Discussion Post: I’m Yes Then I’m No, I’m In Then I’m Out – Or the Beloved Books That I Just Couldn’t Seem to Love

Posted August 26, 2016 by Lisa Mandina in discussion post / 12 Comments

As always I didn’t get around to my discussion post till the end of the month.  Partly because of how busy it has been with school getting started back up. And partly because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to discuss.  Even now, my title isn’t as good as I want it to be, but it was the best I could come up with at the moment, so hopefully it somewhat makes sense.  My discussion today is going to be about the books that either everyone seems to love and I tried, but just can’t get into or don’t quite get the fuss.   Of course I am going to throw in some GIFs because it is just so much fun to find them!

A reminder that the 2016 Discussion Challenge is hosted by Feed Your Fiction Addiction and It Starts at Midnight.  If you want to check out any of my earlier posts you can go to these links:

So, my title refers to the Katy Perry song, Hot n Cold, but of course my favorite use of the song is in the Twilight parody by the Hillywood Show, which was also my first introduction to the YouTube sensation.  But what I’m going for with this post is all the books that everyone else is so “hot” for, and they just left me “cold” or at least “lukewarm”. 

 
The first one is a series, and I want to duck here, because I’m afraid a lot of you are going to be throwing things at me through the internets.  I am on the 2nd book in the Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer, and I am just not feeling it.  
The first book, Cinder, was more interesting to me than this 2nd one, Scarlet, has been so far.  Even then, when I finished Cinder, I was still left a little bit unsure of what all the fuss was about.  It was okay, but nothing that I was now obsessed over.  But, I was able to get a copy of Scarlet for $4 at a Scholastic Warehouse book sale, and then I won the next three books in the series through a couple different giveaways.  I had heard from many people that book 2 was better than book 1, so I assumed by winning all those books that was a sign I was going to go on and be swept away once I started Scarlet.  Umm, no, it’s not happening.  I started the book on August 6th, and since then I’ve read 4 other physical books, and that’s not counting the ebooks I’ve read.  I usually keep a physical book up on my nightstand so that I will read that right before bed instead of staring at a screen, because I feel like it is probably better for my sleep.  But Scarlet has just not kept me reading.  I can’t decide whether to push on through, or give up and then maybe just sell/trade all my copies of the books in the series as a big set.  
 
Next is the Heroes of Olympus series and The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.  Now see, I loved the Percy Jackson series. 

But I had so much trouble keeping the characters straight in The Red Pyramid as each chapter went back and forth between them.  Which sucked, because I love Egyptian mythology and was so excited for that series.  
And then, when I struggled through The Lost Hero, all I could think was how many more words were used than were needed.  I looked at the size of the book, and thought about how if they’d left all those extra things out, it would have been probably the same length as the books in the Percy Jackson series, and still just as good as those.  Because of that I have not made myself read on, dreading the amount of time and extra stuff to skip over as I try to get to the main story.  
 

The last books I’m going to talk about that didn’t blow me away are the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare. 

 I actually love the Mortal Instruments series.  And I love Magnus Bane!  But I tried picking up and reading the first one in the series, Clockwork Angel, and just couldn’t get into it.  I think it was actually one of my very first ever Books for Trade deals too!  So I have the copy sitting at home.  I don’t know that I want to give up though.  I feel like maybe now sometime I might go back and try it again.  Just don’t know when.   

So, are any of these books one that you loved?  Do you have any books like this that you don’t like but everyone else does?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please chime in below!
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12 responses to “Discussion Post: I’m Yes Then I’m No, I’m In Then I’m Out – Or the Beloved Books That I Just Couldn’t Seem to Love

  1. I feel like I'm just not INTERESTED in a lot of books that everyone seems to love – not that I've tried them. I haven't read anything by Cassie Clare and I'm not interested really. My sister read the first in the Mortal Instruments but she told me she felt she would have liked it if she were younger, and I feel like I'd be the same.

    I do love the Lunar Chronicles. I hear that Cress is a lot of people's favorite, but if you're not feeling it? No worries. I still need to read Winter, but I've loved all the ones before.

    -Lauren
    http://www.letsgetbeyondtolerance.blogspot.com

    • I'm like that a lot of times as well. Like about the Throne of Glass books. I had an ARC of it when it first came out from BEA, but I traded it for something I knew I want. Then, everyone kept going on and on about it, and now I wish I hadn't given that ARC away because I think I really like it. It's funny though, right after I wrote this, I started maybe getting into Scarlet a little more. So I may not give it up just yet. Thanks for joining into the discussion!

    • True. But I usually love fairy tale retellings, and so it makes me kinda sad. But oh well! That's why there are so many books out there. Something for everyone. Thanks for being a part of the discussion!

  2. Truth be told, I did not like Scarlet's book. ):I liked the Clockwork Angel but I have no desire to continue it, the same for Mortal Instruments. I got to the second book and was okay stopping there.

    • Scarlet is picking up a bit. If I make it through okay I'll maybe try the next one. I loved the Mortal Instruments series though, it slowed down a bit in the middle, but really picked up with the last two books for me. Thanks for joining into my discussion!

  3. Aww 🙁 I haven't finished the Lunar Chronicles yet, but I do love them… so it's a bit sad that you can't love them but if they aren't for you, then they just aren't. As well as that, I really agree with you on the others. I've read one and a half books in the TID series and I just can't get into it, no matter how much I love The Mortal Instruments. I haven't even tried Riordan's other books because I don't want to lose the magic of Percy Jackson that I already love so much.

    • Scarlet is getting a bit better as I get towards the end, so I may go ahead and keep going in the series if I continue to enjoy it more. Glad to know I'm not the only one on the Infernal Devices. And you're probably smart about the Riordan books. Thanks for stopping by!

  4. Anonymous

    I think if I re-read The Lunar Chronicles, I probably wouldn't have rated Scarlet higher than Cinder. Cinder and Kai remained my favorite characters throughout, but I thought things finally became extra fabulous in Cress (which was my personal favorite of the series), since I thought Thorne was one of the best additions in the ensemble of characters. Pity the series didn't click with you, but no tomato-throwing from my screen at least XD.

    • I finished Scarlet, and it did pick up at the end. I will be moving on to Cress and giving it a try. I have heard from so many that it is their favorite, so since I have it. I'm no quitter! Well, sometimes. 🙂 Thanks for joining into my discussion!

  5. I know what you mean about not loving something everyone else seems to love. That was The Hunger Games for me. I read all the books in a row and felt totally depressed, which is a bad thing to feel when you're a mother. I actually prefer the movies. So, lots of people disagree with me. I did love the Lunar Chronicles, but I get into that stuff. I also loved The Infernal Devices more than the Mortal Instruments, but I also see where you might like them opposite of me. I haven't read Riordan's books. Any of them, but we have them all and my son eats them up. I haven't noticed though that it seems when some authors are hugely successful that editing seems to slip. I'll actually be writing a post about this soon. Anyway, I would say those are worth reading, but when there are so many books to choose from, it's unlikely that you will. 🙂

    • Oooh, I'll be interested to check out your post about editing! Right now I notice a lot of that in independently published books. I am going to continue the Lunar Chronicles as Scarlet ended better for me. So hopefully Cress will continue to be good!

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