Hey guys, how’s it going? 😀
Because a lot of people seemed to enjoy my last post (and because my good friend Michel @ Raistlin0903 wanted to see this one take on it – please check out his blog, it’s awesome!!) I decided to write about the ten books that didn’t live up to the hype.
Again, this is my personal opinion! Also, these are in no particular order.
Maze Runner by James Dashner
I wanted to like this one so much. The concept was great but the author really didn’t know how to handle it. He tried to keep the reader in the dark for the longest time, using the most ridiculous devices known to mankind, and then when the big reveal came, it just didn’t have any significant impact.
There was just too much going on at one point and it didn’t lead anywhere. A lot of loose ends and things that didn’t make sense. Plus, the worst ending ever. Overall, this book was a major disappointment.
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Another one I was really, really hoping to love as much as everyone else seemed to! I thought I was going to relate to Cath and her story, but I ended up being bored and annoyed by her the entire time.
I also didn’t care for Simon Snow and the gang. It honestly just broke my focus and made my reading experience all the more tiresome. I liked the little interludes, such as Cath’s dad situation and other snippets, but otherwise this book was just meh.
The 100 by Kass Morgan
For those of you who don’t know, I love the show. I just finished season four recently and I don’t really know what to do with my life now… But the books? Yeah, not so much.
The two are completely different. I’d say they share a few of the major characters and the basic storyline. Other than that, they take completely different turns and cannot even be said to be on the same quality level.
The show is badass. The books are really juvenile and boring.
The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling
Before you say anything: no, I wasn’t expecting this to be anything like Harry Potter. I read everyone else’s reviews and was more than prepared to give this one a chance and treat it as an individual novel.
Maybe because I’m not a fan of the genre. Maybe because I haven’t read Rowling since I was, like, fifteen. Either way, I just didn’t care enough about the characters or what was going on to be really invested. I did enjoy some parts, don’t get me wrong, but overall this book just wasn’t my favorite.
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Look, I enjoy messed up relationships as much as the next person. I get it, they’re appealing (on paper) and can be quite engaging. But these two… Ugh.
I tried to like them as characters, to understand them, but they just got on my nerves so much. Also, there was no real story going on, which just bothered me. I need something else other than romance to keep me going and this one was laughable in that department (seriously, that sideplot? What sideplot?)
A guilty pleasure read… If you can even call it that.
Divergent by Veronica Roth
What to say about this one that I haven’t said already?
The concept was okay. It wasn’t groundbreaking but, really, what dystopian novel is nowadays? The real problem was that I didn’t connect with any of the characters, especially Tris, the protagonist. I thought her decisions and values were so dumb and I didn’t relate to them in the least. I didn’t understand what these kids were doing and what moved them half the time. It just made no sense to me. This world made no sense to me.
So yeah, not reading the rest of the series.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
I devoured the first book in this trilogy. I thought it was amazing and clever and just extremely well-done. But the second and third books disappointed me greatly.
It just felt like more of the same: repetition, repetition. I also felt my spirit dying along with Katniss’s throughout the story. She’s basically a shell of her old self by the middle of it and I couldn’t connect with her anymore. What was she fighting for at one point? I didn’t know. It just felt like I was being dragged through the story, and I felt drained. It just wasn’t enjoyable anymore.
Looking for Alaska by John Green
I was ready to fall in love with this. But I just felt like the story wasn’t going anywhere. I didn’t care about Alaska or the protagonist (whose name I can’t even remember) and felt like it was just too much drama where drama needn’t be. I also didn’t get the “poetic” side of it, or how “special” Alaska was, or why the MC was in love with her. I didn’t get ANYTHING.
I think this book tried too hard to be clever and different, and failed on both accounts. Also, after reading another book by the author, I realized how formulaic all his stories are. Which is just boring and uninteresting.
The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
I’m not familiar with Artemis Fowl, but everyone and their mom are, apparently, so I decided to try this one first.
It promised laugh-out-loud moments, yet I chuckled once, at best. Maybe the humor wasn’t for me… Maybe if I’d been younger.
I found myself really unimpressed by some of the writing. I did enjoy the sarcasm and cleverness behind some lines, as well as the overall tone of the book. Yet something was missing. Maybe if it had been longer, I would have been able to connect with the characters more. Otherwise, this was really, really average.
Snotgirl by Brian Lee O’Malley & Leslie Hung
I wanted this to become my new favorite comic. The art was so cute and manga-like, and the premise was really interesting, seeing as I’m a blogger myself. Yet, it didn’t deliver.
It was just incredibly superficial, the characters were all really shallow and mean, the story was a bit confusing at places, and although I did appreciate the authenticity and unapologetic tone of it, there just wasn’t a whole lot for me to love.
Lottie’s character is really unexplored at this point, and I’m anxiously waiting for the next issue to come out so I can form a better opinion of it. I hope it changes my mind!
And it’s a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this one and please check out my previous post 10 Books That Lived Up to the Hype if you did 🙂 I’d love to chat so drop me a comment below!
Thank you so much for reading and until next time!
What did you think of my choices? What are some more disappointing books that you think could make the list? b(~_^)d
Blame Chocolate 
Agree. Especially on The Maze Runner and Fangirl. I actually liked the first Divergent book a lot … the second one wasn’t terrible either. But the movies were all pretty rough.
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I read Divergent first and watched the movie afterwards. Personally, neither did it for me. I just couldn’t feel anything
But I understand why others might enjoy it.
The Maze Runner wasn’t awful but it was very messy and confusing. Fangirl just didn’t click with me. It was mostly boring and annoying.
Thanks so much for reading, Frankie! 😊
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I agree. I did like Maze Runner, but I felt that it could have been better.
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I did enjoy the first book a lot more than the others. But they were still pretty bad as a whole. Had a lot of potential, but didn’t deliver.
Thank you for commenting, Darnell! 😊
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We personally liked Maze Runner better as a film… it didn’t drag and kept it (kinda) simple (until the second movie) PLUS DYLAN O’BRIAN AND THOMAS SANGSTER 😍😍😍!!
We haven’t read Fangirl, but we wanted too…now not so sure..
Divergent was good…until she decided to make 2 more.. 😂
We personally really enjoyed the first and second Hunger Games! Our fave was the second (both book and movie 😉😉)
Great post 😊
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I wasn’t a fan of either the Maze Runner movies or the books unfortunately… I guess I had very high expectations XD
Oh a lot of people like Fangirl, it just wasn’t for me. But you guys might enjoy it, so do give it a chance 🙂
I did like the first Hunger Games book and half of the second, but after that I just didn’t care for it. I liked the movies, though! Maybe this is one of those cases where the story works best on the screen.
Thank you so much! ❤️😊
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A shame you couldn’t enjoy the movie(s) at least!
We heard quite a few mixed reviews on Fangirl that were either soo great or average! Perhaps we’ll give it a go – hopefully we haven’t missed the train to something good!
Movies are usually not that bad – but when compared to the books it’s always (the movie) labelled as RUBBISH! But there are some rare cases where you enjoy both the book and movies and Hunger Games was that for all of us! 😆😆
You’re welcome! 😉❤
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I liked the Hunger Games all the way through. Yeah, they were a little repetitive, but I read them so fast and close together than I WANTED to read about another round of the games.
Bummer to hear about the Maze Runner. It’s on my TBR, but maybe it shouldn’t be?
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I understand, a lot of people did and it does work for many readers. Just not for me. At that point, I just wasn’t feeling it at all and it made very little sense to go on.
I didn’t like Maze Runner too much. I think it might work for a younger crowd, because everything about it felt very juvenile and messy. It only got worse as the series progressed, which makes me think it’s not a matter of experience but of actual talent. Dashner just doesn’t have it in him, in my opinion.
It’s an interesting enough concept and I did enjoy parts of it, but as a whole not so much.
Thank you for reading, J.! 🙂
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Oh I was so disappointed with Maze Runner! They were ok but I expected so much more. Thanks for letting me know about The 100. I loved the show too but stopped watching it a while back because life got in the way. I’ve always been curious about the book.
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I know, I’m of the exact same opinion!
The 100 books are… Fine. But when compared to the show, they are just mediocre.
You may enjoy them, I don’t know, but I find it hard to love them as much as the show just because of how different they are and how they don’t even feel like the same story…
But give them a try, who knows 🙂
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Great post! I agree, the Maze Runner was very disappointing, and the movie adaption just made it worse. Divergent started out as good for me, but then the second book wasn’t as great. By the time, the third book came, I was pretty disappointed. I also agree with Beautiful Disaster; it was muh. I did like The Hunger Games. Aside from these books, I haven’t read the other ones. Perhaps, I won’t make them into too much of a priority right now, lol.
Thank you for sharing! 🙂
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Thank you so much! 😊 Oh yeah, neither of them did it for me, really. Divergent made me feel nothing! So I wasn’t interested in continuing the series.
The first Hunger Games book was good. The second one was okay until midway through. Then it just went to hell.
This is my very personal opinion so you might enjoy the rest of the list! 🙂
Thank you for reading! ❤️
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Good thing you didn’t continue Divergent – it just got worse. I was so mad about the ending!
I can see that with Hunger Games.
Who knows, maybe, I would. But, I’m not going to rush into reading them. I have so many books to read, that I want to get to the more interesting ones first, 🙂
Thank you for sharing!
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I completely agree about Maze Runner. I enjoyed Divergent enough, it wasn’t the most memorable, and the films were terrible, but I absolutely loved The Hunger Games ☺️ although your completely right, Katniss does end up a shell of her former self, and I was team Gale sadly lol 😂
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I was team Gale too!! 😢 I couldn’t stand Peeta, actually. So maybe that might have contributed a little bit for my not enjoying the series as much hahaha
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Awww…I can’t believe you did this 😊😊 Thanks so much for the shout out and this great post. I loved reading it from start to finish.
There were a few surprises on the list though. I enjoyed the Hunger Games novels, but the movies I felt could have been better (as much as I loved Jennifer Lawrence’s performance). The Mazerunner I haven’t read, but I actually quite liked the movie, thinking it was one of the better YA movies.
I have the Divergent series still resting in my bookcase, but haven’t yet gotten around to reading it. I’m thinking now that I might best avoid it lol.
As for the 100, I had heard that the novels were pretty bad. The tv series though: I absolutely love it. Great story, great characters, and even though it is entirely different at times it reminds me at times of Lost.
The rest of the books featured here I haven’t read, but reading your take on them I’m kind of glad I did not lol 😊
Thank you again for this wonderful post. You are too kind 😊😊
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Hahaha no problem! Thank you for showing interest in the idea for my next post 😊
I actually thought the HG movies were better, to be honest. I felt the story worked better on screen at times.
I read the Maze Runner before watching the movie, so it didn’t have the same impact as I knew the story and what was going to happen. It felt a bit flat for me.
I’m not sure if you’d like Divergent but seeing as you already own a copy, might as well give it a go 😛
The 100 totally reminds of Lost too sometimes! Only with teenagers hahaha I really thought the books were not up to par, though. The show is phenomenal.
Who knows, you might like the books I mentioned… But I wouldn’t be in a hurry to try them 😉
Thank you so much for reading and commenting, Michel! You’re awesome 😊
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I didn’t like all the Simon Snow stuff in Fangirl either 😛 and I agree with your thoughts on John Green’s books too… Nice tag!!
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Realised it wasn’t a tag. Nice post though! 😀
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Hahaha no worries, Jess! I’m glad you liked this and could relate 😊
Thanks so much! ❤️
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Agreed with everything you said about Fangirl. I really expected to like it after everything I’d heard about it but it was so boring! I put it down three times when I was reading it because I couldn’t care less about Cath, Simon Snow or anything else that happened.
I also agree about The Casual Vacancy. I did not like that book as there were too many POVs and I thought the constant swearing was unnecessary.
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Finally someone agrees! XD I honestly thought I was the only one who didn’t connect with the book at all. I had to force myself to continue reading it because I really wanted to know if there was something special about it that could maybe change my opinion in the end… Yeah, not really.
I agree. Normally I’m fine with swearing but it felt a bit too forced. There were too many POVs indeed, which made things a bit too confusing and messy. Plus, I didn’t care much for any of the characters so it made the reading experience all the more exhausting.
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Completely agree about Beautiful Disaster. Could never understand the hype. But n-o-o-o not Looking for Alaska! I loved that book, lol.
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Hahaha oh it’s alright, I understand why some people like it! 😊 It just wasn’t my cup of tea…
Beautiful Disaster was a disaster, really 😅 But darn if I didn’t have a hard time putting it down!
Thank you so much for reading ❤️
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Beautiful Disaster and Divergent are the only books I’ve read from this list. I liked Divergent but I totally agree with you on Beautiful Disaster. It’s quite a mess! XD
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A lot of people liked Divergent but I really couldn’t hahaha Tris was such an insufferable MC…
Beautiful Disaster was an addictive mess! XD Like a train wreck. I just don’t understand how it was able to sprout so many sequels…
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Great post! I totally agree with you for The Casual Vacancy. That took me forever to get into, and then once I was in I forgot why I was into it. Everything felt like it was all over the place. I also agree about the Divergent trilogy; totally boring and felt like it was going nowhere.
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Thank you so much, Meghan! 😊
TCV had its moments but most of the time, I wasn’t feeling it. Definitely agree. Maybe because it had so many POVs and characters and storylines going on at the same time. It just wasn’t very enjoyable as a whole.
Divergent wasn’t even boring, it was just… Passive. I honestly felt nothing while reading it.
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You’re welcome! 🙂
Omg yes! Didn’t it just feel like she was throwing everything at the reader and expecting the reader to just follow along?
Haha, I can agree, I didn’t really feel anything either.
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Yes! I just had to try hard to keep up because, as much as I enjoy not finding everything out all at once and instead getting bits and pieces along the way, I think she went a bit too far on that.
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Fab post, Miss Sophie. A few of these are some of my fav books. LOL. And others I totally agree with. It’s always fun to see what books everyone has different opinions about. The Casual Vacancy wasn’t really for me either honestly. I wanted it to be so badly though.
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Thank you so much, Krysti! ❤️
Hahaha no worries, to each their own 😊 I’m glad we could agree on some, though! And absolutely, I love discussing different opinions.
We were all hoping for another masterpiece by Rowling but, alas, it wasn’t meant to be…
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I really enjoyed Fangirl. Something about it just clicked with me and I was totally enthralled.
That said, Divergent and Hunger Games, while you can certainly read them, are nothing overly exciting in the end. The stories are fine but the writing just does nothing but lay out the plot. It isn’t exciting to read.
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I’m glad you did! 😊 It just didn’t do it for me at all, and I really wanted it to…
I agree on Divergent. I did enjoy Hunger Games to a certain extent. After that it was just too much of the same.
Thank you for reading! ☺️
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I definitely agree on The Maze Runner – I’d completely lost interest by the end of this series.
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Me too… That ending was absolutely atrocious, too!
Thank you for reading 😊❤️
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Were you reading my mind when you wrote this post? I kind of feel like you were!!! With the exception of the hunger games I agree with this entire list!! Especially Casual Vacancy, which I still haven’t finished. I can’t force myself to finish it!
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Hahaha maybe! 😜
I’m glad you could relate! Oh yeah, The Casual Vacancy… Kudos to Rowling for trying to expand her repertoire but it didn’t work for me.
I honestly don’t think it’s worth finishing if you didn’t care much for it. It didn’t bring me any closure in the end.
Thanks for reading! 😊❤️
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I’m so with you on The Maze Runner and Divergent – they were both mediocre. 😦 Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! ❤
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Thank you so much, Zoe! ❤️
Absolutely… Have no idea why they’re so popular!
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UGH! The Maze Runner series is the BANE of my existence. I could rant about it for hours! And Divergent was three days of my life wasted. After I started each series, I felt obligated to finish them, but by the end I wanted to pull my hair out.
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I finished The Maze Runner series because I wanted to figure out what was going on so bad! Turns out, it didn’t matter much. Such a big disappointment.
Divergent didn’t spark any interest in me, though. It felt way too flat for me to want to try the sequels. The movies, too.
I’m sorry both were so awful! I think it should be fine to DNF anything, including a series, if you’re not feeling it.
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http://wp.me/p88tgm-8N I tagged you
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I tried and couldn’t get into The Maze Runner. I like the first Divergent and the second was alright didn’t like the third, probably would have been better as a standalone I think. Great post overall, I suck at reading hyped up books though, so I would probably have some pretty popular ones I didn’t get into.
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Thank you so much! 😊
Yeah I’m not a big fan of hyped up books either… I usually wait it out before trying them, though, ever since I started blogging I feel it’s important to stay on top of releases and what everyone else is reading at the moment.
I won’t necessarily read them but I like to stay informed.
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I know what you mean, I want to know about all the new book so I can read them later.
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Interesting list… I haven’t read any of them except for Hunger Games.. hype is such an odd ‘thing’… it pulls people but it makes them take a step away, as well.. and certainly sometimes, hype makes me not want to read a book… Maze Runner was a decent enough movie, but I can’t imagine myself reading the book…
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Absolutely agree! I’m the same… It really depends on my mood and whether a blurb can reel me in or not. Otherwise, I’ll usually wait it out before picking them up.
The movie was ok but because I’d read the book first and knew the story/what was going to happen, it wasn’t as exciting.
Thank you for reading, Liz! 😊
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Super agree about the Maze Runner!! I really struggled to finish that one and was not impressed at all. With the Divergent books, I was entertained just enough to read them all but afterward it kind of felt like wasted time. And a million times yes to The Casual Vacancy. I never would have picked it up if it wasn’t by JK Rowling, but honestly I wish I hadn’t because it was so depressing.
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Yup, definitely! I didn’t even want to pick up TCV at first but I thought “oh come on, it’s Rowling! What could go wrong?” A lot, apparently XD
And yes, sooo depressing! With a bit of humor here and there but still.
Maze Runner gave me mixed feelings. Divergent didn’t interest me enough to continue the series. Overall, huge disappointments, both of them…
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I agree with the Maze Runner not living up to the hype. I saw the movie first before reading the book. My disappointment might have been because of that. I loved how fast-paced and thrilling the movie was so to me, the book felt slow and dragging in comparison. I love The Hunger Games and Divergent series though. XD Looking for Alaska was okay but definitely not John Green’s best work for me. 😀
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It was the opposite for me, so the movie was actually not as great in my opinion because there was nothing really surprising about it. I did enjoy the first book more than the sequels. I just thought it got progressively worse.
The only other book I’ve read by John Green was An Abundance of Katherines and it too didn’t do much for me. It was okay but nothing spectacular. I don’t intend to read any more of his works, though…
I’m glad you enjoyed them, though! 🙂 And thank you so much for reading! ❤
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Maze Runner most certainly did not live up to the hype for me. I actually enjoyed the movie more than the book. In fact, I think the movie raised my expectations of the book but when I read it, I was disappointed in the characters (none of which I really liked, with an exception to Newt and Chuck), the imagery, and the pacing (which really dragged after a point). I couldn’t get into Divergent. It didn’t seem all that unique to me, especially after reading Hunger Games first, which I loved. I actually liked Catching Fire, but Mockinjay left a whole lot of something to be desired. I have Fangirl because of all the hype, so I’m really hoping it lives up to the hype for me! And I was thinking of reading The 100 after watching the show (which I LOVE), but I’ve some pretty mixed reviews, yours included. Hm, maybe I shouldn’t read the book and just stick with the show? Lovely post, Sophie!! 😀
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Yeah, I read the first two books I think, before watching Maze Runner. So, needless to say, the movie wasn’t that great since I already knew what was going to happen. Still pretty decent (especially when compared to Dashner’s writing, which was atrocious at times) but yeah, not my favorite.
I’m still trying to find it in myself to want to finish the series but so far, no desire whatsoever hahaha
Catching Fire was fine until about halfway through. Then it just went downhill for me…
I honestly hope you enjoy Fangirl! I’m one of the few who didn’t like it so there’s a big chance you will 🙂 *crossing my fingers!*
I think it’s interesting to see a different take on The 100’s story. It’s completely different from the show in so many ways, it’s crazy. It feels like they borrowed the concept and a few major characters and that’s it XD Everything else was changed – for the best, in my opinion! So yeah, I’d recommend reading it if you’re intrigued but don’t get your hopes up
Thank you so much, darling! ❤
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Oh yeah, I can see how that might have been disappointing 😦 Nowadays I try to watch the movie first so I can avoid comparing the movie to the book. That way I can enjoy them individually! 😀 Unfortunately for Maze Runner, the movie won out for me. The book was just…meh. I agree, the writing WAS atrocious 😂
And I think I kind of feel the same about Catching Fire. I’d have to reread it again. It’s been a loooong time since I last read those books.
Thank you! Really hope so too! And have you read Carry On? What did you think of that one? It was my first Rainbow Rowell book and I loved it…for the most part lol
Kind of strange they went in a completely direction for the show. Although, it sounds like I should be glad for it! I think I might try to read the first book, just to see how different the story is 🙂 Eh, I’ll give it a shot, but I’ll keep the expectations low.
Yeah, me neither lol. Maybe one day 🙄
Of course! 💕
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I didn’t, no. I wasn’t a fan of Simon Snow and the gang, to be honest XD They felt way too distracting and I wasn’t into it. I don’t know why, I just wasn’t interested in them at all and kept wanting to skip their bits. So I’m probably not reading that one…
Hahaha hope you enjoy it! 🙂 ❤
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Oh no! D: I’ve read Carry On. I didn’t know that it was already in Fangirl before reading it, but I really enjoyed it for the most part. However, under the surface it felt a bit…crazed? haphazard? jumbled? The characters were cool but the plot was odd. The M/M romance was cute though! I’d recommend it, although if you weren’t all that impressed with Snow and the gang in Fangirl, then you probably may not like Carry On lol XD
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Hahaha yeah I’m going to skip that one… I’m glad you liked it, though!
I felt the excerpts in Fangirl were mostly that, though: crazed, jumbled… It didn’t do it for me. My heart just wasn’t on it.
I’m not sure how reading Carry On first will affect Fangirl’s reading experience but I’m hoping it makes even better! 🙂
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Good Calls!
Sometimes I swear there was a writers workshop
& all the authors of the YA dystopian series attended
i.e. Hunger Games, Divergent, Maze Runner, since
they are all telling the same story. We get it, they
are going to release a super virus, killing of 3/4 of
the population & start again fresh. Its called Eugenics.
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Thank you! 🙂
Hahahaha that’s true, not only with YA dystopian genres though, but with most YA books. There are some exceptions, however.
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When these books become a “Global Phenomenon” we
go and check out the synopsis, (Especially w/ Divergent
Series) It had some semi-cool themes, then we kept on
reading the synopsis & found it all to be quite convoluted.
Hunger Games Series (Audiobooks) were on Youtube for
quite sometime, before they got taken down so we must
admit to enjoying the audio outing, mainly for the first
person p.o.v. which was powerful. VERY a tale of two cities.
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Yeah, I guess… At one point you just kind of figure out what will happen, based on experience. They can be quite entertaining, though.
I rarely enjoy first person POVs, but I thought Katniss’s was pretty good, too. I have yet to read a A Tale of Two cities, but nice to see it can compared to the classic 🙂
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*Tagged https://littleblindbookfinds.wordpress.com/2017/06/13/the-college-freshman-book-tag-origninal/. 😀
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It’s seriously the worst when a book doesn’t live up to the hype or your expectations. But it’s something that’s bound to happen from time to time. I completely agree with Divergent, I really didn’t like that book much either. The only book by John Green that I have read is The Fault in Our Stars and I enjoyed that one quiet a lot, I had no interest in any of his other books so I never picked them up. (Nor do I plan to in the future.) I have heard so many bad things about The Casual Vacancy, mostly that it’s beyond boring. That made me wary of picking it up, though I might read it some time in the future, if I ever feel like reading that genre.
Great post! 😀
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Definitely, a book is never going to please everyone… But when 90% of the people say it’s the best thing ever, you’re going to get your hopes up.
Yeah, TCV was a bit boring in places… I thought the pace had serious issues and because I hated most characters, it just felt especially slow when I was reading their POV. I’m curious about her Cormoran Strike series, though.
Thank you so much, Anna! ^^
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I have read her first two books in the Cormoran Strike series and I really enjoyed them! The mysteries were very interesting and I ended up caring for the characters a lot more than I thought I would. 😀 I’m very exited to be reading the third book some time soon. I would definitely give that series a chance!
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Oh so glad to hear it! I’ve read mixed reviews so we’ll see 🙂
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Ah shame about Fangirl but I do get it- I think the main reason why I enjoyed it cos I’d already read Carry On and loved it, so I was invested in parts of it. Yeah I think Eoin Colfer is aimed at pretty young audiences- I outgrew Artemis Fowl quite a bit before the series ended. I felt the *exact* same about Looking for Alaska and Divergent! And Beautiful Disaster is just so unappealing to me. Awesome post!!
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Yeah I guess that could play a part in it… I absolutely did not care for Simon or any of the other characters so I pretty much groaned every time they were mentioned XD
I thought so too, that’s why I tried not to be too harsh on it. But I don’t think I’ll pick up Artemis Fowl now…
I’m glad we could agree on the others! They just didn’t do it for me at all.
Thank you so much! ❤️❤️
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That makes sense- I was the exact opposite. (I just wanted another Carry On book to be honest). That’s totally fair!! You’re welcome ❤ ❤
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Actually, I haven’t read any of these, but the post was enjoyable 🙂 I’ll go look at the ones that delivered! Also, I’ve always felt like The Hunger Games and Divergent would feel like that for me. So I never even thought of reading them. Forget the hype, I’m a hipster :DDD
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Hahahaha I feel like I’m one too, on occasion! The hype just makes me not want to read the book most of the times XD I’ll usually pick it up if I really like the blurb but otherwise will let it cool off and come back for it later 😉
I’m glad you could still enjoy this, though! Thank you so much for reading ❤
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Something about seeing all these super popular YA titles being featured on this list is quite amusing and fascinating. You do point out some really interesting things for each of them, and definitely make a good case on why they were such disappointments. Sorry to hear Snot Girl was a disappointment though. I never tried to check out its blurb because of how the title sounded so weird. I might as well ignore this unless I find a free copy somehow hahah Great stuff, Sophie! 😀
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I know, I never would have come across it if my boyfriend hadn’t told me about it.
Yeah, the title is definitely not appealing hahaha But I would say her allergies are not that noticeable once you get in the story, which was weird considering that’s supposed to be the main theme of this comic.
Not that I’m complaining! I’m glad it didn’t steal the entire focus of the story, and still kept it linked to the plot in a way. I know it sounds super freaky but if you read it, you’d get it 😛
Thank you so much, Lashaan! Always love getting your input 🙂
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I was good with the Maze Runner series until the fourth book, and the movie was very disappointing. My wife read the Divergent series and thought they were OK, and I saw the movies with her and we didn’t like them either haha.
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I haven’t read the forth book yet… I was just so uninterested by that point I just didn’t feel like wasting any more time on the series. But I might finish it one day.
As for Divergent, I felt both movie and book were quite bad! I believe the series does get better at some point, but I’m not sure about the movies. I’ll probably watch those instead of reading the books though hahaha
My boyfriend loves to poke fun at Divergent. He says it’s Harry Potter meets Hunger Games. I have a hard time not agreeing him him XD
Thank you for reading! 🙂
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The fourth book felt random to me and didn’t answer things I thought it would.
I’m a huge movie buff and I was not impressed with the Divergent movies. It really does have that weird crossover vibe haha.
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Interesting list there! I do agree with you on Fangirl.. I didn’t feel for it that hard like many other readers but I actually loved The Hunger Games and The 100 🙂 I still need to read many other titles on your list 🙂 Great post!
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Thank you! 😊 Glad to see more people agree on Fangirl. The 100 was alright, just not as amazing as the show. The Hunger Games just didn’t do it for me in the end, but I really enjoyed the first two books.
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I almost thought I enjoyed the first two books more than the tv shows. Have you watched them all? I only saw the first season. Is it a must watched?
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The 100? Yes, absolutely! It’s one of my favorite shows 😊 I think it just kept getting better and better.
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Thanks for letting me know 😊
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I LOVED The Maze Runner, the second book was okay and the third was a disaster… !
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I thought the first book was pretty good if I remember correctly. It was also a fast read. The others, though… Ugh.
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It’s really a shame you wasted your time with these! I remember being a fan of Divergent, The Hunger Games and Looking for Alaska back when I first read them, but I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t enjoy them now (especially the last one). I didn’t like The Casual Vacancy at all either 😦 And although I kinda enjoyed The Maze Runner, I kinda prefer the movies (pretty sure the same would happen with The 100, but I’ve only watched the show).
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Yeah, I think they might have been alright if I’d read them when I was younger… Right now, they’re pretty mediocre.
I don’t remember enjoying The Maze Runner movies all that much, probably because I already knew the plot pretty well and nothing came as a surprise.
I like The 100 books to an extent, but I have a hard time enjoying them when compared to the show.
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I completely agree with you on maze runner, i regretted buying that book so much, it cost a bomb, and my dog ended up chewing the cover too! I just didn’t get the book, didn’t like the writing, it was painful to read.
I got beautiful disaster as a gift, and disaster it was but there was nothing beautiful about it.
I didn’t get through Casual Vacancy because I felt like the whole theme and language in it was ruining Harry Potter for me, but I can’t really judge it on that .
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Hahaha your dog’s really clever, then, because that book sure is crappy! XD
I tried my best to disassociate Casual Vacancy’s author from J.K. and Harry Potter, but at the end of the day, even that didn’t work and I just wasn’t feeling the book. I finished it and I liked some of it but overall, not my cup of tea.
I’m so sorry for the late reply, by the way! I seemed to have missed your comment
Thank you so much for reading! ❤
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“I also felt my spirit dying along with Katniss’s throughout the story. She’s basically a shell of her old self by the middle of it and I couldn’t connect with her anymore. What was she fighting for at one point? I didn’t know.” – this resonates so much with me. I loved the first book to bits but by the third I felt like you – it all seemed kind of pointless. I guess that was the point – it was trying to show that there is corruption and abuse of power everywhere and reveal the effects of the trauma Katniss had been through – but it meant I disconnected from it and was left with a kind of ‘resistance is futile’ feeling, which wasn’t at all what the first book had created.
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Yeah, I agree, and it was a powerful message. But when you get so invested in a story, and when you strive for a happy ending, that sort of conclusion just won’t bring you any joy. And even if that was the whole point, it doesn’t make it any less disappointing.
I’m glad we have a similar opinion about it! Mostly everyone I’ve talked to has loved the entire trilogy so I’m thinking they either missed the whole subtext, didn’t mind it or were just happy Katniss and Peeta ended up together… (another thing I hated, by the way)
Thank you so much for reading! ❤
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I can totally understand how you felt about Fangirl, my friends told me it was so good and relatable, but honestly how did she think she was going to get away with submitting fanfiction on a university level? Ugh, she annoyed me. Although I disagree with you on The Hunger Games – Catching Fire was my favourite book. I love all the other characters in Catching Fire, but perhaps it could have benefited from more focus on those people who weren’t Katniss, I’m not her biggest fan. But yes to Looking for Alaska! By the time I’d reached that one (my 3rd John Green book), I was sick of this middle-aged guy trying to be clever by using big words in a YA book, you know?
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Absolutely agree! God, Cath was beyond frustrating and annoying and I just couldn’t wait to finish the damn book… I didn’t feel like trying any other Rowell book after that, but maybe one day.
Ugh, my thoughts exactly! John Green needs to lay off the manic pixie girls and holier-than-thou losers who fall for these chicks. I swear, the more “quirks” he adds to his characters, the more I want to throw them out my window. Just stop. We get it and it’s not cute.
Alaska was my first of his and it definitely didn’t cause a very lasting impression…
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My thoughts exactly! I’m sick of Green’s pretentious protagonists and Rowell is okay but I suppose they get hyped up a bit, not fangirl though, that was bleh.
My first of Green’s was tfios, back when it was everyone’s favourite book, then I read Paper Towns. By the time I reached Alaska I felt like I’d read the same book 3 times.
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Oh I refused to read that book. I hate stories about illnesses, especially cancer. I just know I would be depressed as hell… So yeah, I skipped it.
Totally agree! It feels like Green uses the same formula over and over again, and it gets tiring. Changing names and certain personality traits doesn’t make a character that much different – the vibe I get from his MCs and their love interests is exactly the same.
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I feel the same way! First one I read, last one I read, I don’t need his romanticisation of misfortune. I wish there was an illness warning on books, sets off my anxiety big time.
Absolutely – the protagonist always has some kind of flaw-that-isn’t-a-flaw, and their love interest is unrealistically philosophical but somehow is still 16. It’s like he picked a demographic who he thought it would be easy to influence, and he rolled with it.
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Yeah, I mean, toooons of teens worship the ground that man walks on. So he ought to have done something right. Just not for me, personally. (He was clever, that one!)
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Wow, yes, THANK YOU on the whole ‘Divergent’ thing. I just didn’t get it/couldn’t get into it. I’ve always felt like I was one of maybe six people in the world who didn’t fall in love with this book and this series. It’s nice to know I’m really one of at least seven people who didn’t like it :).
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Hahaha no problem! I felt Divergent and all the Dauntless kids especially were just dumb and unnecessary. Why were they jumping off buildings and running around, risking their lives? Ugh, so annoying.
I’m glad to hear I’m part of those seven people as well 😛
Thanks so much for your comment!
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I didn’t like Divergent, either! It didn’t feel memorable, but more like a mash-up of Hogwarts and other dystopian novels. And I didn’t connect with the characters or like the writing. I was sort of interested in the implied Christian worldview behind it, especially in the depiction of Abnegation. But not enough to read the sequels.
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Same here… It didn’t make me feel anything, was more like descriptive prose meant to inform me about something, not really telling a story. And Tris was just such an insipid character!
I didn’t even bother with the movies, but I might one day just out of curiosity as I’d like to know how it ends.
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