Friday 30 January 2015

Five Friday Favourites - Loved Series I'm Not Sure I Want To Read

Five Friday Favourites is a feature here at Beautiful Bookish Butterflies that involves compiling a list of five answers relating to specific topic or prompt given by either Amanda or Stacie via Twitter and/or during the last featured post. Today, Amanda is hosting, and has decided to ask - What Loved Series Are You Not Sure You Want To Read? Personally, she has a lot of series she's been considering, some she's had for a while, some she's been tempted by recently, but can she make that jump with your help?


Hello and Welcome back to Five Friday Favourites!


For those who missed it in our Grand Opening post, there's been a few changes to Five Friday Favourites, so as a form of housekeeping, I thought I'd run you through, quickly, these new changes and how they will affect you. Previously, FFF was once a week, every week, but with the change in circumstances, it will now be once a month, with the next subject list being given at the end of the the previous post (therefore your next FFF subject will be at the end of this post and so on..) Secondly, now that Amanda is co-blogging with Stacie, the feature will be hosted by both contributers, meaning that different installments and prompts may be hosted by different bloggers, so it's helpful if you follow both Amanda and Stacie on Twitter to be kept informed. Now that we've got that bit out of the way, lets get on with the show!


Blogging about books means that, lets face it, they're EVERYWHERE, and I do mean everywhere. Open internet webpage, oops, there's Goodreads and Amazon and a list of books I don't yet have. Walk into bedroom, greeted by a wall of books. Open fridge for food - well, you get the idea, and sometimes, it's hard to know what to read and what not to read. I usually can get a sense of whether a book or series is good for me, I'll have a gut reaction, feel a pull or a push, I'll be tempted to read it's blurb or I'll never go near it because I just know, but there have been series than I've not felt anything towards, neither a pull nor push and I'm left wondering whether I should ever really read them or not. Today, I wanted to highlight five I keep coming back to that are some community favourites and hopefully, afterwards, get a sort of feel from you as to whether they're worth it, and see if I can help you make some decisions yourself. Lets get started..

The Selection - Keira Cass


I've been struggling with the uncertainity about this series for a good while now, maybe almost a year? I've most definitely read my fair share of reviews; America Singer being a frustrating character, all of the characters either stringing each other along or just plain not making decisions and a really obvious love triangle at the end, I mean, if I already know most of the romance, is there any point in starting this series? Is the rest of the plot worthy of trying? Does it actually read like a Dystopian or does it feel more fantastical and made up? People love it, people hate it. I, have no idea about anything, other than The Heir's cover is gorgeous.. Yes, I am shallow, I admit it, now advise me people.

The Darkest Minds - Alexandra Bracken


Such a loved series makes me extremely nervous, especially when I've not read that many Dystopian reads. Bloggers whom let the Dystopian band-wagon leave without them have liked this, bloggers I trust have enjoyed it, even friends have loved it, but I just don't know. I mean, this is kids with some sort of super power right? There's colours involved somehow and people seem to fall in love a Liam? That's about as much as I've gotten from it. I'm assuming there's a lot more to the series than that, but is it worth it? Should I invest time and money in this series, based on my only liking The Hunger Games and not particularly liking The 5th Wave, is it a wise decision? Help me..

Earth Girl - Janet Edwards

This is that book that kind of escapes your grasp even though it sounds really interesting. A girl who has a weakened immune system which stops her travelling like Earth like other people in this Sci-Fi world, sounds pretty intriguing and I've heard a mix of things from a handful of people, but enough for me to rave, I really don't know. The covers are nice enough, and the price on Kindle was nice too - 99p - I just don't know if I can push myself to try. Is it worth it? Have you read it and enjoyed it enough to recommend? Help me please.

Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins


Definitely the series that I keep coming back to week after week after week. I've heard so many different things about Rebel Belle - it's a mystery, but there's no murder or crime committed, it's a contemporary, but it seems and sounds darker than that, and it looks very girly, but it doesn't seem to be.. I just, what on earth is this novel about? It's got a gorgeous cover, and it's sequel looks very.. yellow, but nice none the less, but, is it worth trying this series? Does it's positives outweigh my uncertainty and should I just go for it? Help me out people!

Unwind - Neil Shusterman


The worst thing about this? I own the first three, Unwind, Unwholly and Unsouled, but I still have yet to try and read because - well, I don't know why, there's something holding me back. I know there's something about stripping children of their - skin, or organs, or body parts, to use on other people, which is both utterly gross and weirdly interesting, and I've heard it's creepy, it sounds creepy anyway, but I'm just not sure, I just don't know about it? Should I give it a shot since I own a good chunk of the series? Is it really good and I've just missed the hype it gets, or should I give these books away and let someone else have a chance? Please, the more help I get, the more I might read it.

Tell Me Yours!


What series are you not sure about reading, and are there any on this list I should be considering more?
Got a FFF post of your own to link up with? Here's your link up area! ↓

Next Months Topic Is..

Books You Can't Believe You Waited So Long To Read!

Have a particular book that you owned for ages and wished you'd read sooner, or a book that's release took waaaaay too long to come around? Any series you gobbled up after millions or recommendations, or a classic that proved to be exactly that? You're next FFF installment and link up will be live on 27th Feb. so get involved and I'll see you then!

18 comments:

  1. THE FIRST ONE OH MY GOSH. It actually looks like garbage to me. I have NO intention on EVER touching that book series. Especially because they're extending the series. I think that it's either a) her "giving back" to the fans or b) her wanting more money. Either way, it means I have to see it for another two years UGH.

    I didn't like Rachel Hawkins' Hex Hall series so I haven't tried Rebel Belle. I have no current intention of trying it but maybe in the future...

    And to be honest, I haven't heard of those other ones. Maybe it's where I live? Because right now, it's actually still Thursday for me hehe

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    1. The Selection is a no from you then Nova I guess? Maybe these aren't as popular as I thought. Hm..

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  2. I liked the Selection but the other two books went really badly for me!! I don't really reccomend starting it because even if you hate it, you won't be able to stop reading them, even if it is for a chance just to hold the pretty covers.

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE the UnWind series! I was actually iffy about it too, that's why I only started it last month but OHMYGOSH I AM IN LOVE!! Definitely recommend!

    The Darkest Minds are uber awesome, too! :D

    Great post!
    ~Fari 0:)

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    1. Oh, that's not good, I shall consider not reading the series then.. You're love for Unwind though, you tempt me Fari, that's unfair. maybe in April with our series reads. Thank you though :)

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  3. I personally LOVED The Selection series. But, I can definitely see why people would dislike it. The main character, America, is VERY annoying. I still loved the books though.

    Haha, I actually own the whole series for Darkest Minds. I just haven't had time to start it yet. I'm planning on binging the series in a few weeks.

    For Rebel Belle, I actually have no idea what it's about, but I seriously loved Rachel Hawkins other series (Hex Hall), so I'm going to read it because Rachel Hawkins wrote it and no other reason. I have the first one on order at the bookstore.

    As for Unwind...I've only read the first one, but I thought it was fantastic.
    Creepy, disturbing and horrible. But fantastic.
    And it actually works as a stand-alone as well. I'm planning on reading the sequels, but I'm not desperate for them.

    As for books I'm hesitant to read...actually, I don't think there is any.
    That's weird. I was sure there was one. *shrugs*

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    1. Ah, annoying characters are not good, that would be a drawback.. Unwind is getting a lot of love and seems pretty unexpectedly good, so I might definitely give that a go, thanks Cassie! :)

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  4. To be honest, I did enjoy reading The Selection. It's kind of a guilty pleasure! I mean, the dystopian part is ignored and a bit irrelevant but the rest is quite enjoyable.

    I REALLY LOVED Rebel Belle. I hope you do pick it up. It is so funny, I was laughing the entire time I was reading it.

    I did like The Darkest Minds, but I haven't read the others yet. True, it is a dystopian etcetera, but I don't think it's similar to the Hunger Games or The 5th Wave. Maybe the premise sounds a bit similar, but the book isn't (in my opinion).

    I haven't read the Unwind series either, I'm undecided on whether to start it too. Everyone seems to love it though, so there has to be something about it?

    Great post!

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    1. Thanks hunny! The fact that Darkest Minds is so different might sway me..

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  5. I liked The Selection series but it wasn't amazing. I can't believe there are going to be more books though, I'm not going to bother reading them - it seems like overkill.
    I haven't read any of the other series. Rebel Belle looks really good :)

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    1. Thanks Jess, I think I might just leave the Selection unread. Rebel Belle does look good! :)

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  6. The Darkest Minds trilogy was pretty awesome - and I think I've become more critical of dystopias the more that I read. I think a series I haven't been sure on is the Throne of Glass one just because I don't usually read a lot of fantasy YA and don't know if it'll be for me (even though the majority of the hype says otherwise!).

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    1. I do think the hype ruins the first book of ToG, it's not the big fantasy you expect it to be - it's great mind, a really good read, but not the kind that wowed me insanely, so I'd say take it easy if you do start it Eugenia.

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  7. I've read the three Selection books that are currently out and I liked them but also understand people who didn't. Yes, the characters are annoying at times and yes, there's a love triangle in all its glory. But I got through the books so quickly that I didn't really have time for those things to bother me that much. I'm definitely going to pick up The Heir and then see how things continue. As for Rebel Belle, I seem to be one of the only people who didn't love it that much. It was a fun read but it reads like a contemporary but has these fantasy / paranormal elements. That just didn't really work for me and I don't know if I'm going to pick up the sequel (also, I really hate the cover of Miss Mayhem).

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    1. Miss Mayhem's cover is very.. yellow isn't it Karin? Hmm.. I'd be wary of Rebel Belle then, I don't miss well with contemporary and fantasy elements, you're either one or both, you know? I'll stick to being unsure.

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  8. Hmmm, I don't know about most of these series except for The Selection which is also one I want to start but I'm not sure about. BUT I did read Unwind, back when it first came out. God, that's YEARS ago now. And I knew there were going to be more in the series, but it took a long time. It was 3 years between the first and second book! I totally forgot about it. Now that more of them are out, I will probably go back to it. I remember the first being really good.

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    1. Really?! Three years.. wow. It sounds as though it could be really good, and if you liked, I'l give a shot for sure! :)

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  9. Unwind was tough as hell to read, but it was highly interesting.

    For The Darkest Minds series, I was really surprised that I enjoyed the first one. I hope you do pick it up soon.

    The Selection....meh.

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    1. Tought because it was difficult to read, or tough content wise? I've been told it's gorey..

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