Last year I shared some of the books on my TBR that it felt like everyone but me had read. Since then, I wrote an update post about the books on the list that I read and my thoughts on them. There are so many books that I feel like everyone has read that I have yet to get to so I thought I would write a part two. I would love to know your thoughts on all of these books
Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 51
Red, White and Royal Blue is a new release but I have been seeing it everywhere! I seems as though everyone has read it already, and absolutely loved it. It sounds so sweet and charming. I think it just might be my next audiobook. I want to be part of the conversation!
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 79
Salt to the Sea is a book that has been on my list for years. Everyone was talking about it at the time and it is one of those books that I still see pop up from time to time. People often say it is one of the best WWII novels. So many people rave about all of Ruta Sepetys novels and I have yet to read anything by her.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 108
Jane Eyre is one of those classics that everyone seems to love. I often see people list it as their favourite classic. I have a feeling I will also love it and I have no excuse as to why I have not read it. I definitely need to make it a priority!
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 36
Where the Crawdads Sing is one of those books that everyone and their mother has read. I have people in my real life recommending this one to me- which never happens! I adore historical fiction and this one sounds like it is going to be a winner.
We are the Ants by Shaun David Hutchinson
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 48
I am ashamed to admit that I have not read anything by Shaun David Hutchinson. So many people list him as a favourite author and I just know I will love his books. I have all of his titles on my TBR but We are the Ants is the one that I want to get to first, and the one that it feels like everyone else has already read.
Eliza and Her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 74
Eliza and Her Monsters was all the rage when it first come out in 2017. I love the premise of this one and I think it sounds exactly like the kind of YA novel that I adore. The cover makes me feel as though art is part of the story in some way- as I have mentioned before, art in novels is one of my favourite things!
The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 93
The 5th Wave is one of those books that I feel like I missed the boat on. It is the one book on this list that I am not sure is worth reading. If you have read it- let me know your thoughts! It was absolutely everywhere when it first came up but I know that people were disappointed with the rest of the series.
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 110
Every time I talk about how I have not read The Handmaid’s Tale I feel like such a horrible Canadian. This is one of those books where I have always known the gist of the story despite not having read it. It is that well known and well loved!
Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
# of Goodreads friends who have read it: 89
I truly think I am one of the few book bloggers who didn’t read Children of Blood and Bone when it first came out. It sounds awesome and so many people loved it. I know the sequel comes out soon so I need to get to it ASAP! 
I would love to know your thoughts on all of these books!
What is the one book you feel like everyone but you has read?
I’ve only read 2 of these. Eliza and her monsters (loved) and Salt to the Sea (also loved)
That’s great to hear! I have high hopes for both!
I have all but one of these books on my shelf but have read two (Where the Crawdads Sing & The Handmaid’s Tale). Loved both of them. Good luck getting to them.
What a cool post! I’ve read 5 of those, all really good.
Awesome! That’s great to hear!
Of this list, I have only read Jane Eyre and I love it! I read part of Children of Blood and Bone, and I didn’t find it all that interesting, so I stopped.
I can’t believe I haven’t read Jane Eyre yet. I know I will love it!
I have heard mixed things about Children of Blood and Bone!
The big thing about Children of Blood and Bone, I think, was the setting. Not many fantasies are African-based, so it made the idea of the book seem new and fascinating, but the story didn’t seem all that different from any other of a few dozen YA fantasies.
Well that is good to know. I find formulaic YA fantasies very tedious. Maybe I’ll just try a sample of this one before I commit to the entire book. Thanks!
That sounds like a plan! It may be different enough that you will really like it, but it didn’t work for me.
I haven’t read any of these books either.
That makes me feel better!
I’ve read Jane Eyre, Eliza and her Monsters, and The Handmaid’s Tale – I adored the first two and have #unpopularopinions about the third. But I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!
I recently read The Handmaid’s Tale graphic novel and I was sort of meh about it. So curious to see what I will think of the novel!
Tee hee, everyone and their mom. My mom is *literally* reading Where the Crawdads Sing right now. *giggles*
You’re not alone, I haven’t read most of these either. I would say about the 5th Wave that it’s definitely not a need-to-read. If you’re as obsessed with alien invasions as I am I think it’s worth getting, but the second and third books in the series were not nearly as strong, and actually were kind of duds for me. That’s why if you’re *not* super into alien invasions I think it’s safe to skip it.
Haha it’s so true though! My best friend’s mom keeps asking me if I’ve read it!
I have starting to love SciFi. I am thinking about just reading The 5th Wave and stopping there. Maybe read spoilers for the rest of the series if I feel like it!
That’s a good plan. I do that a lot with series, lol. I rarely love a series enough to commit to ALL the books.
Same! There are very few series that I have finished!
The only one of these I’ve read is Jane Eyre. Read it as a girl and loved it. I would recommend Jean Rhys Wide Sargasso Sea as a companion read.
Thanks for the recommendation. I just added it to my TBR! Sounds awesome!
I’ve only read Eliza and Red, White, & Royal Blue. I’m horrible at keeping up with the most popular books, especially if they’ve been out for more than a few years. My biggest problem is trying to start older series that everyone loves. I got into the blogging scene late and didn’t really know what everyone was reading except by looking at goodreads.
I feel you on that. I feel like there are so many books I’ve missed the boat on and it’s almost to late to read now. Especially since I’m trying to keep up with what is current!
That’s what makes it tough. There are more books coming out than I’ll be able to read in a year. I am trying to read some older ones, but it’s those big series that are staring at me from my shelves.
I’ve only read two of these so I guess I’m a little behind as well! I did start Children of Blood and Bone and couldn’t get into it so I stopped. I may go back to it at some point but there are so many books out there that keep me away from it. I do want to read Red, White and Royal Blue. It sounds cute!
You are the second person to say that they put down Children of Blood and Bone. Definitely going to have to go in to it with lower expectations.
I didn‘t hate it but I can honestly say it didn’t grab me enough to keep me reading it. There are just too many books to compete for my reading time…
So many books on this list that I also haven’t read 🙈
(www.evelynreads.com)
So glad I am not alone!
On this list, I’ve read: “Red, White & Royal Blue” (LOVE), “Jane Eyre” (Pretty good), and “The 5th Wave” (Okay but the remainder of the series is blah). I haven’t read ANY of the other books but I really need to lol!
I think I have decided that if I read The 5th Wave I will just stick with the first book and not continue on with the series!
That’d be best in my opinion lol! I don’t even know if it’s worth that but you may actually enjoy the series! I just wasn’t a fan … which sucks because it’s typically the kind of genre I would enjoy!
If it’s any comfort, I’ve only read Eliza and Her Monsters out of all of these😅
It is! Glad I am not the only one!
I’ve only read Salt to the Sea and The 5th Wave. I will be reading Red, White & Royal Blue soon though.
What did you think of The 5th Wave? I’m hearing mixed things!
It has been so long since I read it. I remember that I loved the first 2 books so much and I get them both 5 stars. If I read them now I probably wouldn’t rate them as high. The last book was ok. I wasn’t happy with the ending at all.
I have settled on just reading the first book I think. I own it so might as well give it a try! No one was happy with the ending it seems.
Yeah after everything that happens I was mad at how it ended.
The only nopk on this list I’ve read is the Handmaids Tale and I only read it because I wanted to before the show started lol
Haha I had the same plans! I just didn’t follow through!
Um *book*
🤣
I have read most of them but I have We are the ants on my TBR! Hope you get to them sometime!
That’s awesome. I hope so too!
We can be horrible Canadians together, I haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale either! The only book I’ve read on your list is Salt to the Sea and it was such a good read, I highly recommend it! 😀
We are terrible!
Everyone loves Salt to the Sea. I really need to get to it!
I echo those that say The 5th Wave is fun but stop at that one. The Handmaid’s Tale is great. Upsetting but great and a very fast read. I liked Jane Eyre to though I must admit I prefer the movies probably makes me a bad book blogger but there it is 🙂
Good luck with your reading!
Thank you! I haven’t seen Jane Eyre either! 🤦♀️Really need to read the book and then watch the movie.
Same for so many of these! I haven’t read RWRB yet, but I have it on hold at my library (only 23 more weeks to go 😂).
But I highly recommend Salt to the Sea and The Handmaid’s Tale! They’re both fantastic
Hahaha 23 weeks! I haven’t even checked the waitlist at my library yet!
I’m so happy to hear that!
I listened to Jane Eyre and it was great that way! Persevere through the start of Where the Crawdads Sing because the middle and end make it worthwhile and I desperately want to read Red, white and Royal too!!!!
I tried the Handmaid’s Tale, but just couldn’t get through it
I have been debating whether or not to listen to Jane Eyre so that is good to know! Thanks for the tip about Crawdads as well.
Many mixed opinions about The Handmaid’s Tale. I’m so curious to see what I will think!
I haven’t read Red, White & Royal Blue yet, either! Jane Eyre is one of my favorites, and I actually just got Salt to the Sea out of the library!
I really need to make Jane Eyre a priority! Can’t wait to see what you think of Salt to the Sea!
I really enjoyed Jane Eyre, The Handmaid’s Tale, Salt to the Sea, and Children of Blood and Bone! Those are the only titles from this list I’ve read so far, and I think I rated them all 4 stars; none are my all-time favorites but I felt they were all valuable reads. I hope you enjoy them if you get around to them!
I feel like I’m in the same boat with The 5th Wave as well. I have a copy on my shelf and the first book does sound great, but I’m afraid the moment has passed and I don’t know if I would ever read the rest of the series anyway.
That is great to hear. I hope so too!
That is exactly how I feel. There are some books that I think are better read when they first come out because their moment in time has passed. I feel the same way about the Uglies series–never read it and now feels like it is too late!
Ooh, I loved the Uglies series, and have been considering rereading it to see if it holds up! But I originally read those books at least 10 years ago, so I agree that it’s probably not attracting many new readers at this point. Especially with YA, and especially in this internet era, I think there are sometimes time limits on books. It’s still okay to read them after the “best by” date, but the chance of really loving them seems to decrease after they pass out of the public eye and (in some cases) have themes that become outdated. It really is a shame, because it doesn’t seem possible to read everything while it’s brand new!
It’s so true. YA has evolved so much since Uglies came out. It would be interesting to read it from 2019 eyes though!
I think you’ll really enjoy Eliza and Her Monsters; I really liked how it dealt with being a writer/artist/creator on the internet, and the weirdness of being a bit of a shy and awkward person in day-to-day life but a confident and popular member of an internet community.
I still haven’t read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, though it seems like everyone else in the world is just raving about it. I bought a copy, so I guess I just need to get around to reading it.
It does sound like Eliza will be the kind of YA contemporary that I adore!
Yes you do! Seven Husbands deserves all of the hype!
I have it on my TBR. 🙂
Oh gosh, I ADORE We are the Ants! It talks about depression and suicide and love so beautifully. Definitely one of my favourite reads of all time. <3 And LOL at your "horrible Canadian" comment! I'm actually not the biggest fan of The Handmaid’s Tale, but I definitely think it's worth reading because of how relevant its themes are today.
That’s is great to hear!
So many mixed opinions of The Handmaid’s Tale but I do feel like it’s just one of those books that I need to read!
Out of these I’ve only read Jane Eyre and Eliza & Her Monsters – would definitely recommend both!!
Love to hear that!
I’ve only read Children of Blood and Bone and I absolutely loved it!
AH I am so happy to hear that!
I’ve only read The Handmaid’s Tale and Jane Eyre .. though there are a few others from your list on mine. I like this post idea too! 🙂
Thank you! I would love to see the books on your list!
This is a great post! 😀
I still need to read:
– «Salt to the sea»
– «Jane Eyre»
– «Where the Crawdads sing»
– «We are the ants»
– «The Handmaid’s tale» and
– «Children of Blood and Bone»
Thank you! Glad I am not the only one!
Oh I hear you about red white and royal blue! And I definitely recommend Eliza and her monsters (art is definitely a part of the story!) 😀
Yay! I will have to make it a priority!
I have read only two of these – The Handmaid’s Tale and Jane Eyre. I recommend both – they are pretty much “must-read”, I would say. I also would love to read your take on them.
That’s great to hear! I agree -they are must reads in my mind. I’m excited to see what I think!
Jane Eyre was a surprising read for me. I thought I’d hate it but ended up liking it. It’s worth checking out.
I attempted Eliza and Her Monsters a couple weeks ago but couldn’t get into it. I don’t think contemporary YA works for me.
I haven’t tried 5th Wave yet, but I enjoy Yancey’s Monstrumologist books. They are worth reading.
I truly need to make Jane Eyre a priority!
I am very picky about my YA contemporary and I am hoping that Eliza works for me. We will see!