In one of my older Top Ten Tuesday posts, the main reason I mentioned for picking up a book was hype. Whether we love or hate hyped books, it’s the universal truth that we who are atleast a bit active in the community cannot escape it. And it’s also true that reading and talking about the hot and hyped releases gets a lot of engagement, so I find it to be a great way to have conversations and make more friends. When I started analysing all my reads for the past couple of years, I realized I read way too many books due to the hype surrounding them. And while I cannot list them all here, I’m gonna talk about some which became instant all time favorites, and others which didn’t live up to my expectations.
Hyped Books I Adored
Throne of Glass is obviously the one series I’m obsessed about the most, and I wouldn’t have read it if it wasn’t so talked about on booktube and the blogging community in general. I read ACOTAR trilogy first and while I really enjoyed that too, ToG was an instant favorite and I binge read the whole series (except Kingdom of Ash) in a week. And it’s not an exaggeration when I say it’s the most talked about series on my blog.
Another one that I talk about a lot is the Six of Crows duology. I was just amazed by the brilliance of Leigh’s writing in this one and also realized my new found love for ensemble casts, found families and morally grey characters. Definitely worth all the hype in my opinion.
Nevernight is another trilogy that has a lot of hype surrounding it and I was very much carried away by it. I was very troubled when I didn’t enjoy the first 100 pages of the first book, but I pushed through and wow was that the right choice. I didn’t think I would love such dark books, but apparently I do.
It is the absolute truth that Red, White and Royal Blue is probably one of the most hyped book release of 2019, and when I realized it has politics and royalty and a gay romance as it’s main themes, I knew I had to read it. And I can’t even describe how much this book has made me happy. I read it back to back twice before even attempting to write a review, and have reread it a few more times after, so it’s no surprise that this is probably going to be my favorite read of the year.
Captive Prince is an extremely polarizing series in the community, so I don’t even know why I decided to pick it up. The one thing I did was to read about all the trigger and content warnings for book 1 before I began, which definitely made it easier to get through it. But I can’t deny how much I fell in love with the rest of the trilogy and consider the main characters to be one of my most favorite couples ever.
When I first saw how huge Priory was, I decided I was never gonna read it. But I kept reading rave reviews and everyone was gushing about it, so I just got carried away by the hype and picked it up. And it turned out to be such an amazing read. I didn’t think I would have so much fun reading such a big book.
Hyped Books that Disappointed Me
I enjoyed Schwab’s Monsters of Verity duology, so I did want to try other books by her. And the hype about this series was too hard to ignore in the months before the release of Vengeful, so I ended up picking Vicious. They are not really bad books per se, but I didn’t like most of the characters and that never bodes well for me.
If you read my rating for The Cruel Prince, you would think I loved it but the truth is, I was scared to write an honest review because of the insane hype surrounding it. I wanted to just fit in and make friends in the community, and didn’t want to hate on such a popular book. Thankfully I got over myself and wrote a much more honest review for The Wicked King. I will not say this series is bad because I think it’s entertaining enough, but I don’t think it lives up to the hype and I definitely don’t root for the couple. However, I will still be reading the finale because I wanna know how it all ends.
Another series that has a pretty strong fanbase, especially across booktube is The Raven Cycle. And I really wanted to be a part of the frenzy, so I read them all. I did like the characters and the friendships, but for the life of me I could never tell you what happened across these four books – I don’t think I have ever been so confused about the plot of a series.
Another series I read till the end despite never giving it more than 3 stars is the Red Queen. In this case, I didn’t really like the characters (except maybe Maven) but found the world quite fascinating and wanted to know how it all ends up. And due to the very disappointing open ending of War Storm, I even read the short story bind-up Broken Throne because I really wanted that closure.
Furyborn was one of my most anticipated releases of 2018, and it sadly ended up being the most disappointing one too. This was definitely a case of the hype creating a lot of expectations in my mind, and then the actual book not living up to all that. The hype surrounding Kingsbane has been similar and I probably will end up reading it, but I’m not rushing to pick it up yet.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Do you read hyped books as well? What are some of your favorite and disappointing hyped books? Please feel free to share all your thoughts in the comments below….
Omg yes there was so much hype around RW&RB that I HAD to read it and then it became my favourite :))
Also, some of the books you didn’t like are ones that I’ve been avoiding due to the hype so nice to know that!
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I know right… it’s one that definitely lived up to all the hype 😍😍😍
Haha.. I mean I didn’t like the others but many ppl did, so you should checkout if you find them interesting…
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I love this post! Now I’m trying to think about what books I didn’t like that were incredibly hyped, because I did really love all the ones you listed 😅🙈 (Except Red Queen. I’ve only read the first book so far and it was fine. The jury is still out on the rest of the series though)
But I’m so glad you love the TOG series as well. Nowadays I don’t know many people who do.
One book that’s hyped that ended up disappointing me was Circe by Madeline Miller
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Aww thank you so much ☺️ Maybe you can do a similar post once you think on it… I would love to see your list 😃😃😃
Red Queen has its fans but I found it just average… not bad not good.. had more potential but didn’t fulfill it 😬😬
I know ToG has haters and I understand all the criticisms, but it’s still the series that made me forget sleep and cry buckets, so I can’t stop loving it 😍😍😍 And I’m glad you do too…
I actually haven’t read Circe… Tried Song of Achilles by the author first which I loved and ended up sobbing towards the end… others have told Circe is very slow, so I’ve been putting it off…
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I think I’ll do one if I can come up with enough books that I didn’t like ☺️
I think I’ll still finish reading the Red Queen Series some day, but I’m not in a rush right now. Same with The Darkest Minds. It was good but I probably read it a little too late.
Same. I really get what people criticise but Heir of Fire especially helped me over a bad time and I could relate so much that those books will always mean the world to me. And yes!! All the tears!!!
I haven’t read Song of Achilles. I think I’ll still give thata try becasue I did like the writing style. Maybe I just knew too much about Greek Myth to enjoy Circe … I hope you like it if you ever decide to pick it up
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I totally understand wanting to finish a series but putting it on a back burner … I’ve probably done that with a couple too…
Like HoF for you, QoS and EoS mean something to me too… Actually I read the whole series in a week and I was having some issues at the time, so these helped me too and that’s why I associate good memories with the series and can’t forget it 😊😊😊
Haha if you already know so much about Greek mythology, The Song of Achilles might disappoint too because it’s the pretty well known story … but as you said, I enjoyed the writing and the emotions it evoked in me 😍😍😍
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Yes! I love that books can mean so much!
Yeah, maybe 🙈
But Song of Achilles is more focussed on just that, right? The life of Achilles?
Circe spans a looooong time and you meet a lot of different heroes/gods etc throughout the book. So hopefully I can enjoy that one more 😊
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Yeah… it’s actually mostly from Patroclus’s POV, and covers their story from childhood 😊😊😊 hope you enjoy it !!!!
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I read Red, White & Royal Blue because of the hype as well! It is definitely one of my favorites if not my favorite read this year!
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I’m so happy it lived up to all the hype 😍😍😍
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Great great post!!! And hyped books are a curse and a blessing! I’ve read so many of my now favorite books because they were hyped and that’s such a great way of discovering new books and also making friends in the community! For me, that’s definetely Six of Crows and ToG! And I’m so sorry you didn’t really enjoy The Cruel Prince (I’m part of the hype group haha!)! And also that you didn’t love Red Queen!!
And I have the same opinion on Raven Cycle! I also read it because I saw it on Booktube and loved the characters and the overall story, but the pace was just too slow for me…
And I totally get the anxiety about writing bad reviews on really hyped books…. When I first started this blog, I read Turtles all the way down and Truly Devious some time later and I was both scared to write what I honestly thought because I wanted to become friends with all the bloggers, but they seemed to love them… But now I just write what I think because I believe in the saying that people will read what you have to say because they notice you’re writing with your heart and passion!
Happy reading! And again, great post!
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I think most of us have read SoC and ToG due to the hype but it’s nice that we have so many bloggers to discuss them with 😊😊😊
And ya, I don’t have the anxiety about giving bad reviews anymore.. I have given more 2 or less stars to ARCs this year than my own copies, which is just hilarious 😂😂😂 but around the time of the release of Cruel Prince, I had just started getting a few followers and it was THE MOST hyped release.. so I guess I forced myself to like it… and it still is entertaining enough to make me want to read the finale, it’s just probably not my thing that’s all…
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Haha I totally get that!!!
And yes, it’s definetely entertaining, for me especially because I can’t assess Cardan’s character and that is driving me crazy haha!
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Haha I know right.. he drives me nuts 😬😬😬 that ending in Wicked King was 🤯🤯🤯
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YESSS! I was so shocked! I couldn’t speak to anyone or even write a review because I just couldn’t believe it!!
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I know the feeling 😂😂
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I’m going to read Nevernight very soon basically just because of the hype, so yes, it’s definitely something that influences me.
The Cruel Prince was a disappointment for me as well – I just don’t get the appeal of Jude/Cardan and that kind of ruined the book for me (but I didn’t hate it; it’s a three star read.)
I agree about the characters of Red Queen not being the best. And I’m a little worried about Furyborn: I want to read it, but the reviews are so polarizing…
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I hope you’ll love Nevernight !!!!!
I didn’t hate The Cruel prince either… 3 star for me too.. but I agree, it’s the romance and the couple that totally didn’t work for me…
Many do love Furyborn though, so I hope you’ll have a better experience with it 😊😊
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I enjoyed a lot of these and some I haven’t read yet. But, ultimately what I love about reading hyped books is having people to talk to about them.
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I know right… the discussion is always fun, whether we agree or disagree 😊😊😊
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I agree with SoC and RWRB! They’re both some of my favourites too! I had mixed feelings about The Cruel Prince too and even though it’s a great series, I understand your views! Great post as always, Sahi 😊💛
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Thank you Krisha !!!! I think The Cruel Prince is well written and entertaining but I’m very much a romance reader, and I hate it in the books even though everyone seems to love it 😂😂😂😂
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I can’t believe I haven’t read Priory Of The Orange Tree yet, I really hope I get to it by the end of the year!! I also still need to finish TOG but I’ve loved the series as far as I’ve gotten to. The hype surrounding it has pushed me to order Red, White & Royal Blue into the library. I’ve added other books to my TBR because of the hype as I don’t want to miss out and I always want to find out what the fuss is about too. I did love The Cruel Prince though. Although I will say that I wasn’t as much of a fan of the earlier trilogy.
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Same here… I just wanna know what everyone is talking about 😬😬
Hope you’ll enjoy RWRB !!! And hopefully, you’ll get to read Priory soon… that’s a huge one but I found it worth it 😊😊
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Thank you (:
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Great list! I couldn’t get into Throne of Glass when I tried it, but Red, White & Royal Blue, Nevernight and The Priory of the Orange Tree are all books I want to cross off my TBR. 🙂
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I hope you enjoy all of them 😊😊😊
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I read most of these books becasue of the hype as well! For me Furyborn was also really disappointing..
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Ughh.. I know right… Did you ever end up reading Kingsbane???
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No I didn’t.. I was doubting about it, but decided if I didn’t like book one, why would I read book two..!
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Haha I totally understand… The sequel seems to have similar polarizing reactions, that’s why I’ve been on the fence about it… maybe if I ever get too bored with the books I have, I might look at it but who knows 🤷♀️
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Amazing post! I’m proud to say I haven’t read a single book in your post🤣🤣I have issues with starting hyped books especially the one my friends love.. so I stay away from them .
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Haha lol 😂😂😂 I cant stop laughing babe !!!!! But it’s ok… you should only read those which you want to 👍👍
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Love this post!
I loved The captive Prince series and POTOT!! They’re some of my absolute favorite hyped series and they deserve it.
I’m not big on the TOG series but I do have to admit the MCs growth from book 3 onwards was amazing. I would also hands down die for Manon Blackbeak!!
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Ohh glad to meet another Captive Prince fan 😍😍😍
And yes, I completely agree… ToG after book 3 is totally on a different and I love it.. Manon is ❤️❤️❤️
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