The Nope Book Tag

I saw this a little while ago over on Read by Chris and thought it looked fun. In an effort to not repeat the same old answers I always use, I’m going to try and stick with books I’ve read this year. Feel free to tag yourself if you’d like!

1. NOPE. Ending: A book ending that made you go NOPE either in denial, rage, or simply because the ending was crappy. 

I actually do not remember the ending to Six Stories by Matt Weslowski, but I put in my short review that I found the ending really unsatisfying. In fact, this whole books was a big, fat “NOPE” for me.

2. NOPE. Protagonist: A main character you dislike and drives you crazy. 

Isa from The Lying Game by Ruth Ware. I can not even believe the crap she put her baby and her boyfriend through. She’s the worst!

3. NOPE. Series: A series that turned out to be one huge pile of NOPE. after you’ve invested all of that time and energy on it, or a series you gave up on because it wasn’t worth it anymore. 

Ok, this one is kind of hard because I haven’t really discontinued any series this year. I’m going to go with Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh even though it’s the first book in a series because I don’t really have any interest in continuing in.

4. NOPE. Popular pairing: A “ship” you don’t support.

I don’t really think this is a “popular” pairing, but I’m going to go with Rose and Archie in Public Relations by Katie Heaney & Arianna Rebolini. I thought Archie was way, way too good for self-absorbed, immature Rose.

5. NOPE. Plot twist: A plot twist you didn’t see coming or didn’t like. 

Lacey’s Wedding by Sharon Bolton. I love Sharon Bolton, but I thought this short story was a bit of a cruel twist for Lacey Flint fans. There just better be more books coming in this series!!!

6. NOPE. Protagonist action/decision: A character decision that made you shake your head NOPE. 

Georgie in Walk of Shame by Lauren Layne. While I really enjoyed this book and did like Georgie, there were many times her actions really frustrated me.

7. NOPE. Genre: A genre you will never read.

This is always my answer, but Dinosaur Erotica. Yes, it’s a real thing.

8. NOPE. Book format: Book formatting you hate and avoid buying until it comes out in a different edition

I honestly can’t think of anything. I mostly buy e-books so I guess anything that has lots of illustrations (like Illuminae) I would have to get in an actual physical format.

9. NOPE. Trope: A trope that makes you go NOPE. 

Surprise pregnancy or surprise-you’re-a-father!

10. NOPE. Recommendation: A book recommendation that is constantly hyped and pushed at you that you simply refuse to read. 

Harry Potter. Sorry, I’m just never going to read this.

11. NOPE. Cliche/pet peeve: A cliche or writing pet peeve that always makes you roll your eyes.

The “graceful neck” description. I have never once looked at someone’s neck and thought to myself, “Wow, that’s graceful. *Swoon*”.

12. NOPE. Love interest: The love interest that’s not worthy of being one. A character you don’t think should have been a viable love interest.

Kieran in Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. He’s kind of a love interest for two people (who are also love interests to each other – Please, please, please don’t make threesomes the new “thing” we all have to champion in YA), but I just don’t like him. Like, at all.

13. NOPE. Book: A book that shouldn’t have existed that made you say NOPE. 

There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins. This book was awful and can not be considered horror. It’s Romance, with a little bit of murder thrown in.

14. NOPE. Villain: A scary villain/antagonist you would hate to cross and would make you run in the opposite direction.

The bad guys in Dead Scared by Sharon Bolton. No spoilers, though!

15. NOPE. Death: A character death that still haunts you.

I’m not going to spoil who it is, but the major death in Making Faces by Amy Harmon. I ugly cried hard.

16. NOPE. Author: An author you had a bad experience reading for and have decided to quit.

While there were books I definitely didn’t care for, there weren’t any I read this year that really made me say, “I’m never reading this author again.” I think the closest I came to that was Staci Hart when I read With a Twist. I just don’t think her writing is for me, but if she puts something out that I think looks really interesting, I still might give it a try.

Reviewing the Unreviewed: October 2017

I read a lot of books that I don’t end up reviewing for whatever reason. Some because I wasn’t impressed. Some because I didn’t have the time. Some I just wasn’t feeling it on whatever particular day I finished. Reviewing the Unreviewed is my monthly post where I share my few thoughts on all the books I didn’t formally review.

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. Read September 30 – October 1. 4 Stars. 

Witty, fun, and well-written. I am usually a naysayer of hype, but it seems everyone was right about this one! I know it’s a very unpopular opinion, but books featuring LGBT+ romances are not really my cup of tea. Because of that I wasn’t sure if I would enjoy this book as much as everyone else seemed to (plus sometimes I feel people give extra stars to books just for having that extra bit of “diversity” despite how good the story is), but I ended up quite enjoying the whole thing. I really liked all the characters, though Monty did frustrate me often. I didn’t entirely understand the whole alchemy thing and thought there were parts that dragged on far too long (it probably could have been at least 100 pages less than it was) and I almost gave it a slightly lower rating because of that, but it was bantery and fun and cute and I didn’t want to put it down. I am really looking forward to reading more of Monty, Percy, and Felicity.

There is one thing that is not the story’s fault, but still really rubs me the wrong way that I wanted to mention because it’s a pet peeve of mine. I hate when there are Author Notes that need to explain things or tell me how important things in their book are. In this case it was a history lesson (the author was a history major, btw). I just think that books should stand on their own and if I want to know more, I can certainly do my own research into the topic or time period. *Steps down from soapbox*

The Wife Between Us  by Greer Hendircks and Sarah Pekkanen. Read October 7-9. 4 Stars. 

The Wife Between Us is a very cleverly written novel of psychological suspense that managed to do what few books seem able to do these days – genuinely surprise me. Not just once, but multiple times. Full review to come in December.

The Teacher (Imogen Grey #1) by Katerina Diamond. Read October 9-11. 4 Stars. 

This is the first book in a series, but I actually read the second book before this one. I am not sure if I would’ve liked this as much if I read it first. While I expected multiple POVs, I thought Imogen Grey would be the main focus, but I felt like her part in the story was pretty small until closer to the end. We don’t even get her POV until chapter 19. I think this normally would’ve annoyed me, however, since I already know her from the second book – and found out the answers to her past that are only referenced in this book – it didn’t really bother me. While I could’ve done with maybe a few less POVs, it did work for me. I still love Adrian and was glad we got a good deal of the story from his viewpoint. The story is DARK and definitely won’t be for everyone. Katerina Diamond definitely does not shy away from tough or graphic subject matter. If you can handle it, though, I think this series is really great so far and I am really excited to read the third book next.

Lacey’s Wedding (a Lacey Flint short story) by Sharon Bolton. Read October 12. 3 Stars.

Well then. That was not really like I expected it to be. As a self-contained short story and Lacey Flint suspense it worked. However, if this is truly the last Lacey Flint story we get, I’m going to be super pissed.

Until You (Bachelor Brotherhood #2) by Denise Grover Swank. Read October 15-17. 3.5 Stars.

This was pretty cute and I enjoyed it. I liked both Tyler and Laine, but never really fell in love with them. I thought the whole non-disclosure stuff with Laine’s job was kind of odd and that whole storyline just didn’t make a lot of sense to me. My favorite part was probably Tyler hanging out with his younger brother again. This was probably my least favorite book in this series, but it was still worth the read.

Now That You Mention It by Kristan Higgins. Read October 21-23. 4 Stars. 

I have been a fan of Kristan Higgins for years now and have read all of her books – most of them multiple times. Whenever I need a pick-me-up her books do the trick. I don’t read a lot of straight up Romance books so she has become my go-to when that’s what I’m in the mood for. Her last few books, though, have moved out of the Romance category and more into Women’s Fiction. While the books have obviously still been up to the standard I expect out of Higgins, they weren’t quite the light and fluffy feel good stories I was used to getting and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Even though Now That You Mention It feels a lot more serious than most her other books, it still ended up being exactly the book I needed right now. Higgins still made me happy and made me feel and I quite loved this book. Full review to come.

The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor. Read October 18-25. 3 Stars. 

For me, The Chalk Man, is a perfect example of how hype can ruin your reading experience. I have seen several absolutely glowing reviews of this book and I was prepared for it to be one of my new favorite books of the year. Unfortunately, it fell far short of my expectations. Full review to come.

********Back on the TBR********

   

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, and The Force by Don Winslow. I was an incredibly moody reader this month. These are all books I’ve really been wanting to read and my library holds for them came in around the same time. I think I read the first chapter of each of them, but never got any further. They are back on the TBR for another day.