Hello fellow bookworms! Top Ten Tuesday is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Most of us are familiar with Top Ten Tuesday by now, but if your new to this, a topic is given every Tuesday and the blogger then produces a top ten list of books to fit the weekly subject. The topic this week is ‘Top Ten Books that Lived Up to the Hype. Since starting my blog, I have been very open to trying new authors and genres I would never have dreamed of picking up before! I get a lot of recommendations through Instagram and BookTube as well as blogging, and when someone says it’s a great book and there’s a lot fo hype around it, I’m usually willing to give it a go if the premise sounds like something I’d enjoy. Here are a few books I’ve read because I’ve heard non-stop good things, and you can’t go anywhere in the book community without seeing them…
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I don’t read sci-fi, this genre (along with historical fiction) is one I usually avoid. However, there were so many people praising this book due to it’s unique story telling techniques and magnificent story (and also, the cover was out of this world, no pun intended!) so I decided to give it a go. I was absolutely not disappointed, this story is INCREDIBLE!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
When this book was released, there were so many people talking about it! Everywhere I went, they said ‘oh my gosh have you read this book yet? If not, why the hell not?’ A bookseller in Waterstones Piccadilly was the person to really convince me to read it, after he had said how many people had come back with such high praise for the book! After reading it, I completely understood they hype and why so many people enjoyed it. It’s such a relatable story in many ways, helping you realise and conquer your insecurities through such a raw, funny, emotionally driven and heartbreaking story (yes, it really can make you feel all those things!)
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
I was very late to the reading party for this one! I know there was a lot of hype around it in the beginning, and then again when Albertalli’s newest release (The Upside of Unrequited) came out, but I didn’t pick it up until the third wave of hype came about when the movie adaptation, Love Simon, was due to land in cinemas. It was about time I got round to reading it, and I was not disappointed! It really is as happy and funny and amazing as everyone says it is!
One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus
I read this a few months after it released, purely because I couldn’t watch a BookTube video or go on Instagram or Goodreads without hearing about this book! I don’t think I’d ever read a YA thriller/mystery book before, but it was a very appealing genre mash up for me because I enjoy them both separately. This book really did meet all my expectations with the perfect balance of the two genres, it was fast paced and I highly recommend it!
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
I read this book TWO YEARS after it first came out! Clearly it took a lot of convincing for me to pick this up (or I never got round to buying a copy and I was ‘saving’ it for a time when I just couldn’t wait any longer to read it…) It was a book I definitely intended on reading, but so many other books got in the way, and I was kind of waiting for the right moment to read it. I don’t regret picking it, it is definitely worth the hype that surrounds it; I know it’s still highly recommended even three years after it’s release! The blurb is very vague and honestly the best way to go into the story is completely blind to the story!
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
It took me a while to pick up one of Rainbow Rowell’s books, and I ended up reading Eleanor & Park first, which didn’t really lived up to the hype in my opinion, so I was a little wary going into Fangirl, but I definitely wanted to give Rowell’s books another go, and I had heard Fangirl was one of the better ones. I think I enjoyed this one so much more than Eleanor & Park was because I found it so relatable! The characters were great and so easy to fall in love with and the story was aimed perfectly at what I was going through at the time of reading as well! Definitely worth the hype surrounding it (and Carry On which is kind of companion to Fangirl..)
The Shadowhunter Chronicles by Cassandra Clare
I’m talking about the entire series here! There was not one book that disappointed me in any of the series, they are still so hyped up, especially around the time of new releases, one of the best YA fantasy series around (not counting Harry Potter of course this reigns above them all!) I actually picked the series up because the box set was so cheap, and my sister had been watching the Netflix show and thought it would be something I enjoyed, and it absolutely exceeded any expectations I had and blew them out the park!
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
I probably say this a lot, but The Fault In Our Stars is one of my favourite books of all time! It’s a book I continue going back to, and I regret not reading it as soon as I found out about it! I was actually recommended this book before the hype, but I remember it not being described that well, because it did’t sound that appealing to me! Suddenly, everyone started talking about this book and I was like ‘wait a second, I’ve heard about this before!’ When I knew more about the story, I was desperate to pick it up, and from there, I never looked back!
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
As I said at the beginning, historical fiction is a genre I tend to steer clear of. However, I’d heard so many good things about The Book Thief, I got myself a second hand copy, and it sat on my shelf waiting to be read. It wasn’t until one of my uni friends spoke so highly of it that I picked it up… and read the whole 500+ page book in 3 days! I could not put it down, it was so well written I can’t even begin to comprehend the incredible mind of Zusak! It was heartbreaking and made me fall in love with characters I want to go back to again and again! If someone tells you to read it, you definitely should!
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
I don’t remember much about how I found this book, but I know there was a lot of hype surrounding it, and the movie was probably in the works but the time I picked it up. It’s one of those adult books which doesn’t feel too heavy in terms of being really long and wordy, but does tackle a lot of difficult issues the aren’t often seen in YA (and some that are, which is why it’s a great transitional book if you’re trying out more adult fiction). So many people speak so highly of this book, and it is well deserving of the hype it still gets! (And I highly recommend reading the book instead of watching the film first if you must watch the film!)
That’s all for today’s list, although I could have added so many more! I’d love to know if any of these lived up to the hype for you, and as always, please feel free to link your top ten lists below so I can see all the wonderful books you’ve loved!
Until next time…
Jade 🙂
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