colleen hoover

Estimated Reading Time 3min

Normally, I avoid certain books (especially from Booktok or Booktube) because of content or trigger warnings. There are some books too explicit, too dark, too much with an ick of mine… but this time, I threw out all the rules.

I decided to read books that people swear are amazing, and ignore all my normal rules for reading – triggers and all! Let’s see if it was worth it 🙂

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Having this many POV can sometimes be a bit messy, but I think this was really well done. It added such incredible drama to the story, I love to jump in and out of people’s perspectives, plus when everybody in a heist is in a different spot as part of the team layout like this is necessary. I liked everyone. All the characters in their own ways were fantastic, they interacted with each other really well, and the plot moved forward with these character dynamics in mind. The actual heist/prison break itself was really well done. I enjoyed the setup, the planning, the execution, and everything in between.
The magic system was quite good, it was a bit of a spin on the normal type of abilities you can see in people. I like the way that this particular system spun things, and I would love to see more.

Grab the book Here

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Wow.
I wasn’t gonna read a book by Colleen but I’m really glad I chose this one. Even though there are some pretty intense themes in the story, I really enjoyed most of this. There is a little bit of trauma bonding, but a lot of really funny and cute moments as well. I was a lot more invested than I thought I would be. I liked the characters and the plot – it was really engaging.

Grab the book Here

Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

I really wish this was not as spicy as it was, because I really liked this book. I don’t usually like spice however I was reading this as part of a challenge. The dynamics with the characters in this book was so fun to watch unfold. They were hilarious, I enjoyed the plot but it’s definitely a romance book that focuses on characters which was fine. I loved the characters. I had so much fun and I was giggling so often that if anyone else was home, they would’ve thought I was crazy.

Grab the book Here

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book was not what I expected.
There was some parts of that I really liked, like looking into the Hollywood in the golden age. I also appreciated how candid the character of Evelyn Hugo was, and the way the relationship with Monique was explored.
I understand what the book was doing, but if I knew that going in, I probably wouldn’t have read it.
Pretty well written, pretty interesting the way the plot was expressed, and pretty engaging characters.

Grab the book Here

I think this experiment was a success! For the most part, I got great books, some of which taking me by utter surprise! While I am happy that I opened up my expectations for this, I’m not sure if I will keep going…

Just kidding – let’s do it again!

Have you read any of these? Let me know what you thought of them.

See You in the Adventures!
Christy Grace

Estimated Reading Time: 8min

Whether you are a reader who takes recommendations from friends and family, bookstore workers, Booktube, Booktok, newspapers and magazines or any other format…. recommendations are always at easy reach!

Everyone has an opinion about a book they’ve read, an author they like or dislike, and that means the internet and the world around us is flooded with people who become very popular in the book community. Reading is something that is subjective, however. Which means that not everyone will like a popular author, and in the same token, not everyone will like our favourite authors and books either. But that’s what makes the world a great place – we all like different things and enjoy art with different eyes.

So, even though there are some authors and books that seem to hold the MAJORITY of people in their grasp, there are some authors and some series that I will just never get on board with… I will pre warn you though, some of my reasoning is pretty specific, and you don’t have to agree with me at all.
So with that said, let’s do it!

In the past few years, good old Colleen Hoover has EXPLODED in the book community. From what I hear, her writing is only so-so and the stories are always toxic relationships that don’t seem to have a ton of positive messages written in them… but they do have spice and the online book community (particularly Booktok) is pretty happy when books have that!

My reasons for not reading Colleen is mainly two reasons. I don’t like a ton of toxic relationships in my stories. Yes, relationships should have tension and drama to be a good romance book (love without sacrifice and working to make it happen and be a reality isn’t realistic) but when we are almost celebrating the toxicity in our main characters (and mostly the male leads) it’s a problem for me. The other reason, is that I don’t like spice in books. I think closed door is fine – the Hitchcock way of writing stories. The gore and the spice should be behind a door that you use your own imagination for. If I really want to sit down and properly enjoy a book, I’d rather this not be present… though there have been (and potentially will be) exceptions to the rule… I just try to avoid it where I can.

JK Rowling

Okay, one of the most popular and well known series is probably Harry Potter, but I’ll just never go there. I can hear people rolling their eyes or throwing their phones at the wall when I admit to never having read Harry Potter, but I don’t care. I will proudly state this over and over again.

I have no interest in a story about wizards. None. I like a good fantasy book, and can tolerate a certain level of magic, but when the focus is on Wizards and their schooling.. that’s over my line. I’m one of those weird Christians who thinks dwelling on evil (like the use of witchcraft, which I believe comes direct from the enemy) is not good for your overall spiritually and emotionally health. I know people are going to think that’s silly, or that I’m overreacting (believe me, Christians I know that read HP also think they’re fine after reading and it’s all okay) but I disagree. It’s totally up to an individual if they are going to read something or not, and this is one that I’m not going to.

Sara J Maas

In a similar vein to HP as above, I find that Sara writes some really dark stuff. I read half of a Throne of Glass book and when I reached that point, it went from assassin competition to demonic things that I am NOT willing to let enter my mind. There’s something particularly drawing in her books, and that concerns me but if someone is going to read it, they’re going to read it.

I don’t like the idea of glorifying or exploring too deeply without covering the evil or demonic. Christian authors (and even some that I read) do cover this sort of thing, and reading those books in comparison to these there is a HUGE difference that I can feel in my gut. So for that reason, I don’t read her books – some authors just carrying stuff into their books that I can’t get on board with.

Stephanie Meyer

Twilight was THE series when I was growing up. Vampires had always been dark, evil creatures until this series. Then they somehow became sparkly and sexy…. though I will never understand what is so appealing about a being that literally kills people…. serial killer much?

Safe to say, I don’t do vampires. Yes, I see the evil in it but it’s more for me. I have a thing with vampires. An aversion that I will never get over. There’s something about having the life sucked out of you and glorifying this that doesn’t sit right with me. So nope, no Twilight for me.

Stephen King

Here we are… one of the genres that I despise. Horror. I know that Stephen is widely popular and read, but this is just not my genre. I really wish a story would be tame enough for me to read, but I have never been the person who LIKES to be scared on purpose… I won’t ever understand that.

He’s just too creepy for me. It’s not even an evil or demonic reason like some of the others mentioned above, it’s just creepy. Plain and simple, creepy. I don’t do creepy. I do twist your mind in pretzels to try and understand. I do elements of creepy when it’s a fantasy that is destroying what you think is reality to put it back together again at the end. But I don’t like creepy for creepy sake.

Sometimes when we say that we will “never” do something we end up caving some time later on in our lives. I don’t know what my life has in store, but I do know one thing, if I ever end up reading one of the people and series that I’ve mentioned… it’ll be something pretty unusual.

Are there any authors that you will NEVER read? Maybe a popular book or series you just can’t get on board with? Let us know in the comments

See You in the Adventures
Christy Grace