Top Ten Tuesday: Unpopular Bookish Opinions

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s topic is: Unpopular Bookish Opinions

We took this to mean opinions we hold that may not be the same as the majority of the bookish-sphere. This week is a group effort as not one of us could come up with ten by ourselves. So here are our unpopular opinions:

1.  Reviewer Cholla mentioned that she never liked Peeta in “The Hunger Games”. “A lot of people hated Gale, but for some reason, I thought he and Katniss were going to end up together when I first started reading The Hunger Games. A friend of mine said, “But Peeta’s the boy with the bread! That’s so romantic!” I’m like…he gave her some food because he’s not a monster, that’s human decency not romance. But… this is unpopular opinion time, right? LOL.”

2. Cholla also wasn’t a fan of the Harry Potter romance between Harry and Ginny. “Ginny’s ‘love’ felt more like fangirlish admiration than love. I was fully on board with Harry/Hermione but then, I related way too much to Hermione and Harry’s the hero so, I guess it made sense that I wanted that?”

3. Reviewer Poinsettia says: “I was not a fan of Rose and Dimitri as a couple in the Vampire Academy series. There was an age gap, but I think the larger issue for me is that he was her teacher. So for me, romance between them just felt wrong. While I enjoyed the series as a whole (and loved the Bloodlines spinoff), I just never felt comfortable with them as a couple.”

4. Poinsettia also mentioned that she likes multiple POVs in her books. “… this seems to be an unpopular bookish opinion. When I see reviews for books with multiple viewpoints, I usually see a lot of comments about people being confused and/or annoyed by the switches. However, as long as the transitions are clearly marked, I really enjoy getting to spend time in the minds of various characters.”

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6. Reviewer Astilbe shared her thoughts as well. “Characters should never introduced solely as a love interest. They should have their own interests, hobbies, and goals that have nothing to do with whether or not they end up with the protagonist (or anyone else in the plot!).”

7. Astilbe also said, “The dead, missing, and/or evil parent clichés are horribly overused and should be given a rest a few years. Most of the people I know have well-intentioned parents who are still alive. This was even more true when I was a teenager. I’d sure like to see more books featuring characters whose parents are a source of comfort and joy instead of grief, especially in the young adult genre.”

8. Additionally, Astilbe is a fan of horror and says, “Gross isn’t a synonym for scary. I enjoy reading horror, but I’ve run into more than my fair share of horror author who write visceral descriptions of terrible things happening to characters instead of slowly – or quickly – building up a frightening atmosphere in the plot. Gore has its place, but there are so many more effective ways to truly scare an audience! Let their imaginations run wild sometimes instead of spelling everything out plainly.”

9. One reviewer mentioned that she hates the “Outlander” books. Actually, she’s only ever tried to read the first book and just can’t get past the first few chapters. It was a “wall banger” (and yes, the book did get flung).

10. And several of the reviewers mentioned that they feel Nicholas Sparks is overrated (and certainly shouldn’t be considered a “romance” author). Most of us read romance for a HEA and he seldom ever gives one.

So that’s what we have. Looking forward to reading other folks unpopular opinions!

Comments

  1. Interesting way to write this one. Thanks, these are fun to read.

  2. Great list! I totally agree with 6 and 7. I don’t mind an absent parent if it’s explained well, but when a parent has mysteriously disappeared you just KNOW the MC’s going to discover a big secret that they decided to keep from their children for some reason…

  3. Wallbanger ?

  4. Great picks! The ending of Outlander was the hardest to read. I stopped the series after the third or fourth book.

  5. I actually agree with a lot of these, especially the Ginny/Harry and Rose/Dimitri pairings. They never sat right with me for the exact same reasons!
    Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk/

    • Poinsettia says

      It is so nice to hear I’m not the only one who wasn’t on board with those pairings! Thanks for visiting. 🙂

  6. So there with Peeta, love shouldn’t arise from gratitude- then it’s never equal.
    And so there on the one purpose love interests- they remind me of Riley’s Canadian boyfriend machine from Disney’s Inside Out ‘Id die for you Riley!!!’
    And yes with the parents!! Even if parents aren’t together many children have loving and capable and INTERESTED parents or caregivers, – how do we expect to help people become good parents in the future if most fictional parents are rubbish?

    • Poinsettia says

      Yes, we definitely think there need to be more positive parental role models in YA books. Thank you for visiting. 🙂

  7. These are good. I agree with 1, 4, and 6. As a writer, I can see why a lot of YA books don’t have parents… a good parent would keep their kids from having these adventures! It’s hard to write loving parents into some of these books… especially in the fantasy genre.

  8. Loved reading through your list! 🙂 Some very interesting opinions

  9. I agree that most Nicholas Sparks books shouldn’t be considered romance!

  10. Multiple povs are great- as long as I can distinguish between the voices and don’t have to wonder who I’m reading. Also I disliked Peeta as well and was one of the only people at school to think that.

    • Poinsettia says

      Yes, the transitions between multiple povs need to be clearly marked for it to work well.

      Thank you for visiting!

  11. Nicholas Sparks is fine sometimes I guess. I just think he has a formula, a bit like John Green and after reading a few books by him you can easily spot it. The one book I still really love by him is The Wedding–about a man trying to win back his wife who’s ready for divorce. It’s such a sweet story.

  12. 100% agree with Gale being so much better for Katniss than Peeta. I was actually very surprised to see them in any sort of romantic relationship! And Harry Potter, as well. Why did J.K. Rowling need to pair them up? I loved the friendship aspect of the story way more and think that romances were very unnecessary.

    • Poinsettia says

      Yes, I felt that Harry Potter was more about friendship as well. The relationships seemed a bit forced to me.

      Thank you for visiting! 🙂

  13. I enjoy multiple POVs, but I do think it isn’t always easy to do. Some authors are better at them than others.

  14. I thought Katniss and Gale were pretty well suited early in the series- the first book I guess, if I remember right. Yeah as the series went on I didn’t feel them as a couple anymore, but initially… yeah. And I like multiple POV’s too.

    • Poinsettia says

      Yay for multiple povs! It can be a really interesting way to tell a story if it is done right.

      Thank you for visiting. 🙂

  15. OOh nice set of opinions. Lots of new to me ones except for the POV one! Though I’ve only ever read one Nicholas Sparks many years ago in my “let’s give other books a chance until we find another paranormal book” time, and that was A Walk to Remember and naturally, it was heartbreakingly tragic. I feel like romances should always have a HEA ending, and that includes Paranormal Romances too1 😉

    Thanks for visiting my TTT post!

    • Poinsettia says

      You’re welcome!

      Yes, I agree that romances should have a happy ending. That’s why I pick up a romance sometimes. I want something emotional but ultimately happy!

      I’m glad you enjoy our post and thanks so much for commenting. 🙂

  16. I don’t think I minded Gale, either! I don’t mind multiple POVs as long as they are super clear and distinct, haha. #8 also–I hate when authors use gore in place of actually scary content.

    • Poinsettia says

      Yes, the changes in multiple povs need to be clearly marked for it to work.

      Thanks for visiting! 🙂

  17. I was never sold on Harry/Ginny either. Honestly, I don’t think I shipped him with anyone really.

    • Poinsettia says

      I didn’t either! I always felt the romantic relationships in the series felt a bit forced. I think the books would have been fine without the romance.

      Thanks for visiting!

  18. I’m a horror fan as well and agree about gore. Gore doesn’t equal fear and I hate when it’s used as such.

    http://www.tbrandbeyond.com

  19. Yes, yes, yes to #10!!! The whole thing. Overrated. Not romance. Drives me nuts!

  20. I agree about Rose and Dimitri—I just never really got behind them as a couple (but I still enjoyed the series and LOVED the Bloodlines Series). And I’ve never read a Nicholas Sparks book, but based on the one movie I saw, I definitely think they’re way too sad to be pure romances.

    • Poinsettia says

      Yes! I loved the Bloodlines series. As you said, Vampire Academy was good, but I liked Bloodlines more.

      Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂

  21. I agree on 2,3 and four

  22. Your TTT looks awesome!Loved reading these unpopular opinions!

    In the beginning, I definitely shipped Harry and Hermione as well haha. It still doesn’t feel entirely OK with me that he ended up with Ginny because feeling wise I don’t 100% feel that connection between them. It felt more like ; ‘Harry should have a romance interest and since Hermione and Ron is becoming a thing, I’ll have to pick someone else’

    One of my unpopular opinions is that I HATED the cruel prince by Holly Black, lol.

    • Poinsettia says

      I think I would have been more comfortable with him ending up with Hermione vs Ginny as I never got completely behind Hermione and Ron as a couple either. I just felt that they were all better as friends.

      Thanks so much for visiting and commenting. 🙂

  23. I love multiple POV when done well!

  24. I love Mulit POV books!! When I start a book and see it’s written like that, I get so excited. Also, I hated Harry & Ginny. I just pretend the epilogue never happened and Harry and Ginny broke up after they weren’t in life and death situations. But sorry, PEETA FOREVER!

    • Poinsettia says

      Yay for multiple pov!

      I’m going to disagree with my fellow reviewer, Cholla, on Peeta and Katniss. I liked them as a couple too. I feel like they balanced each other well.

      Thank you for visiting and commenting. 🙂

  25. Loved this list. I liked Gale better. Petta just annoyed me.

    I agree that if multiple POVs are done well, they work. I’ve read several great books with this format and loved them.

    I’m also done with the bad parents/ dysfunctional family theme. No family is perfect, so there will still be conflict even if the parents aren’t awful.

    Thanks for visiting my blog on Tuesday.

    • Poinsettia says

      You’re welcome!

      I agree. Families aren’t perfect, but the awful/missing parent trope needs to take a rest.

      I’m glad you enjoyed our list! Thank you for visiting and commenting. 🙂

  26. Multipe third pov are my favorites. I love getting to know multiple people in a (fantasy) story.

    • Poinsettia says

      Yes, that way of story telling does work well in the fantasy genre.

      Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂

  27. I don’t think I mind a two-person POV, but more than that, and it’s often more confusing than helpful. Must say, I do like Nicholas Sparks books though… at least those I spoil myself before reading. They MUST be happy endings. 😉

    Thanks for visiting Finding Wonderland last week!!

    • Poinsettia says

      You’re welcome!

      Yes, I can see how more than two povs would be difficult to keep track of. I can do it if the transitions are well marked. I will admit it takes me longer to read that sort of story. Fortunately, the ones I’ve read have been worth the effort!

      Thanks for visiting and commenting. 🙂

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