give the titles and their lovely covers. I guess I'll have to wait for a "wish I could love you" list--not that anyone WANTS one. haha
-Lauren
I didn't like Mockingjay, either. Maybe now that I've seen the movie and kind of like Peeta, I may change my tune, but I remember really not liking it when I first read it. And I loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I also didn't like Mockingjay.. And I'm currently reading The daughter of smoke and bone and I don't get the hype so far.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh... I thought I was the only person that didn't love Daughter of Smoke & Bone. lol And Renegade! I didn't like that one either. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteI think I keep running into this too. This year has just been kinda bad. I honestly tried to get through Obsidian and never finished it. I'm thinking that at some point I might, but I don't know when that will be.
ReplyDeleteI also know a lot of people who didn't like Mockingjay, but I have to admit that I did. I think it took balls to do what she did a writer in the end and not everyone was going to like it, but I did.
I hope we love the books that we all read next, that would be awesome!
*sigh* I feel the same way about Laini Taylor's book! Her writing is so gorgeous, she has this lovely way of putting words together, but I admire it for a while and then I want to stop reading. Her stories are all beauty but no substance for me.
ReplyDeleteMockingjay... we don't talk about Mockingjay. Ever.
But I actually quite liked Renegade, I thought it was surprising and the worldbuilding so gorgeous and clear.
Thanks for sharing.
I guess we all like different things sometimes. I like Onyx and Mockingjay but I'm not a raving fan of many of the NA or mature YA contemporary romances that are so hot in the market...
ReplyDeleteI get what you mean about Daughter of Smoke and Bone! Everyone is raving about how it's the best YA angel book etc etc and I don't get it. Yeah, the writing is lyrical and beautiful but I just couldn't get into the story. I was bored as well. My best friend loves it and convinces me to read the sequel so I gave in and borrowed her copy. I don't know if and when I'll pick it up.
ReplyDeleteI don't see wrong with not liking a book that others loved so much. I was one of the few that didn't like Uses For Boys and Beautiful Disaster. I just couldn't do it. Different books for different tastes. :) I haven't read DoSaB, or Seiged. I was looking forward to Dualed, but it is one that I have kept putting off. Great list!
ReplyDeleteJenea @ Books Live Forever
I had a hard time connecting with Karou in DoSaB. I loved the background characters and story so much, I decided to continue the series. The main characters......meh.
ReplyDeleteHeee, heee, we got to know each other over our disdain for Jenni and Giselle's fangirling. That will always be a wonderful memory for me. You know, I still want to finish this series though. Because despite how much I disliked her as a character, I thought the world-building and plot was pretty kickass.
ReplyDeleteI totally understand being disappointed by most of these, especially Dualed. That one was a total disappointment. Daughter of Smoke and Bone worked for me, but I can see it not being for everyone. It's interesting to me that the covers I'm most excited about often disappoint me. I wonder if publishers feel the need to dress up middling books more attractively, or if it's just my own wild expectations getting the better of me with shiny books. Fabulous topic!
ReplyDeleteYou and I feel the exact same way about Onyx and Daughter of Smoke and Bone. In Onyx it felt like their relationship went back to negative square one which was annoying. I so wanted to love DoS&B but it dragged for me. I felt like nothing exciting happened till the end and by that point I was just irritated. I hate uber-hyped books becoming letdowns :(
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Obsidian and liked Onyx but I lost interest after that. I haven’t read book 3 ye and I’m not sure if I will. Maybe I can just reread book 1. The I love you but we can’t be together thing drives me nuts too.
ReplyDeleteMockingjay. How did that book get published? I remember reading it and thinking, is EVERYONE going to die? It wouldn’t have surprised me if Katniss had died. I’m my head the story ends after Catching Fire. Oh and that epilogue was so depressing! Katniss was such a robot and I didn’t buy that she was happy and in love. She looked like she was catatonic. I hope Hollywood does a major story revamp on the 3rd (and 4th) movie.
The other never really caught me attention, haven’t read them yet…
Oooh thanks for using my topic idea ! :)
ReplyDeleteA book I wish I could have loved more is Delirium. I mean, I loved the cover, the blurb and basically everything about it... until I actually read the book. There's no denying how beautiful Lauren Oliver's writing is, but I just felt disconnected from the plot throughout. It was such a shame! Another book that didn't meet my expectations was Serephina. Again, the writing was beautiful, but the plot was too slow for me! That and the fact dragon books really aren't 'my thing'.
Yeah, I feel the same way about the Mockingjay. When I frist finished I was like "Oh, so that's what happens. I think I'm okay with what just happened." But when I finally started to think about it everything that happened ... I was not very pleased.
ReplyDeleteI could see how you would have that problem with Daughter of Smoke & Bones. I just love Laini Taylor's writing, so that's what really kept my interesting.
Aw you should give Mockingjay another chance! I hated it at first but upon reflection and re-reading have decided that I really actually appreciate how the trilogy concluded. It definitely does seem to be a divisive book though. I do encourage you to try Daughter of Smoke and Bone again at some point. I can see how it can be a difficult book to read if you're not in the mood for flowery language at all, but now that you know that, hopefully you'll be able to have a much better reading experience. I have no desire to read Renegade or Dualed based on many subpar reviews.
ReplyDeleteAs for me, I really wanted to love something of Neil Gaiman, but I've fallen flat with both Neverwhere and Coraline. Also! Jodi Lynn Anderson's Tiger Lily. Such an interesting premise, and I was just completely unable to connect with it. Great topic! :)
ahaha, it seems your definitely not the only one when it comes to Mockingjay. It was my least favorite out of the trilogy too but I still loved it, even though it was so damn depressing I've never re-read the series because of it - and I'm a HUGE re-reader of favorites!
ReplyDeleteI DO hope you'll read Days of Blood & Starlight eventually, it's a lot more war-based and action-filled than the first...but then again the first was an all-time favorite of mine so I'm surely biased >.<
I love seeing lists like these, goes to show that every one will take in different things from different books and what works for one can be a HUGE fail for someone else. We can't all love the same books but hey, it keeps things interesting :) Awesome post!!
I'm currently reading Dualed and I totally understand where your coming from. The world created is kind of interesting and I was flipping through the pages eagerly until she sees her alt and all stands still. It has been in Reading pile for a few weeks now whilst I read other books that has surpassed it LOL
ReplyDeleteI liked Daughter of Smoke & Bone but I didn't love it. The story and world creation was interesting but what I enjoyed about the book is Laini's poetic and lyrical writing. So the actual story, characters and world didn't do much for me, I really just enjoyed her writing…if that makes sense.
Another one that I didn't LOVE that everyone did was Venom by Fiona Paul and shock horror, Cinder by Marissa Meyer. I enjoyed both books but I just didn't read it in one sitting which is how I gauge my interest.
Yea... Daughter of Smoke and Bone was interesting but boring. It was just the plot that kind of dragged on!
ReplyDeleteGAH! Mockingjay... so many people died and I don't think they necessarily needed to. It just fell so short of the other books, especially after Catching Fire.