Hello and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! This week’s topic is Ten Books I Struggled to Get Into But Ended Up Loving or Ten Books That Were A Chore To Get Through or Ten Books I’ve Most Recently Put Down (the theme is…books you had a hard time with…tweak it how ever you need) which is, of course, brought to us by The Broke and the Bookish. We all have those books that we open up, expecting to enjoy, and then they turn into a chore to read. Some of them we get through, some of them we don’t. Today I’ll give you the books that became a chore for me to read, whether I finished them or not.
Caraval by Stephanie Garber – This book has been fairly popular since its release back in January. I was expecting to fall in love with it because, lets face it, the hype train for this title was fierce. However, it turned into a real drag that I had to force myself to finish. The only reason it is still sitting on my shelf instead of being donated to the library is that the cover is really very beautiful.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – I feel like I am going to start a riot over this book but here it is anyway. I had to absolutely force my way through this one. It became a daily chore to pick it up and read a few pages but I was determined to get through it. Everyone else seemed to absolutely adore this title so I kept anticipating some twist or something to make me fall for it as well. That twist never came. Kaz is boring. There, I said it.
Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare – Will I ever stop bringing this book up on lists like this? Probably not. This title was a complete and utter bore. I hated the characters, I hated the story, I hated the writing style, I just flat out hated it! I wasted several hours of my life forcing my way through this book and I regret every moment of it.
And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga #1) by Kiersten White – Let me be honest with you folks, this is the only book on this list I feel guilty about. I DNFed this one about half way through. I just…couldn’t. I wanted so badly to adore it. I yearned to love it. Then came that moment that I realized that I was only reading it because I felt like I had to. It had become a “chore book.” Oh, the guilt!
The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard #1) by Scott Lynch – I honestly am not sure what to say about this one. Reading this became a chore far too quickly. Some books that become forced reads I finish, some I don’t. This one, I didn’t.
Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas – So, yeah, that happened. What can I tell you lovely people? Maybe my expectations were too high, I don’t know, but this was a forced finish if there ever was one. I was determined to get to the end of this one a couple months ago. Much wine was involved in my final struggle through the last third of the book. I also read the second book in this series which was better but I won’t be continuing with it.
I think I am going to peace out cub scout at this point. Someone is going to maim me for the books I listed and I am not going to add any more fuel to the fire. This post could have easily been turned into something about unpopular opinions. Yikes. Were any of these titles on your TTT this week? Feel free to leave your link in the comments.
Literary Weaponry 
I was so upset with And I Darken!! I wanted it to be dark and twisted, but it was just so bad.
My TTT.
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I just got so bored reading it. I wanted to love it but I also expected dark and twisted, instead I got teenagers on holiday. Let down.
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I loved Locke Lamora. But I can see how it could be a slog.
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Yay you’re making me feel so much better about my list which also features some unpopular opinions.
I can definitely understand Six of Crows. I did get into it and enjoy it but it was a struggle in the beginning. I’m also thinking I need to add the whole Infernal Devices to my list as well as Lady Midnight.
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Haha. Glad I could make you feel better. Every time I do a post with seriously unpopular opinions I always imagine people reading it and thinking, “That dumb c***.” Most times it amuses me.
There are only two books that have ever made me physically angry and Six of Crows was one of them. I wish I could see what other people see in it. =(
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The world would be a boring place if everyone liked the same things.
I struggled mostly with the multiple POV’s in Six of Crows, it seems to take forever to get their backstory.
I mostly just liked the heist bits but I do think Bardugo is brilliant at world building too.
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It’s a pity that you didn’t like Clockwork Angel. I hadn’t heard of it, but the cover for it sure is gorgeous. It’s funny how sometimes unappealing books can have amazing covers. 🙂
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
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Beautiful book covers remind me of lovely wine labels. It may be beautiful on the outside, but the insides are probably like vinegar.
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I have not read Six of Crows because I have this feeling that I won’t enjoy it. It doesn’t appeal to me! Maybe one day?
I haven’t read Clockwork Angel because I struggled with the TMI series!
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I certainly wouldn’t recommend it. I will watch the occasional Shadowhunters episode but I will never be picking up another Cassandra Clare book.
With Six of Crows I will say that the world building was wonderful. Very vivid. I cannot knock it for that. The story placed in that world was just dull as dust.
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I completely agree on Six of Crows and Caraval. I have no interest in Maas’s books or Clare’s books either. Nice list!
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Thanks! It is so frustrating when a book you are excited about ends up being a let down.
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I loved both Six of Crows and Caraval, I’m sorry you didn’t. And I Darken is next on my TBR, I hope I find it less of a chore, I’m just reading a book that’s been a slog to get through, so I hope it’s not so bad! I wasn’t so keen on the first Throne of Glass book, but I have enjoyed the rest of the series.
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/05/top-ten-tuesday-123/
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I could see why people would enjoy both Six of Crows and Caraval. For the right reader I know they would both be wonderful, they just weren’t for me. I hope you enjoy And I Darken! There is a great story buried in that one, too, for the right reader. I think I am just too impatient sometimes.
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That’s fair enough, that’s what I love most about reading, there is a book out there for everyone and we don’t all have to like the same thing. Thanks, I hope so too 🙂
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The only one of these I’ve actually read is Clockwork Prince and I must admit, I could not disagree with you more, hahaha. I loved that whole trilogy and I think I binge-read it in a week or so. I’ve heard from a lot of people that And I Darken is really slow and I think that’s the main reason I still haven’t read it. I even won an ebook several months ago and I thought I’d finally take the plunge then, but I still haven’t. I hope I’ll end up enjoying it more than you did, though, because it sounds like it could be *so* good.
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I very much hope you enjoy And I Darken. It had some great world building in it, I must admit, but the characters and story didn’t do it for me. I can certainly why it would appeal to people though.
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I enjoyed Caraval but I have been wondering about Six of Crows and Clockwork Angel. Thanks for your review.
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Thanks for reading my review! I think if you enjoyed Caraval that you would like Clockwork Angel. Many of the aspects I disliked in Caraval are also in Clockwork so I can see where people would like both. The story is not at all similar but the writing gives me the same vibe.
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Thanks, I will definitely check it out.
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