T10T: Authors I'm Giving a Second Chance

July 16, 2019

TTT-Big2

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s theme was “auto-buy authors”, but you all know by now that I love to put my own spin on the theme, so instead, I’m going to talk about authors I’m giving a second chance! These are authors who I’ve read one book by (and gave 3 stars or less), but want to try another title from.

* disclaimer: don’t get me wrong, 3 stars isn’t a negative rating! I just mean that these are authors who didn’t “wow” me on my first time reading their works.

 

moonsdivider

1. Danielle Vega

first book read from this author: The Merciless
rating I gave it: ⭐ — I hated the narrator so much!
second chance title I’ll read: The Haunted

moonsdivider

2. Karen M. McManus

first book read from this author: One of Us is Lying
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐ — I thought this was reeeaaaally problematic, tbh.
second chance title I’ll read: One of Us is Next

moonsdivider

3. Laura Silverman

first book read from this author: Girl Out of Water
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐ — another narrator I found unbearable.
second chance title I’ll read: You Asked for Perfect

moonsdivider

4. Ashley Poston

first book read from this author: Heart of Iron
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐ — Everything about this was just, sadly, vaguely disappointing.
second chance title I’ll read: Geekerella

moonsdivider

5. Madeleine Roux

first book read from this author: Asylum
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐.5 — so predictable and bland!
second chance title I’ll read: House of Furies

moonsdivider

6. Hillary Monahan

first book read from this author: MARY: The Summoning
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐⭐ — the narrative voice in this was really obnoxious and, for Hillary to be an own-voice plus-size author, the fat rep was shockingly BAD.
second chance title I’ll read: The Hollow Girl OR Belly Up (pseudonym)

moonsdivider

7. Penelope Douglas

first book read from this author: Birthday Girl
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐⭐ — I feel like the only person in the world who thought the sex in this book was SO CRINGE-WORTHY and laughable, but… yeah.
second chance title I’ll read: Corrupt

moonsdivider

8. Stephanie Garber

first book read from this author: Caraval
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐⭐ — The whole thing was just a little meh.
second chance title I’ll read: Legendary

moonsdivider

9. Carolyn Lee Adams

first book read from this author: Ruthless
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐⭐ — I honestly don’t remember why this didn’t get a higher rating, I think it was just overall not great?
second chance title I’ll read: The Book of Ezra (which, sadly, has no release date yet…)

moonsdivider

10. Penny Reid

first book read from this author: Truth or Beard
rating I gave it: ⭐⭐⭐ — the characters didn’t really “click” with me and I thought the MC’s sense of humor was really awkward and a little… childish? But out of everything on this list, it was probably the most lovable one!
second chance title I’ll read: Grin and Beard It

moonsdivider

Are there any authors you love in this list? If so, do you recommend I pick a different “second chance” title for them? Let me know!

graphicssignature


twitter | bookstagram | facebook | goodreads

More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

Leave a comment
    1. I absolutely LOVE your twist on the theme! I am planning on reading The Haunted, but haven’t read any of Danielle Vega’s previous books. I do have a copy of Survive the Night that I really want to read as well though. I also heard that she also writes as Danielle Rollins, and have a copy of Stolen Time that I am going to read.

        1. It’s hard to remember every single authors pen names! I basically remember hers and Seanan McGuire also writes as Mira Crest or something

    1. I finished the caraval trilogy earlier and they all were kind of the same enjoyment wise for me (with not super high expectations). I do think you might like her sister who stars in the second book a little better. 🙂

    1. I much prefer your choice of topic. It does generate a question though – how many chances would you give an author? If/when you get around to reading your second chance titles, you find them disappointing also, would you say “that’s it” and decide not to read the author ever again?

    1. i didn’t really like caraval much at all but i had a much better experience with legendary!! i liked tella & dante a lot more than scarlet and whathisname and i found it made a big difference ? i’m also definitely passing on one of us lying after hearing so many bad things but her newer book has a lot of praise and love so i’m tempted to give it a go. hope these authors surprise you!

    1. Nice twist on the topic!
      For Karen McManus I really recommend Two can keep a secret, I really liked that one, definitely better than one of us is lying!
      And please read Legendary! I did enjoy Caraval, but Legendary was just sooo much better!
      (www.evelynreads.com)

    1. I’m sorry you didn’t like Laura’s first book, but I LOVED You Asked For Perfect so much! I thought it was realistic and very heartfelt, so I really hope you end up loving that one. I feel the same way about Stephanie Garber’s books — the first was fine, but I’m curious to see how the story will pan out.
      ❤ Aimee @ Aimee, Always

      1. Thank you! I’m glad You Asked for Perfect was so good. I felt like the only person in the world who didn’t like her first book so it’s had me nervous to try her work again but I feel like I have to!

    1. I have so many comments!
      I’m sad you didn’t like One of Us Is Lying. I loved that one. I also loved Two Can Keep a Secret. I hope you enjoy it more than the first book.
      I just thought Caraval was okay. I liked Legendary more. Maybe you will feel the same.
      Birthday Girl was kind of meh. I haven’t tried any of her other books yet. I hope Corrupt works out better for you.
      I love Penny Reid’s books. I loved Truth or Beard, but my sister found it a little slow. She went on to read the rest and liked them. I especially liked Cletus’ book, so make sure you give that one a try! If this series doesn’t work out for you, I would recommend any of her others as well.

    1. Oh, I loved this concept! I rarely give authors a second chance unless the synopsis of their next book sounds absolutely amazing! I really loved You Asked For Perfect, and I think the main character is very different from Girl Out of Water. And although I haven’t read the Caraval series, I’ve heard that it only gets better!

    1. Finally, someone else had issues with One of Us is Lying. I just really struggled with that book. I hope you enjoy the sequel and I will look out for your opinions because I just cannot get excited about One of Us is Next.
      I also hope you like the rest of the Winston series. They are pretty cute and I think the second one will be more of a win.

      1. I’m glad I’m not the only one! I feel like people always seem so stunned when I tell them I hated it. ? I’m really uncertain about the new one so I’m not going to request an ARC or anything, but the patrons at my branch are huge on mystery/thrillers, so her books are on our shelves and I’m sure I’ll cave and get the new one for our collection when it releases, and at least then I can just borrow it. 🙂

    1. Danielle Vega also wrote Stolen Time (under Danielle Rollins) and it’s a time travel sci-fi that’s actually really good so far 🙂 I’m not sure how I would like her horror books but I l do love this one. I also agree with giving Legendary a try after so many people say that it improved the series…

      1. Oh, neat! I always forget she also writes under another name. 🙂 And yeah, I’ve heard that a lot about Legendary, too! Fingers crossed. I think I’ll reread Caraval beforehand.

    1. Awesome post, Destiny!!! I gave Carval 3 stars as well, and was overall pretty underwhelmed by it; however, I read Legendary last November and it was literally one of the best books I read that year! I can’t recommend it enough! Geekerella was a really sweet book, and although I haven’t read anything else by Poston, I truly enjoyed that Cinderella retelling. I found One of Us is Lying pretty problematic too, so I’m still a bit hesitant to read future works by the author, but perhaps I’ll give her another try some day!

      1. Thank you! I’m so glad Legendary was so much better than Caraval. The fact that you didn’t love Caraval either makes me even more optimistic about Legendary. 🙂 And I’m glad I’m not the only one who thought One of Us is Lying was problematic! :/

    1. I’ve been thinking of giving Legendary a chance, even though I was meh on Caraval, also. I really WANTED to love it – it seems like it SHOULD be my kind of thing and I’m sad I didn’t enjoy it 🙁 But I’ve heard the books get better, and I own both Legendary AND Finale so.. No excuses, haha.

    1. I like your take on this T10T! I haven’t read any of these authors so I can’t comment on whether they’re deserving of a second chance. But I like this idea and might have to try it out. I know I have read a few books where I thought “Eh, well, that wasn’t so great but I still have hope for this author…”

    1. *drops in to support Caraval*
      *clears throat*
      *pauses*
      *waves emphatically* Hi Destiny! I haven’t talked to you in too long!
      *clears throat again because I’m a dumb who forgot to drink water all day* (pls drink water it’s good for you)
      Okay, here we go! Caraval, is, at least at this point in my life, one of my favourite books of all time! Admittedly, it’s not the best thing out there and it’s a biiiit insta-lovey but it is also incredibly detailed and beautifully written. It has its flaws but, to be fair, it is a debut novel and I can’t help but love it anyway. AND I would be totally open to buddy-reading the series with you if you needed a push to read it (this offer is open for eternity, I will drop any and all things to do this, I love this book… A LOT)
      There’s also a big element of mystery in Caraval and in the second book too – also a big thing that a lot of reviewers have said, and I would agree with is this – if you didn’t like Caraval you will most likely enjoy Legendary. I’ve found that a lot of people that gave Caraval a higher rating, gave Legendary a slightly lower rating and vice versa. So, maybe Legendary is the book for you?
      [aaaaaand rant over, sorry for the long comment, I just really love this series???]

      1. LMAO I love you and I love this comment! I want to reread Caraval before continuing with the series so I would LOVE to do a series buddy read with you! Maybe later this year?

Say hello! ♥

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d