12 Books I Thought I’d Fall In Love With…And Yet, I Didn’t Like Them

Despite loving books, I can often be disappointed by them.

I know, the horror!

I thought it’d be nice to spend today talking about books I was expecting to fall in love with, but then they asked me out, and whoops, I was Catfished.

I shall never stick to the status quo.

1.) rebel of the sands by alwyn hamilton

what i expected: I actually buddy-read this with a friend on Goodreads a million years ago and was actually enjoying it! My friend actually dumped the buddy-read because she read the first few chapters and wasn’t really into it, but I stuck around. I mean, I was actually really digging the whole western setting.

what i got: Okay, so 24720840 characters were suddenly introduced, and I really wasn’t into that whatsoever. The romance got pretty stale and boring. And I really was not into the whole journey aspect of the story. Have I said I don’t like journey stories yet? Because I hate them. I ended up DNF-ing this one about thirty pages away from the ending.

2.) first we were iv by alexandra sirowy

what i expected: I mean, I absolutely LOVED The Creeping, so I really thought I was going to love this one as well! I am a total sucker for messed up friendships and cult-y type groups. And I originally thought that this was going to be about a group of girls? It was not.

what i got: This one was just…weird? It was definitely addicting, but I didn’t understand the obsession with the body of a dead girl they had found when they were children? And the teenagers in this book did not act like teenagers; this was like some weird fever dream where teenagers make blood sacrifices and actually believe in statues and don’t have parents who wonder where they’ve been all night while they paint houses the color of blood? WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON?

3.) the love interest by cale dietrich

what i expected: Who doesn’t love a good old subversion of tropes? A love triangle where the two boys end up falling in love with each other instead of the girl they’re assigned to? I AM SOLD. And I actually got an e-ARC of this one Netgalley? Easily one of the best days ever.

what i got: Well, the writing wasn’t too hot. The world-building wasn’t great either. I didn’t like the way the romance was developed. And the ending was all over the place. It went from “comedic take on tropes” to “extremely trope-y dystopian-lite novel” in five seconds, and it gave me whiplash. The epilogue was pretty cute, though?

(I’ll still read his next book because noir!!! Hopefully, it won’t disappoint.)

4.) iron fey by julie kagawa

what i expected: Literally every single one of my Goodreads Friends was deeply in love with this one – even the super snarky ones who act like they hate every single book they’ve ever read. And you all know fae are easily my favorite fantasy creatures of all time. I put so much faith in these people I wasted all my money buying the entire trilogy off Amazon.

what i got: This was just such a surreal book? It started off well enough, and then it just got progressively weirder and weirder, and I just didn’t like the direction it took. And the romance was insufferable. I literally DNF-ed it seventy pages away from the finish line because the main character declared her love for the dude she just meant. HOW ABOUT NO?

5.) batman: nightwalker by marie lu

what i expected: I have literally loved every single Marie Lu book I’ve ever read. Not one of them has been rated less than five stars. She’s one of the few authors to consistently blow me away every single time. Let’s not mention the fact that I haven’t read The Midnight Star yet. DON’T GIVE ME THAT LOOK.

what i got: A romance disguised as what could’ve been a pretty awesome book about moral ambiguity and anti-heroes. This is easily my least favorite type of book of all time. And I was not sold on Madeleine whatsoever. Her character changed a minimum of 43 times. And the plot. WHAT PLOT?

6.) the winner’s curse by marie rutkoski

what i expected: Once again, Goodreads roped me in. Adding in the factor that around the time I read this book, I was living off the high of the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy, the Angelfall trilogy, and the Lunar Chronicles, which are all highly recommend Goodreads books, so I assumed I would love this one. And, okay, the covers are nice to look at. SUE ME.

what i got: Yet another romance disguised as a fantasy. And I was not sold on the romance whatsoever nor Arin, so I just sat there, completely unimpressed. Kestrel is an absolute queen, and the politics of the book are my favorite thing of ever, but I read this book and its sequel TWICE, and I was even more unimpressed. We’re breaking up now.

(Plus, Captive Prince did it better. Just saying.)

7.) the lost and the found by cat clarke

what i expected: A YA thriller about a missing girl coming back to her family after being missing for all these years? That’s literally only my favorite type of book ever. And I was really getting into thrillers around this time, so I was pretty much reading any one I could get my hands on.

what i got: This book was SO BORING. This was more of a contemporary thriller than an actual thriller, and it moved at the slowest pace. And the side romance was actually ridiculous. She was so hot-and-cold about her boyfriend, saying that he was so understanding and wonderful on one page, and then saying she had been thinking of breaking up with him for a while, but also she lost her virginity with him despite saying she would only do that if she really loved the guy. I AM CONFUSED. The ending was good, but the build-up wasn’t worth it.

8.) the darkest minds by alexandra bracken

what i expected: Again, Goodreads made me do it. Plus, superpowers are my absolute favorite thing, so I shall devour all the books that contain them. And I had read the first few chapters and really enjoyed them, so I thought I’d feel that way about the rest of the book.

what i got: I can’t believe I was duped into reading an entire book about a road trip. AND I WAS SO INCREDIBLY BORED. I mean, this was basically the elongated book form of the worst of The Walking Dead – the boring journey, the obstacles that keep your interest for five or so minutes until they pass, only to end up in a location that seems idealistic at first, but, surprise, it’s actually run by an evil tyrant for a leader. So predictable.

9.) under the never sky by veronica rossi

what i expected: I actually first read this book way back in the sixth grade, and really enjoyed it! Then again, that was back in the sixth grade. So, yeah.

what i got: I reread it two years back, and, WOW, it’s as if I read a completely different story. I didn’t really care much about the characters (except Roar, who was lovely), the romance was the worst combination of “we’re soulmates” and “insta-love” I’ve ever seen, and some things were just plain weird (I mean, Perry can literally smell when she’s on her period and when she’s ovulating…and her period smells like violets? Did I get that right?). Once again, I hate that I wasted money buying this entire trilogy before I knew what I was getting into. WHY DO I DO THIS?

10.) an abundance of katherines by john green

what i expected: This was actually the third John Green book I read, if I remember correctly? Looking For Alaska and Paper Towns had made me fall in love, so I assumed that this one would be the same.

what i got: THIS WAS SO BORING. I mean, I still managed to read it in two days, but nothing about this book clicked for me. The protagonist of this book was so boring, I wasn’t into the whole road trip deal, I didn’t see the point of it, and the romance was so unnecessary. John Green made up with it for every one of his other books, but this one was not it.

11.) shadow and bone by leigh bardugo

what i expected: It seems like literally everyone out there loves this series, so of course I fell for the hype. What else do you expect from me?

what i got: I was entirely unimpressed. I didn’t hate this book, but I didn’t fall in love with it like everyone else seemed to. All I remember was that I loved Genya. And that I really hated the Darkling. I DO NOT GET THE HYPE. I assume that I should’ve read the sequels so I could cry about his past and fall in love with him as well, BUT I AM OVER IT.

12.) my sister rosa by justine larbalestier

what i expected: This is a thriller about a guy who is sure that he has a young sister for a psychopath and no one believes him, so he is left to keep his sister from escalating. HELL YES.

what i got: I AM STILL BITTER ABOUT THIS. It was basically just a contemporary novel with a boring romance trying to shove itself front and center. I don’t care about the guy’s stupid list. I WANTED A PSYCHOPATH SISTER. Apparently, there was some huge amazing plot twist at the end, but a plot twist thrown in after I suffered 300+ pages being tricked into a contemporary novel does not a good thriller make.

do you agree with any of my choices? what are some books you thought you’d fall in love with?

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