Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Popular Books That Lived Up to the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Popular Books That Lived Up to the Hype.  Hyped books are always tricky.  All of that hype is so exciting and has readers just dying to get their hands on a copy of what sounds like a sure fire fabulous read.  But sometimes all of that excitement builds up to unrealistically high expectations and we end up feeling underwhelmed by that super-hyped book.  Sometimes it actually leads me to put off reading a book because I’m just so uncertain about whether or not my expectations have become way too high for me to actually enjoy the read.  If I’m feeling that way, I usually back off and wait for the hype to die down a bit before I give it a go.  That said, however, there are still plenty of hyped books that not only met my expectations, but actually far exceeded them.  Below are ten books that really lived up to the hype for me…

 

 

10 Popular Books That Lived Up to the Hype

 

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1.  TO KILL A KINGDOM by Alexandra Christo

 

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2. THE CRUEL PRINCE by Holly Black

 

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3. SIX OF CROWS by Leigh Bardugo

 

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4. A DARKER SHADE OF MAGIC by V.E. Schwab  (the entire series honestly – loved it!)

 

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5. NEVERNIGHT by Jay Kristoff

 

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6. THE GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO VICE AND VIRTUE by Mackenzi Lee

 

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7. THE HARRY POTTER SERIES by J.K. Rowling

 

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8. STRANGE THE DREAMER by Laini Taylor

 

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9. THE LUNAR CHRONICLES by Marissa Meyer

 

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10. SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli

 

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Question:  What are some books that lived up to the hype for you?

38 replies
  1. RO
    RO says:

    YIKES! I need to get on my game! I’ve seen the movie and have the books, but have never read Harry Potter. A lot of these look pretty good. Hugs…RO

  2. ShootingStarsMag
    ShootingStarsMag says:

    I’m ALMOST done with Winter, but totally agree with the Lunar Chronicles…and Harry Potter…and the Shades of Magic trilogy. And Simon Vs. So many good choices!! LOL I own Strange the Dreamer and still need to read that.

    -Lauren

  3. Angela
    Angela says:

    Totally agree with Harry Potter – I refused to read that for so long, but I’m so glad I finally did, they are now among my favorite books! I’m planning on reading Six of Crows this year, but I’m nervous because it’s so beloved but not my typical read.

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      It took me a few chapters to really get hooked on Six of Crows but once I got going, I really fell in love with the story and with all of the characters.

  4. Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy
    Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy says:

    I’ve seen The Cruel Prince and Six of Crows on so many lists today, and I completely agree! And I’m glad to see To Kill a Kingdom, that’s a book that’s been getting tons of hype, and I’m dying to read it😊

  5. Daniela Ark
    Daniela Ark says:

    The only one on that list I read when there was hype about it was Simon. I have to say I liked it very much but didn’t looooove like everyone else. I went into HP and the Lunar Chronicles totally clueless and BAM! Total infatuation! I really want to read the other books on your list! Laini Taylor is one of my favorite writers!

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I need to read more of Laini’s books. So far I’ve only read Strange the Dreamer but I have Daughter of Smoke and Bone sitting on my shelf waiting for me.

  6. sjhigbee
    sjhigbee says:

    Oh yes for the Harry Potter series! I am looking forward to tucking into Strange the Dreamer as I loved Daughter of Smoke and Bone…

    • Suzanne
      Suzanne says:

      I still need to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone but I bought it as soon as I finished Strange the Dreamer because I thought Taylor’s writing style was so beautiful. I really hope to get to that book soon.

  7. Jordan Rose
    Jordan Rose says:

    I’m so glad to see To Kill a Kingdom on this list because I’m planning to read it soon. 😉 I also completely agree with literally all of these (except the only one I haven’t read which is Simon & the Homo Sapiens Agend–but I’m sure it’s awesome!)! What a great list!

  8. Greg
    Greg says:

    Six of Crows is on so many lists I’m seriously doubting myself lol for DNF’ing it. Although I’ve kind of always thought I might go back to it at some point? Clearly I need to! And The Cruel Prince I’m definitely going to read!

  9. Annemieke
    Annemieke says:

    So the only ones I can’t agree with you on are The Cruel Prince, Nevernight and Strange the Dreamer because I haven’t read them yet. 😀 Great list!

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