This week’s Top 5 Wednesday is: Most Misleading Synopses. Ever read a synopsis and think it sounds dumb, but then you read the book years later and it’s actually amazing? Ever read a synopsis and think it sounds amazing, but it actually turns out to be nothing like the synopsis? Ever have a synopsis spoil something that happens 75% of the way into the book so you just spend most of your time waiting for that one element you already know? This is the topic for you.
1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. I thought this was a YA Paranormal Romance with action-packed magical dueling. Um, no. Not at all. It’s amazing, but the synopsis didn’t get me to read it, it was all the great reviews that did.
2. Last Seen Leaving by Caleb Roehrig. I expected a lot of mystery and suspense with the main character’s big secret to play a major factor in it. Instead his secret had nothing to do with the mystery and took up a lot of focus of the plot (but it was much more well done than the mystery side of the plot, so…).
3. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. It took about 200 pages to get to the part with Lila that’s mentioned in the synopsis.
4. The Magician’s Lie by Greer Macallister. Book comparisons will always disappoint me. This was compared to The Night Circus and is not at all accurate. Also, I thought it was going to be really surprising and shocking based on the synopsis, but I found it predictable and kind of dull.
5. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater. The synopsis makes it sound like the romance in the book is way more prominent than it is. In reality it’s a much more interesting book than that.
What are some book synopses that you’ve found misleading?
Stephanie's Book Reviews 
Did you still like “Last Seen Leaving,” in spite of the misleading synopsis?
I honestly had a hard time coming up with five books I’ve read that had misleading synospes. Some of the T5Ws are a bit beyond me!
It was ok – I gave it 2.5 Stars. I wouldn’t really recommend it to Mystery/Suspense fans, but if you like YA LGBT, then it’s a nice change of pace from all the contemporaries.
I admit, I was surprised to see your interpretation of The Night Circus from the blurb. Granted, it has been a few years since I read this, but I had an entirely different impression going from the synopsis. I guess that just proves again, how individualized reading is 🙂 Great post!
It was this line that got me: “a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians”. I’m quite glad I ended up being wrong about what I thought it was going to be!
As long as you enjoyed it, it was a win ❤
I only read The Night Circus because of reviews/recommendations, too. Otherwise I never would’ve picked it up. This is a fun topic!!
Yeah the synopsis for it could be better. But then again I don’t know how they could fully capture how beautiful that book really is in a synopsis.
The Raven Boys synopsis is like a crime. I honestly might not have ever read it if it hadn’t been for The Scorpio Races. I loved that book and it made me want to give Stiefvater another chance (I wasn’t fond of Shiver or Lament).
I would have never given Scorpio Races a try based off the synopsis if I hadn’t read the Raven boys haha. I gave shiver a cry bc of those books and never made it through it.
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