Happy Saturday Bookish people! And Merry Bookmas day 11. Today I wanted to share some of the books that have surprised me throughout this year. There have been quite a few books that have done this actually, for lots of different reasons. I will try and show a picture of each book, give the title and give a little bit of information about why the book surprised me.
I’ll start with two books from the same series…
The first two books that I want to mention are Get A Life Chloe Brown and Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert. These two books are part of the Brown Sisters trilogy, I can’t include the third book yet because I haven’t read it but I imagine it would give me the same reaction. I was surprised by these two books because they are adult romance books and romance has never been a genre that I have enjoyed all that much. However, Talia Hibbert’s books have a good balance between wit and the actual romance, she also includes a plot in the books which made it easier for me to enjoy. I also loved some of the characters. If you are interested in my full thoughts about these two books I have posted reviews of them both.
Another book that surprised me was…
The reason I was surprised by this book is because it is written almost completely in email correspondence. I knew this before reading the book and it made me think that I might not enjoy the book as much because I couldn’t see how the mystery would still have those character relationships and the tension that I like in a book. I was wrong because I ended up loving the book and thought that using emails was a brilliant choice on the part of the author.
Another mystery that surprised me was…
Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz surprised me because it is a large book and I hadn’t read anything by this author before. I was surprised that I was kept engaged in the complex and long mystery. It was one of my favourite books that I have read this year. I have a review of this book posted if you want to know my full thoughts on the book.
A historical book that I was surprised by is…
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn. This book is, the first book in a series, about a woman, I believe in the Victorian period, who is thrown into the middle of a mystery. I wasn’t sure I would enjoy this book because I hadn’t read many historical mysteries but now it is a genre I actively look for when buying books.
Up next is a book that was bought for me..
Lireal by Garth Nix. This is a book that surprised me because it was recommended to me by my partner. He had showed it to me in the shop and I looked at the synopsis and thought it might be an okay book but I didn’t really feel like reading it but my partner bought it for me so then I had to read it. And of course, he was right, I loved the book and I ended up giving it five stars.
Up next is…
Pumpkin by Julie Murphy. I got this book after seeing lots of great reviews about it and I thought well, it sounds okay so I’ll give it a go. I was surprised I liked it because again it’s not my preferred genre but I did end up liking it.
The next one is part of a series…
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. I have only read the first two books in the series so far but I was surprised by them because of the premise of the series. If it is a book about books or librarians I’m almost guaranteed to love it. But I was less sure about this book because it combined librarians with the supernatural world of vampires and fae and spies. I was imagining a retelling of James Bond but it was nothing like that but I ended up enjoying it and continuing with the series.
The next book is a stand alone I put off reading…
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is another book that is way out of my usual genre, I had to fulfill a prompt for a readathon and I ended up picking Fangirl because it is a book about a girl who loves writing stories and fanfiction which to me is more relatable than some other romance/contemporary books. I was surprised that I actually became very emotionally invested in the characters, especially Cath and I gave the book five stars.
The final book for this list is…
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden surprised me because it is based on folklore and is a very dark book, there is a dark and cold atmosphere to the story. But I found the whole book to be beautiful, whimsical and magical. One of the best books I have read.
That’s it for the books that have surprised me in 2021, I hope you all enjoyed reading about it. What books have surprised you in 2021?
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