Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And today I'm doing the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag! 

This is a very popular (haha) book tag that I was surprised to discover, I haven't done yet!

So, this is me, trying this tag for the first time! 

Enjoy! 

~A popular book/series you don't like~

This will always be the first series I think of when this question comes up. There were some good parts, but for the most part, I was so bored, it was only the fact that I'd bought the entire series that kept me going. Neal Shusterman does have another series that is due to be released in the next couple of months (if it hasn't already) but I have no desire to pick that up any time soon. 

~A book/series that many people don't like, but you love~

I'm not going to say it's a book that I absolutely loved, but I certainly didn't have as much of a problem as everybody else seemed to have. It's been a few years since I've read this, but there's no way I'll be forgetting that ending any time soon. 

The way I see it, someone was always going to die. I wasn't expecting it to be the protagonist, but I won't lie, it certainly made an impact. 

I don't like cover though, so that's something. 

~A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you didn't want them to end up with/ an OTP that you didn't like~ 

I was on Jem's team. 

Sorry guys. 

I wanted the nice guy to win for once. (Though there was honestly so much more to Jem's character than just being nice.)

Though I will admit, this series is the prime example of a perfect love triangle. (I doubt I'll ever say that again but who knows, it could happen.) 

(Also, I'm not saying I dislike Will, I just wanted Jem and Tessa to be together more.)

~A popular genre that you hardly reach for~

I have a genre that I rarely reach for, and I have a genre that I never reach for. 

The rarely genre, is autobiographies. Whether it's the autobiography of an athlete (I've only read Paula Radcliffe's and Mo Farah's) or otherwise (like Michelle Obama's), it's a genre I want to read more of, but never seem to prioritise. (I'll be reading Barack's soon though.) 

The genre I never reach for is non-fiction, for definite. 

~A popular or beloved character that you don't like~ 

I'm going to bow out for this one- it's usually the other way around actually. Like, I'll like characters that most people don't like, or don't care about. 

For example, Amy March. I genuinely don't get the hate towards that girl. 

~An author that you can't seem to get into~ 

Now, I'm not saying I'm giving up on his books, there are one or two books that I want to read before I'm done, but I won't pretend that I haven't had trouble with the books that I've read previously.  

I don't know why I was struggling with these two much, why I never felt motivated to keep reading. I had to really be persistent to try and finish these, yet I still feel like I want to keep on giving Gaiman's books a try, because as difficult as I find his writing style, he tells amazing stories. My next book will be The Ocean at the End of the Lane. 

~A popular book trope you're tired of seeing~

The love triangle. What else? Also, insta love, though not as much. 

~A popular book/series you have no interest in reading~

The Lifelike trilogy. Nevernight was enough for me to know that, although I love Kaufman and Kristoff together as a duo, I don't love Kristoff just as much. Even if I liked the idea of the premise, I doubt I'd ever want to pick it up.

~The saying "The book is always better than the film", but what film is better than the book? 

I feel like these will make me unpopular, but these are a few:

1. Girl on the Train, by Paula Hawkins 

2. Crazy Rich Asians (Crazy Rich Asians #1), br Kevin Kwan 

3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky 

4. (This isn't a film, but a tv show): Tiny Pretty Things (Tiny Pretty Things #1), by Sona Charaipotra

Okay, that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed it, and feel free to comment your answers below, cos I'm not tagging anybody- you're all tagged!

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx

Books 21-30 of 2021

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm back with a look at some of the books I've read recently! 

Without further ado- enjoy! 

21. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1), by Rick Riordan 

22. The Sea of Monsters (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2), by Rick Riordan 

23. The Titan's Curse (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #3), by Rick Riordan 

24. The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #4), by Rick Riordan

25. The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5), by Rick Riordan 

The series that started it all. Because of this series, there are now five completed series' in this world, and there could have been none of those, without Percy Jackson. At the start of this, I thought that the writing felt kind of young, which I was expecting to be honest, especially as this is considered a middle grade, but the further in I got, the more I grew to love these wonderfully brave, courageous young heroes that were risking their necks- and the lives of their friends. Highly recommend if you're not on the train for this yet. 

26. The Authenticity Project, by Clare Pooley 

This was a slow burner. I was considering DNF'ing at some point, but then it got a whole lot better, very quickly. The speed with which I read this was slowly, then gathering speed, and then it was something like 150 pages in the last day. This story begins with a notebook, in a cafe, and a person's truth. From there, each new character, who are unhappy in their own way, are slowly edging into the story. What I liked about this is that the people in this story, really are just ordinary people. Yet it was so easy to love them, to fall into their lives and want them to be better. It all starts with a notebook. 

27. Instant Karma, by Marissa Meyer 

I'm conflicted on this. I enjoyed it for the most part, but I think I'm going to stick to fantasy/sci-fi for Marissa Meyer in the forseeable future. At the time of reading, this was going to become one of my new contemporary favourites, but now that time has passed, it just seems like another contemporary. There were a lot of positive aspects to this, like: the setting, caring for the animals, the themes such as money troubles, the haters to lovers trope, and of course the family trope. I very much enjoyed it, but I doubt I'll be re-reading it soon. 

28. Concrete Rose (The Hate U Give #0), by Angie Thomas 

I got the urge to re-read The Hate U Give after this. Because this was an amazing book. 

It had a different feel to Thomas' other works, but that's because I was reading from the POV of Maverick, as a young and naive teenager, who suddenly finds that he has a child. This book is about making his socks clean in a neighbourhood where violence is the law. I read this in three days, I could not put it down. I don't know when, but at some point, I will definitely be picking up both this and The Hate U Give. 

29. Roam, by C.H. Armstrong

I rarely come across a book that deals with homelessness, so when I saw this, I leapt on it. Three years later, I've finally read it. Roam is a hard-hitting, very sensitively written story about Abby, and her family, struggling to survive in the winter months without a place to call home, whilst also trying to keep their situation a secret. There are very real threats when you're forced to live in a car during October, and C.H. Armstrong does not hold back. If you're in the mood for an engaging, powerful read about a girl and her family, then I highly recommend this. 

30. Seasons of War (Skulduggery Pleasant #13), by Derek Landy 

I made the decision to re-read this, before picking up the most recent Skulduggery Pleasant novel (Dead or Alive). Seasons of War is basically a team of characters (some of which are my favourite of all time) to go to another dimension to kill a character that's already dead in their dimension (before he comes over and kills them all). Seasons of War was my favourite book from Skulduggery Pleasant- part 2, because it's been ages since Valkyrie and Skulduggery have had a private mission together. It was great to be able to refresh on what I was heading into with this series. 

Okay! Those are all the books I've read recently! I hope you've enjoyed this, and feel free to comment down below if you have any thought on any of the books mentioned! (Or any books that you guys have been reading.) 

I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeee! 

-Abi xxxx

May TBR (2021)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And I'm back with my May TBR (2021)! 

I hope you enjoy it. 

1. Dead or Alive (Skulduggery Pleasant #14), by Derek Landy 

I really should have finished this by now, but I will undoubtedly be finishing it today. It's the penultimate book for the entire Skulduggery Pleasant series, but I'm both nervous and excited to see 1) how this will end, and 2) how I'll feel after it. I have just over 200 pages left of this before the end and I have no idea whether Valkyrie and Skulduggery will save the day once more, or whether something catastrophic will happen. Honestly, I'm hoping for both. 

2. Heartstopper. Vol 4 (Heartstopper #4), by Alice Oseman 

I was so surprised when I got the email that this was being shipped over, especially as this is meant to be released on the 13th May. But there was no way I wasn't going to take the opportunity to pick this up. Volume 3 felt like things were going to be introducing some more serious themes, and although I love the heartfelt romance and fantastic humour, I'm happy that there might be some different type of themes incorporated. 

3. The Lost Hero (Heroes of Olympus #1), by Rick Riordan 

4. The Son of Neptune (Heroes of Olympus #2), by Rick Riordan 

5. The Mark of Athena (Heroes of Olympus #3), by Rick Riordan 

6. The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus #4), by Rick Riordan 

7. The Blood of Olympus (Heroes of Olympus #5), by Rick Riordan 

It's been a month since I finished the Percy Jackson series and I'm getting withdrawal symptoms. If I want to get to all the series I want to finish this year, then I need to start this. Soon. The entire series is currently on it's way to me right now, and it's my main goal for the month. I know they're a lot bigger than the first series, but I'm excited to read about more of the adventures the kids get into, but I'm hoping I'll be able to finish them all. 

8. Lore, by Alexandra Bracken 

This was one of the books listed on my Anticipated Releases list for January- March, which you can check out here, and although I was aware that people were reading and enjoying it, I never seemed to have the urge to order it and read it. Until I saw it in Waterstones for BOGOHP, and now it's on my TBR. I thought this would be a good exit out of the Heroes of Olympus series- it's of a similar subject, but it's a standalone, so I'm hoping it'll be a good time. 

Okay! That's everything I have for you guts today, so I hope you enjoyed it, and don't forget to leave a comment below! 

I hope you have a wonderful evening and I'll see you all soon. 

Byeeee!

-Abi xxxxx