Books That Clear Your Expectations In One Leap // and those that fall flat on their cover . . .

Let's talk about those kinds of books that you open with skepticism only to find the best book you've read in a long time and the . . . other books. Maybe the other book is one you've counted down the days until its release date. Maybe it was an over-hyped book. Or worse, it's a sequel. Those books make you nervous about looking forward to a book too much or else you'll never be pleasantly [ecstatically] surprised again.

Here are a few of those good and not so good surprises that I've experienced. 

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

I think of the anime when I think of this book even though I've never seen it, or any anime. I opened this book with mixed ideas. I was never impressed when I'd hear the title, but a friend highly recommended it [discussed here as well]. I guess, I just never took it very seriously before.

I cannot express how much I loved it.

It's not a serious book. Still. I never expected it to mean so much to me? It makes me laugh, and that's important.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

One of my favorite English professors loved Hemingway. He had a whole shelf full of Hemingway in his office. He talked and talked about the guy in class. And I rather liked Hemingway's short stories. So why not give his novels a try too?

Sadly, it didn't work for me.

Hemingway's cropped style works well for short stories, but in longer fiction, I found it kind of annoying. And I didn't like the main character. There are parts and words that I appreciate about A Farewell to Arms, and I did really want to like the book, but it just didn't happen. 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

Let's just say my views were tainted by the movie I watched first. Oops.

This series is so hilarious [it's an MG series, so aka MG humor. it's hilarious for what it is]. The chapter titles are outrageous, and I love the characters. They all have a strong life in and out of the books, meaning there's a large reader community surrounding the series. It's fun having halfblood comrades. And the books just make me laugh every time [totally not a reflection on my sense of humor].

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I adored this book the first time I read it. But it has been awhile since, and I want to continue the series. What better time for a reread? Except. . . except what if I didn't remember well enough? What if my new expectations were too high, and I didn't like it as much the second time? That would be the worst sin among bookish sins. 

But, duh, I fell in love with it again. 

I actually had difficulty reading it as quickly as I wanted. I kept putting it down because I got so stupidly excited about the parts that I LIKE. "Oh, this is when Matteo comes in!" I'd stop and pick it up two days later. "Ah! Darrow kidnaps the cook in this chapter!" I'd wait until I had a quiet moment to read it over coffee. "Sevro! Knivesalknalkadkkajdg!" I have no idea why I kept doing this.

And guess it. I still haven't read Golden Son.  

The reread just solidified my appreciation for the world-building. The characters. The imagination that put this book together. Strategy and tactics. Character development. Huge concepts being explored throughout the length of a book instead of just being stated and there's the end of it. . . I just really love this author [it only takes one book, ok?].


Rebel Heart by Moira Young

A sequel. Uh, oh. 

Blood Red Road was a surprise favorite I found in a library. I would walk across a desert for it. [ok, i'd actually purchase it online? because i know how to navigate the interwebs better than a desert. common sense is essential to survival.] The second one had to be as good, right? 

*high-strung anxious tone* RIGHT!?

I admit it has good qualities. There were things I liked about it, buuuut *whines* it wasn't as good as Blood Red Road. Overall, it was a let down for me. 

Vicious by V. E. Schwab

I've heard a lot about this book. I've heard a lot about this author. Because Cait never shrieks about her enough. I didn't intentionally put off reading the book until I acquired the book [more on that later]. My friend [like, the face-to-face kind?] read it and did everything short of force-feeding it to me. 

Thing is, I knew I would absolutely love, love this book even before my friend read it. It wasn't an expectation. It was a certainty. Which is a very weird thing for me. But anyhow. Even though the outcome was positive, I still procrastinated?

I read it. And ALEFLKADNGA! It's even better than I could've imagined. So that's really saying something. Schwab is my new author hero [with only one book, yet again. i promise i'm not that impressionable]. I'll have a proper review later because there isn't enough flail room left in this post.

What are some books that overreached your expectations or ones that couldn't get past the starting line?