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Hi everybody, and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday!
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is a throwback freebie. I’ve been blogging for almost two years now and well… the time sure does fly! So as a little throwback I thought it might be fun to talk about some of the first books I ever reviewed for this blog, and see if my feelings are still the same or not? Sound like fun? Yay, let’s do this!
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Then:
“This book will destroy you. It will tear your heart right out of your chest while at the same time holding you, stroking your hair, feeding you chocolate and telling you it will all be okay. Even though I have serious questions about my sanity because I like this book that left me a sobbing mess, I can’t help but give it 5 stars.” [Full Review]
Now:
I remember loving the book and loving the movie. I even bought the sequel, even if I haven’t read it yet and have in the meantime kind of lost interest. Also, when I first read Me Before You I wasn’t aware of the ableism in it, so if I were to read it again, it might affect my view.
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
Then:
“I really enjoyed this book. I loved the writing style, the nice quotes and the unique way of intertwining emails, IM’s and even drawings in between the chapters. I especially loved Maddy’s ‘short reviews’ of books. I thought the romance was nice and sweet and all the emotions felt real to me. But what I really liked was that this story did not go at all the way I had expected it to go.” [Full Review]
NOW:
Another book where I wasn’t aware of the ableism when I first read it, which is a real pity. Now I am aware of the issues, but I still love this book for the enjoyment I got out of reading it and I still do really want to see the movie.
All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Then:
“It was a gorgeous book that was beautifully written with amazing main characters. But the subject matter is hard. It is real though and needs to be told. Mental health issues are a reality and people who have them often run into misunderstanding and are stigmatized. This book could really help spread awareness on that.” [Full Review]
Now:
Just thinking about this book makes me want to start crying again. How far are we with the movie actually?
Passenger by Alexandra Bracken
Then:
” If you want to read a fun adventure story, this scavenger hunt that spans continents and time periods is just perfect. […] But like it says on the back ‘this journey is only the beginning’ and I was not ready for the ending! I need the second book, and I need it now! The ending actually left me very confused and I still have so many questions, which I’m sure will be answered in the second book.” [Full Review]
Now:
Even though I enjoyed this when I read it, I have in the meantime forgotten pretty much EVERYTHING about it and have zero desire to reread or start the sequel. Tell me, my bookish friends, should I still give it a try or not?
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Then:
“Everything that was set up in this first book in the series has me excited to continue on with the series because I am that convinced I will love it. But if I look at this book alone and don’t think about the huge possibilities of the next books still to come, I was just a little disappointed. Because as a first book, it just did not grab me and draw me into the book like I wanted it to.” [Full Review]
Now:
Even though I enjoyed Truthwitch less than Passenger, I still really want to continue the series. Except, I again remember NOTHING, so I should reread first. And who knows when that’ll happen?
Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat
Then:
“Plotwise, I love the court intrigues, politics and deceptions. […] But the characters are really what elevates this story from good to completely captivating. Especially the main characters, Damen and Laurent, and their interactions are such a treat. […] The book is very dark and brutal though and may not be for everybody.” [Full Review]
NOW:
Ok, I might actually pick up this entire series for a reread sometime soon, because I did really enjoy it, despite the graphic violence and sex. These characters own a part of my heart!
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
Then:
“Honestly I had a lot of hesitations about this book that kept me from picking it up for a long time. […] And overall it was okay. It is not perfect and it is not immediately an all-time favorite, but it got me invested in the characters and interested in the rest of the series.” [Full Review]
Now:
Well, this ended up one of my all-time favorite series! I never would have guessed that a series with a cyborg Cinderella, which really put me off at first, would become a favorite but I sure am glad to be proven wrong!
Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Then:
“This book had everything I love so much in a story […] And even with all these familiar elements, it was still a completely fresh take on all of it. It takes all these elements and still does something new and completely unique with them. In fact, take all this and add The Darkling and there is just no denying it… This book is epic! I loved every minute, every page, every word.” [Full Review]
Now:
I still adore this series, though now that I’ve read the (in my view) superior Six of Crows duology, I might need to rate it just a bit less. On the other hand, the Shadow and Bone series did introduce me to a Mr. Nikolai Lantsov, who may be my NUMBER ONE FAVORITE CHARACTER EVER! <3
Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard
Then:
“Though I really loved this book, it did have a few flaws. One was the pacing. Something just felt a bit off for me. There were some parts that were quite slow and very descriptive and other parts where it was like you blinked and you missed a whole part. […] Another was that there was a death coming that was quite predictable.” [Full Review]
Now:
Well, Glass Sword was a tad disappointing, but I’m happy that King’s Cage was so much better and I’m now excited about this series again!
Starflight by Melissa Landers
Then:
“This was a fun, quick, easy-to-read sci fi romance that was light on the science and heavy on the romance. […] However, it all felt a bit lacking for me. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high, but I feel there should have been more to this story. More time to develop the characters. More time to develop their relationships. […] More time to develop the romance. More time for the crew to have epic space adventures together.” [Full Review]
Now:
This was a fun and quick read that didn’t quite do it for me and I have forgotten a lot about it by now, except the fact that my expectations weren’t really met. I haven’t read the sequel and I don’t think I will…
I thought Starflight was okay but yeah the sequel wasn’t that great as I recall. And Truthwitch I still have to read… maybe.
Sorry to hear the sequel to Starlight wasn’t that great! I might have been persuaded to try the sequel, but I guess it’s not a must for me 🙂
I love the Grisha trilogy; especially Nikolai ? Same goes for the Lunar Chronicles because that gave me Thorne who I love so much. One book that my opinion of has changed is more than likely Twilight. I was twelve or thirteen when I first read but now Edward’s stalker-ish behaviour really creeps me out.
OMG yes both Nikolai and Thorne are such amazing characters <3 And I totally agree about Twilight! I liked it when I first read it, but I definitely wouldn't like it now.
It’s always so interesting to look back on older reads and see what we think of them now. Glad to see you still enjoy the Grisha trilogy. That’s one I have debated about whether or not to read after already starting the Six of Crows duology. I’m definitely planning to read it now.
I’d definitely still highly recommend the Grisha trilogy! I’m interested to hear what you think of it after reading Six of Crows first 🙂
I need to read the Grisha trilogy, so far I’ve only read Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo, I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it (and still do). I just read Glass Sword and really struggled with it.
I may have loved Six of Crows just a bit more, but I’d definitely still highly recommend the Grisha trilogy 🙂 Glass Sword definitely wasn’t perfect, hope you’ll enjoy King’s Cage more.
I really enjoyed Captive Prince when I read it, but the more into the series I got the less I liked it, and I think that changed what I thought of the first book. There are so many books on this list though that I want to read but haven’t yet!
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the end of the Captive Prince series. Hope you’ll get to those books you still want to read 🙂
Sometimes my opinions of books change after a bit of time or a reread. I like when I am pleasantly surprised during a reread and like a book even more than I thought I did. I loved The Lunar Chronicles and have been wanting to do a reread to see if the magic still holds up!
Oh, a Lunar Chronicles reread does sound like a great idea 🙂
I haven’t read any of these books yet, but I keep hearing good things about Cinder. I just might have to pick it up one of these days. 🙂
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
I definitely hope you’ll enjoy Cinder! 🙂
I’ve loved a couple of these too (Cinder, Shadow and Bones) and so many are on my TBR! I especially want to read Truthwitch and All the Bright Places. I’ll have tissues on hand for the latter!
Hope you’ll enjoy Truthwitch and All The Bright Places! Definitely a good idea to prepare tissues 🙂
I haven’t read the Grisha series yet but would love to! Like you I was hesitant about Cinder but it is firmly placed as a favorite series of mine. I’ll read whatever Meyer publishes now 😉 As far as Passenger goes, I haven’t read it yet, but life is too short to read books you aren’t interested in. Read what you want and if you ever get the urge to go back to it then do it then. Otherwise I say skip it 😀
Glad to hear I wasn’t the only one hesitant about Cinder but ended up loving the series anyway 🙂 Definitely some great advice! Life’s indeed too short to read books you’re not interested in 🙂
Ahahaha, I loved how you said you couldn’t remember anything about some books on here… I think I would draw the same conclusions for some books I have read a couple years ago, when I first started blogging haha. SO many books have been read in the meantime.
I loved Cinder and All The Bright Places as well -so excited for that movie to be released, I have no idea when it is coming but I AM WAITING FOR IT. Also, can’t wait to see the Everything, Everything movie someday, I’m curious about that one as well 🙂
Haha glad to hear I’m not the only one with terrible memory (at least when it comes to some books) Maybe that’s one of the downsides of reading a lot, is that you can’t remember as well what you read 8-10 books ago 😉
OMG yes, I thought the All The Bright Places movie was scheduled for somewhere in 2017, but I guess it’s been delayed cause I haven’t heard any news. Still so excited to see Everything, Everything though!
My opnion about books change all the time. Sometimes even when I finish a book I rate it and then the next day I feel like changing the rating because I’ve thought about it a little more.
Yes, ratings definitely aren’t a fixed thing, it constantly changes! 🙂
I love how you revisited your views on each book. It really is true that as time passes, our opinions of the books we read can change over time, isn’t it? I haven’t read any of the books on your list, but several are ones I hope to read. Cinder and Truthwitch among them. Thank you for sharing!
Definitely, our opinions and ratings are for sure subject to change, as we ourselves change or perhaps someone had another POV on something about the book that you hadn’t thought of before… Hope you’ll enjoy Truthwitch and Cinder when you get to them! 🙂
Another fabulous spin on this week’s topic! Love that you added an “update” on your thoughts. So fun.
I still want to read the Lunar series as well as Victoria’s. They seem like interesting reads, so I’m hopeful. Melissa’s alien book has been recommended to me, and though I will watch the movie, I don’t know that I’d read “Me Before You.” Did enjoy “Everything, Everything” though. Both the film and book.
Thanks, as always, for visiting Finding Wonderland, Lindsey!
Thanks, Rissi!
I think the Me Before You movie and book are pretty similar so you’d definitely won’t be missing out by watching the movie only! Glad to hear you enjoyed the Everything, Everything movie, I’m really hoping to be able to watch it soon 🙂
Nikolai! I read Windwitch and it did not get better so if you didn’t like Truthwitch that much I would not continue haha.
Nikolai indeed <3
Oh that's a pity to hear about Windwitch... I'll probably still give it a try some time, but like at a very low priority 🙂
What a cool throwback! I loved reading about this and seeing where you are now on some of these books.
My first ever book review for my blog was on Uprooted and I still love that book although I haven’t reread it yet. I think I should… Just because I loved it THAT much. 🙂
I thought 6oC was superior too… Although they were so different. I ended up loving Grisha for what it was (because I read it second) and it was great to get some more background.
I really need to move on to King’s Cage…… I was just so disappointed by the previous book I haven’t been able to bring myself to pick it up yet!
Uprooted! It wasn’t one of my first, but it’s definitely been a while! I remember loving it as well, but I haven’t reread it yet either. But it was really soo good…
Yes, the Grisha and Six of Crows series really are so different, it’s not really that fair to compare them maybe. I love them both, just in different ways. Grisha has Nikolai though! But then again, SoC has Kaz. And Inej. And Nina. Argh, they’re both just amazing! 😉
I definitely get the disappointment with Glass Sword. I almost didn’t continue the series myself, but I did think King’s Cage improved a lot. Curious about the final one!