Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Thought I'd Like More (or Less) Than I Did

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

Today's Top Ten Tuesday topic was a rather sticky one for me: Top Ten Books I Thought I'd Like MORE/LESS Than I Did.  It seems there are a lot more books I thought I'd like more and not so many less.  I think this is in large part due to that wily thing called expectation.  To an extent, we go into every book with some level of expectation.  And generally I avoid those I expect not to enjoy, hence the longer first list.  The disclaimer, then is this: most of these are based entirely on whether or not a book met my expectations, which is definitely a subjective thing.  And on that note:

Books I Thought I'd Like More Than I Did:
Beta by Rachel Cohn
I was super excited to read this one, as it looked like an awesome concept.  It was, I just didn't enjoy it.

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon
I admit my hopes were not too high, as I'd been burned out on paranormal romance when I got this.  Still, I was sorely disappointed in it.

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand
I was truly surprised by the first book in this series, Unearthly (see list below), and thus had hoped to like the sequel more.  Alas, it wasn't so for me.

Level 2 by Lenore Appelhans
I had very high hopes for this one and while it met some of those, it still wasn't quite as much as I thought.

Reckless by Cornelia Funke
I really enjoyed Funke's Inkheart series, but this one felt all wrong to me.

Sapphire Blue by Kerstin Gier

After that exciting and intriguing first book, Ruby Red, I expected to love this one.  Not so.

Storm Glass by Maria V. Snyder
I guess I missed spending the time with Yelena, because I did not like Opal nearly as much.

Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison
Admittedly, after seeing a number of less-than-stellar reviews, my hopes were not high.  But, I wanted more from this retelling by a favorite author.

The Weepers by Susanne Winnacker
Another dystopian that I was hoping would be as awesome as Hunger Games.  It wasn't.

What Came From the Stars by Gary D.Schmidt
I adored everything I'd read of Schmidt's thus far, but this foray into fantasy was a miss for me.


And on a happier note:
Books I Thought I'd Like Less Than I Did:
The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom by Christopher Healy
I thought this one would be silly fun.  I was right, but it was so. much. more.

The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: The Mysterious Howling by Maryrose Wood
I expected only a bit of silliness, but the audiobook of this was much more interesting than I first thought!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Yes, I liked lots of Maggie's stuff, but I did not expect to fall so head over heals in love with those raven boys!

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
See my above comment about the sequel.  I had not had much luck with angel books, but this one surprised me with its refreshing touch.

With a Name Like Love by Tess Hilmo
This one sounded like it might be a bit too cheesy, but it turned out to be a really smart, thoughtful book!

What books made your list this week?

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