We have been having fun with Top Ten Tuesday, so we decided we will do one every week. This bookish meme was hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and has been going since June 2010! Since January 2018 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is Books I Read/Avoided Because of the Hype. Hyped books are always something I’m iffy about. It definitely increases my expectations. That works out at times, but can also make me disappointed. Let’s talk about some hyped books that I’ve read!

Divine Rivals – Rebecca Ross

Divine Rivals was everywhere when it first releases. This book has magical letters and I love books that adds an element like that. The hype had me nervous though. I didn’t pick this book up until almost five months after its release, and I was actually upset it took me that long. Divine Rivals deserves all of the hype it gets.

Caraval – Stephanie Garber

A book with trials or games is something I’ll almost always pick up! Caraval sounded so good, and so many people seemed to be loving this one. While I did enjoy this book, it didn’t wow me. After reading it, I didn’t quite understand the hype. This is one I do want to give another try though, because at that time I was distracted by tiny kittens that demanded a lot of attention. Also, I’ve heard that a lot of people enjoy the second book more than the first.

Gideon the Ninth – Tamsyn Muir

A necromancer as a main character definitely caught my eye and it was getting a lot of positive reviews when it released. Seeing how I had an Illumicrate subscription and that was the pick of the month, I decided to give it a try. While reading it, I honestly didn’t understand why people were loving it. I was confused most of the book and it ended up into some kind of murder mystery? Around 200 pages I was ready to DNF, but pushed through to see if maybe all would be revealed at the end. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for me.

Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros

I’m sure just about everyone knows about Fourth Wing by now, haha. When I read this one, it had started getting some hype from early readers, but it hadn’t gone viral yet. I was actually lucky and received an ALC of the story and read it a few weeks before it released. I honestly really enjoyed Fourth Wing. It had me hooked from the start and the same with Iron Flame. I’m anxiously awaiting the release of Onyx Storm.

Neon Gods – Katee Robert

Neon Gods is a Hades and Persephone retelling that romance readers were eating up! I have to say I wasn’t so sure it was for me and it took me over 2,5 years after release to finally pick it up. After reading it, I really understood the hype. I loved the romance, characters, and the world. Not too long ago I picked up the second book and loved it as well. I’ll be continuing the series soon.

Spark of the Everflame – Penn Cole

Spark of the Everflame is a recent TikTok hype and after picking up the first book I completely understand. This fantasy romance is filled with secrets and politics. Our main character was left in the dark about a lot of things and slowly starts figuring out what she didn’t know. The twist at the end may have been a bit predictable, but it has me itching to read book two really soon.

Flawless – Elsie Silver

Flawless was originally a self-published book that was picked up by a traditional publisher. As a lover of small town romances, I had to pick this one up after seeing all of the hype. After reading Flawless, I completely get it. Elsie Silver wrote a small town and characters that make you feel like you’re home. I have four more books to read and part of me keeps putting them off, because I don’t want the series to be over.

The Sword of Kaigen – M.L. Wang

The Sword of Kaigen is a fantasy book that I’ve seen hyped on so many channels and accounts. So when someone in my book club suggested it for our monthly read, I had to vote for it. Unfortunately, I ended up not liking this at all and it ended up being a 1 star read for me. Out of all of the books on my list today, The Sword of Kaigen is one I really don’t understand how it got so much hype.

Powerless – Lauren Roberts

So many readers were saying Powerless gave Hunger Games vibes and that they were obsessed with the romance in this book. As a fan of The Hunger Games, I needed to give it a try. Powerless was an entertaining read, but for me it had just a bit too much Hunger Games in the story. I get why people love this, but it was a bit too much of a copy for me. The writing was great though and I enjoyed the characters. I will be reading the sequel, it just wasn’t a favorite of mine.

Bunny – Mona Awad

Bunny is another book I’ve seen everywhere. I even remember seeing it multiple times while on the train going to work. When I decided to give this book a go, I knew it was going to be weird, but didn’t know much more than that. I ended up about 100 pages in before I had to decide this book was just too weird for me. I gave my copy to a friend.

 

As you can see, hyped books are hit or miss for me. And if you loved some of the books I didn’t, great for you! I love when books find the right readers. I guess we just can’t love them all. What are some hyped books you loved or disliked? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.