the other day i was stalking booktube videos and came across the unpopular opinions book tag (original video here). i know the tag’s been drifting around but after stalking watching all those, i decided it’s about time i do it myself. i love this tag because people are usually afraid to share their true opinions on a book if their thoughts are unpopular – i know i tend to hold back – so this tag gives us a chance to ~break free~. (i wasn’t tagged by anyone, obviously)
NOTE: i don’t mean to insult anyone with my thoughts. please don’t be offended with my answers; i have my opinions and you have yours. LET’S EMBRACE THEM. but i apologize in advance if i manage to insult you.
a popular book/series you didn’t like
this is probably the easiest question for me. i have THREE books/series that reaaaaally didn’t click with me. the first i’m going to choose is RED QUEEN, by victoria aveyard. it wasn’t so bad when i wrote my review but every time i think back to it, my thoughts get worse. (more on this book later)
next up is the LUX series, by jennifer l. armentrout. i read the first two books, OBSIDIAN and ONYX, and couldn’t bring myself to continue. i heard loads of good things and my friend was constantly urging me to keep reading it but… NO. it is not my cup of tea. the one is the VAMPIRE ACADEMY series, by richelle mead. also lots of praises and book pushing from my friends, and also one i didn’t enjoy. i despised the main character, rose, and found her extremely annoying. i read up to the second book and stopped halfway because it felt like i was torturing myself reading it. :////
a book series everyone hates but you love
this is a bit tougher because i generally wouldn’t pick up the book if there are a lot of bad ratings. my first thought was THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, by j.d. salinger, but i think that’s really a hit or miss. a lot of people didn’t like holden, the main character, but there are also a lot of people (including myself) who call the classic one of their favorites.
my second thought was the WOLVES OF MERCY FALLS series, by maggie stiefvater. i think this was my first YA book – i read it five(?) years ago – and i remember it being my FAVORITE EVER. i haven’t read it since then, so i have a feeling my opinions will change, but for now, i distinctly remember it being spectacular. (and i know a lot of people are not a fan)
a love triangle where the main character ends up with the person you didn’t want them to end up with
argh this is the most frustrating thing EVER, but i’m definitely going to choose the GRISHA trilogy, by leigh bardugo. (SPOILER FOR THE GRISHA TRILOGY AHEAD) okay, so at the end of the series, alina ends up with MAL. *gags* there were three possible guys she could’ve ended up with – the darkling, mal, or nikolai – and i wanted her to end up with either the darkling or nikolai. not mal. not after that first chapter when he’s being a(n) ass donkey’s butt and openly flirts with that other girl in front of alina. yeah, no.
a popular book genre you rarely reach for
dystopian used to be my favorite genre, but now… not so much. after reading RED QUEEN (yes, it’s back), i realized how horribly predictable and immature the genre will likely end up. out of all the dystopian series/trilogies i’ve read (and there’s A LOT), i’ve only come across one that has ALL THE BOOKS written well. (that’s THE DARKEST MINDS, by alexandra bracken, in case you’re curious!) in most dystopian books, the first is fantastic and the rest aren’t as satisfying. (see: DIVERGENT, THE HUNGER GAMES, DELIRIUM, etc)
popular beloved character you didn’t like
i’m going to reaaaaaally make you hate me when i say i am not a fan of chaol westfall from the THRONE OF GLASS series, by sarah j. maas. everyone loves chaol; everyone thinks he’s a perfect, precious cinnamon bun… except for me. i don’t understand what’s so appealing about him. he bothers me to no end and i just – i can’t. i don’t like chaol, and i don’t think i’ll ever like chaol. as of right now, he’s barely tolerable. (SORRY)
a popular author you can’t seem to get into
i’m going to say richelle mead. i didn’t like the VAMPIRE ACADEMY books, but i’ve heard so many people rave about BLOODLINES. now she has a new book that recently came out, SOUNDLESS, and it’s a chinese folk-retelling and i reaaaaaally want to read it but i have i feeling i won’t like it. i think i’ll give this author another chance.
popular trope you are tired of seeing
love triangles. the only love triangle i will openly accept is the one from THE INFERNAL DEVICES trilogy, by cassandra clare. first of all, when is there ever a chance when there are TWO GUYS who are both pinning for you? um, NEVER. “oh no! i have two guys who like me and i need to choose between the two!” haha stop. why would you create a love triangle when you can create a well-developed relationship? like??
popular series you have no interest in reading
there’s a lot of hype (and negativity) around the TWILIGHT SAGA, by stephanie meyer and i have no intention of picking it up. i wasn’t reading YA when TWILIGHT was at the peak of it’s popularity, and when i actually did start reading YA, there was so much hate around it. i think there are too many expectations around this series for me to actually enjoy it in peace. i have nothing against the books; it’s just too much. thanks, but no thanks.
i tag…
- isha and hanna from two sisters bloggin’
- aneeqah from my not so real life
- natalie from flowers in my books
- YOU!!! if you’re reading this, consider yourself tagged. this is so much fun and i hope you get a chance to do the tag! 🙂
I´m sorry you didn´t like Red Queen. For me it was really good, especially the plot twist at the end. But I gave up on the Vampire Academy as well, I just… didn´t feel like finishing the series after the second book. 😀
By the way I kinda agree with you on the dystopian genre. I love The Hunger games and Under the Never Sky but except that there´s nothing more. I feel like many novels in dystopian genre were a lot alike and they didn´t surprise me. Well, except the Red Queen. But even that copies the standard form where the government is bad and there is rebellion and so on. I like fantasy more, because the author can come up with anything. But that´s just my opinion. 🙂
Thanks for writing this tag, it was lovely and I had fun reading it 🙂
Completely agree on you with the Luxe series. I honestly couldn’t finish the first book. Don’t understand the hype for Colleen Hoover either. 🙁 I really like Chaol, but Dorian is also great:D
FINALLY SOMEONE WHO LIKED SHIVER. everyone hates it on booktube and the blogosphere and i’m just sitting in my corner waiting for someone to enthuse me on why the book is pretty good.
i feel like dystopians are also loosing their touch for me, too! i wasn’t a fan of the hunger games, divergent was amazing, but the rest of the series wasn’t in my opinion. i just really don’t find dystopians that pleasing or really fulfilling my expectations because they are so predictable.
i do want to read twilight, on tumblr there are some really deep analytical aspects of it and i’m very much intrigued.
i loved the unpopular opinions book tag idea. a lot of people get talked down because of not liking or liking a certain book. this was a great post, xandra!
Do NOT read Soundless. It’s not worth it, trust me. And I didn’t really love Red Queen either, but as for the Grisha trilogy, while my ship did sink, my heart broke in that epilogue. Leigh Bardugo kills me with that epilogue every time.
AFJDKLAFDS I LOVE SHIVER TOOOO!. So. so. much. I read it several years ago but I’m rereading it now and loving every moment. Sam.<3 ALSO COLE. <333 *ahem* And I'm the same with Red Queen! IT was just…mediocre? I felt like it was pulling bits and pieces from a ton of other YA books and just ended up feeling really recycled.
ALSO 1000% AGREEMENT ON THE GRISHA. I cried. I really honestly thought it would be the darling Nikolai but but but … ALINA DIDN'T DESERVE HIM ANYWAY. *hugs the darling Nikolai* Tbh, it ruined the finale for me. xD
OMG I agree 1000000% with you! I find Red Queen is to overhyped, I mean Red Queen is basically every popular Dystopian books merge into a book. AND THE GRISHA TRILOGY??? I REALLY SHIP ALINA WITH EITHER THE DARKLING OR NIKOLAI but nope she ends up with Mal and the Darkling met his sad and painful ending and Nikolai ends up alone?? (pls no, but I really love his depiction in the epilogue) I didn’t feel really happy with the ending because of that. I WANT A BOOK ABOUT THE DARKLING AND NIKOLAI. I CAN’T GET ENOUGH OF THEM!!! (okay I’m calm now) And yes I also really love the Infernal Devices love triangle because well, even though Will and Jem both love Tessa, they love each other more that they’re willing to give their life for each other (Heronstairs<333)
AGH OMG i totally am on your side against Red Queen! I couldn’t believe such a cliche/predictable book was even published!
I feel like the only love triangle every bookworm will tolerate is the on in TID haha!
I also don’t really like Vampire Academy.. The first book was mweh and I’ve put the second down until I’m in the mood again. Perhaps never :’)
Grisha I AM STILL SO MAD DAMN THAT ENDING. *stabstabstab* How could she ever pick THAT guy?
I was totally with you about Mal. I was all there. I was nodding furiously and excitedly and I was so ready to rant about how much I dislike him. Then I saw them. Your words about Chaol Westfall, precious Chaol Westfall. I’ll admit that he’s made some (plenty) of mistakes and he’s certainly not the cinnamon roll everyone makes him out to be but MY LORD I love that guy.
I LOVE SHIVER THOUGH. SO MUCH. I READ IT A LOT OF YEARS AGO AND THEN I READ IT OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN AND I LOVE IT. I don’t want to reread it incase my opinion changes SO I AM FINE WITH LOVING IT AND DISREGARDING ANYONE ELSES OPINION.