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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Top Ten Books I Loved Less/ More Than I Thought I Would

 

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week a new Top Ten list will be posted. Everyone is welcome to join. Link back to The Broke and the Bookish so everyone can check out other bloggers' lists. It's a fun way to get to know fellow bloggers.

This week I'm going to split this up- 5 books I loved more than I thought I would, and then 5 that were disappointing. Not to say they weren't good, but they just weren't as good as I was kinda hoping. So here we go...

World of Water (Dev Harmer Mission, #2)

A phenomenal SF read set on a water planet with a very well realized merfolk race. I loved how they communicated. 

The Girls in the Garden 

I was expecting to like this one after seeing reviews but I was surprised how much I did.  

Big Little Lies

Everybody knows I love this book lol but with the HBO production starting I'm tempted to read it once more.

City of the Lost (Casey Duncan, #1)

The idea of an off-the-grid town where people can go to disappear... what's not to like? My first Kelley Armstrong. 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)

I expected to like this- little did I know it would be one of my favorite reads of 2016.  

Okay- here are 5 that were a little disappointing. Again not bad books, but they didn't wow me. 

The Girl from the Sea

I hesitate to put this one here because I did like this- it has a GREAT twist- but it just wasn't quite as good as I thought. 

Gena/Finn

Lots of potential, not a bad book, but about halfway through the story changed and lost me. 

Vicarious (Vicarious, #1)

 I was pretty geeked for this but it fell flat for me. 

The Incident on the Bridge

Wanted to like this  

The Passenger

I love me a good psych thriller but this one just couldn't hold me. 

72 comments:

  1. That Stokes one was the one I was curious about, but...eh

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    1. I was really looking forward to it, but it didn't do it for me...

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  2. I really want to read Big Little Lies now that the series is out!! Also, bummer about The Incident on the Bridge. I had wanted to read that because I LOVE mystery. Oh and Hannah Moskowitz is firmly on my NEVER EVER EVER list after reading a book by her that became one of my most hated of all-time :)

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    1. Oh my gosh I rave about BLL to anyone who will listen. READ IT lol. And really about Moskowitz? I won't ask which one but yeah the twist or change or whatever in Gena/ Finn ruined it for me... :(

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  3. I've heard a lot of good stuff about Gena/Finn as well, but chose not to read it somehow.

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    1. Gena/ finn disappointed me but if you read it I hope you like!

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  4. I really need to read Little Big Lies! I was curious about Gena/Finn. Too bad you didn't love it.

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  5. Ha, I ended up doing the exact split with my list this week because I couldn't think of 10 titles for either. The Girls in the Garden is one I really need to read soon. I keep reading lots of great reviews about it.

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  6. I always hate to admit that a book disappointed me. I always figure it's just me.

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/02/books-i-loved-much-more-than-i-thought.html

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    1. I do too. Especially if everyone else loves it.

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  7. I've never tried Kelley Armstrong but lots of people seem to love her. City of the Lost does sound interesting. Anyway, it's awesome when books surprise us in a good way, but it sucks when they disappoint us. It's like, even if they're still good books, we can't shake that disappointed feeling that they weren't quite what we were expecting.

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    1. I think you would like Kelley Armstrong, and maybe the City of the Lost books too even though they're not paranormal? they feel like they COULD be paranormal if she goes that way, with "hostiles" in the deep woods who may or may not be cannibals, and etc.

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    2. Sometimes I come across books like that that aren't technically SFF, but they're still some kind of strange situation that seem like it might push characters to their limits, and I feel like maybe I should start giving those kinds of books a chance.

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    3. I think you might like City of the Lost? I kept thinking she go paranormal with the deep dwellers in the forest, but so far she hasn't. But still, you like character based and the characters in this one are pretty deep. I thought City of the Lost was very relationship focused on the MC and her lover (almost too much so) but the 2nd one just took off like a rocket. And they're tense. I'd love to hear what you think of them.

      But regardless of those, I know what you mean. I find my tastes changing sometimes too and trying new things.

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  8. Totally agree with The Passenger (it made my list too). Gena/Finn was so awesome in that first half then it got dark and I didn't love it as much. I loved Big Little Lies so much!! That first episode on HBO was really good too!! Great list!

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    1. The Passenger was disappointing to me. I mean that beginning- nice set up , but I just had a hard time...

      Same here about Gena/ Finn. And yes they nailed the first episode of BLL, I thought!

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  9. I had the same reaction to the small angry planet book. Such a great gem :)

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  10. I've got the Becky Chambers book on my shelf waiting to be read, a lot of people say they really liked it so I'm loooking forward to it, I haven't read any of the others on your like list but Big Little Lies and City of the Lost sound good.
    My TTT

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    1. All three of those are EXCELLENT. I loved the Chambers book especially, and BLL is amazing. Heck so is City of the Lost.

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  11. City of the lost is on my list - I was actually hoping to get to it this month but it didn't happen :( Glad to hear it was good. I've only read one other Kelley Armstrong and enjoyed it!

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  12. I've read tons of Kelley Armstrong, just not that one. I did recently grab it from Book Outlet for $1.99 though. I really want to read Big Little Lies before I watch the series. I've been recording it though. It has such great names in it. I split my list as well.

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    1. Ooh good deal! If you like Armstrong I'm sure it will be a winner. And Big Little Lies- yeah. such a good book, and the show is off to a good start!

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  13. Oh man, I have Big Little Lies on my bookshelf and have YET to read it! Okay, it's pushed up on my TBR list. I'm also tempted to try Armstrong's book. Great post, by the way.

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    1. Read Big Little Lies, I push it on everyone. :)

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  14. I haven't read Big Little Lies yet. I'm going to have to check it out. The Lovegrove and Armstrong books sound great too. I'll have to put them on my TBR.

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    1. I loved it. I mean not my usual kind of read, but I took a chance... and it made me laugh.

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  15. Big Little Lie has been on my TBR list for a while now but I haven't gotten to read it yet. I've seen some mixed reviews about it, but will still give it a shot. Great list!

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    1. Oh yeah give it a shot (and hopefully you like it) but I think you will!

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  16. I thought I would love The Girls in the Garden, but I ended up DNFing it after only like 50 pages!

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    1. Did you? Oh I'm sorry to hear that. I can see where it might not be for everyone though, the subject matter is a little heavy and it can be slow moving too as I think about it.

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  17. Passenger is on my Ipod! Now I'm looking forward to getting to it :)

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    1. I hope you like it! I didn't hate it, it was just a little disappointing to me...

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  18. Big/Little WAS superb. Off to see about Girls in the Garden. Good list!

    Lisa @ https://hopewellslibraryoflife.wordpress.com/2017/02/21/top-10-tuesday-ten-books-or-less-than-other-people/

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  19. I loved Lisa Lutz's funny mystery series, The Spellmans, but I've heard from a number of people that The Passenger just wasn't as good. Maybe she's just better at writing humorous stuff! One of these days I'm going to read Big Little Lies...

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    1. I've never read any other Lutz, and it wasn't bad, just was a little disappointing.

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  20. I really need to read Big Little Lies, especially since now it's come to HBO. I'm so behind. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet needs to be read just for the title's sake. I am glad you liked it so much. I hope to read it one day.

    Thanks for sharing, Greg!

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    1. Oh yes read Big Little Lies. I push it at everyone.

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  21. I love Big Little Lies. I can't wait to watch the HBO series. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is on my wishlist. :D

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  22. You've got me curious about the Kelley Armstrong series! The Lisa Jewell book is on my radar as well. I really want to read her earlier book. I remember you were disappointed with The Incident on the Bridge. I always hate when an anticipated book ends up being a disappointment.

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    1. I think you'd like City of the Lost. Suspense, a bit of romance, an isolated locale, no paranormal... good stuff. :)

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  23. I haven't actually read any of these one's yet but i'm thinking about reading big little lies very soon so it's great to see you liked it!

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  24. I actually haven't read any of these, but you and Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog have made me intrigued enough that I think I need to read Big Little Lies.

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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  25. Oh no, I was curious about Vicarious, but hearing it fell flat for you makes me hesitate.

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    1. Vicarious was disappointing for me. I was expecting to like it. The sequel is coming out soon and I'm debating whether to read it...

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  26. World of Water and Girls in the Garden both sound so good!! I'll have to check them out! The Passenger is on my TBR but maybe I'll hold off for a bit. Great list!

    Here are my Top Ten!

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    1. World of Water is good! And I liked Girls in the Garden.

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  27. I haven't read any of these, Greg, but a few are on my tbr. I'm a Moriarty AND an Armstrong fan myself! :) And I have The Girl from the Sea in audio. Hmm...I'm a little nervous now. :)

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    1. Me too! You know give The Girl From The Sea a shot, don't let me scare you off. It's good, it has some atmosphere and the twist/ ending is AWESOME. I just didn't like it as much as I thought...

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  28. AH sad about some of these- especially Vicarious and The Incident on the Bridge. And the cover of The Passenger is SO promising, so also sad. I agree with you about Gena/Finn- I swore it was going to be a 5 star book for me, but then after "the thing" I was so lost. How and why did it take that turn!? I need to read Big Little Lies, I always hear about it, and now with the show... yeah, I definitely have to. And The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet is en route, so yayy! I am excited to read that one for sure. You know, with the exception of Vicarious, I think the only reason I wanted to read most of the books on your disappointments list is the covers, so I now feel pretty confident in NOT reading them haha. Great list!

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    1. Ugh Gena/ Finn. I liked where it was going... then suckage! Dude read Big Little Lies. It's not my usual style of read but I laughed throughout- even though it's not all humor it has humor but also serious stuff.

      Vicarious I wanted to like but it just seemed very average to me. And Long Way... I hope you love it because I did!!!

      You know it's funny I'll admit Incident on Bridge was almost entirely due to my love of the cover... so serves me right.

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  29. I borrowed Big Little Lies from the library last year and not expecting anything from it and I ended up loving it. It made me want to read more of her books!! I'm not a TV series person though so I most likely won't be watching the adaptation. I'm sorry The Girl from the Sea didn't live up to your expectations. I have it on my kindle and I'm definitely reading it without expectations.

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  30. Too bad about Vicarious. I was actually curious about that! I haven't heard too much about it though.

    On a lighter note, City of the Lost was one I enjoyed a lot more than I expected too, considering it had no spec fic element!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  31. All the first five book are on my TBR :) I remember adding them all [but BLL] because I saw them here on your blog :)

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  32. Ah, hoping to read A Long Way to a Small Angry Planet soon! And City of the Lost and Girls in the Garden sound so good as well!

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  33. I haven't read any of these books I'm afraid, so can't really comment on them in that way. I had been going to read the Kelley Armstrong one but I'm having second thoughts over the romance element. I've got too many apocalypses to enjoy!

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  34. I loce seeing The Girls in the Garden on your list! I used to read everything Lisa Jewell wrote (a decade or more ago) but then there were a couple duds right in a row and I stopped keeping up with her latest releases. The synopsis of TGITG intrigued me but I was hesitant to give her another try. Now I definitely want to read this one!

    Tanya @ Girl Plus Books

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  35. I actually haven't read any of these, but I have been curious about some of them. I am happy that the ones I want to read made it onto your list of ones you enjoyed more than you expected - that is a good sign!

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  36. I need to try Big Little Lies and maybe even try the show. :)

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  37. Merfolk you say? I think I better read that book. Not sure why they are so alluring but they are. Probably my obsession with The Little Mermaid as a teenager:). Living in a town off the gird also sounds pretty amazing right about now.... Seriously Kelley Armstrong is an author I would really like to try and I think this series sounds great!

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  38. I had the opposite experience of The Girls in the Garden - having read reviews I thought I would love it, and whilst I did enjoy the plot as well as my first experience of the author's writing, the story itself left me a little disappointed.

    You're the second person I've seen to have The Passengers on your list as a let down of sorts... I have this as an upcoming read; hoping my experience doesn't end up the same.

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  39. I have read such good things about "Long Way to a Small Angry Planet!" I should place a hold on it at my library.

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  40. I really need to get Long way to a small and angry planet now. :D

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  41. After I read my current ARC my next one isn't due until March 28th, so I think I might read Long Way. :D

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