Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Top Ten Deceptive Books


As a blogger, I've come across a lot of books I never would have immediately gravitated toward otherwise, whether it be for lack of interest or just lack of publicity for the book. As a result, I've come across a lot of books that deceived me for good or bad. Some do not reflect the feel of the cover image, some sound nothing like their book's summary, and some just sounded like they would be awful/amazing and they ended up being the opposite. I'm here to discuss some of the books that have deceived me. 

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
From the title, I thought this would be a cheesy book. The cover image made it look like it would be even cheesier. The back cover summary? SCREAMS cheesy. But you know what? Favorite. Book. Ever. Stephanie's writing was a home run for me, and the writing is darling.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
The cover is "meh" and the back cover of the book made me cringe. I was not at all cool with the idea of children killing each other as part of a government sanctioned reality TV show. I had to be pressured by the entire world before I gave it a chance, and again: I loved it.

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto
This book is one of the biggest disappointments I've run across. The cover is amazing, and the story sounded great! I ended up really hating it, though. Read my review if you'd like to know why.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver
It's even more deceptive now than it had been, because the new cover is terrible in my opinion. But... I was deceived by this book! Right up until its release date, and even months later I had heard nothing about it. Love a disease? That sounded terrible to me! I loved it! Lauren's writing is amazing, and the story had me going crazy. Definitely a favorite I was not expecting. 

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
I adore this book, but the cover totally had me skeptical. I mean, the scenery and experiences described in this book are out of this world! Why did they again just slap a girl on the cover and call it good? I can think of so many pretty things that could have been done with that cover.

A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans
The cover is DARLING. The book's summary sounds light and fluffy and adorable! But seriously. This book was full of boring and swear words. I didn't even finish it. But that cover? Come on!

Under the Same Sky by Genevieve Graham
From the cover, I expected a fluffy romance. This book is dark and covers a lot of sensitive subject matter! I had a hard time getting through it, it upset me so much. I did finish it, and really liked it... but it was hard for me since I was totally not prepared for that.

Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter
Based on the title, I was expecting a cutesy romance involving a Mr- Darcy-like character. I was not expecting the author to make Mr. Darcy come off as such a worthless jerk. I wanted to love Mr. Darcy, but the author was trying to make me hate him.

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
I'll admit that I loved this book SO much. But the cover never really caught my eye, and I had not heard much about it at all. It was my very first vampire book. My first paranormal book, actually. Well... my first young adult book too! So it opened my eyes to a new genre, and a whole bunch of other books as a result. 

Shiver by Maggie Steifvater
I hate Jacob in Twilight, because he kept trying to steal Bella away. Not cool. So I went into this book with a prejudice against werewolves. I loved Sam. I fell in love with werewolves, and I was not expecting to at all. And I think this was destiny or something, because after seeing Twilight the movie, I am SO a Jacob fan. Haha. Oh, and I had no idea Maggie's writing was so full of amazing. This book and this author totally blew me away. 

So, which books have deceived you, for good or bad? Leave links and I'll come visit!

12 comments:

  1. Covers and titles are so important that one might think publishers would spend more time choosing them!

    Here's my
    Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Were Deceiving.
    I'd love to have you stop by!

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  2. Oh! I completely agree about Anna and The Hunger Games! The cover of THG kept me from reading it for quite some time. But now I couldn't picture it any other way. Great choices!
    My Top Ten Tuesday

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  3. Just visiting to check out your blog. It's very stunning and so neat and organized feeling.

    Anna and the French Kiss...agree 100% Totally love, love, loved it. I read it in one sitting, shirking all my housework that day. Also agree with Hunger Games--boring cover, daunting concept upon first approach requiring some mental prep, absolutely unforgettable once read.

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  4. My descrip of Delirium totally echoes yours:) Great list!

    My TTT

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  5. Great list, Jana! I definitely agree with A&tFK. And of course, I agree with The Hunger Games. I think we're all a little hesitant to read something like that, but then we're proven WRONG! :)

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  6. I'm definitely with you on HALO. I think that the cover had me expecting such greatness and, frankly, the story simply wilted under the pressure. We'll just have to agree to disagree on Shiver ;)

    I'm your newest follower...brilliant list!

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  7. Great list! Anna and the French Kiss appears to have pleasantly surprised and Halo has disappointed many. New follower via GFC :)

    http://ajarndtbooks.blogspot.com/

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  8. Great List. i keep seeing Anna and the French Kiss on everyone's list, I really need to check it out.

    MY TTT: http://youngadultbookhaven.blogspot.com/

    your newest follower,

    Kristin

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  9. I felt the same way about Anna. I gave in to reading it after I heard so much, but I got an e-copy because I didn't want to be caught in public reading it. Now it's one of my favorites and I own two physical copies and tell everyone I know to read it. But yeah, the cover, is definitely cheesy.

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  10. I've thought the same thing about Shiver. That werewolves are just ick but then I've heard so many good things about it that I really should get on it. I like how the covers for the Twilight saga are totally unrelated but it doesn't matter much because when you see the covers, you know what it's about. :P
    My TTT :)

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  11. Well, we agree on Wanderlove- I almost done reading it and the cover is quite boring. They could have done so much more with that one. Shiver made my list to, for the opposite reason. That one was not my cup of tea, but the covers are gorgeous!

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  12. I had similar thoughts about the hunger games haha. funny how that happens :)

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You're stinkin' cute. Thanks for writing to me! ♥ - Jana