Hey there bookworms,
So I decided I'd make a post about some popular books that I didn't like as much as everyone else. I'm generally someone who always tries to look on the bright side and see at least some positive things in a book, but in general, the following ones just fell short for me. Please note that this is just my personal opinion. If you enjoyed these books I'm glad you did!
by Tomi Adeyemi
About: The main character Zélie goes on a quest to bring ancient magic back to the world and people of Orïsha after the ruthless king banned magic and killed the maji - Zélie's mother among them. It's a ya fantasy novel inspired by African culture and features an all poc cast of characters.
This book is quite beloved and hyped, so it almost pains me a little to admit I didn't like it. Initially I hadn't even planned on reading it, but I was so curious and picked it up at the library, only to be immensely disappointed. The African culture and mythology made for such an interesting and unique setting, but plotwise it was a generic ya fantasy novel that didn't stand out. I found none of the characters to be especially likeable or memorable, and I became bored rather quickly. I only finished the book because I was hoping it would manage to turn my opinion around, but when it finally picked up I had already reached a point where I no longer cared. This was the book that made me realize that maybe I've finally outgrown ya fantasy.
I'd still recommend this book to lovers of ya fantasy, aged 14 and up, who haven't read a bazillion books of this genre yet.
About: A society divided by colors, set on Mars. Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste. When he discovers that his entire life has been a lie, he decides to revolt and fight for justice. To do so, he has to infiltrate the high society and participate in a game of life and death to reach the inner circles of the ones in power.
Think The Hunger Games, but on Mars. I'm sorry, but this is what this book felt like for me. We have a very well developed society and quite an interesting cast of characters, but the majority of the book focuses on Darrow participating in what is basically the Hunger Games. It was exciting at first but got incredibly repetitive and dragging rather quickly. Even though there's lots of action and intrigues, I felt like the book wasn't going anywhere. I also didn't like the writing style. In my opinion the author was trying too hard to come up with an amazing novel - saying himself "And to the reader, thank you. You're going to bloodydamn love these books." Well, I'm sorry Mr Brown, but I didn't.
(I even read the sequel to this some years later, but it didn't do it for me either. I enjoyed it a little more, but still not enough to continue with this series. And honestly, I wouldn't really recommend it. There are better dystopias out there.)
by Sarah J. Maas
About: This is the sequel to A Court of Thorns and Roses. It's a fantasy series (originally marketed as ya but this second book is definitely not ya anymore) about the girl Feyre who ends up in the fae realm and has to defeat the evil queen in order to find her place in this world, learning to control her newly found powers.
I liked the first book in this series, and I'm a huge fan of the author's Throne of Glass series. But ACOMAF is seriously overhyped - I don't get why everyone loves this book so much. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't as outstanding as everyone claims it to be either. I never understood how both the male main characters went through a complete transformation of character between the end of book one and the sequel (also: love triangle and stereotypical dark mysterious alpha male alert!), and Feyre was actually generic and a bit boring too. The world Sarah J. Maas created is certainly a good one, and the politics are well developed, but to me, this was average fantasy - and seriously, the sex scenes? Soooo not ya anymore. I wouldn't recommend reading this in public. I thought about reading the 3rd book whatsoever, but decided against it, and I have no more desire to do so. I'm just not a fan of fae and, most importantly, I'm not a fan of bad-but-suddenly-turned-good-guy Rhysand. I'd recommend this series if you like fae and you're over... hmm, let's say 17.
This was it for today! Again, I'm not trying to hurt anyone's feelings. Read what you enjoy, we all have different taste. Also I didn't hate any of the books mentioned.
What are some popular books you didn't like? Please tell me in the comments!
What are some popular books you didn't like? Please tell me in the comments!
Happy reading and until next time,
~ Anni
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