I Was Wrong! The YA Books I Thought I'd Hate But Didn't





I don't love being wrong, but I don't mind admitting it. Yesterday I reviewed a book that I put off reading because I didn't think I would like it. And, yes, I was wrong. 

The most well-known Book I Was Wrong About was, yes, The Hunger Games. 

I read the premise and thought, "Whoa, that is SO not for me." But then I kept recommending it to other people. I'd say, "Well, I haven't read this, but I heard it's good." And then, of course, later on those people would come up and say, "That book you told me to read was really good." At some point before Catching Fire came out, I caved and read The Hunger Games. And of course, I loved it.

Here are some other YA books I was wrong about:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone -- I don't always like fantasy, so I put off reading this one.

Anna and the French Kiss -- It was the title. I thought the story would be too young or too cheesy. Wrong! It's one of my favorites!

Catching Jordan -- Football = yawn. But I really loved the book.

Sweet Evil -- Thought this would be just another girl-in-a-prom-dress paranormal. But it was imaginative and funny.

Tell me in comments:

What was a book that you resisted reading and then loved. Maybe all your friends tried to get you to read it, but you were sure you wouldn't like it. Maybe you didn't think it was your kind of book. Maybe you judged it by its cover. Time to confess!

BOOKS THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU'D HATE BUT DIDN'T FROM THE COMMENTS:


Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Bookworm 1858 and Stephanie)

On the Island by Tracy Garvis Graves (Amy)

Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling (Erica)

New Moon (or any of the Twilight books) by Stephenie Meyer (Evie)

Firelight by Sophie Jordan (Sarabara)

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger (Sarabara)

Possess by Gretchen McNeil (Sarabara)

Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Sarabara)

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (Starryeyedjen)

Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (Starryeyedjen)

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (Starryeyedjen)

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (Starryeyedjen)

Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson (Cjane)

I Am Number Four or The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (Cjane and Caitlin)

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Andrea)

Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Veronika)

Undead and Unwed by Mary Janice Davidson (Leanne and Jen M)

Moon Called by Patricia Briggs (Kristall)

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer (Chenise)

Perfect Chemistry (Gaby)

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (Ebony)

Stolen by Lucy Christopher (Jen M)

Speechless by Hannah Harrington (Jesse)

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols (Jolene)

Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi (Liliana)

Janus Affair by Pip Ballentine (Miki)

Half-Made World by Felix Gilman (Giada)

Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler (Lili)

Enders Game OR Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card (Suz)

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Texas Book Lover)

Slammed by Colleen Hoover (DeeDee)

Dearly Departed by Lia Habel (Tiffany)

Switched by Amanda Hocking (Jessica)

Graceling by Kristen Cashore (Nikki)

Poison Study by Maria Snyder (Brandileigh)

How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend by Janette Rallison

Eragon by Christopher Paolini

Every Other Day by Jennifer Barnes (M.A.D)

Obsidian or Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout (MissyMoo)

Saving June by Hannah Harrington (AbbeyAnn)

Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt (Arianne)

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta (Lynn)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Pepsivanilla)

Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews (Lynn)

Paranormalcy by Kirsten White (Jen R)

Nevermore by Kelly Creagh (Nuzaifa)

Liar Society OR Lies That Bind (Breana)

Shade OR Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready (Sarah)

Ashes by Ilsa Bick (Eliza)

Iron King/Queen/Knight or Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa


Comments

  1. I also wasn't going to read The Hunger Games because it sounded so violent but then I saw it in paperback so I picked it up...and loved it of course! Can't think of any others at the moment (although I can think of several I thought I'd love but ended up hating-the unfortunate opposite to what you're talking about).

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    1. The whole thing initially reminded me of Lord of the Flies, which I had to read in school and which traumatized me!

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  2. One of the books that I was that way about was On The Island by Tracy Garvis Graves. I was invited to do a blog tour when her book was still self pub, and it wasn't a book I would normally read, but I decided to give it a try. It is now one of my favorite books.

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    1. I still need to read that one -- great suggestion!

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  3. Oddly enough, Harry Potter. I bought the first one when I was little when it was first published. Never read it. A friend in high school told me they were really great books so I gave in and read the first one. I now own all of them, some I have in paperback and hardbacks even. Love them!

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    1. I wonder if I'd have picked up Harry Potter if I hadn't wanted to read it to my kids. Probably I would have read it eventually!

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  4. New Moon. I didn't like Twilight and people was always saying how New Moon was so bad because of the lack of Edward...well I think I loved NM because it was really nice to read more about Jacob.

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    1. I enjoyed reading New Moon for the same reason - because Edward wasn't in it much. That sounds weird because I do like Edward, it was just a nice change.

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    2. Poor Jacob! That book just made me feel bad for him because I never thought he had a chance with Bella :(

      Great suggestion, Evie. I wasn't sure the whole Twilight series would be for me, but I actually enjoyed the books. I'm adding them above!

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  5. I was the same way with The Hunger Games! I read a lot as a young teen but then stopped for quite awhile. Until I started back up with Harry Potter. And even then I didn't want to read anything else. Then on a fluke I saw Twilight and got into the books... and then the fanfiction. Still had no idea where to go for book recs at the time. Then I saw everyone talking about The Hunger Games so I read the premise and was like, 'ummm, not for me'. So glad I caved (it was about 2 months before Mockingjay's release)! I found out just how much I loved Dystopian and then I just kept looking for more and more amazing books to read.

    Another series might be the Chaos Walking trilogy. I saw some good reviews but wasn't sure I would like it. Even when I started reading it I wasn't sure I'd like it for quite a bit of the beginning. But now it is one of my favorites! So glad I stuck with it. Firelight, The DUFF, and Possess are also pleasant surprises. :)

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    1. I am just starting the Chaos Walking series on audio -- I'm so excited because I've heard it's amazing.
      Thanks for all your great suggestions, which I am adding above!

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  6. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand was a book I flat out refused to read. Something about all of those raving reviews turned me off. I figured it couldn't be THAT good. I finally read it and enjoyed it, so I guess I was wrong.

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    1. I'm not so big on angel books, so I also picked up that one with some skepticism and was completely won over. Fantastic choice and I'm adding it to the list for the winner to choose from.

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  7. Tempest by Julie Cross...it took me FOREVER to finally pick up the book that I checked out from the library (heard good recommendations but my heart wasn't in it when I had a ton of other books I wanted to read) and just renewed it to the max, forcing me to read it. I finished it in a few hours and was like "That was good!". ^.^

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    1. It's hard when you have a huge stack of books -- but word of mouth recommendations are SO important!!

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  8. Definitely the Hunger Games! I saw the cover when the books first came out and it just didn't appeal to me. But then I found out that is was being made into a movie and was hearing all this hype. So finally I read it and absolutely LOVED it.

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    1. Sometimes when everyone in the world is reading a book, you don't want to just jump on the bandwagon. But then again, maybe they know something I don't :)

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  9. For me, it's any YA contemporary. I swore that genre wasn't for me, but now I have to admit, it might actually be my favorite. The Host is probably the one I put off for ages, while everyone else was raving about it. I wasn't a fan of Breaking Dawn, so I was sure another Stephenie Meyer book would leave a bad taste in my mouth, but I was pleasantly surprised. Also, it took me forever to read Sweet Evil, but I loved it once I did. Here are a few others that I initially dismissed but loved once I gave them a chance: Shiver, The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and City of Bones, all of which are on my favorites list now. :D

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    1. Okay, I'm making you a list of YA contemporaries!

      I need to order the Host for myself, because so many of you rave about it.

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  10. Caniel X series by James PAtterson. A friend of mine has the first book and she said she liked it. I wasn't (maybe until now) really in to sci-fi novels. I don't think that there will be a new story if it is a series. But she insisted, so I finally did. I enjoyed it but sci-fi is still not my fave. I read Lorien Legacies after monts of putting it off and I liked it too.

    thanks for the great giveaway. I hope I can read your book recommendations. :)

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    1. oops that's Daniel X and months. Sorry.

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    2. Haven't heard of Daniel X and have not yet read the Lorien legacy books!

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  11. I was hesitant, too, about Catching Jordan because of the football, but ended up loving it! I have to remember that reading a book that incorporates sports isn't the same as having to watch them. :)

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    1. Ha ha -- I guess I made the same assumption!

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  12. I resisted a few of the books listed here, Twilight and On the Island (one of my fav books ever).

    The book I probably resisted the most was Vampire Academy. My friend insisted I would love it, but I refused. My hubby bought the series for me for Christmas. I still resisted, but when I finally gave in, I read the entire series in less than week. It's now one of my favorites.

    Loved this topic!

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    1. Same!!!
      I'd tried the first VA book and thought it was kind of slow going, so I put it down. But this past summer, some friends and I did a VA readathon and ... WOW. Love that series so much!

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  13. For me.. Beautiful Disaster. I was worried because of the whole controlling/tough/overbearing character. I read 50 Shades of Grey and HATED it and a lot of people were drawing similarities between the male characters in the two books (unhealthy relationship, controlling guy, etc.).

    But then a few of my close blogger friends read it and loved it so I reluctantly read it too.. and I was blown away!!! Absolutely adored it. :)

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    1. Haven't read that one, but I'll add it to the list!

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  14. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi. I thought it would be too sci-fi, but I loved it! It was emotional and unique and absolutely perfect:)

    Thank you:)

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    1. I'm with you on sci.fi -- sometimes it's just too cerebral without any emotional component to balance it out. But I did enjoy that book too!

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  15. I was so hesitant to read all three Hunger Games books! I must be crazy, because the more popular the books became, the more I didn't want to read them XD Then right before the movie came out I finally read all three! They were great! Also I had the same thing with Delirium by Lauren Oliver :D I love that book too!

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    1. I know -- sometimes when a book is really popular I'm sort of afraid to read it. Or I just don't want to be one of the crowd.

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  16. I was resistant to the Queen Betsy series by MaryJanice Davidson - it seemed like such a stupid name for a vampire and the covers didn't really interest me. After seeing the way everyone loved it, I decided to try it and have now been making my way through the series - love the snarky and innocence of Betsy's character! I think I'm on #6 and there are ~11 or 12 right now!

    I would also have to agree with The Duff by Kody Keplinger - it had so many mixed reviews! Either you loved it or hated it and I loved it!

    Thanks for the giveaway!
    Leanne

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    1. I LOVE the Queen Betsy series!!!! But I actually thought the covers were really cute lol My co-worker recommended them to me and I became a huge fan. :-D

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    2. I have never heard of those -- I'll check them out!

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  17. For me, the same happened with The Hunger Games - it was so hyped, and I tend not to like much hyped books... then the movie came out and I decided to read it, and just loved it so much I now even have the collector's edition ^^ then I read Catching Fire and now, finally, I am reading Mockingjay ^^

    Other 2 books I thought I'd hate were dark fantasy ones, I am not into this kind of books so much, but I ended up loving The Black Company and Diablo III - The Order!

    And I also thought I would hate Anna and the French Kiss, because I am not so fond of France et al, but then I got it as a gift and ended up loving it!

    Ana Death Duarte @anaeileendeath

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  18. 34 pieces of you by carmen rodrrigues. I really wasn't looking forward to it but it was actually so good!!
    Thanks :)

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    1. That's on my list of books I want to read!

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  19. The Mercy Thompson series. At first, it was the cover. I didn't thing it was my tipe at all. And the description hadn't made any difference on me. However, my best friend loved it and I had to read it... finally. And I was amazed how much I liked it

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    1. Just checked that one out -- looks interesting!

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  20. Well, as far as I'm concerned I thought I would never finish The Lord of the Rings because it was so big, so I didn't want to even begin reading it. It took me two tries but I eventually managed to read it until the last word and I really enjoyed the story even if the last bit was the most difficult.

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    1. I have not read that one, or anything by Tolkien!

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  21. I'm ashamed to say this but I was really hesitant to pick up Storm by Brigid Kemmerer. All I could think was "oh god, are all 4 of these guys going to be interested in the one girl?" It's bad enough sometimes when there's a love triangle, but this would just wayyy too much. But I'm so glad I was able to get by the cover (which I actually really like now) because this series is freaking fantastic!

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    1. I am not crazy about the covers on those, but I agree--- they're really good. Adding all these above that are eligible to the list!

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  22. Mine was Daughter Of Smoke and Bone. I really didnt think Id like it at all and my friend offered me her ARC to read so I said Id try it and see. It BLEW me away!!! I loved it and its one of my favourite books ever!

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    1. Yep, I also resisted that one for a while!

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  23. Oh that one easy (LOL) I do remember it well. That would be the Perfect Chemistry Trilogy by Simone Elkeles. I remember I kept seeing these book everywhere so one day I decided to check out this book and I remember saying to myself "Ummm no I would so never read this book, it a joke" I did make fun of this book. Some time passed and I still kept on seeing this book and I just thought what the heck might as well read it to see what all the commotion was about. I did end up reading it and oh my I fell in love with it. In the end I was really glad I read them and I can now say I own all three books(signed).

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    1. I also find those covers a little embarrassing to carry around -- but they are really good!!

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  24. Mine was..stupidly of me..THE BEST BOOK IN THE ENTIRE WORLD..my now fave book. :)
    Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys..before I read that particular book I had recently been killed by world war stories so I was kind of pissed off with war books in general and I started this book with reservations..true I had never read that type of story before and I'm not the kind of person that likes wars anyway so I started it thinking..here we go again..another war book...AND IT BLEW MY MIND. Literally everything about it was perfect so if you haven't read it then PLEASE DO!

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    1. I recently listened to that one on audio -- what an incredible story!

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  25. Vampire Academy!!! I was NOT going to read it and then decided to give it a try over summer and now I'm a huge fan! I loved it!

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    1. Same! I was kicking myself for waiting so long!

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  26. Mine was Everneath, I wasn't sure I'd like the whole Greek delty/warrior/what have you plotline (after all, Dream Lover was rather boring). But I swapped for an ARC and ended up falling in love with it!

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    1. I love mythology-themed books, so I was all over that one :)

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  27. Ooohhh great topic. I have a friend who is always so reluctant to try my suggestions for books and TV but like 90% of the time she ends up loving my recommendation.

    SO confession time!
    I held off on Vampire Academy because of the cheesy covers. One of my favorite authors recommended them so I gave them a try! Best decision ever!

    I also didn't think I would like Catching Jordan because of football but I loved it.

    The Duff I avoided as well. I'm not a contemporary fan so I avoided it but it was great. My first try with contemporary was Anna and the French Kiss and I am one of the few that hated it and swore off contemporary for a long time after that. Since everyone said it was the best I figured if I didn't like that I wouldn't like any of them but turns out I just didn't like that one.

    Oooohhh another great one was Stolen!!! It was one of my goodreads group reads and I never thought I would enjoy something about kidnapping but it was amazing! I recommend it all the time!

    And that's it actually! I looked through my entire goodreads shelf and everything else I read were all things I thought I would enjoy. I am mostly pretty good at picking out things I like and if I don't like it I usually stop read by 10% in. I am more open to trying all different kinds of books now though. I read a lot more contemporary now than last year.

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    1. Okay, I'm worried Stolen will scare me too much. But I should probably try it!

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  28. I felt this way about Divergent by Veronica Roth. I was afraid that it wouldn't live up to all of the hype, but it did and then some! I'm usually iffy about dystopians. They have to have excellent world building for me to get into them, and Divergent definitely did. I haven't read Insurgent yet, but I don't know what I'm waiting for!

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    1. Read it!!! You still have some time before the next book comes out.

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  29. I'll go with The Hunger Games too because I was quite late reading it. I don't know why I put off reading it before!

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    1. Ha ha -- I thought I was the only one but there is a whole club of us :)

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  30. I didn't think I would like The Hunger Games but I just read them a couple of weeks ago and I loved it! Thanks for the chance to win!

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  31. I've been wrong about a few books, but the most recent was Speechless by Hannah Harrington. I had never read Harrington before and from the summary was convinced it was just another dramatic contemporary. I am very picky with contemporary (it's got to be done right for me to love it) so I had no intention of picking Speechless up, until I received it for review. Thank god I did, because its one of my favorite books of 2012. I actually went out and bought a copy for a friend because I needed to get other people to read this book!

    Jesse @ Pretty In Fiction

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    1. I loved her first book, Saving June, so I was walking all around BEA (a book convention) telling people to go get it!

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  32. One of the only books I really remember really having a problem with was Harry Potter. It was around the time that book 7 came out and my friends were like YOU HAVE TO READ for the longest time. But then I finally gave in and of course, LOVED THEM. Wootness. :P Thanks Jen! Keep Rocking!

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  33. I was kind of resistant to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone too, for some reason I just wasn't sure that I was going to like it especially with all the hype. But of course I loved it and can't wait for the next one!

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  34. I entered a contest on a blog a few years ago. I was trying to win one book, but ended up winning a different one. The book I won was a YA book, Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols and I was not very excited. I received the book and placed it on my bookshelf where it sat for a few months. I loved reading but my taste tended more towards the adult romance department and I just didn't think I would like anything YA. I am a 30 year old mother of 3 kids, what could a book geared towards a younger generation give me. I didn't think much. I ended up picking it up during flu season when it struck my house. Laying in bed and needing something to read and not wanting to run out to find something new, I ended up grabbing it off the shelf and was blown away with how much I loved the book. I was litereally shocked and honestly ate my words when I had said "YA is just not for me" It opened a whole new world to me and showed me that I didn't need my characters getting hot and heavy between the sheets to feel their connection. It showed me with just a look, a touch and kiss between the characters could still give me those butterflies and I could feel the connection just as much if not more. It brought me back to a place in my life where innocence and falling in love for the first time was the most important thing in the world. Finally deciding to pick up that book and then loving it made me a huge YA fan and though I still read in the more adult genre, more of my books tend to be in YA now

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    1. I think that is my favorite Jennifer Echols book. It's intense!!!

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  35. For me, there have been a couple of books. Hunger Games was one, but only because it was quite short, and I read so quickly I tend to buy longer books. Anna and the French Kiss was another, and the title was also the reason. I got over that pretty quickly once I saw some glowing reviews online. Weirdly, I still read both of these books before a lot of people. I can't think of a book that I held off on reading for a really long time.

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    1. I'm the complete opposite -- always wishing books were shorter!

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  36. Well, I was never really a huge vampire book fan, but some of my Goodreads friends "encouraged" me to read both Vampire Academy by Richelle Meade and Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi...turns out, I really liked both! Guess you shouldn't judge a book by its genre, right? ;)

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    1. Haven't read Boys that Bite, but I'm going to check it out!

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  37. There are several books like those this year because i've entered a challenge to discover more subgenre so i had to go against my apprehension for example i was really afraid of the steampunk, i don't know why exactly but i was fighting against read and thus buy one... but thanks to a contest i've discovered the minitry of peculiar occurrences by pip ballantine and tee morris and now it's on my favourite list and can't way for the next book ( several month s to wait^^) i guess i'm becoming less shy in my choice

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    1. I'm still on the fence about steampunk. If you find any others you like, let me know!

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  38. Over the years, there have been books I resisted and instantly fell in love with. The most recent is the Black Dagger Brotherhood. I don't normally do what they call Romanace novels but I think they are so much more than that and I treasure those books. I am however still refusing to read 50 Shades of Gray. LOL

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    1. I'll check that one out. I read some of the fanfic version of 50 Shades online and I don't think it's for me.

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  39. The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman. I like the steampunk genre, but the story sounded quite strange and I didn't think I would end up loving this book.
    Thank you for this awesome giveaway! :D

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  40. This is a good question. Its hard for me to think of one because I typically don't read books that I don't think I will like especially now since I hardly have reading time, and review books are taking over my life. Most of the time it goes the other way, with me expecting to like it and then being disappointed.

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  41. I was pleasantly surprised with Who I Kissed by Janet Gurtler. I originally thought the plot about a girl accidentally killing someone because of peanut butter was morbid, but it was very light and the story itself was genius! I also really loved Insignia by S.J. Kincaid. I thought the game was too video game based, thus I wouldn't enjoy it, but it's among my favorites of the year! I also caved with Divergent. I kept seeing it in bookstores and never picked it up because I was worried about the violence. Damn, was I wrong.

    Fingers crossed so hard for this one because Catching Jordan is at the very top of my wishlist and I really want it! lol Thank you for the opportunity to win!

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    1. I remember reading about that one. It is an interesting premise!

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  42. The Hunger Games. I read it early this year and LOVED it. The cover is what was off-putting for me. It didn't draw me in, so I never wanted to pick it up. Then I started seeing all the hubbub about a movie and decided to read it.

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    1. My version is the UK cover, which is even weirder. Some blond guy on the cover:

      http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6772333-the-hunger-games

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  43. I resisted reading Speaker for the Dead (Ender's Saga, #2) by Orson Scott Card for the longest time! I checked it out of the library a couple of times before I actually read it. I was hesitant because I loved Ender's Game so much that I was sure I would be disappointed by the second book even though I had read good things about it. Well, I finally got around to reading the book, it was just as good as Ender's Game and I loved it! So, I was wrong :)

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  44. I am one of those people that rarely reads something unless I really think I am going to love it or at least really like it. That is probably why it took me so long to read any dystopian novel. I just didn't think I could get into anything that wasn't a romance, because that is primary what I read. But I finally gave both The Hunger Games a try and really liked it and then earlier this year Divergent and absolutely loved it. I have read several others and continued to branch out.

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  45. I resisted reading Slammed by Colleen Hoover for a long time. It kept coming up as a recommended read, and I saw all the 5-star reviews, but after reading the blurb, I decided it wasn't for me. I mean, slam poetry? I read mostly paranormals. I finally caved and gave it a try, and now it's one of my favorite books of all time! I tell everyone I know to read it.

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    1. I started that one and when I got to the revelation of why they couldn't be together, I couldn't read on. But everyone loves that book, so maybe I will finish it.

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  46. Black Dagger Brotherhood. I just was not gonna read a book where men were the main characters. How much fun could that be? And the series followed different characters. At that time, I liked to follow the main character throughout the series. Man, I am sooooo glad that I broke down and read it! It's one of my fave series!!!

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    1. Ooh, you;re the second one to recommend that. I'm going to check it out!

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  47. Hmm I had to go to my goodreads list and look at all the books that I've read to answer this question. LOL
    So two books that I thought I wasn't going to like was Taking Chances by Molly McAdams and Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel. I didn't think I'd like Taking Chance b/c I really don't like books where the girl has a boyfriend and likes someone else ans acts on it. I don't like cheaters, but this book was totally not what I was expecting. I really loved this book even though I think I need therapy after finishing it. LOL Dearly, Departed b/c I really don't like zombies and I thought it was just going to be gross. Turns out I loved this book. I'm really glad I went out of my comfort zone and read them.

    Thanks for the giveaway.

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    1. I'm also scared of zombies, but I've heard great things about Dearly Departed, so I need to give it a try!

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  48. I put off reading HARRY POTTER because I just thought it was a children's series. The first book was for a younger age group, but then Harry started to grow up & the magic darker.

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    1. I just love that series so much. Have you read Casual Vacancy yet?

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  49. I really didn't think I'd like Switched by Amanda Hocking. I mean, trolls? Really? But it totally shocked me! It wasn't what I had expected at all, and I actually enjoyed it a lot!

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  50. Oh my gosh and I just noticed The Knife of Never Letting Go on the added list... YES! A million times yes! I was SO skeptical but I ended up loving it. I absolutely devoured the rest of the trilogy!

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    1. I'm listening to it right now on audio. It's really fun!

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  51. I really didn't think I'd like Raven Boys (the name threw me) but it is seriously the best book I've read this year!!

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  52. Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto and Graceling! First two books of Heaven? UGH. This was pretty good! As for Graceling...I don't know. I avoided it but now? LOVE

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  53. Hmmm...lets see, today I read The Thrown of Glass and I loved it!!! It sat on my shelf so long.....I was just so worried about reading it and hating it. Good think it was amazing! Thanks for the giveaway ;)

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  54. I was the same way with The Hunger Games! I saw the summary and thought "nope, not for me." But after tons of people pushing me to read it, I gave it a shot and loved it. :)

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  55. I didn't think I would like Poison Study, but LOVED it, and everything she's written after!

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    1. My friend Shanan nagged me to read that series, and finally she sent me her copy in the mail. LOVED those books -- great choice!

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  56. Definitely the Vampire Academy. The covers looked so similar to the Marked (pc cast) series that I thought the content would be the same. So glad I persevered and read it anyways!!!

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    1. I hadn't thought of that. I'm just obsessed with the fact that Rose looks like Angelina Jolie!

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  57. I have to admit I do judge a book by the cover. I know, I know that I shouldn't do that but I still do. I received a arc copy of Sweetest Taboo from the amazing author Eva Marques for a honest review. It took me a while to start that book. This cover I'd pretty but it doesn't really catch my eye and second the story in the book I didn't agree with. So, I was scared I would hate it. I loved it though.

    Thank you for the great giveaway!

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  58. Oddly, The Hunger Games. A few of my friends read it and they said it was good. Then my sister read it and she said she liked it, and she hates reading. So I broke down and bought it and read it. I loved it in the end.

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  59. I was planning to never read Eve and Adam by, Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate. But when i got an ARC of it i decided to give it a try and ended up actually loving it! Thanks for this great giveaway!

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    1. I thought that one might be too scifi for me, but I really enjoyed it!

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  60. I have only finished a couple chapters of the Hunger Games, so I am with you. I've seen the movie, but I know the book is better. I guess I just need to get it read! Mine for the longest was the Twilight series, but I actually really enjoyed it and was glad I read it for some entertainment and romance when my husband was in law school.

    I was trying to think of some other books that would be different than what's above. Janette Rallison and Ally Carter are both authors that I LOVE and that were recommended to me, but didn't think I would like because I thought they might be too teenagish for me. I was very wrong. How to Take the Ex Out of Ex-Boyfriend by Rallison and Heist Society by Carter were the first books I read by those authors.

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    1. I really enjoyed the Twilight books and I LOVE the Heist Society. I've never heard of Janette Rallison, but I'm about to check her books out.

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  61. Eragon! I didn't think I would enjoy it at all bc of the guy who recommended it to me had different interests than me. lol Now look at me, I have all of the books, signed, a poster and a backpack. Yes.....Im in love with Eragon!

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    1. I can't believe I've never read that one!

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  62. I was wrong about I am Number Four. I kept seeing around the blog sites but every time I read the blurb it just didn't interest me. Then the movie came out and I absolutely loved it so I decided to give the book a chance. So happy I did since it rocked. Yes its very different but still full of awesomeness and I so need to read all the other books but am definitely looking forward to them.

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  63. For some reason I really resisted reading For Darkness Shows the Stars. Everyone kept raving about how great it was and I would go back again and again and read its blurb and think "why does this book leave me so cold?". I realized later that for some reason I was confusing it with Across the Universe and that book really DID leave me with the meh. I think it might be the similar cover colors. Regardless, I read For Darkness and LOVED it so much!! and felt pretty stupid. Those covers get me every time.

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    1. That's so funny. The covers were a little similar, until they changed the Across the Universe covers!

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  64. Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes was a book that I was epically wrong about! I half-expected another vampire/creature trope, but it was so darn beautifully written - snarky, fresh, creepy - and I tore thru the book in a single day! Not sure if this is a stand alone or not, but from now on Ms. Barnes is one of my favorite authors and I'll be seeking out more of her work <3
    GFC: Mary DeBorde (M.A.D.)

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    1. I will have to read that one. This week is killing my TBR list!

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  65. I held off on Daughter of Smoke and Bone for a long time. I'm not sure why since it's similar to what I would usually read but something in the synopsis made me feel like I wouldn't like it. After a lot of pushing from my friend I finally read it and ended up really liking it!

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  66. one book series i love and adore would be the lux series i was a bit hesitant because Alien ? but i loved her other books when i read them so i tried it. and holy alien babies was it good.daemon is one hot alien dude. another would be Daughter of Smoke and Bone i wasn't sure but when i did read it it blow my mind. both are in my top favourites , there amazing and i'm glad i read them.

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    1. I agree -- not so into alien stuff, but I did enjoy Obsidian!

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  67. This was at least five or six years ago, but I thought I wouldn't like The Hobbit. As soon as I read it, amazing! Side note: Might I add that I was one of only two people that liked it in my class.

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    1. I never read it! But I watched the animated movie...

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  68. One book I put off reading was Saving June by Hannah Harrington. I honestly have no idea why I didn't read it sooner, but when I finally picked it up, I ended up loving it.

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  69. One of the books I put off reading was Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock. I got an ARC of it, but I kept avoiding it because I've never been a huge werewolf fan. I ended up really loving it & I can't wait for the sequel to come out!

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    1. Yep. I also resisted that one because of the whole werewolf thing, but it was a great book!

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  70. Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt. I didn't even know I signed up for a blog tour for it. I didn't like the cover AT ALL. But I fell madly in love with the story! It was like the author wrote about parts of my story - it made me cry from deep inside. There are new covers now, and I'm madly in love with them! The cover for the second book is SEEEEXY! You should google it (Junk Miles by Liz Reinhardt) :)

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    1. Just looked that one up -- seems like a really cute book!

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  71. Believe it or not, but the HP books... I ended up loving them and being a hard-core HP fan lol :)

    -JennyC

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    1. Why did you resist them? Did you think they were for kids?

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  72. Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta!

    I LOVE fantasy books so naturally I checked it out...but I got to the part in the prologue about 'sacrificing a pound of flesh'. It weirded me out because I imagined them cutting out their bodies like how someone would slice chicken fillets...It put me off for ages, until one rainy day I had nothing else to read so I read it :P (It's now one of my all time favorite book and I can't wait for the US release of #3 Quintana of Charyn!)

    It's already been mentioned up there but Vampire Academy was also a book that I put off because of getting burned many times by vampire novels during the 'Twilight phase'. I can't say I'm unhappy about being late to join the bandwagon however, since I got to read all 6 of the books in a week. xD

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    1. Ohhhh yes, I must also mention Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews! I didn't quite like the cover (shallow, I know.. >.>) and read an excerpt but it bored me. Promptly forgot about it for a year or 2 until I joined some groups on GR and it was highly recommended. It's my favorite Urban Fantasy series now.

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    2. Ha -- I resisted Finnnikin because I'm not so big on fantasy. But I am a HUGE fan of Melina Marchetta.
      Adding both that and Magic Bites to the prize list!

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  73. First thing that goes into my head- Vampire Academy. I was so sick of vampire books, but I keep on hearing raving reviews about it! So I tried reading it... and now it's one of my top 3 favorite series ever! Same goes with Legend by Marie Lu. The cover was kind of simple so it didn't really attract me, but wow, the plot was just ingenious! Oh, and Paranormalcy by Kiersten White. I thought it was those typical YA paranormals that were all about romance with a TSTL heroine. I was soo happy I read it and discovered I severely underestimated it!

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    1. Ha -- I agree with you on the cover of Legend. But loved the book!

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  74. I resisted reading Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout for a while. I read it last month and I ended up loving it.

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    1. Same! Finally read it and really enjoyed it!

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  75. I wasn't interested in reading Wither by Lauren DeStefano because the summary didn't appeal to me and it sounded so depressing. Everyone was raving about it and I was so sure it would never live up to the hype. It was definitely depressing, but it was also amazing and it's been stuck in my head ever since I read it!

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    1. I also thought that one sounded super-grim, but it's such a great series! Can't wait for Sever!

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  76. I put off reading Divergent - it just didn't sound like my kind of thing; too violent and gory but after all the rave reviews and the upcoming release of the movie, I took a leap and decided to give it ago. The verdict? I am so glad I did! I LOVED it. Loved, loved, loved. Since then I've re-read it and if there's one book I could go back and read all over again for the first time, it would be that book because even though I enjoyed it the second time round, it didn't have the same effect on me as did the first time.

    Another is Hemlock by Veronica Roth. Murder; werewolves; the whole shebang just didn't appeal to me. But after the raving reviews, I decided to give it ago because all the things I was hearing were super positive, not a negative thing in sight. After reading it, I can happily say I loved it. I can't wait for the next book and I'm lucky I gave it a go because it's one of the best paranormal stories I've ever read.

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  77. City of fallen angels and city of lost souls. I loved the first three books and thought the ending was perfect so I wasn't too happy to learn that the author will continue the series. I put off reading city of fallen angels until I saw the cover of lost souls and thought I should give it a try since the covers drew me in. I read fallen angel and lost souls and really enjoyed them both.

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  78. The Hunger Games; I waited a long time. I was also scared to start in Divergent from Veronica Roth, because of the crazy enthusiastic reviews (boy, was I wrong! It was amazing)

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  79. My list is pretty typical and includes some really popular books. I just get in this weird mood around books that people just love and I resist reading them bc of the hype. These books for me include The Hunger Games, the Harry Potter books, Anna and the French Kiss, and Obsidian/Onyx. I resisted them all but ended up loving them!
    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  80. I have to say I was wrong about The Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis. I had it on my kindle for a long time but for some reason I was reluctant to read it. When I finally read it I can honestly say I regretted not reading it sooner. I loved the book and immediately bought the next one in the series. :)

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    1. Never hear of that one, but I'm off to check it out!

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  81. It might just be me, but I kind of love when I'm wrong about a book.

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    1. I do too! It's way better than thinking you'll love a book and being wrong :(

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  82. For me, it was the Twilight series. I was convinced that I wouldn't enjoy it because it was YA. I incorrectly assumed that YA was "just for kids." Boy, was I wrong! The Twilight series opened up a whole new genre for me, and I love YA!

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    1. I was skeptical about that series too -- but those books are just so addictive!

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  83. City of Bones, which after I finished I had to immediately read the rest that were out at the time. And The Hunger Games, although I have to admit I was glad I waited until just before Mockingjay so I didnt have to wait.

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    1. It's nice to be able to read a series like that!

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  84. Cinder by Marissa Meyer, I usually don't judge books by their cover, but after seeing the cover last December (in my opinion, it's kind of creepy) and then reading the synopsis, I was like, this book is not for me, I'm not going to like it, but then on goodreads, when an author said she was reading it, I said some like what I just said above, that it doesn't seem interesting to me, but then the next day, there were so many comments saying that I should borrow it from the library and at least give it a try, then I read so many great reviews on it, and then I finally decided to read it, and I absolutely loved it, I'm dying to read the second book, Scarlet, I want to read it so badly.
    I don't read many dystopians because I hate the very controlling governments, they just make me imagine punching all of these people and almost throwing the book, like in Crewel (many people love that book, but I didn't, the Guild rules bothered me too much, plus they're sexist). That's why I liked Cinder and The Hunger Games, because of the characters and the government.

    Another book I was wrong about, that I know many people were wrong about is Anna and the French Kiss. before this book, I didn't read many contemporary romances before this book, because I didn't like the romance and the characters in those, but after reading this book (since I ended up loving it so much), I decided to give this genre another chance.
    Although, I read Lola and the Boy Next Door after that and it wasn't nearly as great as Anna, and I didn't like Lola.


    Sorry about the long comment and getting a bit off topic.


    -Nazish @ Nazish Reads

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    1. I love long comments!

      I'm a big fan of retellings, so I was so excited to read Cinder -- glad you tried it and liked it!

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  85. I have to agree with you a 100%! I seen where everyone else was praising The Hunger Games but I just didn't think I would enjoy it. I have never been into dystopia (or so I thought) and figured I would be bored with it. Finally, my best friend, who isn't much of a reader, told me this was the best book she has ever read, I decided I needed to try it out. I loved it! I ended up finishing all three books within a two week period. It was very emotional and I read it with tears rolling down my face. I wish I had read it sooner. Now I just need to watch the movie.

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    1. I just thought it would be too disturbing. But once you start reading that book, there's no stopping!

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  86. That would have to be Twilight. I read the first sentence, disliked it and put it away. When I tried reading it again a couple weeks later I ended up re-reading it and the entire serie over and over again in two languages until I finally found out that there was actually other good books - Twilight started my book obsession :)

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    1. It's good that you gave it a second chance. Usually when I try books and put them down, I never pick them up again. The one exception I can think of was Vampire Academy.

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  87. Mine was Nevermore by Kelly Creagh. Initially I was like "Goth and Cheerleader??"
    But it was great book and liked the sequel too.

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  88. Ok, I admit that I resisted reading the Liar Society by Lisa and Laura Roecker at first, because of the cover—I didn’t like it for some reason. I saw it a few times in the bookstore and never even bothered with it. Then I read it, and I loved it. I recently read the sequel, and well, I loved it too. :)

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    1. I enjoyed the first book too and have to read the second one!

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  89. I almost didn't read Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready, because the cover didn't really grab me (I know, bad) and I wasn't sucked in by the synopsis. I kept hearing so many raves on the book, though, so I finally bit the bullet and it's one of my favorite series :0)

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  90. I seriously hate admitting this but I was wrong about Harry Potter. When my mom told me about it I was all "witches and wizards, no thanks". Scary thing is I'm not sure I would have ever caved if I wouldn't have been bored and lazy.

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    1. I probably would have thought the same thing, except that I needed read aloud books for my son!

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  91. I put off reading ASHES because I thought it would be just another gory zombie book. Not only was it not just a gory book, it was an amazing thriller. And guess what, because of that, Ilsa Bick is one of my favorite YA authors. She is super talented.

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    1. Well, you know how I feel. That campground scene was almost too much for me. But I agree that I love her writing. I hope she'll do a non-zombie thriller next!

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  92. At first I was extremely skeptical about starting the Mortal Instruments series, because everyone was raving about it and literally everyone in The BookTube community had the series on their bookshelf. I thought it couldn't be that good, could it? Turns out, I quite enjoyed the first book and am reading the second right now.

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  93. I put off the Iron King-Julie Kagawa when i start to read it, but because my friend recommend it, i make myself to read it to the end, and i'm hook to this series until the end, and i'm now is Julie Kagawa fans

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    1. Ahhh --- I need to read that series too.

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  94. Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh. I actually read the first few pages and felt like we didn't connect. Then a reader friend told me how good it was and that I should try it again. It took me a year before trying again. I didn't know why it took me that long because it was amazing!

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  95. Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris. The Sci-Fi aspect of the book didn't appeal to me at first but I love it so much!! It's great and the Sci-Fi is the best part haha

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