Top Ten Tuesday (#3): Books I Was Surprised I Liked/Didn't Like

"Top Ten Tuesday" is a weekly (super fun) book blog meme hosted by the awesome folks at The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's topic is a REWIND, so I decided to do one I missed from an earlier TTT topic.

TOP TEN BOOKS I WAS SURPRISED I LIKED/DIDN'T LIKE

1. The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

I adore Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series so naturally I figured I'd love her newer vampire apocalypse series. Well.... It's really good and I like it, but I didn't feel like Kagawa brought her A-game in this book. The characters were not as interesting as the Iron Fey characters and the story spent a lot of time with certain uninteresting characters while ignoring the only truly interesting one in the entire story. Oh well... Can't win 'em all.

2. Hounded by Kevin Hearne

Before I read this book, I had it sitting on my shelf for several months. I figured it was a book I'd like, but until I read it, I didn't know just HOW much. I LOVE this book and the next two something fierce! It really surprised me, even though I had a good feeling I would like it beforehand. The characters are amazing and it's just so hilarious.

3. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff

This YA steampunk fantasy is set in a Japan-like world with all the good stuff I've come to love from anime. I figured this book was a shoe-in for an all-time fave. Nuh-uh. Once I cracked it open, I felt like I had to slog through mud up to my ears just to get anywhere with this story. Slowest book I've ever read, ever. Too much description of everything and very boring, unrealistic characters. I was very disappointed (and kinda mad) at this book, as it felt amateurish at best. 

4. The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross

 
Let's face it. Sometimes authors can do better, right? I really thought I'd love this book to pieces. I loved the free ebook prequel, so why not the first actual novel? No. I just couldn't get into it. All the characters were superficially designed and felt like they barely stuck to the pages. The story had no purpose and it was just an unoriginal mess. The premise had potential, but the execution was lacking.

5. Flash Gold by Lindsay Buroker

I read this e-novella a couple of years ago because I happened to get it for free (it's still free) and decided to give it a shot. I didn't expect anything to stand out for me, but... Wow! This book was really awesome and the characters were so fun and hilarious together. I liked how the main character, Kali and the bounty hunter, Cedar got along. Very surprisingly interesting stuff here. (Lindsay, if you're reading this, you NEED to continue this series!)

6. The Collector by Victoria Scott

I was so excited and hyped about this book before it came out recently, so I preordered my copy back in January. I loved how the main character seemed to be cool and funny, reminding me of a favorite character from a video game series I love. I totally devoured the first half of this book, but the steam just dissipated after that. I realized I just didn't like this character all that much. The book ends very deus ex machina-like, depriving the protagonist a chance at "saving the day" himself. He was a bad boy going through major reformation, but I didn't end up believing it. Disappointing.

7. The Faerie Guardian by Rachel Morgan

I didn't have any expectations going into this YA faerie novel, but it ended up being so flippin' great! I had started out reading the free Part 1 ebook version and was totally hooked after that. I loved the character Oryn, who is the protagonist, Violet's, sort of faerie rival. As you can see, I'm big on characters and this book delivered surprisingly well. 

8. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 
Everyone was going nuts over this book just after it came out and I figured I'd like it, too. I'd heard about the villain character being particularly interesting and I love me some great villains. But, when I read it, it was all about insta-love and an overly emotionally drawn out heroine who didn't seem very heroic to me. It was too shallow. 

9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

This one is really low on my list because it's not like I hated this book, or anything. I really liked it, actually. It's a book that has so much charisma going for it that even though I didn't love it, I knew it was special, nonetheless. I have a ton of respect for this book and I will read the remaining six sequels, but having heard so much hype for so many years prior to reading it, I expected to be blown away. I wasn't so much. It's awesome, but I suspect it's because I can't fully appreciate Middle Grade fiction, and it hampered my ability to completely love this very popular book. Don't kill me!

10. The Emerald Atlas by John Stevens

I suppose this book deserves to be on my list, too, because it was being touted as "the next Harry Potter" before it came out. I expected it to be phenomenal, but it was lukewarm at best. It's a nice enough book, but it's nowhere near as charming as Harry Potter. Again, I have trouble loving Middle Grade fiction, but even I could tell this book was never going to become another HP. 


Which books let you down or totally left you blown away unexpectedly? Read any of these books and feel the same as me?