I have decided to finally join in on Shanah @ The Bionic Bookworm’s weekly meme! She is one of my favourite bloggers and I am so excited to be posting these every tuesday from now on!
I was excited about this week’s topic because there are quite of few books that I did not like but I know that other’s loved and I am happy to have an excuse to talk about them. I am looking forward to everyone else’s lists as well!
Uprooted by Naomi Novik
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.11 stars| My Rating: 2 stars
I was completely ready to fall in love with Uprooted. I love Beauty and the Beast but I have yet to find a retelling that I enjoy. I could not connect with these characters and I despised the romance. I found myself bored a lot of the time. There was a lot of potential but it just never clicked with me. I am interested in giving her new book a chance!
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.55 stars | My Rating: 2.5 stars
I can not put in to words why I did not love The Nightingale as much as everyone else. I think it is because I have read so many WWII novels, that they have to be quite unique in order to stand out. I found it to be quite predictable and I never truly connected with the sisters. I did really enjoy the ending though!
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.10 stars| My Rating: 2 stars
I have talked about the problems I had with Everything, Everything many times! The one thing that I am thankful for is the fact that this is the book that inspired me to start my blog. I just needed a place to write out my feelings on it. The ending was very predictable and I kept hoping that it wouldn’t happen. I hated the way that the whole situation was handled! The romance was cute though!
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Goodreads Average Rating: 3.91 stars | My Rating: 2 stars
Before I Fall is another book that I have talked about a few times on this blog. I have discovered that books where the same day repeats over and over again is not for me. I grew bored very quickly! I was also hoping for a lot more character growth than I got!
The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
Goodreads Average Rating: 4.08 stars | My Rating: 2.5 stars
There is something about Stiefvater’s writing that I just do not connect with. It took many attempts to finally get through The Scorpio Races. I loved the idea of the book but did not enjoy the actual execution. I think the main problem for me is the pacing. It takes a long time for anything to actually happen! I had a similar problem with The Raven Boys.
I would love to know what your thoughts are on any of these books! Are they some of your favourites? Please let me know in the comments!
I really loved The Nightingale. That said, I have no desire to read her other books.
Her books are so big! I really want to give her another chance. I have been hearing good things about her newest book.
I was so bored by Uprooted, and when I was reading it I feel so bad because I was in a buddy read with another blogger who loves it! But I just can’t stand the female main character.
I am such a character driven reader so even if the plot is good if I hate the characters and can’t connect to them then I won’t like the book. Definitely the case for this one!
With you on Uprooted! It should have been a wonderful read!
It had so much potential!
100% with you on Uprooted!
So many people are agreeing with me on that one. Happy I’m not alone!
Yeah I felt the same way about Everything, Everything. I expected to like it a lot more because of its high rating!!
I was surprised to see it has 4.10 stars on Goodreads. The ending is infuriating!
I really loved Everything, Everything but I’m a huge romance junkie so that’s probably why. Have you read Cruel Beauty? It’s a Beauty and the Beast retelling.
I did love the romance in Everything, Everything! Still would like to see the movie. I haven’t but I have heard good things about Cruel Beauty!
I still haven’t seen the movie yet either. The first few chapters of Cruel Beauty are a little I do dumpy but if you can get past that it’s really good.
That is good to know! Thanks!
You’re welcome!!
I wanted to read Uprooted when it was first published but just never ended up reading it. I saw mixed reviews and lost interest in reading it after a while.
There are so many good books out there I wouldn’t waste your time on Uprooted!
I haven’t read any of these yet, but The Scorpio Races has been on my tbr. Hopefully I’ll enjoy it! Great list, Kristin! <3
I hope you enjoy it too!! Thank you!
Totally agree about Uprooted, I never felt like I quit connected to that book either, even though it was so complex. But most of all I hated the romance!! Haha,I was glad to see you felt the same.
It’s such a shame you didn’t like Scorpio Races. I love Stiefvater’s writing, but I do know it’s not for everyone. I only watched the movie of Everything, Everything, and I could tell that I wouldn’t like the book if I tried to read it. It’s just too cheesy and it had a lot of ableist problems.
I really wish I connected with her writing. She is so imaginative and creative! Completely agree with your thoughts on Everything, Everything. There are too many problems with it that I can’t forgive.
Yay you are joining the fun! Welcome! And I loved the Scorpio Race by the way 😉
I am excited that I finally decided to join! I wish I loved it! It was such a cool idea!
I could have put Uprooted on my list too! I was so underwhelmed by that story, and I definitely felt like there was some secret I was missing when I was reading -because way too many people love it.
I felt exactly the same way! I kept thinking that I must be missing something!
I haven’t read The Nightingale but I get you. I love historical fiction, but now I expect more from it? Maybe because I’ve read the same setting many times so I want more variations….
I completely agree! I think I need to expand my reading within historical fiction and read about different time periods and places!
truuuuuuue to everything, everything!! i liked the nightingale a lot but also i’ve been partial to kristin hannah for a long long time so maybe that had somehting to do with it?? it felt more kristin hannah-y than historical fiction-y to me, though, if that makes any sense at all.
That makes complete sense! I do think I would like her other books so I am excited to read A Great Alone! I just think because it was WWII I expect something different!
Oh no, Uprooted!!! That is one of my favorite books ever. It’s so rare to find a good stand-alone fantasy book that doesn’t make you commit to a long series. I also loved the Nightingale, but totally know what you mean about there being so much WWII lit. The way you feel about the Nightingale is exactly how I felt about Lilac Girls.
I completely agree about stand alone fantasy books. I wish more authors wrote them! I haven’t read Lilac Girls for the same reason! I think I just need to take a break from WWII historical fiction!
Too bad about Uprooted — I loved it! I’m with you on Scorpio Races, although maybe for different reasons. I thought some of the writing was lovely, but the story just didn’t make enough sense to me. (I couldn’t stand The Raven Boys, so maybe she just isn’t a writer who works for me.) I had a big problem with the end of Everything, Everything — just felt like it cheapened the story and was too much of a bait and switch. This is a great post. Really shows how for every book someone loves, there’s going to be someone with the opposite reaction!
I really wanted to love Uprooted. I don’t connect with Stiefvater’s writing either. I don’t know why! The ending of Everything, Everything truly cheapened the story and made me so mad. Thank you! I loved this topic for the same reason!
I also didn’t love The Nightingale as much as everyone else seemed to. I didn’t find it to be that well-written, and like you, thought a lot of it was rather predictable. I’m still glad I read it though!
My thoughts exactly! I am happy I read it too even if it was just to see what I thought about it!
Agreed about Everything, Everything. I gave it the same rating.
I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who felt that way!
I’m with you on Uprooted – I HATED the romance so much and otherwise wasn’t impressed either! I had really high hopes for this book, as everyone seemed to love it, but it didn’t work for me at all 😕
I agree! I feel like the story had potential but there were just so many problems with it that it never reached it!
I see what you mean about Everything, Everything! I enjoyed it, but it’s almost too fluffy. 😉
It was cute!! I just don’t think the ending did the book justice!
I have Everything, Everything on my TBR and I’ve heard so many bad reviews. It doesn’t sound up my street at all but I’m still intrigued to see exactly how bad it is.
Some people really love it! I would be curious to see what you think as well!
I felt the same way about The Nightingale! So many of my friends raved about it, but I thought it was only OK. Couldn’t put my finger on why, but it just didn’t do it for me.
I’m so glad I am not the only one the felt the way. I also can’t exactly put in to words why I didn’t connect with it!