Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Didn't Expect to Like as Much as I Did

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is Books I Liked More/Less Than I Thought I Would. I've decided to go with Books I Liked More Than I Thought I Would, as I decided I'd rather compile a list of books I really enjoyed than ones I didn't like as much.

 

The first four books are ones I read at school because they were shortlisted for awards, and I had pretty low expectations for some of them, but they all turned out to be pretty good. The others are ones I chose myself and expected to enjoy, but they exceeded my expectations.

 

 

 

Airman by Eoin Colfer

I read this because it was on the Carnegie shortlist one year, which I was reading through with some others at school. I didn't expect to enjoy it because it looked quite sci-fi-y which wasn't really a genre I enjoyed then. But actually, I really enjoyed it! (It's really more historical than sci-fi; now I'd probably class it as ruritanian).

 

Creature of the Night by Kate Thompson

Also read because it was on the Carnegie shortlist. This wasn't the kind of book I would usually read, and I found the start a bit slow, but once it got going I did enjoy it quite a lot.

 

Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce

Again, this was probably not the kind of book I would usually read, but I thought it was pretty good.

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

This was on the Red House shortlist. I'd seen it around a lot and thought I might be interested in it, but was hesitant because I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it and it also looked like it could be quite violent/dark. Which it kind of was, but I really enjoyed it anyway.

 

Raider's Tide by Maggie Prince

I picked this up very cheaply at a school library sale, thinking it might be enjoyable - it's historical fiction which is one of my favourite genres, but I don't think I had massively high expectations for it. However, I really liked it (and discovered on rereading it lately that it still holds up now, which not everything I read as a teenager does).

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne

I mean, I expected to enjoy this but had some reservations about it. However, although I am aware that it had some flaws, I did find it a very entertaining read which I enjoyed a lot (and it would have been amazing to see on stage).

 

Escape from Rome by Caroline Lawrence

(review)

This was the first in a sequel-series to one of my favourite series when I was younger, and I wasn't sure whether it would be as good, or whether I would enjoy it as much now as I would have done had it been out eight or ten years ago. But it was really good, and I think I possibly prefer it to the original Roman Mysteries series. (The sequel was very good, too, and I'm now eagerly awaiting book three.)

 

 

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

(mini-review)

This is not the sort of book I usually tend to read, but I'd heard so many good things about it that I decided to try it, although I was a bit hesitant, and I am glad to say I really enjoyed it.

 

Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay

I love Hilary McKay's books, but the first time I read this book (which was one of the first of hers that I read) I thought it was enjoyable, but nothing special (I rated it three stars). However, on rereading it recently I enjoyed it so much more. I hope to reread some of the other books in the series soon!

 

The Small Woman by Alan Burgess

This was another book I expected to enjoy, but I liked it a lot more than I thought I would. Although it's non-fiction, it's also a gripping narrative.