Kaja from Of Dragons and Hearts recently tapped me for the Unpopular Opinions Tag. I've got all KINDS of unpopular opinions so let's do this!
Most recently, Uprooted by Naomi Novik was kind of a miss for me. Every other review I read of this book was almost universally a love fest and while I didn't hate it, I thought it was only so-so. It felt slow and I wasn't a big fan of the central romantic relationship. Probably the most recent series that I didn't fall for as hard as others, was Courtney Milan's Brothers Sinister series. Again, it's not really a case of dislike but I didn't click with it as I think most other folks have.
P.S. I also second Kaja's choice of Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson which I also did not love.
A popular book/series everybody hates but you love:
The Harry Potter series, maybe? Ha, ha! Just Kidding! I know everybody loves HP. Ahem. So I am apparently terribly agreeable or perhaps a a zombie who just follows the hoard because according to goodreads I haven't really LOVED anything that other folks did not like. The few I came up with are a little obscure which I don't think honors the spirit of the question but here goes. First is Lydia Netzer's two books which have relatively low ratings on Goodreads - Shine Shine Shine has a 3.47 average rating and How to Tell Toledo From the Night Sky is at 3.34 - but I adored these books. I get the lower average rating - they are quirky books that woudn't be for everyone - but they totally worked for me. A second choice would be The Native Star by M.K. Hobson. I loved this book and with it's sequel, it was one of my favorite books of the year a couple years ago. On Goodreads, it's got an average rating of 3.57.
A love triangle where you didn’t like who the main character ended up with:
So SPOILER if you haven't read the very awesome Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. I love the character of Adam Parrish and was really sad when Blue decided that her true feelings were for Gansy. I guess we are kind of warned by one of the main premises of the book that their pairing is inevitable but it still smarted. It is to Stiefvater's credit that this development did not make me turn against Blue or Gansy probably because it is not your typical YA love triangle. Also do Harry, Hermione and Ron from Harry Potter count as a love triangle? Not really, but my recent re-read convinced me that Hermione and Ron are a terrible couple and she and Harry have much more spark.
So SPOILER if you haven't read the very awesome Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater. I love the character of Adam Parrish and was really sad when Blue decided that her true feelings were for Gansy. I guess we are kind of warned by one of the main premises of the book that their pairing is inevitable but it still smarted. It is to Stiefvater's credit that this development did not make me turn against Blue or Gansy probably because it is not your typical YA love triangle. Also do Harry, Hermione and Ron from Harry Potter count as a love triangle? Not really, but my recent re-read convinced me that Hermione and Ron are a terrible couple and she and Harry have much more spark.
A popular genre you hardly read:
Contemporary YA and middle-grade. No interest whatsoever. I pretty much stick to Fantasy in YA and middle-grade.
Contemporary YA and middle-grade. No interest whatsoever. I pretty much stick to Fantasy in YA and middle-grade.
Celaena Sardothien from the Throne of Glass series. I think this one is self-explanatory - she's vain and rather shallow in this first book and I didn't buy for one millisecond that she is the bad-ass assassin that she is supposed to be. I have heard her character improves as the series progresses. Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series. I don't hate Ron but as I mentioned above, I recently did a re-read and really did not like Ron this go round. He's kind of an ass.
A popular author you can’t seem to get into:
I would say Stephen King though I did finally find one book of his I enjoyed (11/22/63). Laini Taylor - I seem to be the only person on the planet who kind of hated Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I have no desire to read anything else by her. Rainbow Rowell is another, I think because, see above, I don't like contemporary YA. I tried the first couple chapters of Eleanor and Park and was NOT feeling it. I haven't written her off completely though because I am intrigued by Fangirl.
I would say Stephen King though I did finally find one book of his I enjoyed (11/22/63). Laini Taylor - I seem to be the only person on the planet who kind of hated Daughter of Smoke and Bone. I have no desire to read anything else by her. Rainbow Rowell is another, I think because, see above, I don't like contemporary YA. I tried the first couple chapters of Eleanor and Park and was NOT feeling it. I haven't written her off completely though because I am intrigued by Fangirl.
A popular trope you’re tired of reading:
I really hate the whole one-girl-with-multiple-male-suitors thing. I guess it could be seen as all Grrrrl Power but I think it just makes most women and girls who have not had the attentions of multiple men at once, feel inadequate. Also in the Romance genre, particularly the historicals I prefer, the idea that marriage and having children is the ultimate happy life. I know that, at least the marriage part, is kind of the point of romance but not every women wants kids.
I really hate the whole one-girl-with-multiple-male-suitors thing. I guess it could be seen as all Grrrrl Power but I think it just makes most women and girls who have not had the attentions of multiple men at once, feel inadequate. Also in the Romance genre, particularly the historicals I prefer, the idea that marriage and having children is the ultimate happy life. I know that, at least the marriage part, is kind of the point of romance but not every women wants kids.
A popular series you have no interest in reading:
I am kind of a series addict so this is a hard one. I have a number of series that I started and have no interested in continuing like Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've gotten through the first half of book one twice and it just does not work for me. I did the same with The Gunslinger by Stephen King. As for series I have no interest in even trying - Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James maybe? I don't think that is a terribly controversial choice though....
I am kind of a series addict so this is a hard one. I have a number of series that I started and have no interested in continuing like Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I've gotten through the first half of book one twice and it just does not work for me. I did the same with The Gunslinger by Stephen King. As for series I have no interest in even trying - Fifty Shades of Gray by E.L. James maybe? I don't think that is a terribly controversial choice though....
A movie you liked better than the book: I like Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory - the original with Gene Wilder - better than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl. Also, The Neverending Story in film was better than the book by Michael Ende. In both cases, I saw the movie first which may have influenced my feelings but I have specific reasons in each case why I find the movie more compelling than the book.
As for tagging others, I'm never very good at this. I'd like to read everybody's answers to this question! Any blogger who reads this and thinks it would be fun to answer these questions, please please do so! Put a link to your post in the comments, once you get around to doing it or if you've already done it in the past. I'd love to see your most unpopular bookish opinions! Go team! Let's be disagreeable!
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