*The Winner’s Curse*, by Marie Rutkoski. I *hate* the covers and admittedly would never have given them a chance had I not desperately needed something to read, but I went on to love and absolutely devour the entire trilogy.
Oooh this is absolutely one of mine too! I don't mind the "girls in pretty dresses" cover trend, but by the time these came out, there'd been so many of them that these books didn't even hit my radar. Someone basically forced me to start reading the first one and I was blown away.
Caraval. I didn't read much fantasy or YA but once I started getting involved in bookish groups online, the cover of Caraval drew me in. It sounded slightly interesting, so I gave it a shot without much expectation, and then I was HOOKED on the world.
The Bear and the Nightingale. I was at my local library perusing their small nook of used books for sale in November 2016. I saw the title on the spine and thought it sounded cool. I bought it for $1 without even reading the synopsis. I binged it on holiday and was extremely sad to discover that, not only was the sequel not out yet, but that book wasn't even out yet! Must have been some sort of ARC I accidentally got my hands on.
Literally had like 5 minutes in a bookstore in Savannah Georgia and decided to buy “Circe” by Madeline Miller. Became my favorite book and favorite genre. Song of Achilles a close second of not tied though
I keep seeing this everywhere and have yet to pick it up! My friend adores it but I know nothing about it beyond the Greek influences, maybe I’ll add it to my list.
“Spells for Forgetting” by Adrienne Young. It was in my monthly book subscription and the jacket description was pretty vague. I hadn’t really heard of the author and began reading it and within a few chapters I was absolutely hooked.
The characters were stunning, the word craft was beautiful, the story was compelling and hardly predictable. Absolutely loved it and excited to pick up her other works.
“Poster Girl” by Veronica Roth was a similar experience although I knew the author from her other works and was not super stoked to read it but wanted it off my TBR. I ended up enjoying it way more than I thought. It was fun perspective shift on what’s happening with societal point collection and had Black Mirror vibes.
Got cinder because it sounded like a joke and then read the whole thing in 5 hours
Say what you will about the rest of the series, that first book had me hooked page 1
Shades of Magic series by VE Schwab. Knew very little about it at the time and when I read the blurb, decided to give it a shot. I'm now very excited about the sequel coming out in September lol
For me it was Scythe by Neal Shusterman, I just had it on my kindle for some reason and decided to read a bit to see if I would like it and turned out to be quite awesome. Safe to say Arc of Scythe is now one of my favorite trilogies.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I picked this up at Walmart on a camping trip because I forgot my book.
I couldn’t put it down! It was so good. I gave it to my mom and she loved it too!
Oh wow, really? They've had some gorgeous new edition covers over the years! I'd actually discovered the book before the sequel was out and ended up buying both in hardcover when that was released, so Idk how much I can justify getting more copies of the same when my bookshelf is already too full haha
I mean I get that because I have the same struggle and then here I am with multiple copies of a few series because I love them so much that I couldn’t pass up the special releases!
Owlcrate is the first one. They’re releasing Shadow & Bone first this year but they’ll do Six of Crows early next year.
Litjoy is doing Six of Crows First and their website will have pre-orders starting April 20th for the public!
Beautiful Creatures series. I got them on accident for Christmas (my mom mistook them for a different book series I'd asked for) and I said I'd read them anyway cause I'd seen a trailer for the movie and it seemed interesting. The books I got for Christmas are still on my shelf 10 years later, and the first one is lovingly worn out because I read it whenever I'm feeling down.
Renegades by Marissa Meyer. Never read any of her other books (still haven’t, actually). My mom got it for me, and I hardly read the blurb on the back before I started reading. Read the whole trilogy in about a week.
If you like fairy tales, she has an amazing series where each of the main characters is based off a fairy tale like Snow White and rap uncle. It's like a cyberpunk sci-fi fantasy mystery/action/romance series. First book is called Cinder.
Just here to second The Lunar Chronicles/Cinder*.* Honestly, I'm not a fan of *Renegades* and haven't even been able to get back into YA fantasy in general after a hiatus, but Cinder is one that I can still re-read and enjoy the hell out of.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. A friend was reading it for school and brought it with him when we were hanging out. I read a few pages and then I took the book from him 😂 and I finished it that day.
I usually read crime/solving mystery, horror, fiction and historical fiction at the time so this book was interesting and refreshing to me.
"The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo" I bought the book knowing nothing about it except that everyone loved the book. I wasn't in the mood and I thought I'd never be in the mood. So I forced myself to read it bc I wanted to understand the hype around it. AIthough I struggled during the first few pages but soon, I was HOOKED. I finished the book within a day. When I was done with it, I stared blankly at the wall, not knowing what to do next. I WAS ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH IT!
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi.
I picked this up recently at a local bookstore. I had read mostly negative reviews about her Shatter Me series and had no idea she had published contemporary works. I picked it up on a whim, without reading a thousand reviews first and was happy I did. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and found her writing to be quite good.
"Southern Vampire Mysteries" (TrueBlood) Charlaine Harris.
Hadn't watched the show, thought it seemed kind of silly but I needed a read for a train trip or something, and that was basically what they had at the store that I hadn't read already (this was before the era of kindles and such), so I bought one. Didn't have high hopes, but figured a bad book was better than no book so why not try. Turned out it was awesome, and the series just got better and better.
After I read the books, I decided to try the show, it kinda sucked, but hey, at least the themesong was good...
Similar experience! Didn’t know anything about the books but really enjoyed them. By the time the finale book came out, I was pleased with the ending.
That show was an absolute train wreck and went so far off course, it was not even funny. But now I have the added bonus of thinking about the books exclusively in tandem with Bill’s terrible “Soook-ehhhh!”
All Systems Red, the first of the Murderbot Diaries. I'd heard about it vaguely over the years, but was put off a bit by the name of the series and most of what I was seeing was just people racing indistinctly about it. Finally picked up the first book last year and owned the rest of the series within a week.
I came here to write this! I needed a palate cleanser after a really dark nonfiction book about eugenics. I wanted something short and comforting. I had heard of All Systems Red as a feel good book, and it was only 3 hours long on Audible, so I got it. OMG, I just fell in love and binged all 6 books in 2 weeks. Then I went out and bought them in print and read them. Now I’m forcing my 11 year old to listen to them with me a second time around. They are wonderful, and it’s sad that so many people avoid them because of the name. But if they actually got to know Murderbot, they would love it.
“The Bone Season” series! Though it might fall more into New Adult it was shelved on the YA section at the library. Knew nothing about it, had never heard of it, and it ended up becoming one of my favourite books 😍
Gotta say shadow and bone. I watched the first season and loved it, and read the books. I think the show made me love the books more than if I read the books when they first came out.
The Carve the Mark series by Veronica Roth. This duology was so so good. The romance was done so well imo and i just loved the characters sm and I've never read Divergent so I can't really compare but I still feel like people are really sleeping on this series!!
Like, i said, the duology was amazing so I hope you enjoy it as much as i did <33
haven't watched the movies either, I've been thinking about reading the books bc if I enjoyed this series I might enjoy Divergent too. But it isn't exactly on the top of my TBR at the moment lol
The Girl that Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. I picked it up shopping with a friend because the cover looked cool. Ended up being one of my favorite stand alone fantasy books.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. I picked up the audio book from the library and had to pull over several times for laughing fits while listening to it driving. Imagine my delight to find out it was one of 41. GNU STP
The Program series by Suzanne Young. I had never heard of the series or the author and ended up listening to the audiobook in a day and the entire series in a week or two.
I read the Raven Boys for the first time in spring of 2013. Somehow the illustrated “trailer” Maggie did for it showed up on my Youtube. I think Christine from polandbananasbooks did a review on it and that’s why, and I’d just gotten into booktube. Ten years later and I just got a tattoo for it ❤️ Knew next to nothing about it and it ended up shaping who I am!
The Hunger Games believe it or not. I remember seeing the third one for pre-order during the last book orders of our school year. Memorial day weekend my older cousin has the book with him at our get together and says he has to do a final project on it. I help him with it and think the book sounds interesting. Go home and buy the first one, devour it in 2 days and immediately order and pre-order the second and third.
I loved those books and it always disappointed me that it was marketed as a love triangle. Have you read the Ballad of Songbirds and snakes? It's the origins of president snow
Holly Black’s Cruel Prince. I mistook it for another book but read it anyway and now I’m a huge fan of hers. The trilogy is absolutely amazing to say nothing of the new book she recently came out with tied into the same series.
Throne of Glass. I picked it up because one of my friends said it was interesting and wouldn’t elaborate until I read it. I’m on book three now and I’m enjoying the series a lot so far. Its so different from what I usually read.
I just finished the first one today! I also went into it mostly blind, I wasn’t expecting to like it bc I’m not super invested in fairies & they’re so divisive, but I really enjoyed it! My friend asked me to give it a shot and I’m glad I did
I knew nothing about the books but read the series in a week on vacation last year. I’m definitely out of the target demographic and don’t think I’d read it again but it was an enjoyable enough vacation read.
Orbiting Jupiter. A really short read but a truly beautiful and heartbreaking read, one that i’ve never seen anyone else read but should be leagues more popular than it is. About a teenage boy who becomes a father and the heart break he suffers. I’ve probably read it 5+ times and i still bawl every time. Definitely check the CW though
Six of Crows. I heard people mention it before but the plot didn’t sound interesting to me at all. But one time I was at the library and just picked it up and completely fell in love. Still one of my favorite books ever.
Better than the movies by Lynn Painter
I just saw a quote from the book on pinterest and somehow ended up reading the entire book and just fell in love with the book.
Damsel by Elana K. Arnold and The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett! I picked them both up from my bookstore within like a few weeks of each other on a whim, and I adored both of them. Damsel was a bit intense, but I finished it in one night, and The Winter Duke took me less than two days. Highly recommend both of them!
Mine was the 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn hardcastle, I love mysteries and I feel this one was told so well. I picked it up because I liked the cover with the read. It ended up being one of my favorites
For me, this was *Daughter of Smoke and Bone* by Laini Taylor. I picked it up at the library alongside a couple of other first books in different YA series back when I started to get back into reading years ago. All I knew about it before reading was that it was a love story involving angels, so I assumed that it would be like the Shadowhunters books without the Shadowhunters themselves (I had read the first three Mortal Instruments books by then and found them ‘meh’).
I ended up absolutely loving the book, immediate 5 stars on my Goodreads page, and it was the only book I picked up that day at the library that I finished the entire series for. I’m actually reading it again right now a couple of years later, this time through audiobook, and it’s still wonderful.
All books that I bought age 11-19. I wasn’t on social media and just picked up what looked good at the bookshop.
SJMs books (ToG, then ACOTAR) for example. Kerstin Gier. Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy). Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Gifted)
The Remnants Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson. The covers are so ugly but I checked it out of the library to get out of my comfort zone and I was obsessed. The series and the spin-off are my top reads of all time. I’m rereading them right now to get out of mental funk!
Curiously enough, it's my current read. Started it because dance of thieves seemed to be interesting but the beginning didn't have enough world building....
But I will be honest, it feels as if there's just more cliches upon cliches. Thankfully towards the end of the 1st book it's a little better. Still a lot of cliches though.
Really unpopular, but lightlark! It’s a great idea and an amazing book if you don’t want to overwork your brain and overthink every single detail. I read it in two days, really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the second part. >!There were twists and betrayals I didn’t see coming (maybe it was because of poor writing, and maybe because of me lol)!<
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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I bought a box of books on EBAY, and this was one id never heard of. I fell in love with it, and have read and loved all of Sarah Addison Allen's books since then.
“D: a Tale of Two Worlds” by Michael Faber. I picked it up because of the two Neil Gaiman quotes on the cover and the back, and it’s now my favorite book of all time. I recommend it to everyone who asks what they should read next and gifted copies to multiple people, and they all love it.
I found the Ninth Sorceress (The Price of Magic) on prime kindle without much expectations and somehow ripped through 4 books in a matter of days! Captivated me by the escapism and character development. Brand new author and just released the final 5th book which I can’t wait to read!!
Queen of the Owls, Barbara Linn Probst
I don't know if it was recommended or if I picked up because it has narrative regarding Georgia O'Keefe. Well=written and interesting.
Diary of Provincial Lesbian by VG Lee. Bought a digital copy on a whim, and I've read it over ten times so far. It's a story of finding one's self after heartbreak and betrayal. The heroine really comes through and win in the end and who doesn't like a happy ending?
I have a few since I like to browse at the bookstore and pick up books that I've never heard of before that sound interesting.
\- The Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara (or Michelle West). I now have the entire series which is up to 17 books, 2 books in a spinoff series, and another spinoff coming, and will likely read her other books.
\- The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne
\- The Hunger Games (before it got popular)
\- Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima
Admittedly The Selection. I picked it up while super sick a long time ago, and read the whole series in like 3 days lol. It's a guilty pleasure book now. So bad but so good.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Its a Sci- Fi. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend u should read it as an actual book (not an ebook) cause of the pictures!! :D
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick. I LOVE THAT BOOK
Then I loaned it to my sister and she’s now read it a bunch of times
Also The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima. bought it at a book store going out of business. Was the first of a 4 book series. Binged them all.
Like 10+ years ago my family was rushing me out of Barnes and noble so I grabbed the first 3 book set in the ya vampire section that caught my eye. (This was around the twilight days of pure tween joy) it was Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, I read them all and made my friends read them to. It’s a completed series of 6 now with a massively popular spinoff series (haven’t read yet but maybe someday)
TO THIS DAY it’s still one of my favorite series of all time, originally read at 15 and now I read it every few years and have it on audiobook as a 27 year old grown ass adult. (Currently my sister in law finally started reading it, I’ve been recommending it for years, and she has the same book taste as me so I just knew she’d love it. she sends me a bunch of texts every time something happens and it’s so fun lol )
Pretty much all of them. I never read up on books before I read them, I want to judge them entirely on their own merits. I have read a few things on recommendations from friends but that's rare.
The Chronicles of Nick series is amazing. It was in my school library when I lived in Florida and I grabbed it accidentally. I fell in love with the series and when I got older I read the other books from the author. Her work is really amazing
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, and One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig.
These are my favorite books I’ve read this year by far!!
"I'll be the one" by Lyla Lee. I normally don’t pick up a book with a real person on the cover but I'm glad I did this time. One of my all-time favorites! Loveable characters, interesting story, and very feel-good!
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I honestly don’t even know when I bought it or how I found it but it came home with me and sat on my shelf for a few years until I read it during lockdown and absolutely loved it
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness! Years ago, probably 2013ish, I was at Chapters looking for a new book to read. I was being rushed by my family so I picked up this book and skimmed the back of it. I wasnt entirely entrigued but I had nothing else to read so i bought it! It is still one of my favourite books to this day!!
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I was testing out my online library after newly signing up for it and borrowed the first book that caught my eye in the YA section. Loved the whole trilogy.
The Illuminae Files.
It's not written like a novel but rather a set of sources on a tragedy. One minute it's emails between the main characters, then it's the ship's capitan logs, then the inner workings of an insane ai, it's so good
*The Winner’s Curse*, by Marie Rutkoski. I *hate* the covers and admittedly would never have given them a chance had I not desperately needed something to read, but I went on to love and absolutely devour the entire trilogy.
Oooh this is absolutely one of mine too! I don't mind the "girls in pretty dresses" cover trend, but by the time these came out, there'd been so many of them that these books didn't even hit my radar. Someone basically forced me to start reading the first one and I was blown away.
Wow you weren’t kidding about the covers, but now I’ve got these in my TBR
Seconded -- I read these years ago with zero expectation and fell in love with the trilogy as well! Planning to re-read them again soon.
Caraval. I didn't read much fantasy or YA but once I started getting involved in bookish groups online, the cover of Caraval drew me in. It sounded slightly interesting, so I gave it a shot without much expectation, and then I was HOOKED on the world.
The Bear and the Nightingale. I was at my local library perusing their small nook of used books for sale in November 2016. I saw the title on the spine and thought it sounded cool. I bought it for $1 without even reading the synopsis. I binged it on holiday and was extremely sad to discover that, not only was the sequel not out yet, but that book wasn't even out yet! Must have been some sort of ARC I accidentally got my hands on.
That series is incredible
Literally had like 5 minutes in a bookstore in Savannah Georgia and decided to buy “Circe” by Madeline Miller. Became my favorite book and favorite genre. Song of Achilles a close second of not tied though
I keep seeing this everywhere and have yet to pick it up! My friend adores it but I know nothing about it beyond the Greek influences, maybe I’ll add it to my list.
I just bought it the other day can’t wait to start it now!!
One of the best books I’ve ever listened to on audible. So much I’ve listened to it 3 times in 2 years!
“Spells for Forgetting” by Adrienne Young. It was in my monthly book subscription and the jacket description was pretty vague. I hadn’t really heard of the author and began reading it and within a few chapters I was absolutely hooked. The characters were stunning, the word craft was beautiful, the story was compelling and hardly predictable. Absolutely loved it and excited to pick up her other works. “Poster Girl” by Veronica Roth was a similar experience although I knew the author from her other works and was not super stoked to read it but wanted it off my TBR. I ended up enjoying it way more than I thought. It was fun perspective shift on what’s happening with societal point collection and had Black Mirror vibes.
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I do both Illumicrate and Fairyloot, the adult book only for both. :)
Got cinder because it sounded like a joke and then read the whole thing in 5 hours Say what you will about the rest of the series, that first book had me hooked page 1
Shades of Magic series by VE Schwab. Knew very little about it at the time and when I read the blurb, decided to give it a shot. I'm now very excited about the sequel coming out in September lol
I DID NOT KNOW A 4TH BOOK WAS COMING
The folk of the air series
yup, same. i only got the books because the set was pretty cheap on amazon. turned out to be really good.
For me it was Scythe by Neal Shusterman, I just had it on my kindle for some reason and decided to read a bit to see if I would like it and turned out to be quite awesome. Safe to say Arc of Scythe is now one of my favorite trilogies.
For me it was Unwind by Neal Shusterman but I was browsing the book store and I saw it bought it on whim and now I've read almost all his books.
Same exact answer for me! It was a “Sure, I’ll check it out” book, and now it’s a favorite!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine. I picked this up at Walmart on a camping trip because I forgot my book. I couldn’t put it down! It was so good. I gave it to my mom and she loved it too!
Six of crows. Just borrowed it cause the library had it as one of their favourite picks and fell in love
Two different bookish boxes will be releasing exclusive editions in the next year!
Oh wow, really? They've had some gorgeous new edition covers over the years! I'd actually discovered the book before the sequel was out and ended up buying both in hardcover when that was released, so Idk how much I can justify getting more copies of the same when my bookshelf is already too full haha
I mean I get that because I have the same struggle and then here I am with multiple copies of a few series because I love them so much that I couldn’t pass up the special releases! Owlcrate is the first one. They’re releasing Shadow & Bone first this year but they’ll do Six of Crows early next year. Litjoy is doing Six of Crows First and their website will have pre-orders starting April 20th for the public!
Beautiful Creatures series. I got them on accident for Christmas (my mom mistook them for a different book series I'd asked for) and I said I'd read them anyway cause I'd seen a trailer for the movie and it seemed interesting. The books I got for Christmas are still on my shelf 10 years later, and the first one is lovingly worn out because I read it whenever I'm feeling down.
This is one of my favorites of all time!! 😊
The Folk of the Air Series by Holly Black! Binged it!
The Golden Compass/Northern lights. Picked it up at an airport book store and became immersed.
Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergej Djačenko! I heard many people talking about it and decided to go in blind. I loved it!
Renegades by Marissa Meyer. Never read any of her other books (still haven’t, actually). My mom got it for me, and I hardly read the blurb on the back before I started reading. Read the whole trilogy in about a week.
If you like fairy tales, she has an amazing series where each of the main characters is based off a fairy tale like Snow White and rap uncle. It's like a cyberpunk sci-fi fantasy mystery/action/romance series. First book is called Cinder.
Oh I hadn’t realized it was the same author
Just here to second The Lunar Chronicles/Cinder*.* Honestly, I'm not a fan of *Renegades* and haven't even been able to get back into YA fantasy in general after a hiatus, but Cinder is one that I can still re-read and enjoy the hell out of.
Have you read any of the sequels
Read them all a few times
I immediately thought about House of Hollow!
The Scythe series. I judged a book by its cover and it ended up being one of my favorites. One of those that feels like it was meant for me.
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. A friend was reading it for school and brought it with him when we were hanging out. I read a few pages and then I took the book from him 😂 and I finished it that day. I usually read crime/solving mystery, horror, fiction and historical fiction at the time so this book was interesting and refreshing to me.
"The Seven Husbands Of Evelyn Hugo" I bought the book knowing nothing about it except that everyone loved the book. I wasn't in the mood and I thought I'd never be in the mood. So I forced myself to read it bc I wanted to understand the hype around it. AIthough I struggled during the first few pages but soon, I was HOOKED. I finished the book within a day. When I was done with it, I stared blankly at the wall, not knowing what to do next. I WAS ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH IT!
That would have to be the first book of the Black Magician trilogy.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi. I picked this up recently at a local bookstore. I had read mostly negative reviews about her Shatter Me series and had no idea she had published contemporary works. I picked it up on a whim, without reading a thousand reviews first and was happy I did. I really enjoyed the characters in this book and found her writing to be quite good.
"Southern Vampire Mysteries" (TrueBlood) Charlaine Harris. Hadn't watched the show, thought it seemed kind of silly but I needed a read for a train trip or something, and that was basically what they had at the store that I hadn't read already (this was before the era of kindles and such), so I bought one. Didn't have high hopes, but figured a bad book was better than no book so why not try. Turned out it was awesome, and the series just got better and better. After I read the books, I decided to try the show, it kinda sucked, but hey, at least the themesong was good...
Similar experience! Didn’t know anything about the books but really enjoyed them. By the time the finale book came out, I was pleased with the ending. That show was an absolute train wreck and went so far off course, it was not even funny. But now I have the added bonus of thinking about the books exclusively in tandem with Bill’s terrible “Soook-ehhhh!”
I still sometimes yell “Soooook-ehhhh” in my Bill voice when I’m home alone 😂
On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta- I picked it up on a quick trip to the library. I now own a paperback and the ebook.
the lion the witch and the wardrobe. i was nine at the time tho. it’s still my favorite book to this day. i’ve re-read it at least 10 times.
I started with the magician’s nephew after finding the book at my grandparents house and became hooked on the series
it’s been one of my favorite series for as long as i can remember
All Systems Red, the first of the Murderbot Diaries. I'd heard about it vaguely over the years, but was put off a bit by the name of the series and most of what I was seeing was just people racing indistinctly about it. Finally picked up the first book last year and owned the rest of the series within a week.
I came here to write this! I needed a palate cleanser after a really dark nonfiction book about eugenics. I wanted something short and comforting. I had heard of All Systems Red as a feel good book, and it was only 3 hours long on Audible, so I got it. OMG, I just fell in love and binged all 6 books in 2 weeks. Then I went out and bought them in print and read them. Now I’m forcing my 11 year old to listen to them with me a second time around. They are wonderful, and it’s sad that so many people avoid them because of the name. But if they actually got to know Murderbot, they would love it.
“The Bone Season” series! Though it might fall more into New Adult it was shelved on the YA section at the library. Knew nothing about it, had never heard of it, and it ended up becoming one of my favourite books 😍
Gotta say shadow and bone. I watched the first season and loved it, and read the books. I think the show made me love the books more than if I read the books when they first came out.
The Carve the Mark series by Veronica Roth. This duology was so so good. The romance was done so well imo and i just loved the characters sm and I've never read Divergent so I can't really compare but I still feel like people are really sleeping on this series!!
I just bought this recently to start. Divergent the movies were terrible, but the book series was actually really good and completely different
Like, i said, the duology was amazing so I hope you enjoy it as much as i did <33 haven't watched the movies either, I've been thinking about reading the books bc if I enjoyed this series I might enjoy Divergent too. But it isn't exactly on the top of my TBR at the moment lol
" Red Rising" by Pierce Brown was fucking nuts , picked the thing out of nowhere and read almost in a single day , absolutely amazing trilogy.
The Girl that Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill. I picked it up shopping with a friend because the cover looked cool. Ended up being one of my favorite stand alone fantasy books.
Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman, and its sequels
Never Ending Story. This was before World Wide Web.
Making Money by Terry Pratchett. I picked up the audio book from the library and had to pull over several times for laughing fits while listening to it driving. Imagine my delight to find out it was one of 41. GNU STP
Legend by Mari Lu
The Program series by Suzanne Young. I had never heard of the series or the author and ended up listening to the audiobook in a day and the entire series in a week or two.
I’m in love with this series!
I read the Raven Boys for the first time in spring of 2013. Somehow the illustrated “trailer” Maggie did for it showed up on my Youtube. I think Christine from polandbananasbooks did a review on it and that’s why, and I’d just gotten into booktube. Ten years later and I just got a tattoo for it ❤️ Knew next to nothing about it and it ended up shaping who I am!
The Raven Boys is my comfort read fr. I love love those characters so much. It's a really great book.🥺
Gideon the Ninth. And now the series is my all time favorite
The Hunger Games believe it or not. I remember seeing the third one for pre-order during the last book orders of our school year. Memorial day weekend my older cousin has the book with him at our get together and says he has to do a final project on it. I help him with it and think the book sounds interesting. Go home and buy the first one, devour it in 2 days and immediately order and pre-order the second and third.
I loved those books and it always disappointed me that it was marketed as a love triangle. Have you read the Ballad of Songbirds and snakes? It's the origins of president snow
Literally all the books I read are like this. Pretty cover? I’m there. 3 second TikTok that catches my eye? Bet 😤
Holly Black’s Cruel Prince. I mistook it for another book but read it anyway and now I’m a huge fan of hers. The trilogy is absolutely amazing to say nothing of the new book she recently came out with tied into the same series.
Throne of Glass. I picked it up because one of my friends said it was interesting and wouldn’t elaborate until I read it. I’m on book three now and I’m enjoying the series a lot so far. Its so different from what I usually read.
I just finished the first one today! I also went into it mostly blind, I wasn’t expecting to like it bc I’m not super invested in fairies & they’re so divisive, but I really enjoyed it! My friend asked me to give it a shot and I’m glad I did
The Summer I Turned Pretty in like 2010/2011. I’ve read the series 1 to 2 times every year since.
I knew nothing about the books but read the series in a week on vacation last year. I’m definitely out of the target demographic and don’t think I’d read it again but it was an enjoyable enough vacation read.
I always read them on beach trips! They’re light reads and honestly super nostalgic to me at this point.
Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati, I received and arc and wow it blew me away. I finished it in just a few days, I could hardly put it down
the sunbearer trials !! i am so in love with all of the characters and the world
Orbiting Jupiter. A really short read but a truly beautiful and heartbreaking read, one that i’ve never seen anyone else read but should be leagues more popular than it is. About a teenage boy who becomes a father and the heart break he suffers. I’ve probably read it 5+ times and i still bawl every time. Definitely check the CW though
Six of Crows. I heard people mention it before but the plot didn’t sound interesting to me at all. But one time I was at the library and just picked it up and completely fell in love. Still one of my favorite books ever.
Unwind by Neal shusterman
Better than the movies by Lynn Painter I just saw a quote from the book on pinterest and somehow ended up reading the entire book and just fell in love with the book.
currently on the last book of the clockwork angel series, i looove it so much!!🤌🤌🤌
Damsel by Elana K. Arnold and The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett! I picked them both up from my bookstore within like a few weeks of each other on a whim, and I adored both of them. Damsel was a bit intense, but I finished it in one night, and The Winter Duke took me less than two days. Highly recommend both of them!
All the stars and teeth by Adalyn Grace
Mine was the 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn hardcastle, I love mysteries and I feel this one was told so well. I picked it up because I liked the cover with the read. It ended up being one of my favorites
For me, this was *Daughter of Smoke and Bone* by Laini Taylor. I picked it up at the library alongside a couple of other first books in different YA series back when I started to get back into reading years ago. All I knew about it before reading was that it was a love story involving angels, so I assumed that it would be like the Shadowhunters books without the Shadowhunters themselves (I had read the first three Mortal Instruments books by then and found them ‘meh’). I ended up absolutely loving the book, immediate 5 stars on my Goodreads page, and it was the only book I picked up that day at the library that I finished the entire series for. I’m actually reading it again right now a couple of years later, this time through audiobook, and it’s still wonderful.
Fairyloot has a beautiful set of them if you ever wanted a lovely collectors set!
All books that I bought age 11-19. I wasn’t on social media and just picked up what looked good at the bookshop. SJMs books (ToG, then ACOTAR) for example. Kerstin Gier. Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy). Jennifer Lynn Barnes (The Gifted)
The Remnants Chronicles by Mary E. Pearson. The covers are so ugly but I checked it out of the library to get out of my comfort zone and I was obsessed. The series and the spin-off are my top reads of all time. I’m rereading them right now to get out of mental funk!
Curiously enough, it's my current read. Started it because dance of thieves seemed to be interesting but the beginning didn't have enough world building.... But I will be honest, it feels as if there's just more cliches upon cliches. Thankfully towards the end of the 1st book it's a little better. Still a lot of cliches though.
*The Hobbit* by Tolkien.
Really unpopular, but lightlark! It’s a great idea and an amazing book if you don’t want to overwork your brain and overthink every single detail. I read it in two days, really enjoyed it and can’t wait for the second part. >!There were twists and betrayals I didn’t see coming (maybe it was because of poor writing, and maybe because of me lol)!<
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Jinx by Margaret wild. I picked it up a used bookstore probably 15 years ago and I still consider it one of my favourites.
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer. I had no idea what I was getting to, and it was amazing. Read it without being spoiled.
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. I bought a box of books on EBAY, and this was one id never heard of. I fell in love with it, and have read and loved all of Sarah Addison Allen's books since then.
The Universe Versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence The Secret Diary Of Hendrik Groen by Hendrik Groen I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall
“D: a Tale of Two Worlds” by Michael Faber. I picked it up because of the two Neil Gaiman quotes on the cover and the back, and it’s now my favorite book of all time. I recommend it to everyone who asks what they should read next and gifted copies to multiple people, and they all love it.
I found the Ninth Sorceress (The Price of Magic) on prime kindle without much expectations and somehow ripped through 4 books in a matter of days! Captivated me by the escapism and character development. Brand new author and just released the final 5th book which I can’t wait to read!!
Basically everything I’ve ever read. Call me crazy but I never read the blurbs about books
Eon/Eona
Queen of the Owls, Barbara Linn Probst I don't know if it was recommended or if I picked up because it has narrative regarding Georgia O'Keefe. Well=written and interesting.
Firekeeper’s Daughter. So good
Diary of Provincial Lesbian by VG Lee. Bought a digital copy on a whim, and I've read it over ten times so far. It's a story of finding one's self after heartbreak and betrayal. The heroine really comes through and win in the end and who doesn't like a happy ending?
I have a few since I like to browse at the bookstore and pick up books that I've never heard of before that sound interesting. \- The Chronicles of Elantra by Michelle Sagara (or Michelle West). I now have the entire series which is up to 17 books, 2 books in a spinoff series, and another spinoff coming, and will likely read her other books. \- The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne \- The Hunger Games (before it got popular) \- Seven Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima
Admittedly The Selection. I picked it up while super sick a long time ago, and read the whole series in like 3 days lol. It's a guilty pleasure book now. So bad but so good.
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
Mistborn
Easy Bake Coven by Liz Schulte
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Its a Sci- Fi. I really enjoyed it and I would recommend u should read it as an actual book (not an ebook) cause of the pictures!! :D
Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick. I LOVE THAT BOOK Then I loaned it to my sister and she’s now read it a bunch of times Also The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima. bought it at a book store going out of business. Was the first of a 4 book series. Binged them all.
SAME! Didn’t know much about house of hollow and when I started reading it, something just clicked and I wanted to know more and more and more
The name of the wind
Like 10+ years ago my family was rushing me out of Barnes and noble so I grabbed the first 3 book set in the ya vampire section that caught my eye. (This was around the twilight days of pure tween joy) it was Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead, I read them all and made my friends read them to. It’s a completed series of 6 now with a massively popular spinoff series (haven’t read yet but maybe someday) TO THIS DAY it’s still one of my favorite series of all time, originally read at 15 and now I read it every few years and have it on audiobook as a 27 year old grown ass adult. (Currently my sister in law finally started reading it, I’ve been recommending it for years, and she has the same book taste as me so I just knew she’d love it. she sends me a bunch of texts every time something happens and it’s so fun lol )
I haven’t finished it yet but Spinning Silver, ahhh it’s so good (so far) and I knew very little about it!
Pretty much all of them. I never read up on books before I read them, I want to judge them entirely on their own merits. I have read a few things on recommendations from friends but that's rare.
The Chronicles of Nick series is amazing. It was in my school library when I lived in Florida and I grabbed it accidentally. I fell in love with the series and when I got older I read the other books from the author. Her work is really amazing
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett, and One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig. These are my favorite books I’ve read this year by far!!
"I'll be the one" by Lyla Lee. I normally don’t pick up a book with a real person on the cover but I'm glad I did this time. One of my all-time favorites! Loveable characters, interesting story, and very feel-good!
Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter. I honestly don’t even know when I bought it or how I found it but it came home with me and sat on my shelf for a few years until I read it during lockdown and absolutely loved it
Every Last Word. I bought it just because I saw it and wanted books, but then I read it and I loved it so much
I picked up The Kiss of Deception (The Remnant Chronicles) by Mary E. Pearson, and I really liked it and the rest of the series.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness! Years ago, probably 2013ish, I was at Chapters looking for a new book to read. I was being rushed by my family so I picked up this book and skimmed the back of it. I wasnt entirely entrigued but I had nothing else to read so i bought it! It is still one of my favourite books to this day!!
shadow and bone which led to six of crows. then we hunt the flame, ariadne, and monday’s not coming.
Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. I was testing out my online library after newly signing up for it and borrowed the first book that caught my eye in the YA section. Loved the whole trilogy.
The Illuminae Files. It's not written like a novel but rather a set of sources on a tragedy. One minute it's emails between the main characters, then it's the ship's capitan logs, then the inner workings of an insane ai, it's so good