Thursday, May 23, 2013

Book Girls Don’t Cry: That Time I Was the Black Sheep

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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:
 
This week’s topic was suggested by Ruby from Feed Me Books Now!!! 

I wanted to love you, but…



Sometimes there are books that you are just DYING to love either because it sounds exactly like you type of perfect read, all your friends highly recommended it, or it just has an epically awesome cover (pfft yeah I just by the cover! Sue me!), BUT they don’t always pan out. So this week we’re talking about books we wanted to love but we just…. didn’t. Then the black sheep was born. BAAAAAA. (that was a sheep…. fyi).

Note that most of these I did not hate, I just didn’t LOVE like so many (either 3 or 2 stars).

 
Jellicoe Road
by Melina Marchetta

Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was eleven, Taylor Markham 17, finally confronts her past. Hannah, the closest adult she has to family, disappears. Jonah Griggs, moody stares and all, is back in town. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able to change her future.

Yeah yeah I know. EVERYONE and their dog loved this one. I mean, 180 of my Goodreads friends read it and their average is 4.62 (note that I rarely see over 3.6; I have very picky friends >.<). So call me disappointed (and a lil scared of the horde) when I didn’t love this one. I didn’t hate it – I did give it a 3 stars – but I wasn’t able to understand the big hurrah about it either. Honestly I did read this 3 years ago, so maybe if I read it now I would get it, but I only remember being confused. Which does make me kind of want to give it another try now that I’ve read more in the genre (wasn’t big on contemp back then).

  The Night Circus
by Erin Morgenstern

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called “Le Cirque des Reves,” and it is only open at night.

Another one that is very highly praised. I did understand why some love it as it does have an incredible imagery and fantastic writing, but otherwise I was just so bored. The blurb talks of battles between magicians and fierce competitions and high stakes, hence why I expected something much more exciting. Sure it’s flowery but it had nothing to hold me over. It could, however, make an awesome movie which I hear is in the works! [Find my review here.]

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer
by Michelle Hodkin   

Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.
It can.
She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.
There is.
She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.
She’s wrong.

GAH I think some of you know by now that this book was a big load of fail for me so I won’t go on and on about it. I jut expected SO much more from it. It was my most anticipated book for what seemed like a very long long from when I saw the cover, then I finally got my greedy hands on it and I was utterly disappointed that it turned into another bleh romance story. [Find my review here.]

  Unspoken
by Sarah Rees Brennan

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

*Feels Kara’s glare* This sounded so up my alley it felt too good to be true, and sadly it was.  I remember wishing it was less romantic and more… gothic I guess. But mostly with this one I just didn’t feel any connection with the characters which you know can make or break a book.  I don’t really remember a whole lot from it now, but I do recall enjoying the creepiness of the plot at least. [Find my review here.]

Delirium
by Lauren Oliver

Ninety-five days, and then I’ll be safe.
I wonder whether the procedure will hurt.
I want to get it over with.
It’s hard to be patient.
It’s hard not to be afraid while I’m still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn’t touched me yet.
Still, I worry.
They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness.
The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don’t.

This one I read pretty recently actually, so I do blame my not being wow-ed by the simple fact that it was my 28312736821767th dystopian this year alone. It wasn’t a bad book, it got a 3, but I was just kind of bored for a while.

I’m hoping I didn’t get too many death glares from this post! But now it’s your turn!
Tell me what book(s) made you feel like the black sheep!

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)

41 Responses to “Book Girls Don’t Cry: That Time I Was the Black Sheep”

  1. bookittyblog

    Nooooooooooo!! I’m so sad you didn’t love Jellicoe Road! Maybe try something else by Melina Marchetta? I recommend Saving Francesca. It’s short and amazing! I do agree about Mara Dyer. I really didn’t get why all the hype. But to each their own. Great post Giselle!

  2. Cayce

    I’m with you on most of this. I tried TRIED to read Jellicoe Road, because I heard others raving about Melina Marchetta, but just couldn’t get into it, so I DNF’d it for now….
    I have yet to read The Night Circus, but heard that it’s similar to Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell,which I LOVED, so maybe I’ll enjoy it…
    I didn’t have very high expectations for Delirium, and I enjoyed it enough, but then came Pandemonium (meh) and Requiem (hate!), and now I just hate the whole thing. Sigh.

    Stormdancer, Time Between Us, The Scorpio Races – just to name a few books that I thought I’d love, but didn’t 🙁

    Great post!!

  3. Nicci @ Paper Dreams

    Jellicoe Road took me forever to read, and for the first half I was just completely confused! I did end up loving it though, but I understand those who did not. But I do completely agree with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I never even finished it as I was just bored.

  4. Amy

    OMG yes!! Unspoken!!! I feel like I was like the only one who didn’t like that one too. I actually DNF’d it. I didn’t even think of that one when making my list. I seriously tried to read that book for like 4 days until I finally gave up.

  5. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I’ve felt like a black book sheep on more than one occasion! All my bloggy friends are raving over this newest release (IF I DIE comes to mind…) and I’m all, “Meh.” It’s weird how books just don’t (or do) click with people for whatever reason.

    Welcome to the Black Flock. We rock & roll ’round here.

  6. Jenea Whittington

    I still haven’t read Unspoken yet. Haven’t really been in a rush to either for some reason. My black sheep book was Beautiful Disaster. So many people loved it. There were just so many reasons why I didn’t. But then there are books that I absolutely love and most people don’t.

  7. @HarleyBearBooks

    Delirium was one of the first dystopians I’ve read so I think that’s why I enjoyed it more. I loved Mara Dyer and am sad to hear you didn’t enjoy it as much as you anticipated. So many people love Jellicoe rd, but I’ve been weary to try it so far. I did a post kind of similar to this today about books everyone loves, but I didn’t. Great post!

  8. Kristin A.

    Most recently I felt that way with The Eternity Cure. I just cannot see how people can love that sequel. I’ve also felt that with The End Games which many other bloggers love and I just found painful at times. Great post!

  9. Siiri

    Unspoken seems to be a permanent resident in these kind of lists. I had the same thing with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and I read about 60% of Delirium last summer, but didn’t love it and DNF-d it for the time being, but I’ll try it again this summer. I hope I’ll have better luck with Night Circus though since it’s been on my TBR pile forever and even though I hate clowns, I love circuses so yup, I hope this magical story will fit for me.

  10. Megan Hand

    Okay, hold the phone. You didn’t LOVE The Night Circus??? WHA??? Thank GOD! Cause neither did I! Like you said, it was kind of a black sheep for me too. I was completely bored. The storyline was slow, the characters were 2D, the romance was…wait. There was a romance? Lol, I barely felt it, whatever it was supposed to be. The BEST part of the whole book was the end. That was pretty cool. But it took way too long. And so many points of view. We didn’t know who the characters were for a long time, and I felt really confused about the little boy. The author took way too long explaining that. I do agree this would make a spectacular movie! Excited for that.

    Haven’t read these other ones except for Mara Dyer, which I did love, but I happen to be a sucker for a teen romance. Can’t help it. Sucker is in my blood 🙂

    And seeing my book on your currently reading now has me chewing my fingernails. I’m just hoping to not end up on your next black sheep list, lol 🙂

  11. Nicole Mainardi

    I didn’t like Delirium either, and it was one of my first dystopians! I love her book Before I Fall way more. And Mara Dyer wasn’t all I was expecting it to be either.

  12. Christianna Marks

    I don’t know what to say, because I haven’t read any of these books yet. I do have The Night Circus and Unspoken though. I guess I’ll have to see when I get around to reading them…

  13. Megan K.

    I’ve only read two of the books you listed here: Mara Dyer and Delirium. I have to agree with you about Mara Dyer – I didn’t love that one as much as many others did! To me, Mara and Noah’s relationship escalated a little too quickly for me to enjoy it, and the book focused more on the romance than on the actual conflict. Eh. I LOVED Delirium, though. Another notable book for me was Shatter Me. I noticed that SO many people loved it, yet I felt pretty much the same way I did with Mara. I’m surprised you didn’t like Jellicoe Road! I mean, I haven’t read it yet, but loads of people have been gushing about it that it’s hard not to get intrigued. Bahaha, confusing stories are never good. 😛 If you do give it another go, can’t wait to hear what you think!

  14. Lauren Elizabeth

    I’ve read all of these, and I can totally agree with you about Night Circus. That is a book that I wanted to love SO badly, but something was missing for me, and I just liked it. The imagery was beautiful, but some essential cohesiveness was missing. I see what your point also on Delirium and Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. I had problems with both of those, but had enough fun to keep going with both series.

    I’m sorry Unspoken and Jellicoe didn’t work out for you, I really loved those. I hope you’ll give Jellicoe another try now that you’re more into contemporary! 🙂 And don’t worry, we’re all review black sheep at some point. Diverse tastes and where a book hits a reader in their lives (like in the middle of a big trend vs. the crest of one) practically ensures it. Fab topic!

  15. Maja (The Nocturnal Library)

    I was totally the black sheep with all of these except for Jellicoe too! I actually never even bothered to finish Delirium since I hated the MC and despised the writing. I never really got far with Mara Dyer or Unspoken either. I actually read Night Circus because Maggie Stiefvater recommended it, but it was one of the very few times when I disagreed with her opinion.

    Even Jellicoe only got four stars from me, and not five like it did from everyone else. My favorite Marchetta contemporary is Alibrandi, not Jellicoe.
    Thanks for sharing!

  16. Shooting Stars Mag

    I haven’t read any of these actually, but there are some that I want to check out, like Unspoke and Jellicoe Road. I guess we’ll see what I think whenever I get to them. haha To be honest, I tend to miss a lot of the hyped books (especially when they are in a series) so I can’t really think of something I was totally psyched for that let me down. I’m sure it’s happened on some level though…

    -Lauren

  17. Rachel @ Unforgettable Books

    Its sad when “Can’t wait to devour” books turn out not to be the book you were looking for. I read part of Jellicoe and became disinterested in it after awhile; I might try it again sometime, glad to find out that me and my sister are not the only people not wowed by it. I probably was not in the mood for it either.

    Fantastic discussion post!!!!!

  18. Kat Balcombe

    I wasn’t a fan of Mara Dyer either. It was just, blah. I have terrible luck with ‘hyped’ books, and those dystopians are an epidemic all on their own.

    Just One Day was the book that disappointed me the most – I only found ONE other blogger that didn’t like it and I felt like I’d missed something!

  19. Mel@Thedailyprophecy

    Delirium was an okay read for me too. Another one everybody seems to love: Anna and the French kiss. I just don’t get it. Too much drama and all the swooning over Étienne.. Not for me.

  20. Candace

    Ditto what you said about Jellicoe Road. I also read it a few years ago and may like it more now that I’ve read more YA contemp. I haven’t read The Night Circus but I borrowed it AGES ago and I’m a little afraid I might feel the same way as you. I guess we’ll see. The others you mentioned I did love. But I get what you mean, sometimes it just stinks when we don’t love the books that so many are just raving about.

  21. Miss Page-Turner

    Whaaaaaaaaaaat? On the Jellicoe Road, Delirium AND The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer?! Those are my favourites! So sad you didn’t like them as much as I did. But I had that feeling about several books that others adored, too. It’s a great thing there are so many different books out there to suit every reader’s taste, right?:)

  22. Sassy Spratt

    So sad you didn’t love Delirium or the Night Circus. As for me, I had big expectations when it came to Seraphina, but i just couldn’t get into it and enjoy it.

  23. Kara_Malinczak

    LOL you and blogging about Unspoken. And how you always include me. Cracks me up. I still love you because I totally agree about The Night Circus. 😀

  24. Little Miss Becky

    I have to agree Delirium was slow for the first 150 pages or so..it almost lost me, but I did really enjoy it by the end. I loved Unspoken, though!
    One of my black sheep books is A Need So Beautiful—didn’t really get what everyone loved about that one. And pretty much everything by Jennifer Echols. I have tried so many times with her books and always end up DNFing them.

  25. Melanie

    I think ill take it as a god thing that I’ve only read one book from your list- Delirium. I read it last year and thought it was pretty good but the series got worse and worse. 🙁 You didn’t like Jellicoe Road?! I have 7 book recommendations of that on GR and have heard endless phrases for it, that really sucks. I hope I’ll like it more!

    Thanks for sharing, Giselle! <33

  26. Dea S.

    Aww, I’m sorry to hear that you didn’t love Jellicoe Road! That book is one of my all-time favorites, but I kinda understand why some people wouldn’t love it as much as I do. BUT I definitely agree with you on The Night Circus, Delirium and The Unbecoming. Especially The Night Circus because I was so bored to tears while reading it.

    Now one of the few books that made me feel like a black sheep is Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. It was at the top of my wishlist before it was released but I was SO disappointed when I finally read it.

  27. Jennifer Messerschmidt

    I loved Delirium *death glare* hehe. I agree with the commenter above me. I couldn’t finish Throne of Glass. So many great reviews and I was bored out of my mind. Also Abbi Glines books. She seems to have so many fans so I literally tried all her books and couldn’t finish a single one. Hated them all. Also hated and DNF Beautiful Creatures and Grave Mercy which seem to be really popular.

  28. Dragana Mitrovic

    No death glares from me. 🙂
    I only read Delirium by Lauren Oliver from your list and it was also 3-star read for me. Nothing special.
    There are a lot of books that made me feel like a black sheep. These are just some books that were average (or below) to me: Twilight, The Iron King, City of Bones, The Vincent Boys, Poison Princess, … But what’s good when you have a blog that there is also someone who shares your opinion so you are never solitary black sheep after all. 😉

  29. Aman

    You didn’t like Mara Dyer? I love that series! The first book is VERY confusing but it gets much better in the next one. Well, it’s okay. I didn’t like The Sea of Tranquility and everyone else loved it. I feel bad for DNFing it, but the story just wasn’t moving forward enough. Ugh! I’ve heard Delirium is very boring and the series didn’t even end well, so NO that trilogy. No death glares from this side 🙂

  30. Michelle

    I am with you on Jellicoe Road. I was confused for the first 1/3 of the book and then I was just like ehhh for the rest of it. I can see why people would like it, it’s written really good, but I just wasn’t feeling it at all. And there were SO many people in it!!

    I liked Mara Dyer, but I can see why some people wouldnt. I loved the mystery aspect of it and wondering if she was crazy or paranormal or something, but I didn’t like the Noah/Mara relationship… it annoyed me how weak she got when she got around him. Like she couldn’t even walk without him holding her up half the time… ANNOYING!!

    Books I wanted to love but couldnt: The S-Word, Meant to Be, The DUFF, The Lonely Hearts Club

  31. Krazzyme(Young Readers)

    Well it’s happened to me too , Some people LOVE a series but I just think it’s ok. Divergent for me was ok but people LOVE it to bits.

    I liked Unspoken a lot but Mara Dyer was ok for me.

    Keep reviewing and writing what you think Giselle I like reading your reviews 🙂

  32. Alexa Y.

    I really loved Jellicoe Road, but I can understand why you felt that way about it! It’s not the easiest read, and Melina’s writing is a bit different. But maybe if you read it again, you’ll end up feeling differently!

  33. Micheline D

    Night Circus is one I really hope we disagree on…and I don’t say that often hehe! I’ve heard very mixed things about Delirium & Unspoken too – probably the reason I still haven’t read either, though I do own Delirium! Thanks for sharing chick ♥