Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

I saw this on Booktube during my crazy term of setting exam papers and thought I would like to do it. I then completely forgot about it until I saw Bookish Sarah do it on her blog. I have more opinions than I have books (that says a lot). I am going to try and mention different books and/or authors for each question although I am sure that each book, series or author mentioned could probably qualify for most of the questions.

1. A popular book or series that you didn't like.

I can't say that I enjoyed The Maze Runner by James Dashner. I think it was over-hyped to begin with, and that started me off expecting something brilliant. Instead, I felt the outcome was simple. It is also getting to the point where I feel it is a 'been there, done that' story line. You can find my thoughts on this book here.

2. A popular book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love. 

Love is a bit of a strong word here. Let's go with 'appreciate' instead. Allegiant by Veronica Roth. A lot of people hated the ending. I am not going to spoil anything here, but I will just say that any alternative ending in that situation, would not have been in character for that character, and the result, no matter how unpleasant, was in character. I should probably also add that, while I enjoyed book 1, I found the rest of the series a disappointment.

Oh, and The Diviners by Libba Bray. I have heard many reviews on Booktube where people have even DNFed it, but I absolutely loved it. I love the way Libba Bray writes - she has a maturer style than regular YA authors, and her plot was not conventional or necessarily predictable in the slightest. I also loved that the first book of the series finished with even more questions than it opened with!

3. A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don't like. 

Bella and Edward. I thought their relationship was completely toxic and as individuals, I couldn't stand them either. It was agony reading these books - which I only did because I needed to put together a reading list of YA books for uni while doing my teaching post-grad. I was shipping Edward and a good ray of sunshine and Bella and a bus. I actually have a blog post about this from my OOOOOLD blog. (I wonder if it is still up and running?)

4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for. 

Romance. I have no objection to having a bit of romance in the books I am reading, but I get irked when it takes over the plot. I think this stems from my childhood, before YA was a thing. There were only Sweet Valley High books or else a teenage version of Mills and Boon where at the end she got to kiss the guy. I found them annoying and frustrating and just couldn't get why these girls would throw away their holidays pining for these guys. I read The Hardy Boys and had a lot more fun. Why was it that girls' books were only romance, while boys' books were about adventure and action and they would be out doing interesting things? I hated the underlying messages in these books - that the only way a girl would find happiness was to find a guy; while guys could go out and LIVE. I guess it was the kindling that got this little feminist questioning gender roles.

5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like.

Claire from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. Wow! People say women are moody. She is a rollercoaster. One sentence she is happy, the next sentence she is fuming and the next she is aggressive, and the one after that, she is back to being happy and in love. I also thought that she could be pretty dumb at times. I also felt that she created so many situations for Jamie to come in as the knight in shining armour the Scotsman in a kilt to come and save her. I found her sporadic swearing bouts to be jarring and a contradiction to her character. If war had hardened her, then she should have been hardened completely, not just randomly for shock value. At least she was capable and was holding down a 'job' though. But still... what an idiot!

6. A popular author that you can't seem to get into. 

Cassandra Clare. I just don't get the attraction. I thought the first 3 books in the Mortal Instruments were OK, but from then on everything else was a drag. I just cannot understand the hype for it. I think the plots are predictable, the characters are trying too hard and are just carbon copies of each other, and that the whole plot is just an excuse for everyone to pair up with someone. And that goes for The Infernal Devices too. I have declared that I will not read another book by her. And I think having read 9, NINE!!!, I am entitled to my opinion. It also probably has a lot to do with the fact that I find teen romance really annoying.

7. A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing. (examples "lost princess", corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.)

I am completely sick and tired of love triangles. And I am getting a bit tired of retellings too. I don't mind when books use mythology to advance a story, such as Percy Jackson. It is not a retelling of the Greek or Roman myths. It is its own story. But there are so many books that are retellings of fairytales or myths. Sometimes I can appreciate them - when they come with a new angle, but other times I feel it is just a writer who cannot think of their own plots.

8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

The Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. I watched my mom suffer through all 15 of these books. I am not doing that to myself. Especially because I have heard about the pages and pages of long-winded descriptions; and that the female characters are all annoying.

9. The saying goes "The book is always better than the movie", but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

Empire of the Sun by J.G Ballard. This has always been one of my favourite movies. The cinematography is beautiful and the story is touching. Christian Bale was the perfect choice for Jim and did a superb job as a boy. The book was filled with a bit too much information on WW2 aeroplanes and other things. I thought that the book had less charm than the movie. The movie also came with a beautiful soundtrack from John Williams. The book was silent.

I would also like to add here that the stage production of Wicked is way better than the book (by Greg Maguire). It also had a lot more charm than the book, although the book did go into some interesting philosophical debates that I enjoyed. The play, though, was so touching. If you are ever anywhere where they are showing Wicked, go and watch it.

A link to the original tag video on Youtube by TheBookArcher.