T5W: Books I Thought I’d Dislike but Ended Up Enjoying

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly book blog hosted by a group on Goodreads. You can check out previous topics and look out for April’s by clicking here.

The books mentioned in this post are ones that I thought were hyped and afraid they wouldn’t live up to their standard. Fortunately for me, they ended up being fantastic and I’m all the better for having these books in my life!

Yep. The hype was real with The Illuminae Files. I hadn’t read anything by Amie Kaufman and I read Nevernight by Jay Kristoff but didn’t really care to continue the series (Yes, I’m aware I’m a black sheep). The physical books are thick, so I decided to check out the audiobooks from the library and boy, am I glad I did! It’s one of my favorite audiobooks of all time, featuring a full cast and sound effects. I now put this series as one of my all-time favorite SFF series. Here are the reviews of each book in the series, plus when I met Jay and Amie last year:

• Illuminae, Gemina, Obsidio
• Meeting the authors

I was really hesitant to read The Gilded Wolves because I didn’t care much for Chokshi’s previous series, The Star-touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. But when I read the synopsis, I requested it via NetGalley and was pleasantly surprised when I was approved.

Going into this book, I heard it has a Six of Crows-like heist but set in the late 1800s Paris (meaning it appealed to my historical fiction side). When I finished reading this book, I instantly gave it 4.5 stars (you can read my review of it here) and put it as my top read of 2019. This remains true today. I love the magic system, the world-building, the characters, and the intricate plot. It was just the perfect book I needed to read going into 2019. 🙂

The Sun Is Also a Star was also a questionable read since I wasn’t fond of Everything, Everything. But I knew TSIAaS had a Korean main character, so I was instantly drawn to the book. It received a solid and well-deserved 5 stars from me. I thought the book showed how Yoon’s writing style matured after EE, and the epilogue was really the icing on the cake. I hope the movie can live up to the book.

I read the entire TMI series and was a bit underwhelmed, causing me to question whether or not I really wanted to read The Infernal Devices. While Clockwork Angel isn’t my favorite, I found the series got better as it progressed. After I finished reading Clockwork Princess, this series became a huge favorite, and I recommend it to people who were unsure about continuing in Clare’s world after reading TMI.

So… I’ve noticed a theme as I’m writing this post. These books are like are by the same authors who wrote books I didn’t really care for. At least I gave their books another chance? Sorry, that probably sounds horrible. 😬 Anyway, this duology was a surprise. It’s dark fantasy but there’s some great moments and the concept is just amazing.

But Nicole, why didn’t you include the first book in the series? Because I rated it 3.5 stars but every book after Red Rising has been a 4.5 – 5 star book. So… Yeah. 🙂

Initially, I picked up RR after seeing it all over bookstagram (at the time). While I loved the Roman/Greek mythology influence of the book, along with Darrow’s transformation and the world-building, I struggled with his time at the Institute and the Houses. But then I picked up Golden Son and this series became a favorite. I recommend it everyone who loves sci-fi and even those who are trying to dip their toes into the water.

Now how many days until Dark Age?

Too many.