Over a year ago I shared some books that I predicted would be five star reads. I have since read (or attempted to read) all of the books on that list and I thought that it would be fun to give you an update on whether or not my predictions were correct. I also did a five star predictions almost two years ago, but I have only read one of the books on the list so….
Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
Surprise, surprise… I was correct and Only Humans was indeed a five star read! I have gushed and gushed about my love for this series and I personally could not have been happier with how it concluded. That said, I have seen mixed reviews. I think that may be because Only Human seems like a bit of a departure from the other two books in the series- it is more political and has less action. I thought that was brilliant and that Sylvain Neuvel had a lot of important things to say. Can’t wait to read more from him!
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
According to Goodreads, I gave Dark Matter four stars! While I really enjoyed this fast-paced SciFi, I think that it was so hyped that it was almost impossible for it to live up to. Where it fell a little short for me was the ending.. not at all what I expected or was hoping for! Other than that I loved it. I had never read such a mind-bending novel, that is until I read his latest release, Recursion. That one was for sure a five star read for me!
Circe by Madeline Miller
Circe is another book that ended up being a four star read for me! While I absolutely adored it, and Circe as a character in particular, there were moments where I felt that the story dragged. Overall, I thought it was brilliant and Circe has become one of my favourite characters. I love that even though she is immortal, there is still a sense of humanity to her and she possesses so many human-like emotions. I need more Madeline Miller retellings in my life ASAP!
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
I didn’t even have to check Goodreads to know that I rated Starfish five stars! It is one of my favourite YA novels of all time! I recently wrote a post about my love for books that feature art in some way, and Starfish is the book that inspired me and made me realize just how much I love that niche. The main character, Kiko, goes through so much and she turns to art for comfort. There is so much to love about this book, even though it is so heartbreaking that it can be difficult to read at times. I am so looking forward to reading Bowman’s other novel, Summer Bird Blue.
Bookworm: A Memoir of Childhood Reading by Lucy Mangan
Now we have come to the one book on this list that I started, but I had to put down, at least for now. I thought that Bookworm would be a book that I love simply because it is a love letter to books and reading. I hadn’t realize before picking it up that it was UK-centric. For that reason, I have not read a lot of the books that she talks about and, therefore, the nostalgia factor that made this memoir appealing to me is lost. Who knows, I may return to it one day and absolutely love it! It just was not the book that I was looking for at the time.
So that is it! I am actually proud of myself that I managed to pick up all of these books. I am such a mood reader so my reading is very unpredictable. I need to make the books that I mentioned in my first post a priority!
I am also happy that two of the books were five stars, and two were four stars but probably closer to 4.5! I would call that a success!
Have you read any of these books? Were they five stars?
Oh that’s so sad that you didn’t enjoy Bookworm! I love that book but I guess being from Ireland I shared many of Lucy Mangan’s experiences with childhood literature and it was a five star read for me
I definitely think if you are familiar with the books it would be a great read. I haven’t given up on it yet! I want to give it another chance in the future now that I have a different expectation for it.
I actually haven’t read any of these books, but the Themis series and Circe are on my TBR. I bumped them up a tad on my list. 🙂 Thanks for the recommendations!
That makes me happy to hear!
I agree about your assessment of Circe. I absolutely loved it but there was definitely a drag in the last quarter of the book. At least the writing makes it tolerable!
Really interesting post, Thanks!
She is a brilliant writer, isn’t she? I can not wait to see what she comes out with next.
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it!
okay, I had to add all of these lol they all look so good. i’ve been dying to read circe especially.
That makes me happy! Circe is so good!!
This seems so much fun to do! If I plan to do anything like this, I’ll make sure to name you!
That would be awesome! It is fun to look back and see if you were right or not.
I was exactly the same with Dark Matter! I thought it’d be five stars, but it was a solid four stars for me. I really enjoyed it, it just wasn’t special enough for five stars, you know?
Exactly! I can’t really put my finger on why either!
I love these posts. I think I might try to do one soon. I’m curious to see if I guess right on books I am expecting to love.
I do too! I’d be curious to see the books that you think would be five stars!
Thanks! It’s so fun to see what different people choose.
I love seeing these predictions updates! I read only human but I think I gave it four stars! I do think I will absolutely love Circe, but I ‘still’ have to pick it up!
(www.evelynreads.com)
I love them too! I do not think Circe will disappoint. It’s a good one!
I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy Bookworm! I’m so happy to hear that Starfish and Circe are good though, they’ve been on my TBR for forever!
Ah they are both such amazing books!! I think you will love them!
I really want to read the first three books on this list so it’s really good to see you enjoyed them all. (Well, I mean the whole of that sylvain neuvel series not just the last book!)
I don’t think you will be disappointed!
I’m reluctant to try this! My ratio of hyped books meeting my expectations is low! Occasionally my reading experience is a match but I’m afraid to predict!
I have gotten better at knowing my reading tastes since I started blogging so that helps I think. I try not to give in the hype too much!
Also thank you for your honest reviews! It helps all of us make the best reading choices!
Impressed with your predictions! You seemed pretty spot on!
Blogging has really helped me to understand my reading tastes. It’s awesome!
Great list! “Only Human” and “Dark Matter” were two of my favorite books last year. You really give some killer recommendations on this blog!
Ah thank you! So happy to hear that!
Starfish is my most favorite read. Can you suggest any books similar to Starfish?
It’s a special book, isn’t it? Have you read I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson? It has a lot of similar themes and I just adored it.
I’ve not read it. I’ll check it out! Thanks for the rec!!
Yeah, Lucy Mangan is a journalist for The Guardian newspaper in the UK so I can understand her book coming across as very UK centric. I struggled a little to connect to some of her reading material as I hadn’t heard or even read a few of the books she talked about, but 90% of the time I really loved it and it reminded me about my own reading journey before I started a blog.
I love the idea behind the book and I think so many people in the UK will connect with it for sure! I do want to try it again at some point now that my expectations for it have changed!
Yeah, although to be honest, I don’t think you have to connect with the books she talks about. It’s more about the joy of reading and finding the book(s) that propel you to read.
I loved Circe, a full 5 stars for me 😉
It was a great one. She’s a brilliant writer!
Yes, she is!
I always love seeing people’s 5 star predictions, I’m glad you enjoyed most of them!
I’m definitely interested in the Themis Files now that I’ve heard why you liked the last book. I’ve been avoiding it because I heard it goes downhill, but I’m fine with slow paced books so that shouldn’t be a problem for me.
Great post!!
Thank you! I really thought that last book was the perfect ending. It is a little different for the other two books so I can understand why people would be surprised but I loved it. I hope you do too!
I hear you about dark matter. really cool to see your updates!
Thanks! I hope to do another one soon!