Tag: Unpopular Opinion
Spring Cleaning Book Tag
Hello Lovelies! I have been seeing this tag what seems like everywhere recently and, even though I wasn’t tagged by anyone, I really wanted to do it for myself. I wanted to do it this week because it feels like spring is literally flying by and summer will be here before I know it! I’m scared that if I don’t do this tag now, I’ll completely forget about it/won’t have time to do it.
ᴛʜᴇ ꜱᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇ ᴏꜰ ɢᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ꜱᴛᴀʀᴛᴇᴅ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏʀ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ꜱᴛʀᴜɢɢʟᴇ ᴛᴏ ʙᴇɢɪɴ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜꜱᴇ ᴏꜰ ɪᴛꜱ ꜱɪᴢᴇ
I have been wanting to get into Brandon Sanderson’s books for a while now, but there are just SO many and I have no idea where to start!
ᴄʟᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʟᴏꜱᴇᴛ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴏʀ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ᴜɴʜᴀᴜʟ
∴ The Vampire Diaries Series ∴
I have had The Vampire Diaries on my shelf for about four years now. I read up to the seventh book and I just can’t bring myself to care anymore. I want to get them off my shelves, but I feel like I will be wasting all of the money I spent on them if I do.
ᴏᴘᴇɴɪɴɢ ᴡɪɴᴅᴏᴡꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴇᴛᴛɪɴɢ ꜰʀᴇꜱʜ ᴀɪʀ ɪɴ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ʀᴇꜰʀᴇꜱʜɪɴɢ
∴ Red Rising Saga ∴
I had people recommending this series to me for years and, because of the fact that it is science fiction, I would always shy away from it. When the pestering finally got to me and I actually sat down and read this series, I fell in love. It was SO great and it was refreshing to enjoy a series outside of my comfort zone.
ᴡᴀꜱʜɪɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜱʜᴇᴇᴛꜱ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪꜱʜ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴏᴜʟᴅ ʀᴇᴡʀɪᴛᴇ
∴ Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) by Cassandra Clare ∴
*SPOILERS FOR QUEEN OF AIR AND DARKNESS!!!*
While there are MANY scenes in this book that I wish I could rewrite, I would have to pick the scene where the Cohort takes over Alicante and all of the other Shadowhunters are forced to leave. That scene had me screaming in anger for about twenty minutes because I hated everything about it. Honestly, Alec should have let them all kill themselves!! I KNOW that they are going to be a problem in The Wicked Powers and I just don’t want to deal with the Cohort or Zara anymore.
My review for this book where you can read about all the problems I had with it can be found here.
ᴛʜʀᴏᴡɪɴɢ ᴏᴜᴛ ᴜɴɴᴇᴄᴇꜱꜱᴀʀʏ ᴋɴɪᴄᴋ ᴋɴᴀᴄᴋꜱ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ɪɴ ᴀ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ʏᴏᴜ ᴅɪᴅɴ’ᴛ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ᴡᴀꜱ ɴᴇᴄᴇꜱꜱᴀʀʏ
∴ After Series ∴
*SPOILERS FOR THE AFTER SERIES!!*
Honestly, after Tessa and Hardin make up in the beginning of After We Fell, the story should have been over. That part could have been tacked on to the end of the first book and that should have just been the end of their story. Everything after that is just over-dramatic scenes that were really unnecessary. The story was just entirely too drawn out. The second book on is just about them fighting over the same old things and breaking up, only to get back together again.
ᴘᴏʟɪꜱʜɪɴɢ ᴅᴏᴏʀᴋɴᴏʙꜱ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴀᴅ ᴀ ᴄʟᴇᴀɴ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜ
∴ The Raven King (The Raven Cycle #4) by Maggie Stiefvater ∴
I have mixed feelings on this series, the last book being one of them. The entire final book felt really unnecessary to me and way too drawn out. This series could have been shortened to three books and it would have been fine. It also ended entirely too clean and felt like a waste of my time.
ʀᴇᴀᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴜꜱᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ꜰᴀɴ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴛʀɪᴇᴅ ᴛᴏᴏ ʜᴀʀᴅ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇʟᴀʏ ᴀ ᴄᴇʀᴛᴀɪɴ ᴍᴇꜱꜱᴀɢᴇ
∴ A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1) by V.E. Schwab ∴
I felt like this book tried too hard to convey the “strong female character who doesn’t need a man” trope. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that trope. It’s just that Lila came off naive and full of herself and she ended up getting in even more trouble than she was originally in because she “didn’t need any help”. It was frustrating and probably why I keep putting off reading the second book.
ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪʀɪɴɢ ʏᴇᴛ ꜱᴀᴛɪꜱꜰʏɪɴɢ ꜰɪɴɪꜱʜ ᴏꜰ ꜱᴘʀɪɴɢ ᴄʟᴇᴀɴɪɴɢ: ᴀ ʙᴏᴏᴋ ꜱᴇʀɪᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴛɪʀɪɴɢ ʙᴜᴛ ꜱᴀᴛɪꜱꜰʏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ᴛʜʀᴏᴜɢʜ
∴ Daughter of Smoke and Bone Series ∴
I am referencing the last book in this series more than the other two for this question. Dreams of Gods and Monsters felt REALLY drawn out to me and I struggled to get through it. The only reason that I did was because I wanted to know what was going to happen to the Karou and Akiva relationship and I felt like I had devoted too much time to this series to just drop it. I was really proud of myself when I finished it and pulled through.
I TAG:
Su @ Bemused Bibliophile | Laura @ Laura Reads and Writes | Mani @ Mani’s Book Corner | Ally @ Ally Reads and Writes | Amy @ Amy’s Reading Nook
Thank you for joining me today! This tag was really different and had some tough prompts. I really had to sit down and go over the books I have read to find the right answer for each question. What do you think of my answers? Do you agree with me? Let me know!
~𝒜𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓂𝓃 💕
Top 5 Wednesday | Books I’ve Changed My Mind About
Hello Lovelies! Today’s Top 5 Wednesday topic is Bookish Things I’ve Changed My Mind About. We were given the option on what “bookish thing” we wanted to pick and I decided to go with Books That I’ve Changed My Mind About. So, here they are:
∴ The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer ∴
Original Rating: 5 Stars | Current Rating: 3 Stars
I feel like just about everyone can relate to me when it comes to this series. I read it when there was a lot of hype surrounding it and I found the love triangle addictive. Looking back, I don’t know what my teenage brain was thinking. This series just isn’t that good and the only reason it is so popular is because people like to hate on it and because of the movies.
*I will say that I still highly enjoy the movies and I do rewatch them every year. They are a guilty pleasure of sorts for me.*
∴ The Selection Series by Kiera Cass ∴
Original Rating: 5 Stars | Current Rating: 3 Stars
I read this series when I was just getting into books and I really had nothing to compare it to, which is why I think I rated it so highly. I hadn’t really read much YA and this series just seemed so great when I read it. Looking back, I can see a lot of issues and the writing wasn’t anything special. I do still think that the concept is unique and the story line is addictive though.
∴ Fifty Shades of Grey Series by E.L. James ∴
Original Rating: 5 Stars | Current Rating: 3 Stars
I read this series four years ago and, at the time, I was completely enthralled with the romance. I binge read all of the books (that were out at the time) and I ended up reading them all within a week. I thought that this series was the shit and that the writing was brilliant.
Now, after reading about 600 books since then, I have come to realize that this writing is just a bunch of meh amongst a sea of other books. As far as BDSM goes, there are tons of books out there about it and I’m not quite sure why this one became to famous. I can name plenty that are SO much better.
∴ Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo ∴
Original Rating: 5 Stars | Current Rating: 2.5 Stars
I can’t really say why I changed my rating of this book without giving away spoilers. I do go into further detail in my review which can be found here.
∴ City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments #2) by Cassandra Clare ∴
Original Rating: 3 Stars | Current Rating: 5 Stars
This is the only book on this list where my opinion changed for the better. You see, when I first read this book, I wasn’t that into the story because I was a full on Clace shipper and all I cared about was their relationship. This is the book where Simon and Clary are trying to be in a relationship and I hated that whole aspect of the story. I just didn’t enjoy it and it affected my opinion of the whole book.
When I reread this book last year, my opinion completely changed. I knew how everything ended and I wasn’t as completely focused on the ships. Instead, I got to sit back and enjoy the plot and the development of the other characters, such as Alec and Magnus’s relationship.
Thank you for joining me on Top 5 Wednesday! What do you think about the books on my list? Do you agree with my original rating or my current rating? Also, please feel free to leave a link to your T5W post so I can look at your list!
~𝒜𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓂𝓃 💕
Top 5 Wednesday | Love Triangle Ships That Sunk
Hello Lovelies! Today’s topic was originally Favorite Jokesters, but I decided to change it. Instead, I am going to be doing the potentially controversial topic: Love Triangle Ships That Sunk. This topic is going to be all about the love triangles where I chose the side that the main character did NOT end up with.
*Needless to say, this post will contain spoilers. Read at your own risk!*
Twilight (Twilight #1) by Stephenie Meyer
Why don’t we start out with one of the most known love triangles out there… Twilight. I personally feel like Bella should have ended up with Jacob. Almost always go with the werewolf over the vampire if you ask me.
∴ Unearthly (Unearthly #1) by Cynthia Hand ∴
We are told from the beginning of this series that Clara is going to be with Christian and I was firmly on that ship. When Tucker came into the picture, I was not pleased. It felt like they fell in love over night and I was already hardcore shipping Christian and Clara. I felt like Christian understood her on a level that Tucker never could and I am still upset with how things ended.
∴ The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles #1) by Mary E. Pearson ∴
I think I am in the unpopular opinion section when it comes to this series. I DID NOT want Lia to end up with Rafe at all in the first book. I was firmly on Team Kaden. When book two happened, I was even more convinced that she should end up with Kaden. I spent all of book three on the edge of my seat, waiting to see who she would choose. I was SO upset when she chose Rafe. Oh, well. If Lia doesn’t want him, I certainly do!
∴ Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo ∴
I stopped reading this series after book one, but I did find out eventually who Alina ended up with. And let me tell you, my opinion on this matter can be summed up with this post that I found on Instagram: *I’m going to go ahead an apologize for the language*
∴ The Darkest Warrior (Lords of the Underworld #14) by Gena Showalter ∴
I believe just about everyone in the fandom will agree with me on this one… GILLY SHOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH WILLIAM!!!! NOT THE HALF-GOAT MAN!! For those that haven’t read this series, the author basically teased a pairing for eight years, tried to write their book, and then out of the blue decided that it “wouldn’t work”. This really angered her fan base. The author later received death threats over it. And if you go to Goodreads, this book has a drastically lower rating than the other books in the series. I even have some friends that refuse to read another book by this author ever again because of it.
BONUS:
I thought about it and I decided to include a couple of my TV show love triangle ships that sunk as well. Obviously, there are spoilers ahead:
I wanted Elena to end up with Stefan. Before you start throwing things at me, let me explain:
1) I personally believe that, while Elena was good for Damon, Damon was NOT good for Elena. She made some really bad decisions because of him.
2) I hated the way that the whole sire bond thing went down. NO ONE can tell me without a shadow of a doubt that Elena would have picked Damon without the sire bond.
3) Damon constantly took away Elena’s choices and refused to let her make her own decisions. This is not healthy and should not be depicted as such. Stefan, instead of holding Elena back when he didn’t agree with her, would help her so she wasn’t alone when she decided to do something stupid.
4) Elena ends up with Stefan in the books. It’s canon. Book canon always out-weights adaptation canon.
∴ True Blood ∴
SOOKIE SHOULD HAVE ENDED UP WITH ERIC!!!! I don’t know what went down in the books, but the ending to the TV show was arguably the worst ending I have ever seen. I am still really salty about it. I would have snatched Eric up and never let go if I were Sookie.
Thank you for joining me on Top 5 Wednesday! Do you agree with me on if these characters ended up with the wrong people? Do you have any that I didn’t mention? ~𝒜𝓊𝓉𝓊𝓂𝓃
Top Ten Tuesday | Popular Books That I Don’t Like
Hello Lovelies! Today’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is an Audiobook Freebie, but considering I don’t read many audiobooks, I decided to do another topic. That topic is Popular Books That I Don’t Like. I went with this topic because I like to dip into the shadier side of things and create a post like this every once in a while.
I’m going to go ahead say that I am sorry if my opinions offend you by me disliking your favorite book. That is not my intent. Everyone is different and there are going to be books that you love, that I do not. For instance, my favorite author Sarah J. Maas is one of the most hated on authors out there and I see negative comments about her books everyday. I’m simply stating my opinions in this post, not trying to make you feel bad.
Now that that is out of the way, let’s get into the Popular Books That I Don’t Like. These are in no particular order.
∴ Shadow and Bone (The Shadow and Bone Trilogy #1) by Leigh Bardugo ∴
I HATED the plot twist. I spent 350 pages of this book falling in love with the Darkling and shipping him with Alina only to have everything flip and to find out that he was the villain?! I was SO angry and, as soon as I was done with the book, I refused to read the next one. To this day, whenever someone recommends this book to me, I immediately say NOPE, no way.
P.S. Mal was a horrible love interest and he only wanted Alina when he saw someone else giving her attention.
∴ Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor ∴
My review and the reasons why I dislike this book can be found here.
∴ Queen of Air and Darkness (The Dark Artifices #3) by Cassandra Clare ∴
My review and the reasons why I dislike this book can be found here.
∴ The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins ∴
I tried to read this book a few years ago. It was so popular at the time and I liked the movie. I started reading this book and I immediately noticed that I didn’t like. I kept pushing and I got about halfway through before I just couldn’t do it anymore.
∴ Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer ∴
I wanted to like this book, it just didn’t grab me. The pacing felt off and I didn’t ship Cinder and Kai at all. However, I did continue the series and absolutely loved Scarlet.
∴ Dreams of Gods & Monsters (Daughter of Smoke & Bone #3) by Laini Taylor ∴
My review and the reasons why I dislike this book can be found here.
∴ Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo ∴
My review and the reasons why I dislike this book can be found here.
∴ The Raven Cycle Series by Maggie Stiefvater ∴
I read this whole series and I must say, I was disappointed. Certain things were entertaining, but the series felt drug out and the final book was a complete waste of my time.
∴ Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin #1) by Robin LaFevers ∴
My review and the reasons why I dislike this book can be found here.
∴ Wicked Lovely (Wicked Lovely #1) by Melissa Marr ∴
My review and the reasons why I dislike this book can be found here.