We all have our absolute favorite authors! You can probably list your auto buy authors without even thinking about it. (I know I can!) One of the worst experiences a reader can have is picking up their favorite author’s next series and being totally underwhelmed. It always leaves me wondering what went wrong! And whether my favorite author is really still my fave. I’ve had this happen many times and today I’m going to share a few of them.
When I read the Grisha trilogy I fell instantly in love with Leigh Bardugo’s writing. This series instantly moved to the top of my favorites shelf and I have spent the last few years collecting ARCs and exclusives and cool swag. When I picked up Six of Crows I was SO excited to get back to this world! Imagine my surprise when I didn’t love it. Leigh is still an auto buy author and I will always fangirl over her and The Darkling will forever be my favorite villain, but the SoC duology just didn’t quite get there for me.
Cruel Beauty is one of my absolute favorite Beauty and the Beast retellings! I also adored Crimson Bound and have collected both ARCs and they’re honestly due for a reread. I loved the complex worlds and magical systems and the characters who weren’t exactly easy to love. I expected the same from Bright Smoke, Cold Fire, and it was one of my most anticipated reads of last year! Unfortunately, it was way too convoluted for me and I didn’t end up enjoying it very much at all. I’ll still read the next in the series because Rosamund Hodge has impressed me so much in the past, but I’m definitely hoping it’s more in line with her first two books.
This one surprised me more than any other! When I found out about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child I was just as excited as everyone else! How could it NOT be amazing?? But then I got it. And I read it. And I cringed. A lot. Knowing Rowling didn’t write it herself makes me feel a tiny bit better, but knowing she signed off on it makes me wonder what she was thinking! Will I still read every single piece of Harry Potter material she writes? Obviously.
I’m really not sure what happened here. I’ll admit The Selection was a big pile of fluff, but it was an entertaining pile of fluff that was exactly what I needed when I read it. I loved the entire series and was super excited to grab The Siren when it hit the shelves! Imagine my surprise when it was awful. :/
Her Dark Curiosity was my favorite book of The Madman’s Daughter Trilogy, although I don’t think I gave any of them less than 4 stars. The Cage caught my interest because it sounded like one of my favorite episodes of The Twilight Zone, but it was a total mess. I still ended up reading all three of them, but I was pretty unimpressed.
Carrie Ryan is the final example I have but it’s one that really disappointed me a lot! I loved The Forest of Hands and Teeth so much! It was one of the first YA books I ever read and I adored the whole series! When Daughter of Deep Silence was finally announced and I read the plot, I couldn’t think of a reason I wouldn’t love it. But, alas.
Are there any books you’d fit into this category?
Do you still read authors if a book lets you down?
Let me know in the comments!
