Top 5 Wednesday | Books I Didn't Expect to Like

This Top 5 Wednesday was an interesting one for me. I generally have a fairly good idea if I will like a book or not before I read it. Obviously that's not always the case. Sometimes I start a book and it seems a bit slow, but at some point along the way I end up really liking it. Here are 5 books I didn't really think I'd like, but did.

First Up: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

This is one of my most recent reads and it took me by surprise. The author, Leigh Bardugo, is going to be at Yallfest, a young adult book festival I will be attending in Charleston S.C. I wanted to read some of the books by the authors in advance so that I know who I need to meet and what to buy for signing. The novel is a fantasy focused around a girl Alina who discovers that she has the ability to summon sunlight. I found this entire trilogy very addictive. I really did not expect to enjoy it nearly as much as I did.

Next we have I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga 

This was one of my August reads. I picked it up thinking it would be interesting, but I didn't expect much from it. I've not read any of Lyga's other novels, but that is about to change. This novel was so well written and it was so easy to relate to the characters. Basically it follows Jazz as he struggles with fighting the killer instinct his serial killer father ingrained in his brain since birth. He's got this awesome girlfriend Connie and a hemophiliac best friend Howie who are just phenomenal. I can't wait to read the conclusion to this series. 

Next is All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

 I just read this novel and posted a review here on my blog. I thought it sounded like an interesting concept, but when I started I wasn't so sure. It was kind of slow for the first 30-40 pages, but after that it was simply brilliant. I am so addicted and this is one of my favorite novels I've read this year. Basically it focuses around Em and Finn and their travel through time to kill their best friend before the world is destroyed. Yeah, it's super awesome. You should read it. Right now.

Now Let's look at Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

I read this novel for an American Novel course I took while in college and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. So many people told me that it was super slow and I was worried I would get bogged down trying to keep up with everything else going on. I actually didn't find it that slow to read and the story was interesting. Out of the novels I read for that course, this was my favorite. And if you don't know, it's about a crew of Whalers who are on an insane mission to find Moby Dick, the whale who took Captain Ahab's leg. A very intriguing story.

Last, but not Least we have Emma by Jane Austen

I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I read Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion all in my early teens and loved them. I've now read all six of Austen's novels, but it took me quite a while. I saw a few film versions of Emma and just could not stand them, so I never read the book. When I finally read the novel, I loved it! It's beautifully written and silly and interesting. I just didn't think I would like it. I'm so glad I finally read it. I'm actually thinking about re-reading all of Austen's novels sometime soon and I'm really excited to get back into this one. So for anyone who's not familiar with it, Emma is a rich girl in a small town who believes she's a great match maker. Her love schemes cause far more trouble than good, but she finally learns to listen to her own heart. Just beautiful. Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors and I just adore this novel.

This has been my Top 5 Wednesday! Comment and let me know if you've read any of these novels and what you thought. Also let me know what 5 books you ended up liking after having low expectations.

You can find the list of Top 5 Wednesday-ers here. I hope you've enjoyed this post. If you'd like, check out my booktube channel CourtneyReads here. 

Your book loving friend, 

Courtney