Top 5 Wednesday: Books I thought I'd hate, but loved

Top 5 Wednesday was set up by Lainey over at GingerReadsLainey. Every week you have a new topic and you pick your top 5 choices for each topic. This is done in Vlogs, but I think it will be great for Bloggers to do as well. Today's topic is Top 5 Books you thought you'd hate, but ended up loving. There's not many books that I really thought I'd hate, but loved, so this week was easy. If anything it would've been harder if the topic was books you think you'd love, but hated. 

HERE ARE MY TOP 5:




FIFTH PLACE: Angelfall by Susan EE.

There's actually a reason as to why I thought I'd hate this book, and that's because I tried reading it twice before and could not get into it. I'd manage one chapter and would give up, so when I tried reading it for the third time I was surprised by how much I started to like the book. Once it was over I needed to get my hands on the next book, luckily for me World After was released about two weeks later.




FOURTH PLACE: The Selection by Kiera Cass.

I was judging the book by it's cover, which is very girly, but pretty. It's a girl in a dress and it looked more like a middle grade princess book, rather than a Young Adult Dystopian. However, the book was really good. I loved America Singer and the whole idea of a Dystopian that's a mix of The Bachelor and Big Brother. The best thing about the book is that it took me about three hours to read. I will admit that I've yet to read the sequel, The Elite. But I will do one day.





THIRD PLACE: Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell.

I had never read a Rainbow Rowell book at this point, but I had heard a lot about her. Every Booktube video I watched; Haul videos or tag videos included a Rainbow Rowell book, so when I started it I wasn't entirely sold on the idea. However, Eleanor and Park attached themselves to my heart and clung to it, never letting go. Their story is one that I recommend to everyone because it is one of the best pieces of Young Adult fiction. In fact I think it'll be a classic in a hundred years time.




SECOND PLACE: Divergent by Veronica Roth.

This book has been mentioned in a lot of my T5W posts, but this one has to be in it because I was that surprised by the book. I HATE The Hunger Games so much, so when my friend pitched this idea of Divergent to me I was bored. It seemed so similar and I knew I was going to hate it, but boy was I wrong. So wrong! The book had me hooked from page one and I stayed up until four am reading it, even though I had an exam that morning.






FIRST PLACE: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

I did not like Beautiful Creatures one bit. It was too dragged out and it took me about two weeks to finish, even though I know that a book that size can take me about three days. So when I decided to start Beautiful Darkness I thought it'd be the same, but once again I was so wrong. I read it in two days and couldn't stop flipping the pages. This book was and is the best one out of all four books.

 

I really liked this topic because it makes you realise that you really can't judge a book by it's cover or it's synopsis. You have to judge the book purely on what's on the inside and each and every one of these books have proved that. I told you guys my top 5, but what are yours?

 

Comment in the comment sections and lets discuss!

March 2014 Wrap Up!

So if none of you are familiar with the monthly wrap ups then basically they're just where I blog/vlog about the books I read in that month and what I thought of them. I'll also be doing follow up blog/vlog called a TBR! which is where I show the books I plan to read for the month next.

So in the month of March I really struggled. I've been plagued with coursework and preparing for university has been hard! But I also fell through a reading slump and my eye has been playing up :(

The first book I read this month was 'My Life Next Door' by Huntley Fitzpatrick which I have done a review of. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a very cute and adorable contemporary read. Huntley's writing style is kind of confusing at times, but her characters and emotion are so great that you can hardly notice it. If none of you know what My Life Next Door is about, it focuses on the female protagonist, Samantha who has been watching over her next door neighbours for years, but what's different about the one night is that Jase Garrett actually comes and talks to her. It then follows them and their crazy, yet different lifestyles; she's rich and alone, while he's hard working and his family are going through a rough time. Overall, I gave this book a 4/5 Stars!





After reading this book I literally fell into the worst reading slump ever! I tried everything. I tried to re-read a favourite and it didn't work. I watch a book to movie adaptation, it didn't work. Nothing worked..........

Until I picked up Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. Ahh! This book is perfect. If any of you have me on Goodreads, you'll know I hated Beautiful Creatures rating it a poorly 2.5 Stars, however, I absolutely loved this book. It carries on from the first book and for some reason Lena has decided to distant herself from Ethan. He's angry and before he knows it she's off on some guys motorbike. But she's not the only one to find a new friend because Marian has a new assistant research called Liv. Ethan does develop feeling for her! And then they vanish. The book ends with Link becoming part Incubus and Lena claiming herself to be both dark and light. Anyway, this book was so fast paced and full of action. I couldn't put it down. Although I must say the last thirty pages before the ending was quite slow paced. But it didn't ruin the experience. 4.5 Stars!

The third book I picked up was Beautiful Chaos also by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. And sadly I hated this book. It became slow paced and dragged out. The storyline didn't really fit the second book all that much either. Lena and Ethan are back together, Link is a complete ass and John and Liv fall for each other. #Confused Yes, I used a hashtag in my review. Overall, I gave this a 2.5 Stars!

I also read the #2.5 novella called Dream Dark which is in Links POV. Now I used to love Link in books 1 and 2, but in book 3 he became so vain. Dream Dark kind of explained why he acted like that and I really enjoyed it! I still believe their new series should be on John and Liv. 4 Stars!




The fourth book I picked up was Broken Silence by Natasha Preston. Natasha Preston is actually a friend of mine from Wattpad and she's an incredible author with her book 'The Cellar' just being released by Sourcebooks. I really would recommend that book as well! Anyway, Broken Silence takes place four years after Silence and Oakley is still living in Australia, but has decided to come back for the trial. However, she's not prepared for Cole to still be madly in love with her. This book is perfect! Absolutely perfect if you're looking for a great contemporary duology. The writing was easy to follow, the characters were full of emotion and gave me heart flutters and the ending made it all the worth while. I gave it a 4 Stars!





I then decided to review The Vintage Girl by Hester Browne, which was sent to me by Quercus. Sadly I couldn't even finish this book because I hated it that much. The writing for weak, the storyline was confusing. 2 Stars!

 

 

I also picked up Her Vampire Husband by Michelle Hauf. I've read this book before and I just love it. It's a guilty pleasure. I'm not a lover of Vampires, I hate Werewolves even more, but this one is so good. It focuses on lies and rivalry, but also showing that two complete opposites can fall for each other. If you're not sure what this book is about, it's about a couple who are forced to marry. Blu is a Werewolf and Creed is a Vampire. Blu has been attacked for years and doesn't trust him at first but over time they bond a friendship and then more......I cannot fault this book. It's incredible and somewhat steamy. Also 4 Stars!

The last book I read was Wicked Games by Jessica Clare. The premise really intrigued me. It's about a couple who are brought together by a TV reality show. But there are secrets. She's writing a book about the behind scenes of the show and he's an Olympic swimmer. This book was okay, the writing wasn't too bad, but the premise had promise. The ending was super cute, but the six months later was poor. I wanted more from it. I gave this one 3 Stars!

 

 

Top 5 Book Couples

So one of the aspects I enjoy in all my books are relationships. I'm not a lover of Insta-love, but once it is developed really well and I love the characters I can't help but feel like I'm watching two people fall in love. No matter their gender.


5th. Wanda and Ian from The Host by Stephanie Meyer -

I feel like I could always read the story of Wanda and Ian over and over. The DVD is good, but the book takes it's time to show how their trust and attraction changes. Ian tries to kill her at the beginning, but over time he begins to appreciate her seeing her for who she truly is. She's not a monster and we all know it, but seeing Ian's feelings change makes my heart flutter and together they are a perfect book couple. Their story always leaves me with tears in my eyes because Ian held her. Her parasite self and still thought she was beautiful. To be honest, who could not love Ian and Wanda?  


4th. Echo and Noah from Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry -

I must admit that at first I didn't like Echo. I thought she was a really annoying and selfish character, but over time I got to know her and why she felt like she did. But for me it was always better when she and Noah were together. They bounced off each other. They completed each other and I always loved their love/hate relationship. But what I loved most was their trust and friendship. Noah trusted her with his secret and so did she and for me I felt like that was when their relationship truly began. I also loved that they never gave up on each other and tackled every obstacle that came their way. They're one of my favourite couples.  


3rd. Eleanor and Park from Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell -

Eleanor and Park is my all time favourite contemporary book. Rainbow Rowell is the queen of contemporary, but the reason Eleanor and Park isn't higher on my list is because they didn't last. That is the premise of the book: First love never lasts and it does take you on an emotional roller coaster. What I loved about their relationship was how it came to be. They bonded over comics and music while traveling to and from school. No YA book has been developed like that. Did I think they were perfect together? No, I didn't. But that's what made me love them even more. They didn't match.  


2nd. John and Liv from The Caster Chronicles by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl -

The Caster Chronicles is not a very good series, but there are only a few characters I have a connection with and only four people who are couples that's I love and they are Link and Ridley and John and Liv. Of course, John and Liv are my favourite. John is a Hybrid. Part Caster, part Incubus, he's kind of dangerous in his own way. And Liv is kind, caring and British. Together they did not suit, but she changed him. The development of the friendship and romance changed them both and reading it was something special. I've even started to write John and Liv Fan Fiction because I want to see them in London. Maybe Kami and Margaret will write a series about them, who knows.

And taking the first spot for my all time favourite book couple is..... 


1st. Sophie and Gideon from The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare -

When I was introduced to Sophie I immediately loved her. She was witty, sarcastic and stood up for herself which was shocking because she was a maid. Just seeing her love/hate relationship with Will really helped me understand her character because was may have hated him but deep down she loved him as a relative or a friend. For Gideon, when he was introduced I hated him. His father was a horrible guy, so was his younger brother and I expected him to be the same, but he was a bit different. Cassandra is probably my favourite for relationships. She develops them so nicely and this was no difference. Through out the second and third book we're given scenes where their connection builds and it irritates me because he wants to say 'I love you' but won't because he's seen as quite important and she's a maid. But the one sentence that completely got to me and made me smile was:  "I see it," Gideon said in a low voice. "I am not blind, and we are a people of many scars. I see it, but it is not ugly. It's just another beautiful part of the most beautiful girl I have ever seen." I mean, how can that not make you smile? I re-read it and I just think of how perfect they are for each other. They're like a very sweet dream and I'd never get tired of them. And that's why I cannot wait until 'The Last Hours' trilogy because they will hopefully be in it.   So that is the list of my Top 5 Book Couples. What did you think? Who are your top 5? Let me know.