Where Is Your Bookmark? (My Current Read & Well-Hyped Books that Disappointed Me )

Happy Friday! What book is your bookmark in today? 

I thought I would share excerpts from a book I recently started called Westside (#1) by W.M. Akers I am not too far in, but I like what I have read so far. 

A young detective who specializes in “tiny mysteries” finds herself at the center of a massive conspiracy in this beguiling historical fantasy set on Manhattan’s Westside—a peculiar and dangerous neighborhood home to strange magic and stranger residents—that blends the vivid atmosphere of Caleb Carr with the imaginative power of Neil Gaiman. [from the Goodreads Summary]

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.

I stole a glove.

It dangled off a table in a decrepit leather shop on Thieves' Market on the Eastside of Manhattan in sweltering late September 1921, and it was in my bag before I even knew it had been in my hand. 

My thoughts: The opening not only gives us the time and place, but also a bit of action right away. It had me wanting to read more.

A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

"Last night, one of her gangs was ambushed by men in your uniforms, firing pistols."

"My men are guardsmen - they guard. That's it. No booze, no women, and not a step across the Borderline, on penalty of death. They know better."

"They killed three boys."

My thoughts: I have not yet reached this point in the book, but the situation does not sound good. Did some of his men attack the other gang or was it another group trying to frame them? Hmm. I had better get back to my reading so I can find out! 

Have you read Westside or the newly released sequel, Westside Saints? Does Westside sound like something you would enjoy? 

Every Friday Coffee Addicted Writer from Coffee Addicted Writer poses a question which participants respond on their own blogs within the week (Friday through Thursday). They then share their links at the main site and visit other participants blogs.

What book/books got a lot of hype but were a disappointment for you? (submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews)

Sometimes a book just is not a good fit for a particular reader. Given the number of books many of us read, there are bound to be disappointments. It is easy for our expectations to be built up by the praise (even from fellow bloggers) and creative advertising, which could mean the harder the fall into disappointment. Take that fudge ad that keeps popping up on my Facebook feed. It looked sooo good and, after seeing it multiple times every day, hearing about the different flavors, how many people love it, and the big sale prices, I caved in and bought some. I liked the peanut butter chocolate fudge okay, but the other flavors I tried were disappointing. Is it me? Is it the fudge? Maybe I do not like fudge as much as I think I do because I have yet to find fudge that I love the way I feel I should . . . 

We are getting off track here. Back to books. It's funny. Sometimes I run toward hyped books like it is their last day on earth, and then they languish on my shelves for years until I read them. Other times I dive right in. And then there are those books I avoid like the plague--because THE HYPE! There is no rhyme or reason to my reading behavior. At least none that I have found. 

Anyway, you wanted to know some of the well-hyped books I found disappointing. [Book titles are linked to my reviews.]

No one can deny the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy by E.L. James received a lot of hype--both positive and negative. I have friends who did not just dislike the trilogy, but hated it, and others who absolutely loved it. I went into the trilogy to see why the books were so polarizing. I managed to read the first two books of the three, and, well, I am not in the least bit a fan. 

John Irving's A Prayer for Owen Meany and One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez are two books that receive heaps of praise even today, years after they were first published. Neither won me over. 

There is also Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, which, for all intents and purposes, I should have loved. Witches, after all! I remember all the hype when the book first came out, and then again with the movie. Like the book I found the movie disappointing too. 

There have been other well-hyped books that have left me disappointed of course, but these are the ones that instantly come to mind. Just because they may not have been my cup of tea doesn't mean they weren't someone else's. And given the praise they've received, I would say that is a good bet. 

What well-hyped books did you find disappointing?

 I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!

---

© 2020, Wendy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.