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!
Merline Reads 
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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