I’m always amazed at the number of tags that go around the book blogging community and how unique they tend to be. It’s honestly super cool, and I love reading what other people have to say.
I also love being tagged, and I’m really excited to tackle this one after being tagged by Justine @ Milkz’ Bookshelf! Thanks so much, Justine!
Now fair warning: there could be (dare I say it?) unpopular opinions ahead, or even worse, SCANDAL. Okay, not really scandal (I’m too mild for that lmao), but it’s possible this post might ruffle some feathers. Are you ready?
1. Which book, most recently, did you not finish?
Truth be told, I rarely DNF a book because I’m stubborn and like to finish, even if the book SUCKS. That means I haven’t not finished a book lately. I do wish, though, that I’d DNF’d Mary Weber’s Storm Siren because it was HORRIBLE. It’s my only one star read this year, and I was bored. I really don’t know why I was so insistent on finishing, but I sure as hell won’t be reading the rest of the series.
2. Which book is your guilty pleasure?
I think the only right answer here for me is the Nancy Drew books. I’ve been reading those since I was a kid and have a huge collection of the old ones which used to belong to my mom. Are they perfect? No, but they’re such a huge part of my childhood that I sometimes crack a few open over the course of a couple days, just for a good time. It’s good for nostalgia purposes, you know?
3. Which book do you love to hate?
Oops, there, I said it. I hate Throne of Glass. I hate the whole series. I find it poorly written and boring, I can’t stand the main character, I can’t stand the love interests, I can’t stand the romance because it’s not romantic so much as it is creepy or possessive or abusive. It’s not interesting, and it feels way too special-snowflake-chosen-one-ish. Plus, the book is like “oooh but the MC is a hardened assassin” except she spends 88% of her time whining about petty things so she’s really not that hardened or tough, try again.
The only character worth my time was Nehemia, but since she’s not the main character, she has to die, like all the other female characters in this series. God forbid the MC has anything to do with other women even remotely resembling friendship, right?
LMAO I can’t believe I read this series up to the third book before being so bored and disgusted I gave up. And no, before you ask, I’m not going near ACOTAR or whatever it is with a ten-foot pole.
It occurs to me that this is probably the strongest unpopular opinion that I have but hey. So be it.
4. Which book would you like to throw into the sea?
Can I answer Throne of Glass again? I don’t think I’ve disliked any other book quite so much.
5. What book have you read the most?
Absolutely The Lies of Locke Lamora! I discovered it in my freshman year of high school, and it’s stuck with me as a favorite ever since. It was the first time I think I really grasped what you can do with words, with fantasy, with morally grey characters, with witty banter, WITH SHARKS. I reread it almost every year, along with the rest of the series.
6. Which book would you hate to receive as a present?
Hmmmm, this one is tough, but I’m going to go with any Harry Potter book. I liked it as a kid, and it definitely was formative to my childhood, but I’ve really outgrown it and I’m tired of everyone in my family especially assuming I’m still head over heels for it when I’ve been pretty clear about leaving it behind.
7. Which book could you not live without?
A tough choice, but I think I’m going to have to go with A Darker Shade of Magic by VE Schwab. Besides TLoLL, ADSoM has been one of my biggest influences in my taste in fantasy and what I aim to do with my own writing, and I love it dearly (especially Lila Bard, knife-happy pirate thief of my dreams). I haven’t read A Conjuring of Light yet mostly because I’m just so afraid to let the series go, even if Schwab is writing another trilogy in the same world. I can’t do it yet.
8. Which book made you the angriest?
CAN I SAY THRONE OF GLASS AGAIN? Because honestly books never make me that angry, but this one just really did, especially because it was hyped so much and fell sooooooooo damn flat.
I can store a lot of concentrated bitterness in my soul about this, I guess.
9. Which book made you cry the most?
This will always be my answer. I cannot read this book without crying because it just hits so hard all the time. What always gets me, though, is the scene with the airplane crash and the stuffed animal. If I cry before then when I read it, I cry a little, but that scene always makes me sob and I have to take a step back for a little bit.
10. Which book cover do you hate the most?
You know, for all the crabbing I’ve done in this post about things I didn’t like (and how focused that crabbing was lol), I don’t think I have a cover that I hate. I will say, though, that even though Fire and Heist is clever with the statue working as an ampersand, it just doesn’t really suit the nature of the book inside very well. I don’t hate it, but it did feel misleading, and that made me unhappy with it.
I Tag:
Nicola @ A Heart of Ink and Paper
No pressure to do the tag, but if you do, I’d love to see your answers!
Happy Wednesday, folks!
I agree with you about TOG. After reading the first book, I didn’t have the need read further because I thought it was predictable and average. But what I’ve heard about what happens after the first book, I’m glad I’ve avoided reading the rest of the series.
The Lies of Locke Lamora sounds super interesting though!
Yeah, I really don’t think it’s as special and groundbreaking as it’s hyped up to be.
TLoLL, on the other hand, I love. I’ll admit the other isn’t great with female characters at first, but he’s been getting much better with each book in the series, which is cool. Also, there are sharks and much thievery nonsense. It’s basically my favorite book in the world.
I have a confession to make in return, I don’t think I have ever even seen a Nancy Drew book in real life. I think I’ve seen a movie? With Emma Roberts? Is that a thing??? But the books were apparently not really a thing in my country.
Totally agree on The Book Thief though. I sobbed like a little baby. I think my hardest scene was the one where they walk the jews through the town.
The movie is definitely a thing, but oh man, I’m a little surprised about the books! I do have a really old set that used to be my mom’s though, so it’s not like I found them ~in the wild~ haha.
Oof, yeah, that’s another one of the heavy-hitting scenes. The whole thing hits hard, but that one’s really emotional too. It’s just impossible to get through that book without sobbing.
Hahaha okay, that’s maybe a different circumstance too then.
And very true! The Book Thief is just painfully brilliant that way.
I remember my best friend got The Lies of Locke Lamora as a present from someone years ago. Maybe it’s time for me to ask her to lend it to me 🙂
A good idea! If she lets you borrow it, I hope you enjoy it!
lol I’ll do one better and say I love to hate on all of Sarah J. Maas’ books! I find them so badly written, and the stories are a bit ridiculously dramatic. They are the ones that genuinely make me angry, and I would burn all of her books if possible. 😂
You know, I really hate to be so negative about books, but I’m with you. They’re just…bad writing. So bad.