You know that feeling when you’re anticipating a bunch of soon-to-be released books yet are wondering how in the world you could possibly read them all? Then one by one, they are published. You buy a few, borrow some from the library, but lets face it: we’re not all speed readers and if you’re like me (AKA a slow reader), many of those books end up unread. And after awhile, your excitement just kind of dies down and you question whether you actually still want to read it.
With time being more constrained due to school and other things in life now, I’ve become more picky in the books I choose to read. This is a compilation of the books I realise I might never read despite my initial enthusiasm *cries*. Why am I sharing it? I guess a teensy part of me still hopes some of them would catch my attention again. So if you think any of the books below are worth giving a shot, drop me a comment! (This list is also very condensed as I didn’t want the post to be too long, I might do a part two… but it depends)
Winterspell by Claire Legrand
My little sister has been bugging me to read this one ever since I asked her to sample it for me (yes, it’s weird) and she ended up loving it. While I love retellings (and have never read a Nutcracker retelling yet), love the gorgeous map in the book, and the pretty cover, its average Goodreads rating (3.71) has me reconsidering. I know, I know, I’m one of those sad people who can’t help but let Goodreads ratings affect my view of a book. Overall, I’m still pretty interested in this one.
The Taking by Kimberly Derting
The Taking was one of those books I’ve been eyeing months before publication. I mean, THAT SYNOPSIS. ALIENS. Have I mentioned my love for books with aliens? Well, they just always seem to teach me something new about survival and are usually so intense. But once again, the Goodreads rating curse struck and I’ve also seen some not so flattering reviews. And is it just me or does it only feel like yesterday when this was published?(it’s actually a year ago)
The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows
I really loved Incarnate by Jodi Meadows but while the next two books were enjoyable, they just didn’t have that X factor. Which is why I’m unsure about reading this one. With lesser time to read now – school, sigh – I’m trying to carefully pick books that I have a higher chance of loving crazily. It just feels like a waste of time sometimes to even read an average book. And have you met my TBR pile? Because no matter how I try to cut it, it’s still growing faster than I can shrink it.
The Madman’s Daughter by Megan Sheperd
You have no idea how many times I’ve picked this one up and put it down again at the library. It makes me feel like one of those indecisive girls in books with love triangles who can’t pick a dude (though there are exceptions when both guys are exceptional – AKA The Infernal Devices). And with the high percentage of love triangles that do not end well, I’m not sure if I should take a chance on this one. BUT THE COVER!
Talon by Julie Kagawa
Another novel my sister is sampling for me. I actually have a complicated relationship with Julie Kagawa’s books (some I love dearly – The Iron Queen & The Iron Knight – while others I hate with a burning passion – The Lost Prince, SOMEONE SLAP ETHAN FOR ME). Did anyone have the same experience with her books like I did? And if you’ve read Talon, how is it compared to her other novels? I’m having a great deal of trouble deciding for myself. I’m sorry.
Plus One by Elizabeth Fama
My reason for wanting to read this: the synopsis and that VKSJGNKWJENF cover. Reason not to: (surprise, surprise) the Goodreads rating (3.72) and numerous unfavourable reviews. My heart’s torn; it actually kind of looks like that cover, half yes, half no, and fully undecided. And here’s some semi-horrifying news: I’ve been pondering whether to read Plus One for over a years. I know, I’m so decisive.
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Of Metal and Wishes by Sarah Fine
I’ve never watched/read The Phantom of the Opera but this adaptation sounds awesome and so is the cover (by now you might have realised I definitely judge books by their cover, oops). Of Metal and Wishes also seem to have an Asian setting and being Asian, I can’t help but be curious about it since it’s not everyday you find such books. My only fear is it seems like an enjoyable book but not an outstanding one and with so many books to choose from, I sort of only want the best.
Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Once again, the pretty cover-meh ratings conundrum hits. Just to check, does anyone else get swayed by authors’ comments on the cover of a book? Because I’m probably the farthest thing from a fan of Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick, who loved this book. I don’t hold anything authors but the fact remains that sometimes like calls to like (heh, the Grisha reference was intended)… I’ve also seen people compare this to The Last Airbender, which I loved. The struggle is real.
Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers
I’ve always fully intended to read this trilogy until I watched the first episode of Reign. The cover, despite being gorgeous, reminded me of the promo pics of Reign and doubts of whether this book would be shallow, historically inaccurate, and filled with gag-worthy romance flooded my mind. Of course, I’m completely crazy for comparing a book and TV series that are totally unrelated but just to be on the safe side, can anyone vouch for the goodness of Grave Mercy?
Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge
Cruel Beauty is another book I anticipated since waay before publication. A sucker for retellings, I *really* wanted to get my hands on this, especially since the protagonist apparently wanted to kill the romantic interest at first (I have a weird attraction to ships like that). But then the horrid reviews started to pour in and even JZ’s 13-year-old sister couldn’t stand the book. So now I feel like a kid wanting to eat soap; it smells and looks amazing but you know it tastes bad.
Are there any books you really looked forward to but stopped after the hype and excitement died down?
A Page of Heaven 
I think you should give Of Metal and Wishes a try! I think the start was a bit slow but there was already this suspense that drives me to keep on reading – e.g. who left the doll, where did the creepy sounds come from etc. And yep I liked the plot quite well :)
I think Grave Mercy and Plus One were okay, but not awesome. Possibly because I don’t like historical fiction that much (for Grave Mercy and the writing was quite plain). Plus One is better. I do like the characters and the overall plot but I felt that the world it depicted was quite dubious. The whole book was based on the premise of people being only allowed to work in the day or in the night, and how serious the punishments were for flouting the curfew. Then the main character’s brother invented this (elementary) phone application that can reflect a change in your day/night 户籍, and this allowed them to be free? I can only say that the government was amazingly incompetent.
I borrowed Talon from the library, but I got bored after the first few pages so I returned it… It’s about how the teenage dragons are trying to blend into human society, and the voices of the teenage dragons felt very typical in that they are arrogant, rebellious blah. Well I might be biased cos I was also in a bad mood at that time because I DNFed another book on dragons that I was looking forward to – Shadowscale
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Ooh, thanks! Shadowscale’s the sequel to Seraphina, right? I’m probably gonna read that too!
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I started The Taking once, but couldn’t get into it. I won an arc of the second book, though, so I plan on going back and trying it again. I found the Madman’s Daughter to be disappointing and decided not to read any more in the series (at least for now).
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