Back in October, I rounded up some books I was unsure about reading. I had my reasons, but I'm looking at that shelf and I see it slowly growing ... again. So it's time for another 'maybe' TBR post! Time to roll out the books.
I stole this post idea from Ellie @ On the Other Side of Reality! I can't find her original post. Hopefully, Ellie, you still don't mind me "borrowing" this idea. Sorry & thanks in advance.
Of Fire and Stars
by Audrey Coulthurst
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
Lesbian romance, kingdoms, royals, magic, horses - I mean, aren't you interested!? I was totally sold on the blurb for Of Fire and Stars. I've kept my eye on this book for a while and well, the reviewers aren't giving this book much praise. Apparently the romance was okay but everything else sucked. Weak world-building, characters were flat, no plot etc etc. *cues me, looking at my laptop with disappointment* I'm still (a little) interested in the romance but if everything else sucks then what's the point? :,)
By Your Side
by Kasie West
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
So uh I've never read a Kasie West book. I KNOW! WHO AM I? But, honestly, I've never been interested in any of her books (too cliche for me??) until this specific book and it's blurb caught my interest. Hear me out: A teenager girl, who has anxiety, gets locked in a library (on accident!) with a local "bad" boy. Finding out they'll be stuck in the library for some days, the two start communicating which may strike up a relationship ... (I bet a romantic one haha). I got excited at "anxiety" and "library" but sources (Twitter) say there wasn't good rep for both of those things. ??? why. Really iffy on this one.
The Valiant (Book 1)
by Lesley Livingston
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
The Valiant lowkey intimidates me haha. Almost at 400+ pages, huge in hardcover and it's all about gladiatrices/warriors/goddesses. Ancient Rome, Julius Caesar and Cleopatra, battles and lots of stabbing I guess is The Valiant. I don't know much about the plot but I do know it's historical fiction and that's a turn off for me. History bores me, I would rather focus on the future! But, I don't know, I have higher hopes with this book than some of the other books on this list.
This Is Where It Ends
by Marieke Nijkamp
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
This Is Where It Ends is about the before-and-after effect of a school shooting and it's told in multiple perspectives. I remember being immediately interested and wanting to be educated on school shootings ... in 2016. When it was first published, this book got a lot of awards from publishers, libraries and bookstores. But the reviewers weren't with that. I've heard that the school shooting aspect of the book isn't an accurate representation, it wasn't very realistic. Also lots of trigger warnings. If the main reason I want to read this book isn't done correctly, I'm just going to dump it. But then, why did it win all those awards? Welp.
Love Letters to the Dead
by Ava Dellaira
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
I WAS SO EXCITED FOR LOVE LETTERS TO THE DEAD OMG. This book had a fresh idea and I wanted it so bad. It's about this grieving girl who had to write a letter to a dead person, didn't matter if it was a celebrity or close family member - it was just needed for a school assignment. But then the girl gets hooked on writing letters to the dead. It's supposed (key word here) to be really inspiring, heartbreaking, moving and I was just like "YES PLEASE". Uh but! The "inspiring, heartbreaking, moving" aspect of the book flopped for a lot of people. It's only gotten 3.82 (overall) stars on Goodreads and almosttttt 4 stars on Amazon + Google Play. Ugh.
Soundless
by Richelle Mead
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
I didn't even know Soundless existed until someone reviewed an ARC of it and I was like "oh that sounds cool!!" *forgets immediately* Then the offical blurb came out and other reviewers got it etc etc until I saw it again. So this book is set in an Asian fantasy world where a village is entirely deaf. They're all stuck on a mountain and they don't know they're deaf until a girl hears something?! They're confused, I'm confused (but interested). And that's when I saw this book was written by Richelle Mead, the lady who wrote Vampire Academy. Me: Ehhhh ok fine. Then I seen things in reviews like "boring, what happened to the plot?!, not worth the read" Me: Ehhhh okay. THEN the hype dies. Me: Ehhh??
Ever the Hunted (Book 1)
by Erin Summerill
WHY DID I MARK THIS BOOK UNDER 'MAYBE'?
Me? Judging books by their covers?? Never?! Uh kidding, I do. I absolutely love this cover. The gold, cursive with the detailed background ... GIMME. Now, the plot doesn't sound too bad! I mean: our main character, a girl who hunts and tracks criminals with her father but he gets killed. The girl now has no rights and wants her freedom ... she can win over her freedom if she finds her father's killer. And the book follows her journey through kingdoms and wizards blah blah blah. BUT HERE'S THE BAD PART. The book contains a lot of cliches, it's sexist and gets to be annoying I guess haha. THE HESITATION GUYS!
Help out a fellow bookaholic - should I add these books to my TBR or drop them? Thanks & happy Friday ya'll!
I'm excited for Of Fire and Stars and By Your Side too, but I've seen some meh reviews about it so they are a maybe for me too. But I've decided to not read Soundless. People have said the book lackluster, the rep is not realistic and overall meh :)
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one undecided haha! Ahh okay, I'll definitely reconsider Soundless.
DeleteI've read Love Letters To The Dead, and-yeah, I found it way better than those reviews make it sound, and there is a "good"-if that's the right word-twist, but-I don't know. I'd still recommend reading it, because it is a very good book, with an interesting idea-I think at times, it just didn't ring as strongly in some places as others. It was still good, though.:)
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Thanks for the feedback, Lydia! I still love the plot idea for LLTTD - I'll just have to judge on the "inspiring, heartbreaking, moving" aspect for myself.
DeleteI tried out Of Fire and Stars and just couldn't finish it...It really wasn't worth my time. I also couldn't finish By Your Side..it just irked me so much, and it was pretty boring. I never finished This is Where it Ends, either.
ReplyDeleteI did read The Valiant really recently. It was good, though I did have a few issues with it, one of them being the pacing. I ended up rating it 3 out of 5 stars :-)
Oh no! That sucks, I'm sorry those books didn't work out for you. I'm seriously thinking of dumping all of those books off my TBR. :/ I am glad that The Valiant was a better read for you.
DeleteI actually really liked Love Letters to the Dead! Plus, they put a review from Emma Watson on the cover, so that pretty much sold me to read it lol. But it did get a lot of mixed reviews :( I would say to skip This is Where it Ends. I didn't think it was accurate representation at all and fell flat.
ReplyDeleteYay! Emma Waston reviewed LLTTD?! Wow! I didn't know that. Hmm that's too bad ... I was really interested in that book. :/
DeleteHaha, no problem! I loved reading your post <3
ReplyDeleteEVER THE HUNTED HAS SUCH A GORGEOUS COVER I'M CRYING. I decided not to read it because of the insane amount of cliches, though. I've been hesitant about This is Where it Ends for sO LONG. If you end up trying it, do tell me your thoughts! I'm also currently hesitant about Noteworthy by Riley Redgate and The Young Elites by Marie Lu. (By the way, are you planning on reading Warcross?)
Ellie | On the Other Side of Reality
Thank you!!
DeleteME THO I LOVE THAT COVERRR. <3 I'll probably make the same decision; cliches can be the worst. Will do! I haven't read The Young Elites by Marie Lu (yet) but I have read her first book, Legend, which I really enjoyed! I'm 99% sure I'll read Warcross - my goal is to read her other books first tho.
i feel the same about soundless and love letters to the dead as well. soundless has a promising synopsis, but everyone i saw wo read this book said it was underwhelming. the same happened with love letters to the dead: i bought this for a great deal during black friday, mainly because of the cover, but it has been on my shelves for years! i think one day i'll eventually pick up, but i just feel very "mehh" about it after all the poor reviews.
ReplyDeleteGlad I'm not the only one hesitating haha. I am feeling more confident about LLTTD tho - maybe you should take the read too!
DeleteI have wanted to read This is Where it Ends for a while, especially since a girl at my old high school was shot, too. As for Love Letters to the Dead, it's a peculiar, sad novel that I definitely had issues with but also have a fondness for. I hope you like it!
ReplyDeleteAhh, well, if you ever get around to reading TIWIE - let me know your thoughts. Ooo LLTTD still sounds so intriguing. Thanks!
DeleteI can't really remember a lot about Love Letters to the Dead but I'm fairly sure I really enjoyed it. I'm hoping to reread sometime soon because I'm like 85 per cent sure I really liked it. I hope you like it!
ReplyDeleteYay - that's good! Thank you!
DeleteThis Is Where It ends is somewhat spooky but it's a good read. Also I recommend maybe reading another Katie West book if you haven't read one her books before. By Your Side is good, but it isn't her best one. Some of these books I'll definitely have to check out further!
ReplyDeleteI'm new to blogging and book reviewing, and I was wondering if you had any tips for newbie bloggers and book reviewers.
If you have the time, please check out my blog @breenysbooks. I'd love any feedback. Have a wonderful day.
Ahhh alright! That makes sense.
DeleteWelcome to the book blogging community!! Some blogging tips I have are: post consistently, write comments and always communicate with your audience. For reviewing - I suggest bullet points, making your review as clear as possible and bookish photos. :D
I will! Thank you.
This is honestly such a fascinating idea - I might be partaking some time in the near future. A lot of these books are under my 'maybe' TBR too. I feel you about the Of Fire & Stars situation; we get such little f/f representation in fantasy that I'm SO intrigued, but I also can't ever enjoy a fantasy if the world-building and characters are lackluster. I had Soundless on my *maybe* pile too, but there are too many negative reviews for me to ever pick it up, I think.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize the Valiant was so huge! But that just makes me want to pick it up more, haha. :D
~ Aimal @ Bookshelves & Paperbacks
You're welcome but just credit Ellie from On the Other Side of Reality! This is technically her idea. Anyhoo, I definitely agree!! So intrigued but so unsure ...
DeleteHa good for you! Thanks for stopping by, Aimal.