5 Popular Books Worth the Hype [and 1 Not Worth It] #AMonthofFaves

This year there were many books that totally rocked our socks! And then there were the few books that left us wanting more and wondering what all the gushing was about. Here’s our break down of the books that were worth the hype and one that, sadly, was not.

✭ Believe the Hype ✭

♥ KIM ♥

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid

117,000+ ratings | 4.3 stars

This is not normally a book I would reach for but the Hollywood setting had me intrigued. So many people were gushing about this one on #bookstagram that I finally couldn’t resist seeing what all the hype was about. I loved this book so much. It was sassy and genuine and somewhat sad and full of so much hope. I don’t want to spoil too much but expect a couple of twists that will really tug at your heartstrings. Totally worth the hype! Go read it!

The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo

34,000+ ratings | 4.4 stars

It didn’t take many pages of this book for me to be completely invested in main character, Xiomara’s life. There’s so much courage in this book. Xiomara is a poet and several of the passages in this book are written in verse, which I really enjoyed. It’s really a beautiful book and deserves every bit of praise it’s getting. My one complaint is that it ended too quickly.

💕 TANYA 💕

Where the Crawdads Sing, Delia Owens

421,000+ ratings | 4.5 stars

The audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Campbell and she manages to share all the emotions of this story of a young girl who’s forced to live and grow up by herself out in the marsh. This is a complex story that takes it’s time – but there is so much to unpack that it never felt slow to me. The “marsh girl” as Kya is called, is treated by the townspeople with everything from revulsion to mean and gently curiosity. Kya grows up but it’s hard, and the author and narrator let us feel just how hard it is for her. Yet there’s kindness there too … and sadness … and love. I fell hard for this book and it’s sure to be on my end of year favorites list.

What Alice Forgot, Liane Moriarty

313,000+ ratings | 4.08 stars

What Alice Forgot has the depth of characters that I’ve come to know and expect from Moriarty (7 of her books read so far including this one). This type, the pacing is deliberately slower as Moriarty introduces us to Alice who has lost her memory of the last 10 years. She remembers being a hopeful 29 year old, newly married, pregnant and in love with life and all it’s possibilities. But she doesn’t remember being 39, on her way to divorce, bitter, sarcastic and a bit pretentious. Completely opposite of what she expected – and so naturally, with any good book, I laughed with her and felt her emotional lows as well. Loved this book – and completely agree it’s worth the hype.

The Silent Patient, Alex Michaelides

153,000+ ratings | 4.05 stars

All the characters in The Silent Patient are so unlikable that it’s hard to admit that I like it – but I do! Theo is a psychotherapist who is fascinated by a famous painter, Alicia, convicted of murdering her husband, and who hasn’t said a word since. He finagles his way into a job at the criminal psychiatric hospital that houses her, and becomes obsessed with trying to get her to open up. There are so many twists and turns to this book – did she really do it? Why isn’t she saying anything? Why is Theo so obsessed? So many questions that kept me reading long into the night.

NOT WORTH THE HYPE

♥ KIM ♥

When I went back through the books I read this year, I realized that I had all 4 or 5 star books!! I must be getting better at picking books that I know I’m going to love. Not a single one of my reads was I disappointed in. Even A Court of Thorns and Roses which I read and found was totally not my cup of tea- I gave it 4 stars because it is well written and I can see why a million other people love this book, even if I didn’t.

Tell us…. which hyped up books made the top of your list this year and which fell flat? If you’re participating in #AMonthofFaves today link up to your blog post (or Instagram picture) below.