Books I Didn’t Like and more | Unpopular Book Opinions Tag

April 19, 2022April 19, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 4 Comments

I saw this tag on Jordyn Reads and thought it looked fun! While I usually love a lot of popular authors and series, I do have some opinions that many of you might fume over for a while. To that, I just have to say: I’m sorry! And with that, here we go!

A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT YOU DIDN’T LIKE

This is probably my most controversial opinion. I hated House of Earth and Blood when I read it in 2020. I usually love Sarah J. Maas’s writing, but this one was just soooooo slow and boring. I felt like nothing happened in this book. Everyone was getting so excited about the sequel that came out a month or two ago, and I just cannot understand where all the hype is coming from.

A POPULAR BOOK OR SERIES THAT EVERYONE ELSE SEEMS TO HATE BUT YOU LOVE

Ok, so this is a very beloved series. BUT there are a lot of people who think this series is poorly written which I could not disagree with more. I also technically have not read the fourth book yet, but there was a lot of drama surrounding a specific plot point (yes I was spoiled) that we ALL should have seen coming. So, if you were mad about that, I’m sorry but it was 100% foreshadowed.

A LOVE TRIANGLE WHERE THE MAIN CHARACTER ENDED UP WITH THE PERSON YOU DID NOT WANT THEM TO END UP WITH OR AN OTP THAT YOU DON’T LIKE

I’m going to steal Jordyn’s answer and go with Shadow and Bone. This is mostly because I just watched the Netflix series recently and Jessie Mei Li and Ben Barnes have insane chemistry. I do remember loving the Darkling when I read this series years ago, and I still feel like the series could have gone a different way with this.

A POPULAR BOOK GENRE THAT YOU HARDLY REACH FOR

I usually say that I’ll read pretty much any genre. Graphic novels, though, are probably a genre I’ve read the least of, and I’m not really sure why. I think this is just because I don’t enjoy consuming two types of media at the same time–it just slows down the story for me.

A POPULAR OR BELOVED CHARACTER THAT YOU DO NOT LIKE

This is another one I’m cheating on. I haven’t read this one. I DID just watch the new movie adaption on Hulu. If the movie characters are anything like their book counterparts, I absolutely hate them. So, so annoying and Joshua is not hot at all.

A POPULAR AUTHOR THAT YOU CAN’T SEEM TO GET INTO

Colleen Hoover. I actually read a good amount of Colleen Hoover books years ago and just have no interest in revisiting her writing. To be honest, I get really tired of seeing her books all over my feed.

A POPULAR BOOK TROPE THAT YOU’RE TIRED OF SEEING

I don’t see this as much anymore, but I’m sick of seeing the evil woman trope, where there is a girl who is just evil and antagonistic toward the protagonist for no reason or without any sort of redeeming quality. I’ve never met a woman with no depth. They do not exist. Stop writing them as if they do.

A POPULAR SERIES THAT YOU HAVE NO INTEREST IN READING

I actually love Naomi Novik’s writing, but I’m kinda over dark academia. Although, I thought of this originally, now reading the synopsis I kinda wonder if I would enjoy it🤔 Anyway, I probably will never read this even though everyone says this is an incredible series.

THE SAYING GOES ‘THE BOOK IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN THE MOVIE’, BUT WHAT MOVIE OR TV SHOW ADAPTATION DO YOU PREFER MORE THAN THE BOOK?

THE HANDMAID’S TALE. Hands down. I love the book but the show is just. Perfection. Highly, highly recommend this show to literally everyone. Yes, over the book.

Do you agree with any of my unpopular opinions? Share your own hot takes below!!

Recent Releases | Local Bookstore Picks April 2022

April 16, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I love book hauls because I buy so many books and get so excited when I see them in-store, but it’s not very exciting for me to just list books I’m buying all the time. So, I’m trying this expansion of a book haul. My local independent bookstore downtown always has new books that I’ve never heard of. I go there pretty regularly (mostly because they have the best breakfast sandwiches I’ve ever had), so I’ve decided to list some of the books I’ve found there in the first half April that some might not (and will definitely) have heard of.

Booth by Karen Jay Fowler

Release date: March 8, 2022

I read We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler years ago and was so enthralled by it. The writing, the story, the characters–it was all so good. This one seems very different but just as strange. It’s a historical fiction following the theatrical Booth family, yes, of John Wilkes Booth. I think this one is going to be weird and wonderful

Crossroads by Jonathan Franzen

Release date: October 21, 2021

I’m going to be honest, this one was first and foremost a cover buy. I also just love 70s aesthetic anything, so 70s family drama? Sign me up. I don’t know much other than that it centers around a family on one winter day as they face a moral crisis. I’ve heard good things about Franzen’s writing, so I’m excited to get to this 600 page beauty.

Hook, Line, and Sinker by Tessa Bailey

Release date: March 1, 2022

I originally wasn’t going to read this. I read the first one in this series, which I loved, but I wasn’t super interested in Fox and Hannah’s story–maybe I felt like I had already read it? It’s been so long since I read the first now, though, that I think I can enjoy this. And it’s been getting rave reviews (obviously) so I did end up picking it up when I saw it on my bookstore’s shelf.

Me (Moth) by Amber McBride

Release date: August 17, 2021

I was sitting down, eating my breakfast sandwich, minding my own business, and this cover just called to me. I kept looking over to make sure it was still there. Once I was done eating, I could not ignore it anymore. I haven’t purchased much YA recently, but I took a look at it and I just could not put it back. This is a story told in prose about a young girl dealing with the loss of her family. Pretty much guaranteed that I am in for a good cry here.

Scarlet in Blue by Jennifer Murphy

Release date: March 8, 2022

Last time I went to this bookstore, like, a few weeks ago, I saw this book after I had already checked out. I couldn’t turn back, having already made my decisions. So obviously I looked it up on Goodreads and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. This is a psychological thriller about a mother and daughter, and that is all I want to know going into this one. Very high on my priority list right now.

Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard

Release date: May 4, 2021

I took a couple biology classes during the last year of my undergrad, and we read a lot of science nonfiction. My bookstore had a table dedicated to Earth month, and I f*cking love trees, so this one practically leaped into my hands. Not much to say about this one other than it is supposed to reveal the world of communication and complexity within trees and is done so by Simard, a prominent forest ecologist.

She Gets the Girl by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick

Release date: April 5, 2022

This is the one book I went into the store with the hopes of finding. I looked on all the shelves–the romance shelf, trending on BookTok. I almost left without this one, but then I found it hidden in the back of the display table, one lonely copy. I always want to read more queer books, but I often find the popular ones are either YA or straight-up erotica–which is fine, but I want a cute queer wlw romance with fluff AND smut. Something Emily Henry-esque. I think this will be that balance, and one that I am probably most excited to read.

What are some books you’ve recently picked up from your bookstore or library?

The Quarter Year Crisis Book Tag

April 15, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I saw Jordyn Reads do this tag, and thought it looked fun (also I’ve been in a reading slump the past couple weeks), so thought I’d jump on the tag train! If you want to do this, consider yourself tagged by me 🙂 I’m not sure who actually created the tag, so if you know please tag them below!!

How many books have you read so far?

I’ve read 30 so far! Definitely my best year so far since 2014, and although I’m currently in a slump, I think this is a good sign for the rest of the year!

Have you already found a book you think might be a 2022 favorite?

LISTEN, I will NEVER get over The Love Hypothesis. I am counting down the days until Love On the Brain. Fake-dating/enemies-to-lovers will always reign in my brain. I also can’t get over Maggie Shipstead’s Great Circle. It was just so beautifully written, and the way the characters develop throughout their lives is perfection. Cannot recommend enough.

If not, what was your favorite book you read that wasn’t quite five stars?

So, I did have two favorites (obviously), but I wanted to give honorable mention to these three romances. Just so cute and aghhhh. I wish I could read them all again for the first time. I technically rated The Roughest Draft and The Spanish Love Deception five stars, but they were really more like 4.75 stars in my head. You Deserve Each Other was a solid 4/4.5 stars.

Have you read any one star books this year? Or what has been your least favorite read so far?

The Moonstone Girls. Racism and horrible writing. Enough Said. Honorable mention to Ramón and Julieta which just had horrible writing. DNFd both. Don’t want to spend any more time thinking about them, lol.

What is your most read genre so far?

I knew it would be romance, but here it is straight from Storygraph. This all checks out.

What is a book that surprised you?

Going with two on this one. Rules of Arrangement was just such a unique story, and I did not expect it to be so dark and romance-focused, but I really enjoyed it! As for Little Thieves, I think I just expect to be very underwhelmed by young adult fantasy, but this one proved me wrong because it was just so fun!

Is there a book that has come out already in 2022 that you want to read but haven’t yet?

She Gets the Girl immediately came to mind with this question. I have it on hold at the library, and I will be dropping everything to read it once it becomes available to me.

What’s one goal you’re succeeding at?

I definitely am doing way better at maintaining this blog and my bookstagram than I thought I would be! As Spring is upon us, I just feel very excited about the reading and interactions I’ll be having through this platform.

What’s one goal you need to work on?

I need to be better at reading a variety of genres. I have so many books on my shelf that aren’t romance, but that look so good. Romance is very easy for me to speed through, but I need to feel less intimidated by my books that are outside the genre.

How are you all feeling about your reading a quarter way through the year?

WWW Wednesday [4-13-22]

April 13, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 3 Comments

This is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words that asks us to answer the three Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

I’m finally back with another WWW Wednesday. My Grandma passed away last week, and other than that work has been really busy. After taking some time to heal by myself, writing is helping me heal some more, so I am back!

Currently reading: I got an ARC of Island Time by Georgia Clark a while ago, and it’s coming out in June so I’m slowly working through it. It’s a lot different than I thought it would be, which isn’t inherently bad, but I definitely had to adjust my expectations. Very slow so far, but I’m hoping to finish by next week. I’ve also been listening to A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow. I borrowed the audiobook from the library, and it’s been a great read while I work out or play video games. The characters are so sweet, and I intend to finish within the next few days.

Recently finished: With everything going on with my grandma last week, I didn’t feel much like reading. So, I haven’t finished anything recently. I did start Ana Huang’s Twisted Love while mourning, but it really was not what I wanted from a romance. I don’t see myself picking that one up again.

Reading next: I’m kinda up in the air. I’m a mood reader, but I usually know what I wanted to read next. Right now, though, I just don’t know what I want in general. I do know that I have been thinking about reading G. R. Macallister’s Scorpica for a while now, so it might be time to pick that up. We shall see.

Have you read any of these? What did you think?

March Wrap-Up

April 1, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This month was a prime example of why I absolutely cannot be held to a set TBR every month. I don’t know how y’all do it. I had a plan for my reading when I went on vacation mid-March, and it went completely out the window when I actually got to my destination.

I really wanted to reread all of the FBAA series so that I could read The War of Two Queens when it came out. I think I got so caught up in the drama surrounding the contents of this book (I got spoiled, unsurprisingly), that I just didn’t want to deal with the series at that moment. I definitely do want to keep going with my reread, though.

Aside from all that, I had a pretty good reading month! I read 8 books (4 of which I finished this past week!).

March Favorites:

All of these are enemies-to-lovers in some way which is my favorite favorite of all time trope. So, it’s really no surprise that these are my favorites this month.

March Least Favorite:

I honestly feel bad putting Dream On with Ramón and Julieta just because I really, really disliked the latter. But both did nothing for me, and I need to say they were both my least favorite.

The Rest:

FBAA would be a favorite, but it was just a reread so it’s in this category. The rest of these, I enjoyed but they weren’t anything too special. I don’t see myself coming back to these at any point.

Have you read any of the books on my March Wrap-Up? What did you think of them?

[REVIEW] Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz

March 28, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

In 1817 Edinburgh, a young woman, Hazel Sinnett, is destined by birth to marry her cousin and be the lady of his estate despite her dreams of becoming a surgeon. Jack Currer exhumes recently buried graves and sells the remains to surgeons looking for practice. The two come together to help each other and the city, not knowing they are at the center of something sinister happening around them.

Schwartz’s writing style made me so excited to read this story. I really felt the atmosphere she was trying to create of 19th century Edinburgh. The medical descriptions were along with the care taken to deliver Hazel’s passion for surgery were exquisite. I think I could have read a whole novel just about Hazel’s professional career.

I really ended up enjoying the mystery that Schwartz sets up within the Anatomist’s Society as well. I knew something was up, but I couldn’t really pin what. These were the most enjoyable parts of this novel.

Upon finishing, I wasn’t really sure why this is considered a love story. The medical aspects and the mystery seemed to me the focus, and the romance felt like it was just thrown in there at the end. I honestly did not even really feel a connection between the two except for a strong friendship. I wonder if this is due to it being a Young Adult novel, in which case this part maybe is not meant for me to enjoy so much and is fine.

Overall, though, I loved the writing and the vibe I got from this book as well as the characterizations of everyone. I’ll be looking out for other stories from Dana Schwartz.

Have you read this novel? What did you think about it?

Rating: ★★★1/2

Find this book at a local book retailer on IndieBound.

[REVIEW] Spin the Dawn by Elizabeth Lim

March 22, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This book has been on my TBR for a while, but I somehow never realized that it and Six Crimson Cranes were written by the same author. So, when I did realize this, I ran to the library to pick this one up.

Maia has hopes of becoming a master tailor someday, despite being a girl in a world where girls are not allowed to hold such positions. When the opportunity arises to compete to become the Emperor’s tailor, then, Maia disguises herself as her brother and heads to court. Here, a journey of magic and romance ensues for her.

Lim’s writing style is really enjoyable, and I can see that across both of her duologies. I really got sucked into Maia’s story from the beginning as she talks about her brothers and her talent for tailoring.

The competition aspect was also super exciting. The book was pitched as a Fashion Runway type book, and I really enjoyed seeing Maia use her talent. This might have been just an issue with my expectations, but I wish the book had more of a focus on the competition instead of going off on a second journey. I didn’t feel that the story flowed very well in this way. The romance also felt a bit rushed and just kind of inserted into the story in the second half. I loved Edan and his banter with Maia, but their relationship developed a little too quickly for the story.

The story and characters were also just a little too underdeveloped for my liking. I didn’t feel a very strong connection to anyone, including Maia even with how much I liked her. While the story had development and pacing issues, it was definitely a solid fantasy, and I’m still debating on whether I’ll go on to read the second book.

Have you read this series? Let me know what you thought!

Rating: ★★★

Find Spin the Dawn at your local indie bookstore here.

[REVIEW] Dream On by Angie Hockman

March 3, 2022March 2, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Release date: July 5, 2022

After surviving a car accident, Cass wakes up from a coma remembering a boyfriend who doesn’t exist. After a year, she meets the man of her dreams and it SEEMS like fate.

The concept for this had me sooo hopeful. It reminded me of fanfics I’ve read in the past and loved, so I was so excited to be approved for an eARC of this one.

I really enjoyed that this book did not play into fate, and maybe the man of Cass’s dreams really isn’t all that. It was very different from what I was expecting. I loved Cass and Brie, especially their friendship.

Unfortunately, I felt this book was just missing something. I wanted more interaction between Cass and the love interest to make their falling in love more believable. It just felt like there wasn’t much substance to them. I know I’m always saying this, but there NEEDS to be more tension for me to be super into two main love interests. There just wasn’t too much to get excited about with this one.

It was a cute story about Cass’s development and fate, though, and I’d recommend it to someone who doesn’t like much spice in their romance reads.

Rating: ★★★

Thank you to NetGalley and Gallery Books for providing the eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WWW Wednesday [3-2-22]

March 2, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

This is a meme hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words that asks us to answer the three Ws:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading: Doing my reread of From Blood and Ash before the release of The War of Two Queens in two weeks!! It’s been a bit slow going so far because of work. I’m about 100 pages in and I love it just as much as I did the first time I read it. Hope to really get into it and finish it this week so I can move onto the second and third books.

Recently finished: Dream On is an eARC I got from NetGalley that I decided to read a bit early. It took me a while to finish; I just was not that into it. It was a cute romance, but I’m glad to be moving on from it.

Reading next: Aside from the FBAA series, Ramón and Julieta came in from the library this week, so I’ll be picking it up to read on my Kindle. It doesn’t have the best reviews, but I’m hoping the spice will make up for it!

Have you read any of these? What are you currently reading?

[REVIEW] You Had Me at Hola by Alexis Daria

February 18, 2022 by louisereads ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

I loooooved this book! What a cute romance about two telenovela stars! Jasmine and Ashton are thrown together on the set of a new series and obviously can’t help falling for each other.

What I liked:

I really enjoyed both Ashton and Jasmine as characters and seeing their arcs as they deal with past trauma. I really felt their growth as they came together and learned from one another.
The representation!! So much Latinx rep which I don’t see very often in romance novels. It was really cool to see more Puerto Rican culture with these characters as they navigate being celebrities of color.
Telenovelas!!! Need I say more??

What I didn’t like as much:

Dual POVs. I really never like dual POVs in a romance. I think it really takes away any tension you could have had when you know every thought and feeling from both sides.
I also wish there was just ONE more good scene between Jasmine and Ashton before they really fell for each other. I kinda felt like we skipped from being strangers to falling in love, and just one extra scene could’ve helped their relationship to flow more for the readers.

Overall, I think Daria is a great write and this was cute! I’ll definitely be picking up her next book following Jasmine’s cousin.

Rating: ★★★1/2