Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. These are all things I can wholeheartedly get behind.
After being off topic for my last two Top Ten Tuesday posts, I am happily returning to the provided topic! This week the topic is “Books I’m Worried I Might Not Love as Much the Second Time Around.” I’ve taken this a little further and called my post “Books I’m Scared to Reread.”
All the books below are ones I’ve previously rated highly and raved about. However, they are also books and series that I now realize, for whatever reason, I probably wouldn’t love as much if I read them again. I’ve listed 5 standalone books and 5 book series.
Buckle up, because this might get controversial!
Book Series
- A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin:
I actually have reread the A Song of Ice and Fire books. Some of the books I’ve reread more than once. At one point I was deep in the ASOIAF fandom and listened to multiple podcasts on the series. However, the last time I tried to reread this series it put me in such a weird mood. I think I’m just a much different person than I was in 2014 – ten whole years ago. Still, count me in for a possibly disappointing reread of ASOIAF when The Winds of Winter finally releases!
- You by Caroline Kepnes
Goodness, I loved You and Hidden Bodies when they first came out. I had so much fun with the audiobooks (which are so well narrated!!). But the stalker vibes wouldn’t work for me now, I’m afraid. This was a genius book for the time though. Also, there are FOUR (!!) books in this series now. This is another victim of my 2014 self.
- Shades of Magic by V.E. Schwab
I have to be honest with myself about this series. I didn’t like A Darker Shade of Magic as much as booktube and the book community wanted me to like it. While I really wanted to like it, I think I just bought into the hype on this one hard. Now I am much more confident in what books I like. I’m not sure I will ever read The Fragile Threads of Power, but, if I do, I don’t want to give into the hype.
- Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
I have such a love/hate relationship with the Truly Devious series. While I thought the main trilogy was mostly fine, I was deeply ready for it to conclude after the third book. The surprise additional books in the series have thrown me for a loop. I rated The Box in the Woods five stars. However, I rated Nine Liars a whopping two stars. The ending of Nine Liars made me want to throw my book against the wall. I also feel like the relationship between Stevie and David is just awful at this point, which has ruined a lot of the good feelings I had about the earlier books.
- The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare
The Infernal Devices trilogy was one of the series that got me back into reading for fun. I still think it’s a fun read, but I’m less obsessed with the Shadowhunters world overall. I’m a huge Jem Carstairs fan, but I’m not sure I would be in love with the amount of angst that this series has if I were to reread it again today.
Standalone Books
- The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
I own the gorgeous Waterstones edition of The Starless Sea and it will never leave my shelf. I loved this book, but my love for it was a dreamy, aesthetic kind of love. Does that make sense? It barely makes sense to me. I loved the mood of the book. It is a lovely book, but I don’t think I would like it on a reread. I wouldn’t reread if only to preserve my memory of my lovely first read of it.
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Fun fact: I watched the Gone Girl movie with my husband on one of our first dates and it scared the heck out of him. Luckily he stuck around. I loved Gone Girl when it released. It was a bit revolutionary for its time, wasn’t it? I’m pretty picky with my domestic thrillers now, but I still love the moment in time when I thought this book was the best thing ever.
- If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
One of my all-time favorite books is The Secret History by Donna Tartt. It’s a dark academia murder mystery like no other, though If We Were Villains is widely regarded as a similar read. My Goodreads review of If We Were Villains from 2019 makes the bold claim that I liked it more than The Secret History. I’m not so sure that would hold up. This is one I would reread (in the fall with some hot cocoa in hand) to see if that statement holds up.
- Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
Big Little Lies took the world by storm in 2014, which was a big reading year for me. I adored Big Little Lies and thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Literally gobbled it up. Yet another book from 2014 that isn’t for me anymore. I would read more from this author, though!
- The Long Walk by Stephen King
The Long Walk is a dystopian horror by Stephen King about “a grueling walking competition where there can only be one winner—the one that survives.” I have to thank this book for introducing me back to harsher, grittier dystopian lit and also to horror fiction. However, I don’t know that I would give it four stars on a reread. I’ve read so many great speculative books since I read The Long Walk, and I’m not sure if this one would hold up.
Have you read any of these? Let me know what made your list this week!
Thanks so much for stopping by today! Be sure to share your TTT in the comments below so I can check it out!
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