Tuesday 21 February 2017

Top Ten Tuesday | First Impressions


Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!


This week's theme is 'Ten Books I Loved Less/More Than I Thought I Would', so my list is divided in half with five books I liked more than I thought I would and five I liked less than I thought I would. On with my list!

Books I liked more than I thought I would


Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I know! Considering how much I talk about this book, who'd've thought I wasn't always sure it was going to be for me. I don't know what it is, but I'm never drawn to books set during the '80s so I really didn't know what I was going to make of this. What I got was a fantastic coming-of-age story along with totally unique witchcraft - I love it!

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng: I saw Mallory @ The Local Muse mention this and decided to pick it up, but it seems the '80s aren't the only decade I tend to stay away from - to be honest I don't tend to read much fiction set in the 20th century after the 1950s, and I'm not usually a big lover of family sagas because there's always at least one person I don't care about and I get bored, but this debut proved to be the exception. It's written and plotted beautifully and I can't recommend it enough.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn: This is a tricky one in that I didn't realise I had actually really enjoyed it until a couple of weeks after I finished it. When I initially finished I wasn't sure how to feel about it, and I felt little cheated by the ending, but then I couldn't stop thinking about it and the more I think about it the more I realise how cleverly it was plotted.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Austen and I have a difficult relationship and a couple of years ago I read Northanger Abbey after avoiding Austen for around five years. I actually quite liked it, and I'm tempted to give her another chance.

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: I had a very similar experience with this book as I did with Dark Places. I couldn't stop thinking about it despite not enjoying it as much as I thought I would, and now I think I'd like to re-read it in future so I can fully appreciate it.

Books I liked less than I thought I would


St Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell: I went into this short story collection full of hope and it just wasn't for me. I liked a lot of the ideas behind some of the stories, but I felt like every single story had a very weak ending that Russell just didn't know how to execute... so she didn't do anything. Not for me, sadly!

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: Unlike Dark Places, I haven't developed a new respect for Sharp Objects since I finished it and I was so hopeful. I don't really have any interest in reading Gone Girl, but I do think Flynn is a fantastic writer and I was very excited to read her debut; I love stories that explore mother and daughter relationships, especially the creepy ones like Carrie and Black Swan, and I'm all for Southern Gothic, but this story and I didn't get along at all. Dark Places felt clever, Sharp Objects felt gratuitous.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik: I didn't dislike Uprooted, but I didn't love it either and I was hoping I would as my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change thought very highly of it. I just felt kind of 'meh' about the whole thing and that was mainly because of the way it was written; I don't know what it is about Naomi Novik's writing in this book, but it felt like a struggle to get through. The cover is beautiful, though.

Among Others by Jo Walton: So many people love this book and I hated it! I really wish it didn't because it sounds like the perfect book, but I had way too many problems with it to enjoy it.

Summer Days & Summer Nights ed. by Stephanie Perkins: I really enjoyed My True Love Gave to Me, but I ended up DNFing this one. So many of the stories were so bloody depressing until it eventually got to the point where I realised I didn't care anymore. I did enjoy Leigh Bardugo's story, so I'm planning to read Six of Crows this year.

Which books made your list this week?

17 comments:

  1. I was so excited for My True Love Gave to Me but actually ended up DNFing that one. I think that's the one that made me realize short stories just aren't for me. I almost gave in a bought Summer Days & Summer Nights because of the authors and cover but resisted. I'm afraid I just wouldn't enjoy it either. Also, I bought Uprooted when everyone was talking about it but I'm scared to start it because I'm afraid I'll be meh about it now too.

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    1. I still think you should give Uprooted a chance! There are a lot of people that really liked it as well, and I do think it reads like a book that the author has put an awful lot of love into, it just wasn't for me.

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  2. I liked Dark Places much more than Sharp Objects too. I haven't read any of the others on your list, but I will have to check some of the other out!

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    1. Glad to know I'm not the only one who wasn't too impressed with Sharp Objects! =)

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  3. The only one I've read on your list is Uprooted and SAME, sadly! I didn't *hate* it, but I didn't love it either. I was mostly apathetic. I still need to read Signal to Noise! And sadness about Summer Days, I was looking forward to that one- I assumed they'd be... fluffier. Boo. Great lists!

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    1. You do still need to read Signal to Noise. ;) I know! I thought it'd be a really uplifting collection, but a lot of them just... weren't. It was a bummer. :\

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  4. Wait, you didn't like Among Others? Oh no! I'll have to look for your review, I'm interested to know why.

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  5. I haven't read Northanger Abbey yet, but I got into Austen after enjoying Persuasion more than I thought I would, so that might be a solid next choice? Pride and Prejudice, which everyone loves, is actually my least favorite of those that I've read.

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    1. Funnily enough Persuasion is the first book I encountered that turned me off Austen back when I was 18, but I would like to give it another chance at some point. =)

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  6. The only one of these I've read is Uprooted and I really didn't love it either :/

    Here are my Top Ten!

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    1. It's an odd book, isn't it? I feel as though I should have liked it way more than I did and I just didn't.

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  7. I felt the same way about Summer Days and Summer Nights. It just wasn't special enough for me!

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  8. I've only read Sharp Objects and I can't really remember if I liked it or not..so I'm guessing it wasn't my cup of tea since I can't remember it. I've seen Uprooted on some others list that didn't like it.

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    1. Haha, well I recommend checking out Dark Places! It's a really well done thriller.

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  9. I'd like to read more Austen and did start "Northanger Abbey" (years ago!), only to never finish it. At this point, a "begin again" would be required. :D

    Bummer about 'Summer Days.' That's one I'd been curious about.

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