[Top Ten Tuesday] Popular Books That Lived Up to the Hype

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish but is currently being run by That Artsy Reader Girl. A prompt is given each week, and I hope to do it every week so I always have something going up on Tuesdays. This week I am talking about popular books that I believe live up to all the hype surrounding them! Obviously like most of my blog posts it's incredibly opinion based but I'd love to know what books you would put on this list! Of course like always, if I have a review available for these books I'll link their titles with the reviews if you're interested in more of my thoughts.

Aristotle and Dante by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Ari and Dante are some of my favorite characters and this book is a definite favorite of mine. I heard so many great things about this book for so long and I never picked it up. I honestly didn't even know what it was about until  I picked it up. And I ended up absolutely loving it. I have read it multiple times since the first time and I have listened to the audiobook, which is amazing and narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Who does such a great job. This book leaves me a hot mess every time I read it.

Synopsis
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas 

This book had so much hype surrounding it before it even came out! It had a movie deal before its release too. So there was a lot of great positive hype around The Hate U Give. I think it definitely lived up to its hype! 

Synopsis
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.

Soon afterward, his death is a national headline. Some are calling him a thug, maybe even a drug dealer and a gangbanger. Protesters are taking to the streets in Khalil's name. Some cops and the local drug lord try to intimidate Starr and her family. What everyone wants to know is: what really went down that night? And the only person alive who can answer that is Starr.

But what Starr does or does not say could upend her community. It could also endanger her life.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart 

When this book came out everyone was talking about it, so I naturally decided to pick it up. I loved it! I really like the family dynamics, the conversation about race, and the friendships between the liars. 

Synopsis 
A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

We Were Liars is a modern, sophisticated suspense novel from New York Times bestselling author, National Book Award finalist, and Printz Award honoree E. Lockhart.

Read it.

And if anyone asks you how it ends, just LIE.

Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman 

This is such a great book of Norse mythology short stories!! I highly recommend this book!! It's so well done but I do hear that it's pretty basic so if you already know a lot about Norse mythology it may be a little boring. But I am super new at it so it was all pretty fun for me. 

Synopsis
Neil Gaiman, long inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction, presents a bravura rendition of the Norse gods and their world from their origin though their upheaval in Ragnarok. In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki?son of a giant?blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator.

Gaiman fashions these primeval stories into a novelistic arc that begins with the genesis of the legendary nine worlds and delves into the exploits of deities, dwarfs, and giants. Through Gaiman’s deft and witty prose, these gods emerge with their fiercely competitive natures, their susceptibility to being duped and to duping others, and their tendency to let passion ignite their actions, making these long-ago myths breathe pungent life again.

Heartless by Marissa Meyer 

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is my favorite book, so I was a little nervous going into this book, but I ended up absolutely loving it. I think it's such a great prequel!! I love how inventive it is and I think it works really well with the original story. I commend Meyer for that because one of my biggest worries was that it was going to feel like a separate world.


Synopsis
Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her own destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

In her first stand-alone teen novel, the New York Times-bestselling author dazzles us with a prequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi 

I LOVED this book! I went into it not knowing much about it other than it was a fantasy set in a world that was inspired by west Africa and honestly that plus the cover had me signed up. I think this book was so much fun, the three points of view were so important to the story and I think the movie is going to be amazing. 

Synopsis 
They killed my mother.
They took our magic.
They tried to bury us.

Now we rise.

Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers and her growing feelings for an enemy.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

There is so much hype surrounding this book and I honestly wasn't sure if I'd like it because I do not typically read adult contemporary literature. I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend this book!

Synopsis
Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one in the journalism community is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?

Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband, David, has left her, and her career has stagnated. Regardless of why Evelyn has chosen her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.

Summoned to Evelyn’s Upper East Side apartment, Monique listens as Evelyn unfurls her story: from making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the late 80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way. As Evelyn’s life unfolds through the decades—revealing a ruthless ambition, an unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love—Monique begins to feel a very a real connection to the actress. But as Evelyn’s story catches up with the present, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty 

This book has gotten so much hype and I was super excited about it. Like most fantasy books I am always a little nervous to start a new fantasy book or series because even if I love fantasy books they still intimidate me. I am so happy I ended up enjoying it.

Synopsis
Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences.

After all, there is a reason they say be careful what you wish for...

Every Heart A Doorway by Seanan McGuire

I actually picked up this book a while back and DNFed it when the hype started up. Then the hype kept building so I ended up re-requesting it from my library and giving it another try. I ended up loving it. I ended up loving the other two books in the series so far (book four is out early next year!) and I am so happy I gave it another shot because it was great! 

Synopsis
Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children
No Solicitations
No Visitors
No Quests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

And I Darken by Kiersten White 

I really wanted to read this book (which is a Vlad the Impaler retelling where Vlad is a woman) a while back but I never got the chance, and then when a friend of mine read it and DNFed it I ended up prolonging it even further. I finally picked it up not too long ago and LOVED it. After reading and reviewing it I read some reviews by Romanian reviewers that aren't a fan because it's not historically accurate. So I wanted to quickly say that because although it's a fantastic story, it's not accurate to historical events. I still definitely recommend it as a great story though and I cannot wait to read the sequel.

Synopsis
No one expects a princess to be brutal. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

Thanks for reading!