Friday, February 08, 2013

Book Girls Don’t Cry: Book Hype!

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Inspired by Book Buzzers, Book Girls Don’t Cry is a weekly feature where we each discuss/vent/advise on the chosen weekly bookish topic. Don’t miss Jenni on Mondays, and Amy on Saturdays:

Book Hype: A pro or a con?



We were all, at one time or other, taken over by book hype. A book that is raved about, that has so many fantastic reviews, that you dive into it with such high expectations. And then the crash is hard and fast! I’m sure most of you have a book in mind already, eh?

When book hype is a bad thing:

 –The coulda shoulda woulda

Did I enjoy this book? Barf! No. I was left incredibly let down when, after all the brouhaha, it ended  up being NOT epic. NOT better than chocolate. I will NOT make babies with this book, lovelies! Y’all let me down! But the worst part, if I wasn’t expecting such a so-good-you-slapped-your-momma read from the start, I might have enjoyed it more. Never did I think it was a terrible book, sure there are issues that I would have had regardless, but good when you expect good is much better than good when you’re expecting something better than sliced bread! Maybe you just don’t know how much I love bread? Dude I swear, if this was the problem the whole time… *shakes head* *clings to loaf*

-The shouldn’t have been
 
Hype will make us read books we shouldn’t be reading! Period! I very rarely like fantasy, I don’t like books where I need notes to follow the complicated world, politics or language. I shouldn’t have read these books! Although I didn’t hate Grave Mercy–3 stars–it’s still a far cry from whatever everyone else read. If it wasn’t for the hype, I would never have picked these up. I will blame this on nothing other than peer pressure! >.<


When book hype is a good thing:

-The shouldn’t have been, that was

On the other hand, I would have never read these books if it wasn’t for the hype. The Sea of Tranquility is my genre, but that cover would never get me to check out even the blurb. The others: not my genre at all. Fantasy–not me. Angel books–Barf. But these books completely rocked it. So I guess sometimes, hype can be good, or maybe we’re just easy to manipulate! 😉


When bad book hype, is badder:

-The might have been

First–note that I didn’t dislike any of these books, I just didn’t love them–but maybe I could have? This is the opposite of the Mara Dyer situation: bad hype puts a bad taste in your mouth! You start a book knowing your trusted reviewers disliked it, and it makes you pick at every single annoyance that you see. Maybe things you would not have noticed if not for you expecting the awful at every page. You’re just waiting for the shit to fly, right? Would I have enjoyed these books more had I not seen all the bitching? Maybe so.


Living up:

Now let’s see books that lived up to the hype *claps hands slowly*–though I cannot promise you’ll agree (poo to that).

All in all, while some may think hype is a good thing–especially authors are publishers who get excited that their book is taking off at high speed, I have had a lot of bad experiences with it. I also see people–and do it myself–avoid books completely due to the hype that’s now given us extreme expectations which cannot possible be met. It’s like gambling in a way. You may get screwed royally, but you might also find your next BEST BOOK EVAH! So basically, from my post today, you have learned absolutely nothing! 😀

Oh except this: I love bread!

What are some books that disappointed YOU based on the hype? And which ones lived up to it?
Also, don’t forget to leave suggestions for future topics you’d like to see! 🙂
You know you love me!
Xoxo, Book Girl!

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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

67 Responses to “Book Girls Don’t Cry: Book Hype!”

  1. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I don’t mind book hype so much except when it’s the allthetimeinyourfaceaaahhhh kind. (The whole Indigo Spell/Marcus Finch thing is driving me insane.) Hype makes me take a chance on something I wouldn’t usually pick up. And, when I pick it up, I know I might not like it, despite fellow bloggers adoring it. It’s disappointing and I wish I could get on the bandwagon but *shrugs* ‘sall good! 🙂

    • Giselle

      GAH that Marcus Finch this is everywhere, huh? I’m the same way I always feel like since it’s so hyped up I’ll be the black sheep. Mostly bc there is no way it can live up now, right? *le sigh*

  2. Shirley

    Weeeeelll….I’m definitely the black sheep here; the only book I can think of off the top of my head that left me very disappointed because I was expecting SO much more..was the Unearthly series. EVERYONE I know loves the series but I only barely managed to finish the first book 🙁 & I agree with Mary’s comment above above Marcus Finch. Those posts are popping up everywhere but after reading The Indigo Spell, I was left extremely disappointed with Marcus’s character. I don’t know why he’s getting so much attention!
    And as for GOOD hype? Definitely The Sea of Tranquility, Pushing the Limits, Angelfall & I’d say Sins & Needles as well 🙂

    • Giselle

      Eep I’m so excited you loved Sins & Needles!! I loved Unearthly but when I read it there wasn’t that much hype for it so maybe it played a part in it. I’m also curious about Indigo Spell but the reviews have been all over the place on that one I’m kind of scared! Haha

  3. Eve LeBeau

    Definitely Lauren Kate’s books. The angel stuff is badly done and the characters are either annoying or flat. I really hate it when people are constantly praising books and encouraging others to read them, yet when I read them, they’re nothing special.
    It’s a whole another thing when they’re worth it, though.

    • Giselle

      oh I haven’t dared read those books at all. Mostly I don’t like angel books but it seems like people are either head over heels for it, or they hate it with SO much passion. It’s kind of amusing >.< I'm also 99% sure I'd fall in with the latter.

    • Kathy Ann Coleman

      I think we’ve had the “I Hate Fallen!” discussion before. 😉 I’ve never wanted to jump into a book and slap a character so bad in my life. (with regards to Daniel.) I like a ‘bad boy’ now and then, but he was just a total jerk. >.>

  4. Jenni @ Alluring Reads

    OMG! This Is Not A Test and What Happens Next! Those books deserve every single bit of hype they get. Loved those ones. I remember when I read Enclave it had been hyped up as being awesome and I did not feel that way at all. But I am usually the black sheep so that didn’t surprise me. I really need to read the Mira Grant series!

  5. jarkin33

    OMG we are twins… I went into Mara Dyer expecting to Love everything because some book people I trust loved it and I think I gave it two stars LOL also… I feel like based on this post we should be virtual bff’s. 🙂

    The book that irritates me beyond belief… The Edge of Never. Everyone and their mother seems to love that book, but I hated it. I mean I still gave it two stars, but there are so many holes and so much ridiculousness that I was astounded by the number of 5 stars it has. also… Ten Tiny Breaths.

    The Sea of Tranquility was one of my favorites last year and I could agree more on Shadow and Bone, Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Angelfall. I loved them all!

  6. bookittyblog

    Perfect post! I agree with you 100%. I didn’t get why everybody loved Mara Dyer so much. I kept waiting for the awesomeness to slap me in the face but it never happened. So I gave up.

  7. Silverlight

    I agree with you! Grave Mercy was a book that I received waaaay before the hype, I started it and I was a total DNF AND I LOVE Fantasy especially with a bad ass chick in it but this book was a goner for me. Then everyone started it and was loving it, and I was so total left field questioning myself –What did I miss? So I started it again and once again NO GO! So many books are like that for me!
    –Examples: Crewel started liked than was bored
    The Immortal Rules Started got about 25% in and couldn’t move past -the mc bugged me!
    Dark Kiss -I was lost and bored to tears!
    Indigo Awakening- I just couldn’t 😛
    I’m reading Sea Of Tranquility -almost done- It is really good!!!

    • Giselle

      Grave Mercy was not really for me. I was so lost in the political drama, and I wanted way more assassinations than what we got! What a let down!

      Dude I loved Crewel! *glares*
      indigo Awakening I DNFed after like40 pages–which I think is one of the quickest DNFed I ever had haha. Sea of Tranquility was SO good, and I haven’t read the others >.<

  8. Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings

    I feel like if we keep in mind these problems, we can use book hype to our advantage. If you are in the mood to try a new genre, try a hyped book (I’m planning on trying Pushing the Limits as my first contemporary). If you already love a genre, hype is probably helpful since it’s likely you will like it (though I didn’t like Stormdancer much… and I’m a huge fantasy fan). I’m not sure what to do about the hyped books that disappointed for no good reason, but if we could tease apart why others liked them but the you (or I) didn’t, then that would be helpful for deciding on books in the future probably?

    • Giselle

      Book hype definitely has made me read and enjoy books I would never have tried otherwise so it can also be a good thing. I think it does affect expectations which can both be good or bad depending how extreme it goes.

  9. Kezia D

    I love book hype when it introduces me to awesome books! For me, Divergent by Veronica Roth is totally worth the hype! While Evernight series by Claudia Gray disappointed me. A lot. The entire second book was literally full of making out scenes… Too much romance and I was relieved the moment I finished reading it… I don’t read the rest of the series, though >_<

    • Giselle

      I also loved Divergent! I read it before the big hype though. There was some hype but it was still fairly new and it was before my blog too so I didn’t hear as much of it. I’ve heard mixed things on Evernight I’m kind of curious about it, but not sure about that romance O_O

  10. Nick

    I have been disappointed with books that are so hyped very very often. Beautiful Disaster is one example. That book was just terrible for me. Another author I believe is way too hyped is Abbi Glines. Honestly, I have no idea how people read and LOVE of her books because her writing is plain horrible. The characters have no personality whatsoever and well, they suck. I also think Armentrout’s Obsidian series is way too hyped – like too much. The series isn’t bad or anything but it isn’t exceptional to receive so much hype either. I have had good hypes kind of book too. Grave Mercy was one for me. I’m sad o hear that wasn’t the case for you though, but I can understand your point.
    Thanks for sharing your point of view, Giselle! 🙂

    • Giselle

      Bahaha I know how you feel about the Abbi Glines books. Your reviews are the reason I haven’t dared try any yet–and the hype seems a little extreme which is often a bad sign for me. Beautiful Disaster seems to be very polarizing too!

      I didn’t hate Grave Mercy, I liked it, but I still don’t think I should have read it–it wasn’t at all as amazingly epic as I was expecting from people’s reactions to it. But I’m not a fantasy nut like them 😉

  11. Mel@Thedailyprophecy

    I sometimes feel a bit forced by hyped books. Like I’m not part of the club if I haven’t read the book :p I always feel like I need to pick up certain books, because I have the idea that I’m falling behind.. But that also makes me disappointed most of the time. I hate it if I don’t love a book as much as everybody did. Some books that lived up to the hype: Divergent, This is not a test, Cinder, Grave Mercy (I love these kind of books), What’s left of me & Everneath. One that didn’t: Anna and the French kiss.

    What bothers me is the fact that there are so many other great books – why aren’t they hyped as well? Where do these hypes come from?

    • Giselle

      Omg me too! I feel left out of the loop! But what’s even worse is being in the loop, but apart from everyone else. There is just no win! Oh I loved Everneath too, and Anna and the French Kiss 😉 But I read it before I started noticing the hype though–it was before my blog.

  12. Sirtsu

    Lol, Nick just said Jennifer’s Obsidian series is way too hyped, I disagree. I think her Covenant series is overhyped. The first two books are complete ripp-offs of Vampire Academy and though her writing is good, it still bothers me. She is a great person, though.. Haha. Abbi Glines, yes, I agree that her books are a little too hyped, because her writing is simple and the characters are quite similar and the storylines, too. But it works for a certain group of people and not everyone will like it. I was kinda disappointed by Hex Hall, Delirium and Matched, for instance. Everyone loves those books, but I just didn’t connect with the plot nor the characters. I LOVE that you loved The Sea of Tranquility. I was sceptical about this book, but it’s now one of my favorite books everrrr!!! Eek! I can’t wait to see what Amy thinks:)

    • Giselle

      Her covenant series is VERY hyped up. It’s the reason why I haven’t dared read it yet–I also hear complaints of it being too similar to the VA series. I did love Obsidian though. Abbi Glines is blowing up over the blogs right now but I have seen mixed opinions. So happy we agree on The Sea of Tranquility!! So good! <3

  13. Christianna Marks

    I honestly just had to put Obsidian down and everyone seemed to love that one, which is why I got it. Also I liked to be really shocked, but it takes a lot to surprise me so when people say something is and I don’t find it to be, it makes me real sad inside. I have mixed feeling about hype. But I agree that bread is awesome!

    • Giselle

      Dude I’m totally the same way it takes a lot to surprise me with twists and it’s so rare, eh? I loved Obsidian but the sequel was a tad disappointing. Very long, mostly.

      Bread. Is. Awesome!!

  14. Amy

    OMG I am dying laughing at your thought on Mara lol!! I tried to read Stormdancer too and couldn’t get into it. I was so excited for that one too. And then don’t even get me started on Level 2… I go into that in my vlog tomorrow. I can’t wait to read The Sea of Tranquility. It better live up to the hype now since you said so!! Don’t make me get all stabby if it doesn’t. And DUDE!! I freaking love bread!! I could just eat bread and be all set! Especially fresh baked, right out of the oven. (So it’s not sliced, but who needs slices when you can just devour the loaf)

    • Giselle

      Omg Level 2! I can’t wait to see your vlog. That book has gotten a lot more bad hype lately though it completely turned me off of it. I can’t wait to see what you think of The Sea of Tranquility!! I think you will really love it! It’s kind of similar in SOME ways than Pushing the Limits–like the grittiness and how genuine it all feels. But dude if you stab me I’ll kick you in the face!!

      Fresh baked break still warm with slices of Velveeta cheese! DUUUUUDE!

  15. Ning

    I love your post!! This happens to me all the time, especially when it comes to really hyped up YA books! I’m not a big YA readers, but I tend to get sucked it (like Delirium and Divergent). I get super high expectations and then the book just crashes and burns! And I’m like “Did I read a completely different book than other people?” I’ve learned my lesson so now I stay away from all the hyped up New Adult books since I know I won’t enjoy all that high school/college drama.

  16. Shooting Stars Mag

    I can see how book hype can be good or bad. I hate when books are said to be the next “so and so” or “perfect for fans of these authors” because if people go in for that reason, and they don’t see the connection, they tend to complain…and it’s not the author’s fault! So I hate when that happens. As for book hype in general…there are plenty of books I want to read because I’ve heard good things, but I tend to be okay if I’m not the biggest fan and everyone else was. I think it’s worse to read bad reviews for something because that could push me away from a book more, even if I might have liked it had I just read it on my own. It’s a give and take. I don’t let book hype drive me too much into things, though. I have to be interested. LOVED This is Not a Test after all the hype, but I figured I would like it anyway. I can’t think of something I read DUE to hype though…I don’t tend to do that much.

  17. Candace

    The top three were books I LOVED, but I also read them BEFORE the hype. I had early ARC’s of all three and I hadn’t even heard of Stormdancer before I got it. So I’m sorry that they didn’t work, but I can definitely say that Stormdancer isn’t one I would recommend to you just knowing your taste.

    I actually didn’t know Enclave was getting bad hype. I really liked it! I didn’t love Wither though, just the cover. The first two in that series were 3 stars (if I remember correctly) they were good, but didn’t blow me away at all.

    I’m glad you read Shadow and Bone and Daughter of Smoke and Bone cause I loved them both and am glad you did too!

    • Giselle

      Enclave did not receive bad hype overall, just among my friends I guess. And it’s actually a little different situation because I liked the book, but then I talked to a fried about it and she brought up all the crap that she hated about it, and it made me realize that yes, she was right, I just hadn’t noticed. Now I make her shut up until I have read and posted my review! haha

      Smoke and Shadow and Bone were super good even with my no-love of fantasy 😉

  18. Sarah Strohmeyer

    I wanted to read this blog as a relatively new YA author, after writing other fiction, and as a reader of YA partly because I was curious about whether hype was a good or bad thing. (Still can’t figure it out.) Also, because I’m totally confused why some books resonate widely and others don’t.

    I keep trying to get through Divergent and while I admire Veronica Roth’s world and her SAT vocab (smart move!), it’s so Hunger Games-ish that I can’t seem to move past that. Meanwhile, am loving Anna Dressed in Blood and loved Before I Wake as well as Anna and the French Kiss and Book of Blood and Shadow, which I haven’t read much about.

    But do contemporaries receive this much hype? Or only fantasy? Seems to be a major fantasy thing with DEVOTED followers. Not that I’m envious or anything.

    Really interesting thread.

  19. Kathy Ann Coleman

    Great topic choice! I actually just did an article on what I call “Too Scared To Start” syndrome, and a lot of the time for me, thinking about it as I read this, that can have to do with what others I know have thought about a book I’m about to read. When everyone’s going “ZOMG Kat! You SO need to read this!1!1!” that can actually set off a warning signal in my brain: “Danger! Danger! High pressure book incoming!”… I often don’t connect with highly hyped books, and if a book is REALLY huge sometimes I will actually avoid reading it, as a blogger, because I don’t feel it NEEDS me. There are other books and authors who can benefit much more from my time and efforts.

    On the same token, I can read someone’s response to something and have it totally color my opinion before I go into a book in a negative stance, too. I *despised* Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater before I even started page one, because right before I read it I had just read a review from one of my friends who tore it apart from every possible angle. This was very early on with my blog and ultimately it *was* my fault for letting something I had read color my opinion. But color it it did, and even going back now I have that seem reaction to the book despite the fact that the actual *writing* is good.

    As bloggers I think the pressure can go even further, though. And it’s not even an intentional thing. For instance: you, Marie (from Ramblings of a Daydreamer) and my friend Krystle have all mentioned Cinder and how much you loved it. I *want* to read it so I can talk about it. I have had it sitting here for a year untouched. Yet I’m terrified to open it. What if I *don’t* like it? I realize that’s totally my opinion and that, realistically, there is no *expectation* on me to like it because someone else did. But I’ve always found that I can have this psychological *block* about stuff like that. (It takes me weeks to start edits on my writing after a critique, too. It just won’t “flow”.)

    Anyway, it’s human nature to hype things. I think the most productive thing we can actually control is how we react to the hype. Being aware of it, aware of when we are causing it and being aware of what it does to us–release hype helps me, for instance. I don’t always comment on Fresh Batch, but I *do* always read it. Aside from blogging, checking my mail, and Jay it’s one of the main ‘constants’ in a week. *laughs* I do think this is a topic which, especially as bloggers, we need to be aware of, though.

  20. Louise

    I usually tend to wait until the hype surrounding a book has died down because chances are I’ll have high expectations that will be completely crushed if I read it while it is being hyped up. Other times I just ignore hype all together, especially right now with the Marcus Finch stuff going around. I don’t want to know who he is anymore! >.< Great post 🙂

  21. Sarah Elizabeth

    The book that immediately comes to mind is crewel. people will hate me for saying that, but it just sisn’t live up to the hype for me. The books that I wonder if I might have liked them more had it not been for the bad hype are books 2 and 3 of the fifty shades series. The girls in my book group bad mouthed them to me so much I felt that if I liked them I would be stoned! They were alright in the end but I didn’t love them, not sure if the hype made a difference – probably not in reality.
    Great topic Giselle!

  22. Nicole Mainardi

    I totally agree with Mara Dyer! And actually Daughter of Smoke and Bone didn’t live up to my expectations either. Everyone was saying that both of these books were so amazing that were definitely going to be my top ten of the year. But because I had such insanely high expectations, I was let down. Like you said, if there hadn’t been all the hype, I probably would have liked them a little better. But now I’ll never know… Great post Giselle!

  23. Audrey (Bibliosaurus Text)

    I feel like I’ve got burned on reading choices because of overhyped books.It doesn’t help when bloggers write overly saccharine reviews of meh books just because they want the publicists or whatnot to continue to give them ARCs. I can’t stand dishonest or overly charitable reviewing.

    And like everyone else, the Marcus Finch stuff is driving me up the wall. Talk about overdoing it.

    I’m glad for some of the hype, though. I’d have never read Laini Taylor’s book Lips Touch: Three Times otherwise, and I loved it.

    Awesome discussion!

  24. Michaniya Cunningham

    Giselle, great topic as usual, I absolutely love these weekly features.

    I usual react badly to book hype. That is, if people are going on and on about a book I refuse to read it. The most recent example is Fifty Shades of Grey. When I first heard about the series it was self published in a different country. No one was really talking about it except for a bunch of people on Maryse’s website so I was very interested in reading it. I put it off for a while because the books cost almost $30 (or was it $20?) and I just couldn’t bring myself to pay that much for an ebook. As soon as it became this big thing that EVERYONE and their momma was talking about, I completely dismissed it. Actually, not true, I started to really hate it. I ended up buying the first book and still haven’t picked it up, I doubt I ever will. Plus, after learning more about it, it sounds like something I just wouldn’t be into.

    There are rare occasions that I give into the book hype. One Example is Consequences by Aleatha Romig. I couldn’t finish it. It’s still sitting there on my iPad waiting to be moved beyond the 50% mark and I just can’t bring myself to read anymore. I’m surprised I got that far.

    But, because of book hype, I read (and just finished) Hopeless by Colleen Hoover and absolutely loved it.

    So I guess book hype is not all bad. One downfall though, which you mentioned above, is when you’re expecting so much because of all the hype and it falls short. It probably would have been good, but you went in expecting too much.

  25. Desiree

    Divergent!!! Everyone and their dog and their infant kid seems to love this series! I don’t see what the hype is all about. Tris is boresville USA! Four is far from swoon worthy, and the whole world is completely flawed. Dystopian is my genre of choice but this series is leaving me puking in my mouth every time I try to finish Insurgent. BLAH!

  26. Stephanie

    Hush Hush and Fallen are super hyped. While I’m out of the intended demographic and know better, it alarms me to think young girls will buy the “hot angel /sparkly vampire/ dangerous werewolf knows whats best for the weak human girl bulls***.” I read the first few in both series only because of the hype and then decided life is too short to waste it on characters that are ultimately stupid and plotlines that are predictable.
    On the other hand, because of the hype I read The Sea of Tranquility,a book I would have never picked up with that cover, and found my favorite read of the year.
    So maybe hype isn’t the most reliable source but its important to note WHERE that hype is coming from.

    Great post btw.

  27. Aneeqah

    Hahaha, I loved that closing! I really do think books with hype are basically a gamble. If a book is seriously good, then it’ll live up to the hype, most of the time at least. And hype can also lead you to a new book that you would haven’t ever have read before, which is really great too. Like, I never would have read Grave Mercy if it weren’t for the hype, but it’s now one of my favorites (although I’m sorry you didn’t love it!). However, I do agree that many times with bad hype, I’ll be pickier. I try to not, but I honestly can’t help it, truly.

    Fantastic post, Giselle! Hype is such a complicated thing, goodness.

  28. kay - Infinite Shelf

    For me, it was Lauren Kate’s series (very very blah, only maybe finished the first book? I’m not even sure now…) and Alyson Noel’s series (again, only read the first book, but it was very Twilight-ish).
    For me though, sometimes negative hype makes me appreciate a book more. Wither, for instance, had received such low reviews from friends and trusted reviews that I had absolutely zero expectations when reading it. So I did see the faults, but I found is surprisingly enjoyable. Funny how that works! 🙂

    For me though, good or bad, it’s the amount of hype that makes me not want to read a book. Indigo Spells is a book that, right now, I want as far from me as possible. I want to hear about other books, too 🙁

  29. fantasylover12001

    I’ve gotten to the point where I ignore hype all together. I pick books up based on if it sounds like something I can get into. That way if a book disappoints, I have no one to blame but myself. Sometimes this works out well for me (it helped me find Tiger Lily for instance which is a book no one talked about but ended up being one of my top books of 2012), other times it doesn’t (UGH Mara Dyer. SUCH a disappointment).

  30. Jesse Burgoyne

    A lot of these books that you’ve listed I didn’t even know we’re hyped. Which I think is a good thing. I like to know what books are around, but I don’t read anything based on hype alone. I read the synopsis (or possibly a few reviews) and make my decision based off if it sounds like something I’d enjoy. I have a hard time getting into books and I’ve been known to read ridiculously slow at times, so it just doesn’t pay for me to pick up every book that’s been hyped. More likely than not, I won’t like half of them.

    My only bad experience with hype was all the talk surrounding Insurgent. I read Divergent when it first was released and I loved it. It wasn’t the greatest book ever, but it swept me off into a world of factions and mind control and kept me entertained and on my toes. So I was really excited for Insurgent. And then all of the hype started. The blog tours and the non-stop marketing pushes. And suddenly just the word Insurgent made me want to rip my hair out. I still haven’t read that book, despite wanting to know what happens. I’m worried that it just won’t live up to all of that exposure it was given.

    Jesse @ Pretty In Fiction

  31. Millie

    Bah! It was really awkward when I had read Wither, expecting that it would be this fantastic book, but it just kinda went down hill. Not to say that I hated the book, but it didn’t live up to all of its expectations. And I will say that all of the positive hype for Hopeless by Colleen Hooper and Crash by Nicole Williams was crazy. I don’t usually enjoy contemporaries, but I wouldn’t have bought them if they hadn’t gotten all of this positive hype. It’s great that book hype expands the kinds of books I read, reach outside of my comfort zone, but sometimes things kind of blow up like a missile sailing down from the sky and crashing.
    Great discussion!
    Cheers!

    Millie @ Millie D’s Words

  32. kimbacaffeinate

    Book hype is only good as the genre it is in. If you do not like a genre no amount of hype is going to make it rock your world. Yes, there are the rare crossovers but for the most part trust your own instinct. Grave Mercy was my number one read for 2012..LOL But I love historical fiction, suspense and kick-ass assassins. Cinder, Deadline and This is Not a Test made my list too.
    I do not mind the book hype I just try to remember what I like and not loose my head. I love bread too!

  33. Leanne Yang

    There are so many different sides to hype, and you mentioned them all above. A lot of the times, I try not to read reviews just because it sets an expectation in my head. Awesome post! 🙂

  34. Krazzyme(Young Readers)

    Hm.. what kind of bread Giselle 😛 *Inquiring minds want to know :P* I guess hype is good and hype is bad as well. We just have to live with it. I might have liked Divergent more if it hadn’t had such a hype around it but you never know… Thoughts on a particular book will always be SUBJECTIVE .In my opinion ..

  35. Ivana -WTSL

    Great question! I had the same response to Grave Mercy. I wanted more kicking ass, less political hubbub, but that’s mostly what I got. Also, Nick mentioned Obsidian. That was such a disappointment, but okay, I see why people would like it. The Fallen series (basically every series about angels) and Beautiful Creatures were completely ‘meh’. And don’t get me started on 50 Shades.

    On the other hand, all the hype for Daughter of Smoke and Bone is so so so well deserved.

  36. lilybloombooks

    I agree about Beautiful Creatures. But I think it’s getting more hype now because of the movie. I have a lot of books I was disappointed by but I think the ones that stand out most would be Legend and The Lost Prince. This is why usually, if a book has A LOT of hype, I’ll wait to read it once the dust settles. I’ll go in remembering everyone loved it (or hated it) without the background noise of everyone’s opinion whispering in my ears. 🙂 It sucks too because I’ll read a book that I absolutely LOVED and I’ll be kickin myself for not reading it sooner, like Angelfall.

  37. Kristilyn (Reading In Winter)

    Hype is definitely subjective, though. I mean, I loved Mara Dyer AND Grave Mercy, but really didn’t like Shadow and Bone …. And I loved Wither, but hated Girl of Nightmares.

    I do think that people should think before buying books that are crazy hyped up … will I REALLY like this? Should I buy it? Should I get it from the library?

    Good post!

  38. Kaity

    Hype has become Russian roulette with several bullets too many. Lately I’ve been avoiding books that are getting that kind of attention. It’s such a slippery slope too because you read one and it is as amazing as everyone says (*cough*Cinder*cough*), then the next makes you wonder if your books is somehow different than everyone else’s because no way are you reading what they read.
    I’m going to step out on the extremely unpopular opinion ledge here and say that I was disappointed by The Hunger Games.

  39. Micheline D

    Great BGDC…TV discussion again this week. Hype really is a double edged sword isn’t it: on the one hand, I may have never read books like Daughter of Smoke & Bone if it hasn’t gotten all the brilliant ratings and reviews…but on the other hand, I was BIG TIME let down with Masque of the Red Death AND The Mortal Instruments series despite so many trusted bloggers LOVING them >.< Since then, I've made a rule to NOT read any reviews of books I want to read before I read them. I star them in Google Reader so I can go back once I've read the book! I will check ratings & comments about the books though – haha! Thanks for sharing Giselle!!

  40. Jackie

    I start groaning once everyone starts obsessing over a book. I’ve read so many books that have been hyped up, and they turn out to be mediocre at best (if I’m lucky). It’s making me skeptical of every 4 and 5 star reviews. It’s frustrating when I lose faith in fellow bloggers all because of book hype; they’re who I go to for book recommendations.

    I totally understand book hype around the Harry Potter books. That series took the world by storm. I even understand the hype around Cinder. It was really a creative story! I loved the Hunger games just like 75% of the people out there, but to be honest I’m a little weary that the rest of the books in the series won’t live up to the first.

    But then, I recently read Divergent. It was a book everyone was raving about a year or two ago, and…it was a total let down. I don’t even think I would have enjoyed it if book hype didn’t surround it. I just can’t figure out why people were so obsessed with it! Or most books that have been hyped up.

  41. A Canadian Girl

    I’m glad I did succumb to the book hype around Mara Dyer. I kept hearing about how hot Noah was yet all I got from reviews was that he was also a major jerk.

    In terms of some books I read based on book hype, Pushing the Limits was okay. I loved Divergent and Angelfall though.

  42. Maji Bookshelf

    *gasp* you didn’t like mara dyer? (took me a full 30 seconds to write that sentence because i kept on typing the wrong letters cuz of how shocked i was 😛 )

    And grave mercy? I LOVED IT! but I am with you about storm dancer… ugh i DNF-ed it in like 30 pages!

    as for the books you loved.. i really need to pick up the sea of tranquility.. as for daughter of smoke and bone? i will use your own text “*barf*”.

    i went into new girl with people saying it wasn’t that great but I personally LOVED it. As for wither, i didn’t know people disliked it!

    Books i read because of the hype and LOVED include Divergent, Shatter Me, and Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

    awesome post!!

    – Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf

  43. Christina

    Methinks if your goal in life is ever to make babies with a book, you’re going to be super disappointed. Also, let the record show that I didn’t let you down, because I never read The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer.

    I did, however, love both Grave Mercy and Stormdancer. Also, you have TWO fantasies in the next category. :-p

    Oh dear, I really liked both New Girl and Enclave. O_O

    WOOO! I like your lived up to it category! I need to read Kendare Blake and Colleen Clayton, but HELLS YEAH to the others.

  44. Alexa Y.

    Book hype is an interesting thing. In most cases, it’s worked out all right for me, since I ended up liking and/or loving the book in question – like Shatter Me, Divergent & Cinder to name a few. But of course, there are a few duds (and not always super duds, just didn’t love them as much as anyone else), and I always feel sad about those. I guess it’s got a positive side and a negative side to it then 🙂