Top Ten Tuesday | To Love or To Hate

By Birdie

It’s Top Ten Tuesday and while I haven’t been joining in on every TTT, this is one week that sounded like a lot of fun!

It’s all about the books that surprised you.  Have we read any books we thought we were going to love, but we ended up hating.  OR, we could choose books we thought we’d hate but we loved them instead.

I decided to give you both.  Today you get surprise books I loved, and surprise books I hated.

Are any of these on your list?

5 Books I Thought I’d Hate

While I was putting this post together I couldn’t find a lot of books I loved that I thought I’d hate.  I’m pretty sure that’s because I don’t read anything that doesn’t sound good to me.  Somehow I feel a little ashamed.  I should be more open to trying books outside my comfort zone.  I may have to work on that next year, as a reading goal.

captive-prince1. Captive Prince by CS Pacat

I’ve said it a few times already, but I never had any intention of reading Captive Prince.  I was positive that this was going to be some cheesy random bondage sex book.  (Like the Beauty series.)  I was coerced into starting this book, and I was prepared to poo poo all over it when I’d finished.  I had to eat crow, because it’s one of my top 3 favorite series.

fly-with-me2. Fly with Me by Chanel Cleeton

I read this on a whim, feeling nostalgic for Troubleshooters.  TS is about Navy SEALS, and Wild Aces is about the Air Force.  Going into it I was sure that it was a waste of time.  I don’t have good luck with Contemporary Romance at all, and the first half made me more nervous.  Then everything flopped, and I was swamped with emotion that made me love it.

the-talisman3.The Talisman by Stephen King

I never liked Stephen King and then a few years ago my friend convinced me to read The Talisman.  Not only did I not want to read Stephen King, I also didn’t want to put myself in a position to dislike what she loved.  But she’d read Outlander for me so I needed to reciprocate.  I’m glad that I loved this book because it led to me reading IT, my favorite by King.

clockwork-angel4. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

I didn’t like Mortal Instruments.  That’s pretty much the long and short of it.  I read all but the last one, and I just wasn’t impressed.  I’m not sure why I decided to read Infernal Devices, because I definitely thought I wouldn’t like it.  I thought Cassandra Clare wasn’t for me.  Now, I’m so glad I read it anyway because it’s one of my favorite YA trilogies.

magic-bites5. Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews

I wanted to love this book when I bought it.  Then I started reading it and I was so turned off by the info dump.  I put it down, figuring it was a DNF.  I don’t even remember why I picked it back up, but I did.  I won’t lie, it did take me a minute, but once I got into it I was hooked.  I’m still hooked on this series today.  I’m sad there’s only one book left.

5 Books I Thought I’d Love

This list was a lot easier to compile, since I only read books I think I’ll like I’m more often let down.  Please note that I didn’t like these books, but I know lots of people who did.  Our reading tastes are subjective, and what’s one person hates another will love.  If you loved any of these, please let me know in the comments!

bloody-jack1. Bloody Jack by LA Meyer

I really thought this book was perfect for me.  It’s historical, witty, pirates… It’s a girl, pretending to be a boy.  I really wanted to love it.  I still want to love it.  I didn’t.  The written accent was so strong that I felt like I was deciphering the dialogue and that was just too much work.  I’ve been told that I need to try the audio, so I think I’ll try again in that format.

claimed2. Claimed by Elle Kennedy

I had really high hopes when I got a copy of Claimed.  I dove right into it, thinking I was going to love Elle Kennedy.  Sadly, I didn’t.  There was just waaaay too much unnecessary sex.  It felt like every page was just one more excuse to get it on.  If I’d known that it was classified as erotica wouldn’t have read it.  The Erotica/Dystopia pairing doesn’t work for me.

the-thorn-birds3. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

Oh my, did I think I was going to love this book.  Back in the day, on my favorite blog, she talked about Outlander and The Thorn Birds as though they were synonymous.  Being wrong about this one hurt.  This was the most depressing book I’ve ever read.  I held on, waiting to love it, and in the end I was so upset and angry that I’d wasted so much time.

iced4. Iced by Karen Marie Moning

The depths to which I hated this one kills me.  The first five books of Fever are so special to me because they’re legitimately good, and also because they’re the first UF series I ever read.  Hearing that KMM was continuing the series made me so excited, but it was the biggest let down.  When people ask if they should read it I tell them to skip it, like it exist.

the-winter-sea5. The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

The Winter Sea is another book that I was sure I’d love, simply because friends who loved the same books I did were telling me how wonderful it is.  I wish I could say that I agreed.  This is one of the most boring books I’ve read.  I cared about the present day story, and every time I was pulled out of that I lost interest.  The transition from present to past ruined it.

Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly event hosted by The Broke and the Bookish!

About Birdie

Don’t look for her in any bar, club, crazy raging party, or anywhere there may be a large gathering of strangers. She’s more likely to be found tucked into the corner of the couch watching one of her favorite shows, or preferably under a comforter with her current novel.

41 Responses

  1. 4thhouseontheleft

    I have forgotten all about The Thorn Birds! I read it ages ago, and vaguely recall not liking it very much.

    Iced – Oh no! I have been wanting to read the Fever series. I read a few of her Highlander books, but found them to be fairly mediocre.

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    1. Birdie

      The Thorn Birds was the most well written piece of incredibly depressing literature. I felt like a walking black cloud when I read it, haha.

      I LOVE Fever, so don’t let Iced detour you. Definitely read the first 5, and if you decide to go into the second half of the series after Shadowfever but don’t want to read Iced. I’m happy to give you the rundown. I’ll even try to be unbiased. 😀

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  2. goldenpinkjournal

    I never thought about reading books out of my comfort zone. I too always go for books that look and sound interested to me. But it’s easy to miss out on other great books if you don’t give them a try. They say don’t judge a book by its cover lol guess there’s much truth to that.

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  6. nikihawkes

    I’m totally with you on clockwork prince! I’ve only yet read the first book, but I’m surprised I even picked it up in the first place because I also felt II was just okay. And I totally feel ya on Kate Daniels, as you know. 😉
    I definitely need to pick up captive prince sooner than later lol.

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    1. Birdie

      I hope you eventually get to the others in the trilogy. I thought she did a good job with the plot and the characters. Even though I didn’t much like MI, I also liked how she knit the two series together.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Mandy

    I so agree about the Elle Kennedy books, but you are 100% right on it being so problematic for those reasons. And I had the same youths about Captive Prince, but seeing your comments on it, I might have to change them! Fantastic post, Birdie!

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  8. @lynnsbooks

    I love that you’ve gone for five of each! I thought of doing so too but just forgot and got carried away. Have you read Ilona Andrews Burn for Me – I’m rather enjoying that one. I’ve never got into her other series – I think I read the first many years ago and liked it but just didn’t continue for some reason. I have thought of going back but at the moment I already have a couple of UF series that I’m reading so need to be careful.
    Lynn 😀

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  10. Diana Prince Reviews

    I’m listening to the Kate Daniels audiobooks right now and I didn’t think it was possible, but I love them even more after listening to the series. It is so good. I’m trying to milk Magic Binds for everything it’s got since I know it’ll be a while before the series finale is written thanks to a hiatus Ilona & Gordon plan on taking to focus on themselves after the release of the 2nd & 3rd Hidden Legacy novels.

    Great list overall! Here’s my TTT!

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