Friday, April 6, 2012

#029 Follow & Feature: Books You've Read Because of Bad Review?!

FOLLOW ME FRIDAYHappy Follow and Feature, everyone! The long and short of it, life is crazy and reading is my life, basically. Go visit Parajunkee's View or Allison Can Read, to get the details on how to follow and have fun with everyone else. It's all about meeting new people, finding new blogs to follow, and basically just having a lot of fun.

This week the two awesome features are The Romanceaholic and The Talking TeacupThese two bloggers are just as awesomesauce as their blogs, so definitely show them some love! :D




THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK


Have you ever bought a book BECAUSE of a bad review?


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About a year ago, I was shopping around my local bookstore and noticed that they were having a pretty awesome sale. On the bargain table, I saw the first six books (five in hardback and one in paperback) for the House of Night series on sale for really cheap, plus they were buy two and get one free. I instantly nabbed them up along with the next three books that were in The Immortal series by Alyson Noel, which were also hardback and on sale for like $4 bucks a piece like the HoN series. I know that I'm probably in the minority, despite the fact that some find Alyson Noel's writing thoroughly disenchanting but I actually kind of like her. While The Immortal series isn't the greatest written supernatural ya series out there, it's certainly NOT the absolute worst either. The same pretty much goes for the HoN series, even though a part of me sort of feels like it's never going to end - it has to at some point doesn't it?! lol.

I guess I just don't understand why some are so quick to harshly judge, especially when Alyson Noel has written other books (contemporary ya) such as Forever Summer, Saving Zoe, Cruel Summer, and Laguna Cove just to name a few and those books were actually pretty good once you get into them. Actually, I think they're some great summer reads to dig into on those days that are too hot to spend outside and all you want to do is curl up underneath the AC and read. Plus, her Riley Bloom series is just as enchanting as it can be. Sometimes I think, that Riley was her best character to ever come out of the The Immortal series and that's saying a lot, since she was just a bit part character and the sister to the main protagonist who got her own spin-off.

Not to mention that P.C. Cast has written a great ya series, Parthalon that I've actually enjoyed quite a bit even though I've only read the first book in that series so far. I have really enjoyed reading Elphame's Choice. There's some wonderful enchanting magic and mythical folklore in between these pages. My whole point is, that just because a book gets a bad review here or there, or you end up reading a book by a particular author that you don't care for - please don't just assume that all of their books are thoroughly disenchanting or their writing is off and not worth giving another one of their books a chance.


What books have you read, despite a bad review?




❝Hopping Through?!❞


26 comments:

  1. I really like it when that happens- when you see cheap books and you buy them and read them without seeing the reviews! I did that for 'The Gargoyle' by Andrew Davidson and I LOVED it! It's nice cause it feels like you found a hidden gem!

    New follower :-)

    My FF: http://pocketfulofbooksblogger.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/follow-friday.html

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  2. I'm such a cheapie, I'd probably buy a whole series of books just because they were cheap. It does feeling like HoN will NEVER end, ohmy.
    New follower via GFC also. ^^

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  3. Okay I've read both series and they were actually some of the first book series I'd ever read and they helped further my interest in reading so... I kinda have a soft spot for 'em. I can't help it! Every time i read them i'm reminded of my childhood and that makes me smile so... yeah, love em lol. Old follower!
    Shae @ Understanding Shae's Story

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  4. I agree w/ you. Why not give them a chance? :)
    New follower.
    My FF;
    http://booknookgirl.blogspot.com/2012/04/follow-friday-4.html

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  5. New follower, saying Hi from the Hop!

    Lady
    Bluestocking@3500WordsPerPound

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  6. Jessica@a GREAT readApril 6, 2012 at 4:20 PM

    I like to give books a chance, as long as the cover description seems to appeal to me! Back in the day before blogging that was how I found my books to read! Was a little tough, Amazon helped when I said I owned or liked this or that and I gave lots of books a try that way, liked a good chunk of them too, like 90% maybe. Or 95%!

    Here's my Friday Hops

    Have a GREAT weekend!

    Old Follower :)
     

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  7. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I happen to not have much of an inclination of Read Alyson Noel. I love how you always root for the underdog Suz, but there are going to be things we don't agree on, and things we say that the other might not take so well. I might review a book that you love really harshly and vice versa. The flip side of that coin is that we keep all the cards on the table.

    I loved the House of Night AND The Immortals series when they first came out. I don't know when or where or what happened with "The Immortals" but I just stopped liking them. I didn't like the story and I didn't like the characters and I didn't like the writing. HON is an entirely different story. I devoured those books like a rabid animal until the fifth book and then I lost interest.

    This was a really thoughtful and direct FF.

    Have a nice day.

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  8. HoN is my guilty pleasure - I read them, almost begrudgingly, because underneath the product placement and cliches, there's some real potential.

    The Immortals...I started off loving the series, but then we quickly became distant and now we're no longer friends.

    But even though I posted a rather negative review of the final book in The Immortals series, I would hope that it merely provides a better framework of expectations for someone else. I love negative reviews for that reason - they set my expectations at a more realistic level, leaving more room for me to enjoy my reading experience (versus having my high expectations left unmet, and a rather sour experience).

    Old Follower :)

    KellyRadiant Shadows

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  9. Hi! thanks for following!
    I'm following you now!
    I love The HON serie, but I also feel like it's never going to end!
    But it's true that just because one book is bad doesn't mean that every book of a particular author it's going to be bad!
    Kisses
    Ruty

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  10. It was thoughtful, but it wasn't directed at you hun. We've discussed this, so I won't go any further. 

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  11. Yeah, it's like is this ever going to end? Plus, when I was reading The Immortal series, I felt like the whole story could have been summed up in three or four books, instead of having to be six instead. But, that doesn't mean that I like them any less, because while they might not be the best books in the world - they're still pretty entertaining.

    Thank you, so much for following me. :)

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  12. Yeah, I'm kind of the same way. I'd rather read the synopsis to get an overall feel for whether or not I'll like the book. Or, if I'm in the store I'll go ahead and read the first chapter to see how it flows and that usually tells me whether or not I'll want to keep reading and/or buy it. Amazon helps me like that with the recommending as well. 

    Thank you, so much for visiting my blog. Always nice to see you around here. :)

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  13. Oh, hi new follower. Nice to see you around my blog, thanks so much for stopping by. I'll hop on over to yours and check it out!

    Have a great weekend. :)

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  14. Exactly, as long as you've read the synopsis and it looks like something that you think you might like, you might as well take the risk. That's what life is all about, right?!

    Oh, thank you for the follow. I'm excited to have new followers, I'll definitely be by to check out your amazing blog. Have a great weekend. :)

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  15. Yeah, I can't help but have a soft spot for them as well. It's not like they're the greatest paranormal ya books out there, but they're not the worst either. They're pretty entertaining when you want something to just pass the time with and you're not really looking for a lot. Aw, I have a series of books like that for me, the Cate Tiernan Wicca Sweep series and the Vampire Diaries series too. 

    Thanks so much for stopping by my blog! :)

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  16. Thank you, for following my blog and for stopping by. I'm the same way, if it's a series of books or just a book in general that I think I'd really like and it's sitting on the bargain table...you can bet it's mine for sure. 

    True this about HoN.

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  17. Wow, a very thorough answer! *sulks away* LOL

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  18. I read all of the The Immortals series and wasn't a fan. I'd probably try some of her other stuff cause it probably was just the characters and storyline I didn't like. I've heard both good and bad reviews about the house of night series as well. I've decided to skip it based on my preference just not matching some reviews. But I do read a lot of books based on both good and bad reviews.  Thanks for stopping by! Old follower.

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  19. Jessi @ Auntie Spinelli ReadsApril 7, 2012 at 4:50 AM

    House of Night does have kind of a bad rep, but I read the first 2 or 3 and really liked them. Someday I'll get to the other hundred in the series :p

    Thanks for stopping by!

    Jessi @ Auntie Spinelli Reads

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  20.  I love your answer, Suz! <3 To be honest, The House of Night series and The Immortals series were two that disappointed me a lot. I bought the entire Immortals series because my friends LOVED it, but I ended up not liking the books at all. And The House of Night series was okay, but just not blow-you-away-worthy, you know?

    But I definitely agree how you shouldn't be turned off of a book just because some other people didn't like it, because it might surprise you! :) I haven't read a book BECAUSE of a bad review before, but I have read books IN SPITE of bad reviews.

    I hope you have an amazing weekend, Suz! <3 :)

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  21. Hi! Amazing answer. I really disliked Noel's series. New follower. I liked the first few of House of Night. 
















    My
    FF!
     

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  22. Christina @ Biblio ThoughtsApril 7, 2012 at 2:21 PM

    Thanks for stopping by my blog and following! Following back :)

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  23. I'm so late responding to this - sorry, crazy week! Thanks for stopping by my blog the other day. Following you back!

    I can see where you're coming from. I have been known to purchase books that I'm fairly sure won't be for me because they were in a sale. I'm thinking of the Red Riding Hood book-of-the-movie that came out a while ago. In that case, though, it was waste money as I managed all of about 30 pages before I gave up on it. :(

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  24. I think the key to reading reviews and staying sane is probably to take everything with a huge pinch of salt ;)

    Following from FF - sorry it's taken me a while to get round to you! It's my first week joining in, I hope you might have time to visit my FF post.

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  25. I've read books from the immortals and the house of night series.  I find both of them entertaining.
    Jess@ Jessy's Bookends 

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  26. Hi, I love the idea of your blog and the way you surrounded yourself with so many friends. It was a pleasure discovering you :) Kisses.

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