Hype or Like Friday: Books that were a pleasant surprise in 2016

Hype or Like Friday is a meme co-created by Jill @ Rantandraveaboutbooks, Britt @ Geronimo Reads and Larkin @ Wonderfilled Reads. Join their Goodreads group here to participate! Each month they choose a hyped up book to read and discuss on the last Friday of the month. The first three Fridays are dedicated to related discussion questions.

Today our topic is:

Pleasant Surprise – What books did you read in 2016 that you weren’t expecting much from but ending up completely loving?

 

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This is such a great topic! There is nothing better than reading a book you are not expecting much from and then absolutely loving it. I had a lot of fun going back through my Goodreads list to find books that were a pleasant surprise 🙂 All of the titles of these books are linked to my review (If I reviewed it)!

 

The Assassin’s Blade By Sarah J. Maas

I’m not a huge novella reader, so even after all the great reviews I was hesitant to pick up Assassin’s Blade. I honesty think I was on a ACOMAF book hangover and I just needed something to read. There are separate novellas but they flow nicely together as one story. The final story is about Sam, and we finally learn the details that lead up to his death. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it was still heartbreaking. This was a nice read while I was waiting for Empire of Storms to come out!

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

This was a very recent read, but also a very pleasant surprise! I went in to this book expecting not to like it, and I think I was giving myself excuses not to like it because it wasn’t my usual genre. At some point in the book, I got so caught up in the story that I flew through the last 40% or so! I grew so attached to Leah, Jefferson and all the characters on the wagon train on their trek to California. I will definitely be reading the second.

More Than This by Patrick Ness

This was my first Patrick Ness book, I think I just didn’t know what to expect. The synopsis of this book tells you absolutely nothing so I thought I would either love or hate this book. I am happy to say I loved it. I typically don’t like books that are so open-ended but it really worked with this story. I can’t recommend this book enough! That quote by John Green on the cover is perfect, “Just read it.”

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

I can’t write this post without mentioning what is probably my favorite read of 2016! I really wasn’t expecting much from this book. I enjoyed ACOTAR, but I wasn’t thrilled with it. I wasn’t eagerly anticipating the release of ACOMAF and the only reason I decided to buy it was because I was in a reading slump and it popped up on my kindle as a recommendation. And WOW. I am so glad I did. I know you have already heard this a thousand times, but this book is far better than the first. I still think of Rhys and Feyre from time to time and they are my favorite ship of 2016. I wish I had a Rhys of my own 😉

 

Those are a few books that were pleasant surprises this year! I also joined the blogging community in July and have since read so many great books. I love being part of the community for all of the great reviews and recommendations from fellow bloggers, so thank you!

What are some books that surprised you this year?