10 “right story, wrong time” books I can’t wait to try again! [Top 10 Tuesday]

April 5, 2022

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

It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday post! This week’s theme is a freebie week, so I decided to go with 10 “right story, wrong time” books — books that I set aside because the timing was wrong, but I’m excited to pick back up and feel convinced I’ll love the next time around!

10 books that were the right story, at the wrong time!


  • House of Earth and Blood // Sarah J. Maas — I originally started reading this the day it released, but it was right as I was falling into a HUGE slump and I decided to save it for a time I could better appreciate it!
  • Strange the Dreamer // Laini Taylor — I first picked this up so long ago that I don’t remember why I didn’t finish it, because I know I got at least 20% or so in and really enjoyed that part of it! This is one of those books that has been on my mental “5 star predictions” list ever since I heard about it, and it still is!
  • The Shadow of What Was Lost // James Islington — I’ve tried reading this 3 times, and each time I loved what I read, but it’s like it kind of broke my brain? And I finally realized the last time that it was probably because I was trying to listen to the audiobook, and I’ve realized that high fantasy books just rarely work well in audio for me! My mind tends to wander too much, so next time, I’m going with the print version!
  • The Raven // Jonathan Janz — This was another casualty of the huge slump I had in 2020-2021, but you all already know how much I adore Jonathan’s books and I fully expect to adore this one, too.
  • Winter // Marissa Meyer — I think I probably put this one down because I realized I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the series! 😂 But I think Misty and I will buddy read it soon and I’m excited! I just need to re-read Cress first for a refresher.

  • Lost Boy // Christina Henry — I LOVE Christina Henry’s books SO much, but when I first tried reading this, it triggered me pretty badly. My son was still an itty-bitty baby and I just couldn’t handle the way a certain character was treated by other characters. I still don’t think I’m quite ready for this, but hoping I will be in the next few years since my son has gotten a bit older!
  • Wilder Girls // Rory Power — This book actually didn’t work so well for me, and is the only one that I DNFed with the intention (at the time) to NOT pick back up, but as time has gone on, I’m more intrigued by the premise and really want to try it again, especially since I loved Rory Power’s Burn Our Bodies Down so much.
  • Capturing the Devil // Kerri Maniscalco — This, like Winter, is a book that I set down because I was NOT ready to say goodbye. I’m still not, honestly, but I’d like to read it some time this summer because I plan on binge reading the Kingdom trilogy when the 3rd book releases later this year, and I’d like to finish this series first!
  • Gideon the Ninth // Tamsyn Muir — This was another book that I set aside because of a slump, but I LOVED the first few chapters of this so freaking much.
  • Rosemary and Rue // Seanan McGuire — I’m actual trash for everything Seanan writes, but again, sometimes you just can’t fight a slump! I can’t wait to finally start this series soon.

What are some books you didn’t finish, but are excited to try again?
Let me know in the comments, or drop a link to your T10T post for the week!


 

destiny

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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

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

28 Comments
    1. I got a few books like that! Onyx for Jennifer L. Armentrout… the first book I flew through but I just wasn’t in the mood for the second book. Then there is The Nothing to See Here Hotel 4, I don’t know it felt like it missed something, but it could also well be my mood that changed. XD And I got 5 other books I should really try again and see if I am in the mood for them now!

      1. Lmao, oh no! Geez, there are so many series I haven’t finished because I tried reading them back-to-back and my mood reading brain went “NOPE, we’ve had enough of this series for now!” 😂 It’s so annoying sometimes! I hope your second-chance books go well for you hehe!

        1. Haha, yeah, that is my head as well. Me, but you wanted to read this one…. My head: Yeah, but not now. Bye. XD Thank you! Hopefully for you as well~

    1. I love that some of us just won’t read/finish the last book in a series so as not to say goodbye 😂

      1. Bahahah do you do it, too?! I always have people asking me, like, “HOW have you not finished it yet? Don’t you need to know how it ends?!” and I sometimes just wanna be like, “NO, because it probably ends in PAIN and right now everyone is safe inside my imagination!” 😂

      1. Thank you! I’m glad you agree. I totally get what you mean about how sometimes you can re-read a book and enjoy it way more. I love it when that happens! It’s always a pleasant surprise. 😀

      1. Thank you! It’s always kind of fun to me, to give a new try to books I set aside if the timing was wrong – but if I DNFed a book because I strongly disliked it, I’ll rarely give those a second try! Like you said, though, sometimes you can switch to the audiobook and that helps! It’s always a nice surprise when it works. 🙂

    1. Hopefully you’re more successful the second time. I had started The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix last year and had to put it aside because it was triggering my anxiety something fierce. So, this year, I picked it up in audio (on sale no less) and it was sooo much better that way.

      Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.. Thank you!

      1. Thank you so much! Oh no, I’m sorry it triggered your anxiety, but I’m so glad it worked better for you the second time around! I haven’t read that yet but I really want to soon. I love Grady’s books and I’m trying to catch up on all of his new-to-me books this year! 😄

    1. I also love everything Seanan McGuire (that I’ve read) but didn;t like Rosemary and Rue..

      1. Oh no, I’m sorry you didn’t like Rosemary and Rue! I’m glad you’ve loved other books of hers, though. She is definitely an all-time favorite for me so I have hope I’ll enjoy R&R, but I’m also a little nervous because I don’t think I have ever read anything by her that was as far back on her backlist as R&R is! Most of what I’ve read by her came out in 2016 or later!

    1. I have tried reading HOEAB 3 times and I never get into it. The beginning is just so boring to me but everyone says it gets better so I’ll try again someday lol

      1. Haha that is totally fair! I’ve heard so many people say the beginning bored them too! I think I read about 100pg of it when I tried it before, and I don’t remember being bored at that point, but it did feel info-dumpy in a way! I have to be in a very patient mood for that in a book lol! I hope you like it better if/when you try again 🙂

    1. Loved this post as I have collected quite a few ‘right story, wrong time’ books over the years! House of Earth and Blood and ACOWAR are at the top of my list, I was so excited for them but then waited too long to read them 😅 I also have this issue a lot with series I love like Supernova (Renegades #3) and King of Fools (Shadow Game #2). I hope you’ll get to read Winter, I really liked it 🥰

      1. Oh no, I’m sorry you can relate to this! 😂 being a mood reader is a pain sometimes! I’m glad to hear you liked Winter. I’m excited to finally wrap up the series, even if I am a little bit nervous about it! And I do hope you get to pick up ACOWAR someday, as I really enjoyed it!

    1. Rosemary and Rue is fun. You just tear through all the books in that series, do I need to play catch up. Not that I had ever caught up. There is never any catching up with Seanan haha.

    1. I absolutely loved “House of Earth and Blood” and “Strange the Dreamer” and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them too if you pick them up at the right time. =) I’m currently reading “Gideon the Ninth” and so far it’s been an interesting ride. *lol* Very curious how it will continue.

    1. i will say Wilder Girls didn’t work as much for me as Burn Our Bodies Down but it’s definitely still worth reading 🙂

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