Hey everyone! I’m here with a follow-up to my 5 star predictions post that I published way back in March. I honestly can’t believe it took seven months to read the five books on this list. Actually, I can believe that it took that long because I suck at TBRs. Even though it took longer than I anticipated to read these books, I’m happy to finally share this update.
Opposite of Always by Jason Reynolds
What I predicted after the ebook sample: “The characters seem interesting and the story feels kind of sad and cute at the same time. I don’t like time travel, but I think the characters, the story, and overall personal enjoyment will lead to a 5 star rating.“
I think this was the first book I read after that post. I was right about the characters and the story. The plot was sweet, characters were super adorable, and the parents were involved, which I loved. Unfortunately, the time loop thing went on a little too long for me. Had this portion been cut down, this would’ve been 5 stars. 10/10 would protect this friend group at all costs though.
We Hunt the Flame (Sands of Arawiya #1) by Hafsah Faizal
DNF
My prediction: “I love young adult fantasy and if this book is anything like An Ember in the Ashes structurally (writing style, character development, world-building) then I see a five star rating in its future.”
Sadly, I couldn’t be more wrong with this prediction. I tried to read We Hunt the Flame for two months, but each time I found a stopping point (paragraph break, new chapter, etc.), I took a break or picked up another book because I was so bored. Eventually, I had to accept that I wasn’t the right reader for this book so I DNF’d it at 115 pages. It’s an impressive debut, but the writing was overly descriptive (borderline purple prose) and the female character came off as one-dimensional. Most of her chapters were used for world-building and I wasn’t a fan of that. You can read my Goodreads review here.
The Dragon Republic (The Poppy War #2) by R.F. Kuang
Me, back in March: “I’m ready for whatever happens because I have a feeling this is going to exceed my expectations and strut right into the best of 2019.”
Friends, I was completely right about this making my best of 2019 list, but boy was I wrong about being ready for whatever happens. I WASN’T READY AT ALL and I’m such a fucking clown for thinking that I was because this book HURT. A LOT. I’ll admit that I was a little nervous in the beginning because the writing and characters felt unfamiliar; almost like I had to get to know them all over again, but that quickly changed with part II. This is a worthy follow up to The Poppy War. Can’t wait for the conclusion. Read my review here.
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Me, again: “I think the audiobook will have a greater impact on my overall experience and will likely help this book earn that five star rating.“
Daisy Jones & The Six was SOOOOO close to being 5 stars. The audiobook performance was amazing, but the band’s split was anticlimactic and the book kind of ended abruptly. I also liked the side characters a little more than Billy and Daisy. I ended up giving it 4 stars.
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
My prediction: “Bottom line, I’ve heard wonderful things about the magic system so I think (more accurately, I hope) that and the characters will result in a five star rating. I hope.
Mistborn: The Final Empire is the third Sanderson book I’ve ever read. I read Skyward and The Way of Kings in May. From this list, Mistborn took the longest to finish because I got distracted with other books and challenges (I started in March. Finished in October 🙈). While I agree with everyone about the magic system, this wasn’t the best Sanderson book I read. That honor goes to Skyward and The Way of Kings. I’m still going to continue the series though.
Most of my predictions were wrong, but given that I don’t rate books 5 stars often, I’d say this is quite realistic. Let me know if you’ve read any of these book and what you thought of them in the comments! Thanks for reading!
I only read Daisy Jones and The Six of these books and I totally agree on what you said about the audiobook. It’s fitting the format of the book perfectly since it’s an interview. However i wished they’d swapped the narrators for Karen and Daisy because I liked Karen’s narrator better.
Unfortunately, you scared me regarding We hunt the flame as that’s still on my TBR. Opposite Of Always too actually.
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I read The Final Empire earlier this year and though I enjoyed and read it in about a week, I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t absolutely amazing like everyone else claims. Now, I’m a bit hesitant to read some of his other books, though I am interested in Skyward.
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Yes, I agree with your thoughts on Daisy Jones and The Six…it was sooo anticlimatic but otherwise I thought the band relationships were interesting.
I’m really scared to get to the Dragon Republic now since everyone keeps saying it huuurts
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I love this prediction post! I’m glad that you were able to still like some of these even though they all weren’t 5 stars.
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I love this type of posts! (and youtube videos by Lala ❤ I hope she'll do more challenges in 2020).
And OMG, you actually DNF'd one of your predictions! I'd love to try this challenge at some point as well 🙂
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So glad to see you loved The Dragon Republic. I can’t wait to get to it in December.
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I hope you love it! I’m still hurt from the ending.
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These types of posts are always so fun. It’s cool to see the difference between your expectations and how it turned out. Daisy Jones & the Six was one of my favorite 2019 reads. I think I ended up giving it 4.5 stars. Btw I just found your blog and it looks great. I love your style and content 🙂 ❤
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Thanks so much for checking out my blog!!! It means so much to me. I really enjoyed Daisy Jones & The Six. I listened to the audiobook and I had a lot of fun listening to it. Loved the full cast performance.
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You’re so very welcome! I listened to the audiobook too. I think it’s really the way to go with this book. Them all taking turns talkin felt like they were just reminiscing together about the old days and disagreeing about a lot of details 😋
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