A weekly meme created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm, now hosted by the amazing Meeghan at Meeghan reads.
Today we are taking a look at the hyped books I didn’t like. Uff, yeah. That’s how it usually is with me and hyped books. And for some reason I am always ashamed to talk about that. Like I did something wrong when I didn’t like a hyped book.
Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
In a galaxy powered by the current, everyone has a gift.
Cyra is the sister of the brutal tyrant who rules the Shotet people. Cyra’s currentgift gives her pain and power—something her brother exploits, using her to torture his enemies. But Cyra is much more than just a blade in her brother’s hand: she is resilient, quick on her feet, and smarter than he knows.
Akos is the son of a farmer and an oracle from the frozen nation-planet of Thuvhe. Protected by his unusual currentgift, Akos is generous in spirit, and his loyalty to his family is limitless. Once Akos and his brother are captured by enemy Shotet soldiers, Akos is desperate to get his brother out alive—no matter what the cost.
Then Akos is thrust into Cyra’s world, and the enmity between their countries and families seems insurmountable. Will they help each other to survive, or will they destroy one another?
Carve the Mark is Veronica Roth’s stunning portrayal of the power of friendship—and love—in a galaxy filled with unexpected gifts.
“There were a lot going on all the time, which is better than just stomping on the same place all the time. But still I feel that it was going nowhere. I mean, someone did something to make Ryzek angry -> get Cyra -> carve the mark -> start it all over again, most of the time! There were twists of course but even after the first one, I think, everything kind of continued the same. The ending, no surprises there. But I’m a little bit mad of the cliffhangers though.”
Full review HERE.
The young king of Coroa has never been the type to settle down—that is, until he meets Hollis Brite.
Hollis has grown up at Keresken Castle among the other daughters of nobility who hoped beyond hope that they’d catch the king’s eye. So when King Jameson declares his love for her, Hollis is shocked—and thrilled.
But she soon realizes that along with the extravagant presents and fawning attention, this new life brings outsized expectations—expectations that make her wonder if she’s really cut out for life as a royal.
With a visit from the king of Isolte on the horizon, Hollis sees a chance to prove to Jameson—and herself—that she has what it takes to be queen. But when she meets an Isolten stranger with the mysterious power to see right into her heart, she finds that the future she wants is one she never dared to dream of.
“The story in itself was just plain weird and confusing. All of this just doesn’t make any sense at all. Why did all of this happen? What the heck is going on? Just why. Why did I get thrown around all over the places for what seems to be absolutely nothing?
I don’t know. I might feel different If I’d actually cared about any of the characters but right now it just feels that million different things were wanted to be put in this book, it was wanted to be kept relatively short and then this came out.”
Full review HERE.
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak
From the author of The Book Thief comes this darkly funny and ultimately uplifting thriller which proves that anyone can be extraordinary.
Ed Kennedy is just your less-than-average Joe who is hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. But after he single-handedly manages to catch a bank robber, he receives a playing card in the mail: the Ace of Diamonds. This is the first message. Four more will follow. But before this particular card game can end, Ed will be changed forever . . .
Will Audrey love the man he has become?
“Well then, what I think about this book after finally finishing it? Aaaah, kind of meh. If I’m completely honest, I nearly DNFd it. Not necessarily because it was a bad book, no. It wasn’t bad at all and I think it holds a very important message to all of us. But it was just a bit boring for me. The first ace kept me hooked and I was interested to see what Ed was supposed to do and how is he going to figure out the why and how to help those people. But after the second ace, it went boring. The second one already was kind of hard to get through.
Of course there’s different message to every different person and obviously different ways to fulfill them. But for me it felt like this story kept repeating itself. With every 4 ace there’s four different people to help/hurt and after that there’s a little time to wait for the next one. For me the most thrilling part was the waiting for the next ace. I wasn’t waiting to know which ace it’s going to be – because I don’t understand the different meanings of those – but the way it was going to be delivered. Would the person behind all this be one of them? Could there be any kind of hint that who it is behind all this?”
Full review HERE.
This is a world divided by blood—red or silver. The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change. That is until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power. Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime. But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance—Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
“It took me a month to read this book. I mostly read it during my buss drives to school because it just wasn’t interesting enough for me to want to read it during some other time.
There wasn’t much of nothing happening during the first half of the book. Nothing much in the last half either. And yet when something happened, it wasn’t really exciting for me at least.
But I must admit that the plot twist was amazing! Really didn’t see that coming even though I had my suspicions from the star. But I never could have imagined something like that to happen. And the betrayal, wow.”
Full review HERE.
A legendary competition.
A mesmerizing romance.
An unbreakable bond
between two sisters.Scarlett Dragna has never left the tiny island where she and her sister, Tella, live with their powerful, and cruel, father. Now Scarlett’s father has arranged a marriage for her, and Scarlett thinks her dreams of seeing Caraval—the faraway, once-a-year performance where the audience participates in the show—are over.
But this year, Scarlett’s long-dreamt-of invitation finally arrives. With the help of a mysterious sailor, Tella whisks Scarlett away to the show. Only, as soon as they arrive, Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind organizer, Legend. It turns out that this season’s Caraval revolves around Tella, and whoever finds her first is the winner.
Scarlett has been told that everything that happens during Caraval is only an elaborate performance. Nevertheless she becomes enmeshed in a game of love, heartbreak, and magic. And whether Caraval is real or not, Scarlett must find Tella before the five nights of the game are over or a dangerous domino effect of consequences will be set off, and her beloved sister will disappear forever.
Welcome, welcome to Caraval . . . beware of getting swept too far away.
“Though the start of the book, almost until the end, wasn’t so good, not something to keep me interested in that whole night or something. The end of the book was truly something amazing! The last hundred or so pages really took me in and it was hard to leave the book and get back to real life.
There were times at the start when I nearly DNFd this whole book but I’m glad I didn’t. The end was something worth the whole almost 400 pages.”
Full review HERE.
What are some hyped books you didn’t like as much as everyone else?
HANNA READS 
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You never do anything wrong when you don’t like a book!! If we all liked the same things, that would be super boring!!
I’m also seeing Caraval on a lot of lists this week 😂
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That’s so true!
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