The bookish community is conspiring to make me feel overly salty about a lot of things right now. So it seems like the perfect time to dig into some of my unpopular bookish opinions. I found this tag through Kaya @ Afictionalbookworm. I will ask that you don’t come after me for any of these opinions, and I will try not to be too mean. xD

A Popular Book Or Series You Didn’t Like

I really tried with this series. I read book 1 and I was so into it until the Academy stuff started. After that, I just couldn’t connect to the story and that continued until the halfway point of book 2 when I finally decided to DNF the series. Though some of the characters are interesting (namely Sevro) I found the societal message hamfisted and at times confusing. I didn’t like some of the writing choices, and the sudden plot twists and deaths felt like a lack of thoughtful plotting. Not the series for me.

A Popular Book Or Series That Everyone Else Seems To Hate But You Love

I do have a lot of friends who love this series as much if not more than I do, but I know a lot of people who dislike it. I totally get the dislike, I had a hard time with the writing in book 1. The perspective is odd, and there are so many characters it’s hard to keep up. I had to reread a lot of chapters initially to keep the story straight. However, I fell in love with the magic of Fennbirn and the Queens themselves. This series is a great example of how the things you love can still be somewhat flawed, and that’s ok!

A Love Triangle Where The Main Character Ends Up With Someone You Didn’t Want or An OTP You Don’t Like

I have never really been Team Peeta. Though I have grown to appreciate him more through the films, I always felt that Katniss should have been with Gale. Ultimately I agree with her choice to let him go, but I don’t think a life with Peeta was necessarily the best thing for her either.

Generally, I prefer to avoid love triangles. They’re tedious and just boring to me. That really applies to move romance storylines, not going to lie!

A Popular Book Genre You Hardly Reach For

Contemporary for sure. I have a few books I really like, but it’s rare for me to spend a lot of time on contemporary, mostly because it tends to revolve around the romance so much. I’ve become especially hesitant around contemporary books that focus on pop culture conventions. I often find that they set unrealistic expectations. As a frequent San Diego Comic-con attendee, I find that aggravating.

A Popular Or Beloved Book Character You Don’t Like

Price Cardan. Dude has some trauma to deal with, and he is not doing it appropriately. The Folk of the Air series is really not my jam. I don’t like the emotional abuse prevalent in the story, and I struggle to find a meaning to Jude’s struggles. After 2 books, I still don’t really understand what the end game is. It’s another series that people seem to love in spite of the issues it has. I can’t see past the issues on this one though, and I really feel weird about younger readers potentially seeing Jude and Cardan’s relationship as something to strive for. I can say with certainty I would enjoy the series more if it was Adult Fantasy instead of YA.

A Popular Author You Just Can’t Seem To Get Into

Probably a bit of a surprise! I do like some elements of this series, but I really struggled with The Dream Thieves and All the Crooked Saints. I still want to read The Scorpio Races, but I keep putting it off because I’ve had such a hard time with Stiefvater’s writing in the past.

A Popular Book Trope That You Hate

The secret keeper. Everyone knows how the secrets Dumbledore kept from Harry caused problems ultimately. For some reason, lots of YA characters decide to keep secrets from the protagonist to protect them, or some such nonsense. When an entire plot hinges on the main character just not knowing crucial information I tend to lose interest. Ink is one of the biggest recent examples of this I can think of. The MCs entire life is upended by some hidden information, so a lot of what you are taught as the reader becomes void throughout the course of the book. I find this super annoying.

A Popular Series That You Have No Interest In Reading

Not a series exactly, but I have no plans to read anything by Coleen Hoover. I don’t really get into romance/contemporary, to begin with, but I’ve heard far too many reviews about the destructive nature of the relationships in her books to want to read them. I find the inclusion of these relationships super hard to read. It makes me uncomfortable. I can appreciate that some readers may find it relatable, and find ways to heal from their own struggles in stories like this but I don’t find anything in them.

The Saying Goes “The Book Is Always Better Than The Movie”, But What Movie Or TV Show Adaptation Do You Prefer More Than The Book?

Game of Thrones isn’t perfect, but in general, I enjoy watching the show more than reading the books. Some book characters are dramatically better though, namely Brienne and Asha. They do not get their due in the show, and I’m constantly hoping they’ll get better story arcs. I’m ready for the show to be over, since the book series may never properly end. -_-

That’s all for today! Please consider yourself tagged if you have read this far and don’t want to come after me with a pitchfork! XD