We are nearing the half way point of June and getting so close to the halfway point of the year. It is so weird to think about that, isn’t it?
For today’s top ten tuesday post (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) we are meant to be posting about unpopular bookish opinions but I think for the most part there are always enough people that are in your corner. We just don’t all shout as hard. So in the end that opinion isn’t as unpopular as you might think.
So instead I decided to go with the topic of authors I really want to like but so far haven’t had much luck with their books. Yet I keep giving them second chances. Or third or fourth chances. Sometimes authors are just so lovely on social media or in real life that you want to support them.
Julie Kagawa
Books Read: Iron Fey series (4) / Talon / Shadow of the Fox
She seems like such a lovely human being but so far I haven’t had much luck with her books. The Iron Fey books and I didn’t gel. Talon had dragons but that didn’t convince me either and I havn’t dared to continue with the series. I did like Shadow of the Fox however. So fingers crossed I’ll really like the sequel .
Marie Lu
Books Read: Legend Trilogy (3) / The Young Elites / Warcross (2)
I truly enjoyed the Legend books when I read them many years ago. But then came The Young Elites everyone was raving about and that did not work for me at all. Warcross was also another meh. However I think the sequel redeemed it a little for me. Even so I do think twice before I am going to pick up one of her other books. And yes that means the upcoming Legend book 4.
Laini Taylor
Books Read: Daughter of Smoke and Bone / Strange the Dreamer
I shall now duck for cover. I know she is highly beloved but Daughter of Smoke and Bone didn’t work for me at all. And while I enjoyed Strange the Dreamer more, I still have similiar problems with it as Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The Romance. The build up.
Michael Scott
Books Read: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (3)
I started reading the series quite a few years ago. Even before I met my husband. Its been a while. When I came across the others I restarted the series and stranded after the 3rd book. I want to like it. I like the ideas but the execution (especially of historical figures that have not been in moder life but use modern speech) just doesn’t always work. However the 3rd book was slightly better so maybe the series gets better?
Rachel Caine
Books Read: Morganville Vampires (1 + 1 DNF) / Ink and Bone
I like her ideas, especially with Ink and Bone. But dangit I rarely like her characters or writing or execution. #pouts
Do you give authors multiple chances?
A Dance With Books 
I totally agree about the unpopular opinion. Usually it’s people saying they hate the big authors esp Maas lol It’s just not that unpopular.
I haven’t read a lot of these authors, including Laini – I should probably have my YA membership revoked for it LOL
I read one of Rachel Caine’s adult books – Stillhouse Lake and it was fun but I’m iffy on her fantasy.
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I don’t know any of these authors, actually.
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I once read ‘Heartless’ by Marissa Meyer and I HATED it. I didn’t even finish it and that’s rare for me. I just hated the characters, the plot, the writing…it’s made me unwilling to pick up another f her books.
Also, Victoria Aveyard, I really dislike her as a person on social media etc. Coupled with the fact that I found the second red queen a snooze fest I decided she wasn’t an author for me.
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I try to give them a second chance but sometimes it just doesn’t work
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I’ll give debut authors a second chance, but not multiple. I am trying to think if that has ever worked out for me. 🤔
I will also give a second chance if I see that an author’s fans didn’t like that particular book. I hated Margaret Atwood’s The Heart Goes Last, but her fans hated it too. I am probably either going to read Hagseed, or The Handmaid’s Tale. 👍✨
One author I have given multiple chances to is Victoria Schwab. I loved and adored A Darker Shade of Magic, and I plan to finish the trilogy, but I’ve read three of her other books and the writing was weak; a lot of big coincidences, plot holes, continuity blips, and storyline conveniences. I don’t get it either because the plot and magical system were watertight for ADSOM. 😕
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I really like your twist on this week’s topic! Julie Kagawa’s an author I haven’t been able to get into either, I didn’t gel with Holly Black’s work until The Cruel Prince. The one I always feel like I need to duck for cover around is V.E. Schwab – everyone loves her work, and I do still want to give Vicious a try, but I’m not really a fan.
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I like your twist to this week’s prompt and hope all of these authors eventually write books that you find more interesting.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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I’ve read one or two books from several of these authors and didn’t fall in love with them. I’ve read some other books by Caine and loved them more that Morganville. I’m hit and miss on Kagawa books.
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I usually try at least two books by the same author, because there’s always a chance if you only try one that it won’t be for you but another might be. If I’m not liking the author after the second book then I generally give up. Except if I really hate the first one, I probably won’t try for a second, like The Fault In Our Stars, I really hated and knew I didn’t want to try any John Green again.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2019/06/11/top-ten-tuesday-215/
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I love your twist to this week’s prompt. Nice job with it.
My TTT.
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I want to be excited for Julie Kagawa’s books, but I read one a long time ago and it wasn’t my kind of read. Still, I really want to give Shadow of the Fox a try.
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You should try Rachel Caine’s Stillhouse Lake. I read Morganville, but liked that series better.
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I do have authors I WANT to like- sometimes it works out haha and sometimes not. Marie Lu is definitely one I want to read more of (I’ve only read Warcross).
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I might give them a second chance? I gave City of Bones 3 stars, but I love the Shadowhunter’s books. There are so many good books out there that sometimes it’s hard to find time to read another book by an author that was just meh.
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I think it depends on the author whether or not I give them a second chance. Like if I really didn’t get into the book or couldn’t connect at all, I usually don’t give the author another chance.
I have given authors second chances though. Like I read the Fault in Our Stars from John Green and didn’t really get into it cause it was so predictable. I liked some of the characters, but the story was so easy. But I did give him a second chance by reading Turtles All The Way Down since the main character has anxiety. I wanted to look and experience the real anxiety representation. But I actually did like the book. I enjoyed it a lot.
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Totally agree with you on Julie Kagawa. I tried reading the Iron Fey series and it fell flat.
One of mine that seems to be a really unpopular opinon is Maggie Stiefvater, I have tried desperately to get into The Raven Boys to no avail.
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De Morganville Vampires konden me ook niet overtuigen maar ik heb Ink and Bone hier nog wel klaarliggen dus ik hoop dat ik die reeks wel leuk ga vinden. Ik probeer auteurs wel een tweede kans te geven maar soms klikt het simpelweg niet. Als dat na twee pogingen nog steeds het geval is geef ik het doorgaans wel op. Soms zelfs al na één poging wanneer iemands schrijfstijl me echt niet ligt.
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The only author on your list I’ve read is Laini Taylor and that was the Daughter of Smoke and Bone books which I did love. I think it can be tough when you really like the author as a person, or love their ideas, but the writing doesn’t work.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.net
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First of all, I like what you said about there not truly being any unpopular opinions. There’s almost always people who agree with every side of an issue.
As far as your authors go, The Immortal Rules is my favorite of Kagawa’s series. If you’re okay with vampires, you should give that one a try (I also enjoyed Shadow of the Fox). I enjoyed the Daughter of Smoke and Bone Trilogy, but I can see how not everyone would love Taylor’s writing.
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Oooh, I love your twist on the topic! I did realize, with my unpopular opinions, there were quite a few people who seemed to agree with several of them, at least. xD
Glad to hear you liked Shadow of the Fox! There’s still hope for Kagawa! I’m reading Soul of the Sword right now, and so far, it’s feeling a lot like the first, so that’s a good sign. I’m not very far into it yet, but I have hopes that it’ll be good. 😀
Shame you’re not a fan of Rachel Caine. I really enjoyed Ink and Bone (and book five is coming out soon in that series).
I haven’t read any of the other authors, but they’re all on my TBR, so hopefully, I have better luck with them than you do lol. Great post!
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I am very arbitrary about giving second chances: it very much depends on why I didn’t get on with the first book (and how badly), and what sort of thing they write. Laini Taylor is a good case in point – I read the whole Smoke and Bone trilogy and it definitely got better as it went along to the point I’ll recommend it and feel like I enjoyed it overall; but I’ve felt no temptation to read her other books as they feel like I’ll always be hovering on the edge of ‘there’s just enough here to stop me throwing it through the window for the irritating tropes’. Whereas Silvia Moreno-Garcia I can appreciate and will keep giving chances to even though I often appreciate her books rather than outright love them (but OH I appreciate them a lot, so).
Right now, I’m considering giving RJ Barker a second chance. Everybody else seems to love the Assassins trilogy (I HATED the first one), and RJ is lovely on Twitter – so I’m tempted to try again with his new fantasy coming out this autumn (also it’s a fantasy on a ship with sea dragons, so scoring highly on Points of Interest for me 🙂
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Great topic. I usually do try to give authors a fair shake before I completely write them off, although if I really hated the first book I read, it’s hard to get motivated to try another.
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I’m with you about Julie Kagawa’s books. I tried the first Talon book but didn’t like it. It didn’t work for me and I haven’t tried another of her work since.
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