Hey there, sweetpeas!
Sometimes you just don’t know what to read. (Even though your tbr might be an integral part of the structure of your building by now.) And what would be easier than ask other people to recommend you books? And by recommend I more often than not mean that they have been shoving those books in my face until I caved. I admit it.
So, today I wanna show you some books that I have been advised to read by others and then we’ll see if it has paid off in the end or not.
This post is linked in with the TTT.
A darker shade of magic by V.E. Schwab
Recommended by: various friends on Bookstagram
Did it pay off? Unfortunately, while I like Schab’s writing style and the idea of this world, I couldn’t quite bring myself to like this book. I didn’t really like the characters and was more or less confused all the time.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Recommended by: my friend M-Jay, who positively loves this book beyond compare
Did it pay off? I think so? It’s been a while that I read it and it was not bad. I didn’t feel like reading the other books of the series afterwards though.
A Walk to Remember by Nicolas Sparks
Recommended by: my best friend
Did it pay off? Do you mean to ask if I was sitting in the hallway of our hostel on a school trip and crying to myself? Yes, I did. I haven’t read many Nicolas Sparks novels after that but this one was recommended by my friend and the promised heartache did happen. So, success?
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Recommended by: my Australian friend Chessca who said she would read a book I recommended if I read one she recommended
Did it pay off? For her? Definitely! I told her to read “A Winter’s Promise” and she loved it but me and A court of Thorns and Roses? I have to admit that I don’t really get the hype. Afterwards everybody suddendly said that it’s the second book that is so good but I don’t know if I really wanna do this to myself.
Recommended by: several people on Bookstagram
Did it pay off? Unfortunately not. I did not like the book very much and ended up putting it indefinitely about half way through. It was not for me.
A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos
Recommended by: Geri, a bookstagram friend
Did it pay off? Oh, boy. Oh, boy! People, that might just be the best book that has ever been recommended to me. I loved it I love the whole series and if you haven’t read the books yet then you should and as soon as possible. It’s acutally one of those books that I loved so much that I have trouble to read the last book in the series because I just don’t want it to end.
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Recommended by: Several bookbloggers
Did it pay off? I can’t really say? I have trouble getting into this book. I really wanna read it but I kinda get stuck after the first few chapters and never wanna continue. Maybe I should give up on that one.
Okay, at this point I cannot think of any more books that were really actively recommended to me by people that really actively came up to me and said, here, read this!
So, what’s the verdict here? I’m afraid that most of the books recommended to me were more meh or flops than books I really loved. So does that mean that you should stop recommending books to me? Of course not! Keep the recommendations coming, especially if you really loved a book! Especially if it’s Middlegrade! Especially if you think that I really, really, really should read this book!
What books have people recommended to you? Did you like them?
Great list! I haven’t read A Court of Thorns and Roses and I often see people say it’s the second book that’s better, but it does annoy me a bit if I have to get through a whole book just to get to a better one.
Thank you! Yeah, I wish they had told me sooner that they meant the second book in the series. I found the first one rather slow and kinda boring, and I don’t know if I should really read the second one as well.
It’s nice that you can recall who pointed you toward each of these books.
Yeah, I got a pretty good memory when it comes to those things. And I usually want to thank the person who recommended it. 😉
Great list but I’m sorry not all of the books on here were successful recommendations! It’s shame you didn’t like A Darker Shade of Magic, but if you like Schwab’s writing I would recommend Vicious (it’s superior in every way and I will die talking about it)
My TTT: https://moonlitbooks.home.blog/2020/10/20/tttrecommendedbooks/
(https://moonlitbooks.home.blog/)
I actually do have Vicious at home. I have noticed that I fare better with her books when there is not too much new worldbuilding involved. I loved City of Ghosts and The Archived.
I felt the same with Miss Peregrine’s. I read it, I think I liked it, but I didn’t care enough to continue. For ACOTAR, yeah, it is the second book that is better, BUT then I started book 3 and was bored again so there’s that. lol I’m sad Nevernight didn’t work out for you! That’s been on my TBR for a long time and I just keep putting it off because I’m skeptical. I read The Raven Boys and HATED it. I don’t remember exactly why because it has been a while, I just remember the feeling of dislike lol
Seems like we have a lot in common when it comes to these books. It’s not that the writing in Nevernight was bad, I just didn’t like the protagonist and that’s mostly what breaks the camels back when it comes to books.
I kinda wanna try Raven Boys again? But maybe not more than once because, let’s be honest, how often do you have to try until you give up?
Ha ha. Well, not every reading recommendation is a win, unfortunately 🙂 At least you were brave and tried out books other people recommended to you. Sometimes that can be a HUGE leap of faith. LOL.
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Thank you, Susan! Yeah, that’s true. And I wish I would have liked more of them but in the end…I just didn’t. Maybe I have more luck in the future?
I felt the same way about Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children and its sequels. 🙂
My post.
Did you read all the other books? I mean, I liked the first one but I just couldn’t be bothered with the rest of them. I wish I could, so I had more to talk about with my friend but in the end, I don’t wanna force myself through the books either.
Sorry A Darker Shade of Magic didn’t work out better for you, it’s one of my favourite books, but hey, different strokes for different folks! I also really enjoyed The Raven Boys, though ACOTAR was kind of iffy for me and Nevernight I couldn’t finish, so we have those in common.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/10/20/top-ten-tuesday-286/
I kinda wanna try Raven boys again. I mean, maybe I’m just not in the right mindset when reading it? Maybe autumn would be a better time? I feel like it’s a book you should read in autumn.
It definitely has very autumnal vibes!
I’m glad people kept thrusting The Raven Boys in your face. What a great series!
Yeah, I’ve heard that. Too bad I didn’t really like it and didn’t get far with it. Maybe some other time I’ll try again.
I read the ACOTAR trilogy and thought it was fun, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way to recommend it to anyone, and I’m pretty done with it. I have no desire to read the next one.
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I’m sorry you haven’t been able to get into The Raven Boys. It’s one of my all-time favorite series. I read it at Halloween and it was perfect for this time of year. ❤️