Literature isn’t just about pleasure, it’s about learning and growing. I’ve read plenty of books I did not enjoy but I forced myself through them and it made me a better writer. It taught me technique. Alot of people seem to base everything on pleasure now, instant gratification, and that’s why writing as a whole is in the position that it is.
@@alb0zfinest Maybe my comment comes across a little flippantly, let me clarify. For me enjoyment does not equal instant gratification. If I was only concerned with instant gratification reading novels certainly wouldn't be a primary hobby. I see nothing wrong with someone saying the read for pleasure, which does not preclude learning and growing. I've struggled with plenty of books and decided to put them aside for a while and then returned to them later and ended up being glad that I did. On the other hand I've picked up books based on recommendations that I realized were simply not my thing at all and in that case had no problem putting them aside and moving on to something else.
@@alb0zfinest what do you mean instant gratification? if i wanted instant gratification i'd be doing anything but reading honestly. because for some of us reading takes a lot of time and i'd rather spend that time on sth i'm going to have a good time with rather then drudging my way through the pages of sth i know full well is not for me. and sometimes reading the synopsis tells me which books are for me other times it's only the first page/paragraph.
@@alb0zfinest 50 pages is my limit. There are far more great books out there than I will ever be able to read. I have a PhD in English, so I have read a lot of books I didn't enjoy. I have read a lot of books I find really interesting without "liking."My DNFs combine lack of intellectual stimulation with lack of fun.
king of scars: i really enjoyed it, however i understand why some people feel let down by it. most of them i think was disappointed in the book because they expected one thing and got something else. i went blind into it and really had a great time. the plot and the pacing have some issues, but imho it is worth reading it. especially for nikolai and zoya's relationship. btw i would call this more a zoya book than a nikolai one.( nina chapters were very slow) if you love the characters i think you should read it, if you love the magic system then probably not.
LISTENN just read the infernal devices. don't read any of Cassandra Clare's other books. Just read this one series. i promise you will not regret it and it will change your life.
I really liked Vengeful! I wasn't aware of all the negative reviews when I first read it, and I really liked it. However, I will say that I can definitely see what people didn't like about it, but I LOVED the way Eli was explored and I LOVED the whole aspect of science and ahhh, I just really, really adore both Victor and Eli. And Syd and Mitch. Gotta love those two.
thank you for not bashing maas. i absolutely love her books and have emotional connections with the characters, but i accept the criticisms and see them myself. however, whenever people go on rants bashing her and making it seem like trash, it makes me feel like i’m doing something wrong by liking them and it makes me sad
The language of thorns is actually very good and it's just six stories. I don't really like reading short stories either but I absolutely loved this collection
I think you should read vengeful, but having in mind that it is not the same kind of storyline. It isn't the continuation of the story of victor and eli, but how the world moves on after that, with the focus being on other characters and situations. I liked it but not as much as the first one, on the other hand my sister LOVED IT so it may depend on your preferences.
I'm not a Bardugo fan, but the Language of Thorns is great. I don't even count it as a part of Grisha-verse, it's more like Grimm or Anderson stories, fairytales. Most of them dark. And the art inside is Amazing!
You can just read the three books in The Infernal Devices series be done with all of her works. They're some of her best. I HATED City of Bones and dnfd City of Ashes , but gave the Infernal Devices books 4 or 5 stars each.
I personally love the whole shadowhunter universe but yes it is a BIG commitment, I personally also liked King of Scars so if you really on the side maybe try a sample and see if you liked it, that is normally what I do
if you want to give shakespeare a try again i'd recommend reading alongside watching a movie adaptation/recorded theatre performance!!! it adds so much to the story and makes it a lot more fun. i also find it helps with the old english thing!!
Woah you're the first person I hear who said they DNFed The Raven Boys. I did too and I feel so bad because apparently everyone loves it. I really tried to restart it but I just fell into a slump instead 😶
I felt the same way about the Raven boys when I first started I didn't really enjoy it until the second half of the book and now I'm obsessed with the whole series but I totally see where your coming from.
Honestly Shakespeare wasn't meant to be read, it was meant to be performed so I totally understand why people don't enjoy, or have difficulty reading them. If you are interested in trying again somewhere down the line I would suggest starting with one of the more popular plays Midsummer, Much Ado, or Romeo and Juliet not Merchant.
In King of Scars Nikolai isnt the only main character. Zoya and Nina have the same amount POV chapters. Im not planned on reading the next book because I thought it was disappointed. Not really wanna spoil something, but someone is gonna be back and I hate that. I liked the person in the other books but they shouldn't bring the person back.
I think you should check out Vengeful, I don't think the story in any way detracts from the original so even if you don't love it, I don't see it changing your opinions on the original characters negatively (personally after reading it I liked Eli more than I did in the first book). I do want to add though, that Vengeful isn't really focused on Eli and Viktor's story like Vicious... they aren't the main players in the book as that is taken up by the new characters - Marcella driving the plot forward for the most part.
Vengeful: Yes, Myrcella was really interesting to follow. King of Scars : Spare yourself... Nikolai is my fav character in the grishaverse but the plot just made me mad, especially the whole let's re-use some previously established dead people... I thought it was lazy. Anyways 💕💕💕💕💕
for me, the king of scars duology is far better than the shadow and bone trilogy. if you're concerned about the focus being too much on nikolai, then don't cuz zoya is featured just as predominantly. also spoiler alert!! it sets up SoC 3 with an interesting premise so i'd say definitely read it.
The only books I have even heard of that you mentioned are the Game of Thrones series and the Outlander series. They are nothing alike though often compared. I am currently rereading Outlander it is an amazing series and you are missing out but that's entirely your choice. So yeah I probably wouldn't read any of those either nor would I bother even looking them up except for Outlander. I tend to read Classics and less known series I am typically not into reading whatever is popular at the moment. Happy reading 📚
Okay you should reaaally read Illuminae, just give it a chance! Even my friend who doesn't understand sci-fi loved it. Other than that, the Outlander TV can be recommended haha 🥰 totally agree with not having to read all the hyped books, I'll have to get rid of a lot of the ya contemporary on my tbr as well 😅
my experience with Shakespeare is that reading it is a horrible experience bc 1) the language is somewhat incomprehensible and 2) also highly contextual, so there’s lots of references that were designed for his audience at the time. my mum always says that watching the plays is the best way to go with Shakespeare. With King of Scars, for me, Nikolai was the least interesting. Zoya and Nina’s POVs were really good tho. Also the magic world building is being built up more, with more history and explanations. I will say that the disconnect between Nina’s and the others storyline’s is a bit annoying, and fells like you’re reading two books at once.
i'm usually a non-committal person so i don't know how Cassandra Clare got me to want to read all of the shadowhunter chronicles lol i get why you & other people wouldn't be able to go through with it
Hello Leonie Have you read The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is one of my favorite books of all time and I love Lois Lowry's writing style. It is labelled as for middle grade/YA but I think all adults can read it. I think why some people don't love this book is because one of the concepts is not explained and left ambiguous, and you are left asking how this concept ever came upon in this community. But if you don't think of that too much I think you will enjoy the book.
I am kinda the same with the crime genre. I can't really get into it, but I do sometimes enjoy it on the screen. It is just EVERYWHERE these days, and I do not really get it. Especially the true crime stuff
The only times I read Shakespeare was in school or university but I also have such difficulty understanding it. In school I had to read „Much Ado about Nothing“ and that was actually interesting. But to my understanding that’s also his only play that’s not written in verse. But still I had such a hard time understanding it. And what’s the point of reading Shakespeare when there is no fun involved. But maybe we find the Shakespearean English so hard to understand because English itself is not our mother tongue? 🤷🏽♀️ (I’m German so greeting from your neighboring country 👋🏽:D)
ofc I have no way of knowing but my guess is that you want to read _Vengeful_ so I think yes you should read it and enjoy it even if it isn't a four star. Thx - enjoyed the video - good luck with your thesis paper.
I'll be honest, LBD kinda ruined nikolai in the king of scars. Idk what went wrong but she didn't write him the same way she wrote him in shadow & bone series.
Vicious is one of my favourite books of all time and I also loved Vengeful! It's not as good as Vicious because I just love the plot of the first book so much, but it's still really really good. I think you should try it at least
The plot of Raven boys isn't that much interesting for me (but it reminds me of one legend in my country), but i want to finish the serie because i like some of the characters
I am with you on Serpent and Dove and a lot of books similar to it, especially books that feature abusive relationships. It just doesn't appeal to me. RE: Vengeful, I did read it and enjoyed it, but after finishing it, my screaming feeling was: there should be a third book, it's not finished. So yeah, maybe read it? :D
Ohh I love the idea of this video!! I'm pretty much the same whenever I get overwhelmed with my TBR pile, I just get rid of books I know I won't *love*, but there are still so many books 😅😅 One of my friends keeps recommending me The Raven Boys, and I keep seeing Serpent & Dove everywhere, and I understand you, there's not much appealing me XD (I love Outlander the show, but I'm not reading the books EVER, they're so big 😭😭)
I find it kinda funny that everyone loved vicious (me included) but on Goodreads vengeful (who only got negative results on booktube) has a better rating overall.
Nice video, I DNfed game of thrones around 300 pages I found it a bit too descriptive and detailed. For example it detailed Catelyn Stark just going up a mountain for so many pages lol.
I can sort of relating to how you felt about Adam Silvera, I liked his book "They Both Die at The End" but, I've tried to read his other books but they weren't very interesting at all.
I'm with you on Vengeful! I've heard that people love or hate the the female main characters of Vengeful but... idk I'm still skeptical... Although I loved serena and Sydney 😭
I really enjoyed King of Scars and I highly recommend giving it a go. I have to admit, the book is not marketed correctly. Although yes we follow Nikolai as a main character, he isn’t the ONLY MAIN CHARACTER. Zoya and Nina play big roles in the book and I dare say they are the stars of the books. This book is empowering, female centric and I loved it so much.
I think you should read vengeful, I myself can't just NOT finish something that I truly like. And at least I can separate the experiences, if the sequel is bad I cant still appreciate the original and just hide the sequel on some dark corner of the mind
I won't read it because I'm not interested: Dune, Children of Blood and Bone. Dnf: Throne of Glass twice. The Raven boys. (Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors, but I don't think this series is for me...) Series I've started but won't continue: The Mortal Instruments (read four books, but no, no, I won't continue), Millenium trilogy (two books), The Folk of the Air. Writers I've read but don't want to read more by: Sarah J. Maas, Cassandra Clare, Diana Gabaldon, Shakespare, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter 7. I won't read the eighth or anything else by her. I'm not interested anymore), Colleen Hoover. And many more :D
i agree with most of your picks. meaning i'll also not be reading them. except raven boys. and kinda have to read king of scars as i own the physical copy. and dude i read four leigh bardugo books so far sans ninth house and soc and the language of thrones was the best of them. please read it.
I was the only one to hate Serpent and Dove in my book club. I groaned like every other page. So yeah. It definitely is either a love or an absolute hate.
I loved Vicious and I loved Vengeful. I didn't think it was any better or worse than Vicious, but they were two different books and I guess some people would've preferred more of the same.
English is my second language and I simply cannot follow the ye 'ol English of Shakespeare... but I love watching stage productions. I saw Sir Ian McKellen in King Lear and Andrew Scott in Hamlet and it was wonderful. You can definitly tell those plays are meant to be acted on stage or at least read aloud. I am also steering clear of ASOIF for now at least. I really enjoy the lore and watch a lot of videos about it (theories, backstories, etc) but the series is incomplete, with the next book 'Winds of Winter' having been postponed for 11 (?) years. And not to sound morbid, but the author is 73 years old so with 2 books still to go there's a chance it won't be completed. If the WoW and Dream of Spring do come out eventually I might give them a go...
I don't really plan on continuing reading many of my teenage favs such as anything after City of Angels, Maas, and the Hunger Games. I feel like I have become more critical and cynical which is why I also can't touch YA contemporary. I am with you though on preferring to watch something instead of reading, I prefer to watch my SciFi mostly just for the VFX no matter how bad the plot is, something I wouldn't stand to read. 👀👀I am not sure if I want to finish reading the Storm Light Archive. 🤫🤫 I don't want my fantasy entry card taken away.
Vengeful did not ruin Vicious for me. It is definitely not as good as Vicious, and my biggest problem with it is the fact that it is unnecessary and brings very little to the table. Yes, we get new characters and yes a really interesting thing is done with one of the minor characters from the book previously. But I would prefer personally if they left Sydney, Mitch, Victor and Eli in the first book simply because nothing was added to them in this book. Just new obstacles, and a bit more backstory. You are not losing anything by not reading it, but if you did I don't think it ruin Vicious for you. As for King of Scars, I personally love it even though I do say it is not perfect. It just isn't. But even though Nikolai is technically the main, Zoya is more the star if you ask me in this story. You get so much from her character here, so much more understanding about who she is as a person and the way she develops throughout King of Scars I absolutely adore. I also really liked Nina's perspective and I found her storyline interesting. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, and if the story isn't grabbing you then that's fair, but the book isn't solely about Nikolai just like how Six of Crows isn't just about Kaz. Maybe borrow it from the library and give a few chapters a shot and see if it intrigues you if you are really unsure? But if don't have any desire to read the book, then you don't have to. I'd rather you read what you want to read.
Honestly I know you said you wont but asoiaf/game of thrones is amazing i refused to read jt for so long because i thought id hate it i hated that whole political intrigue and the whole "adult" fantasy but a friend kept reccomending it. I read the first book in a week i couldnt put it down and finished the series (well all published books of the series) within 5 months and have reread them 3 times since they are my life 😂😂😂
Yes I'm so sad that she doesn't want to read game of thrones asoiaf, it's sooo good, I remember I read all the books in one week, one day I stayed all night reading bc it was so addictive!
I'm still in the denial phase of "I'm definitely going to read these popular books one day even though they're stupidly long series and/or I just don't think I'm going to find them very interesting" and this kinda helped ahahah
You didn't hear this from me but- Outlander the show is wildly different from the actual story. They have messed so much up and combined and left things out and it's just kinda a ✨mess✨ especially the later seasons. My advice if you ever do want to read it, just audiobook it on double speed lol
I was at the library today and stumbled upon the 'A song of Ice and fire series' and was like: nope I won't read them.. too long, too time consuming, the series was enough 😂 But a series I started this week and can recommend: Arkadien by Kai Meyer It's a fantasy YA novel and very captivating! 😍
Every English teacher I have had has stressed that Shakespeare was never meant to be read. Those stories are plays, they were meant to be watched. So I wouldn't feel bad about not being able to get through written Shakespeare, just go watch a production (when the theaters open up that is) or watch a movie adaptation.
In my experience (which is sadly limited so this is more my opinion) I like reading Shakespeare after I watch a version of it. Seeing it performed adds a contextual understanding and going back and reading/translating the dialogue helps me understand it better. It is hard to get through anyhow and I hate the way teachers teach it.
When I was in high school many years ago, they had this series called "No Fear Shakespeare" where they had the old English and then a translation into modern, understandable English on the next page. I know my teachers hated me using it, but it made getting through those stories a lot easier and made the text more enjoyable to read as well. I had to read like five Shakespeare stories in high school and although I would never read another one as an adult, it did make the process better. Not as good as seeing it performed on stage with talented Shakespearean actors, but it helps.
@@adambeeable I would have really appreciated something like that when I was a student. English wasn’t my first language, wasn’t even second but I had to read Shakespeare for my “normal” English class while also trying to learn the language. Needless to say that wasn’t a very enjoyable experience for me, especially having to analyse the text clinging on specific words.
I loved them a lot when I was in high school and I reread them a couple of times, but in all honesty, apart from the sheer number of them, they're getting ridiculously looooooooong too
I have just started my TMI series and u guys are making me worried.. I watched the movie and later got interested in reading the book. I think TMI is not a really good books series, but it's not bad though.
If you cannot read Shakespeare because of the old English, "No Fear Shakespeare" series are great! They give you old English on the left page and modern English on the right page. I highly recommend.
If you did ever want to read Shakespeare in the future, I highly recommend watching a play production along with reading. It makes it WAY easier to understand what’s going on & far more interesting. There’s a lot of great productions for free on RUclips!
@@sukanyaparashar9474 I really loved the Throne of Glass series after the first book when things stated to unravel. I think she did a great job with the world building in that series. And I really loved ACOTAR and ACOMAF but by AOWAR it got a little too smutty. I HATED the frost and starlight book OMG I didn't even make it half way haha.
I just want to mention for any of you who do like SJM. I just finished the two books that are out in the "Blood and Ash" series by Jennifer L Armentrout. I absolutely LOVED them. Especially the second book.
@@natashagabrielle5984 it wasn't the smut per se that bothered me. She focused too much on smut and forgot to give relevance to the actual plot, that bothered me. Also, I feel like the characterization of most charecters was a bit off.
I feel you on Shakespeare, probably will never read any of his plays. Another popular book I have no intention of ever reading is "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara, too much suffering, no thank you.
Good for you girl, been honest with yourself and no read them just because your a booktuber and you have to agree with popular opinions or been part of the hype just because... 👍
I adore Leigh Bardugo’s writing and I thought King of Scars was great. It was just wonderful to be back in the Grishaverse. The book really shapes Nikolai as a character, but it’s not just about him. I loved where she took Zoya’s character as well. That said, if you weren’t a fan of Nikolai in the first place it might not be for you!
I have this feeling about Schwab, and it's her story ideas are great and super interesting so the first book is usually amazing. However. Her sequels are weak and tend to ruin the experience. I thought it was only me but apparently more people feel that way
you should definitely try king of scars! it has others pov's similarly as soc, not only nikolai's one but also nina and zoya as well, and the next book is supposed to be the end of the grishaverse
Heeey. I sort of enjoyed King of Scars, though plot kinda does have weird stuff. Like, if you love the characters - Genya, twins, Zoya (my queen, my goddess) all come back, so I think you'll enjoy it just because of that. I liked the political plot A LOT, and some new characters are just awesome. I am willing to read Rule of Wolves and I pray weird plot stuff will get logical. Also, do I do all of this for Zoya? Maybe. So take it with a grain of salt if you don't love-love the characters.
I loved the "A Song of Ice and Fire"-series so much when I read it in 2011 but I won't ever recommend this series to anyone, even if they enjoy that kinda thing. Not because I don't think people will like it but I simply cannot, in good concience, recommend someone a series that it is most likely never going to be finished. I mean, there are still two books missing and I've been waiting for almost ten years now and G.R.R.Martin is busy doing a million other things apart from continuing the book, so yeah. I'm just realistic. Similarly, I absolutely love and adore the "Kingkiller Chronicles"-series but I wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone because it's ALSO been almost 10 years sind the last book. I doubt the next one will come soon. Wait, the "Gentleman Bastard"-series as well...it's been 7 years now. Now that I think about it... why am I cursed to love series that seem to have been abandoned? Why!
I adored King of Scars! Zoya is such a queen and Nikolai’s character has some really interesting stuff going on: conflict, development, and the like. The characters have matured a lot because they are several years older than they were in the Grisha trilogy, but they are still recognizable. Definitely recommend giving it a try.💗☺️
If the reason you don’t wanna read any of Cassie’s books is because of how many of them there are. Don’t worry. You can literally pick up any of the series and read them on their own (except for TDA which will spoil so much of TMI) like TID which is a very short trilogy, or the last hours which only has one book out.
give it a try... I couldnt care less about the show when it was at its peak popularity... and I had been evading the books for the longest time... I finally gave book 1 a try... GRRM is a genius... he wrote chapter 1 specifically with the purpose of hooking you up... when I read it I knew that I had to continue reading.. and it only gets better.
Me too. I even tried once. I started Book one. I've read like 300 pages and then gave up because I was too bored and didn't care about the vast majority of the characters. (And that was a major issue, because of the structure of the book, if you are only interested in a couple of plot threads and characters then it seemingly takes forever until the book circles back to those.)
@@UmbraKrameri very sad that it didn't work for you.. I find GRRM writing style exquisite and I literally devour the chapters... I love his descriptions, specially of food.
@@oscarbautista4156 Yeah, the style was good I guess. I have read it in translation though and I think it decreased the quality somewhat. I might try the original someday (and most likely in audiobook, I just have a hunch that I would really enjoy his way of storytelling better as an audiobook), but I am in no rush. I don't really want to get into the series as long as it is unclear if he can finish it. XD
i started reading king of scars literally yesterday and i’m actually really enjoying it ! i don’t think i can tell you what to do because i JUST started it but idk i really wanted to read more stuff about these characters and ravka and it’s delivering pretty well! btw i love your videos so much you are my favorite booktuber of all times
Nobody will read the entire Game of Thrones series. George R.R. Martin probably wont live long enough to finish them. Which is a shame. It's such good writing.
I read city of bones and LOVED IT and proceeded to beg my mum to buy me the rest of series... and I never got through the second book. Just kept falling asleep. Oops...
I get it! I loved City of Bones, hated City of Ashes but pushed through because I already owned book three - which I loved again! Not saying anybody should read them (too many, not very good) but I'd say book two is the weakest.
Exactly just push through city of ashes. You'll definitely like the rest of the series and the other series of Shadow hunters. It won't be so hard for you as you already know the base of Shadow hunters world
King of scars was SO disappointing. It is not Nikolai’s story- he was a side character in his own story. It was also super boring and repetitive. I would recommend skipping it.
I'm fairly new to bookstagram and booktube and I've seen ACOTAR everywhere. I was so excited to read this book, because the hype is unreal. It's one of the worst books I have ever held in my hand.
![Cody Johnson - I'm Gonna Love You (with Carrie Underwood) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yy9PuYMU29g/mqdefault.jpg)
“I have seen too many readwithcindy videos” made me CACKLE 😂
I'm definitely in the camp of: if you're not enjoying a book then ditch it. No shame! Life's too short and there are too many good books out there.
Literature isn’t just about pleasure, it’s about learning and growing. I’ve read plenty of books I did not enjoy but I forced myself through them and it made me a better writer. It taught me technique. Alot of people seem to base everything on pleasure now, instant gratification, and that’s why writing as a whole is in the position that it is.
@@alb0zfinest Maybe my comment comes across a little flippantly, let me clarify. For me enjoyment does not equal instant gratification. If I was only concerned with instant gratification reading novels certainly wouldn't be a primary hobby. I see nothing wrong with someone saying the read for pleasure, which does not preclude learning and growing. I've struggled with plenty of books and decided to put them aside for a while and then returned to them later and ended up being glad that I did. On the other hand I've picked up books based on recommendations that I realized were simply not my thing at all and in that case had no problem putting them aside and moving on to something else.
@@alb0zfinest what do you mean instant gratification? if i wanted instant gratification i'd be doing anything but reading honestly. because for some of us reading takes a lot of time and i'd rather spend that time on sth i'm going to have a good time with rather then drudging my way through the pages of sth i know full well is not for me. and sometimes reading the synopsis tells me which books are for me other times it's only the first page/paragraph.
@@alb0zfinest 50 pages is my limit. There are far more great books out there than I will ever be able to read. I have a PhD in English, so I have read a lot of books I didn't enjoy. I have read a lot of books I find really interesting without "liking."My DNFs combine lack of intellectual stimulation with lack of fun.
king of scars: i really enjoyed it, however i understand why some people feel let down by it. most of them i think was disappointed in the book because they expected one thing and got something else. i went blind into it and really had a great time. the plot and the pacing have some issues, but imho it is worth reading it. especially for nikolai and zoya's relationship. btw i would call this more a zoya book than a nikolai one.( nina chapters were very slow) if you love the characters i think you should read it, if you love the magic system then probably not.
I personaly love how nina characters developes in the series as well as how we get to know better the side characters of Shadow and Bone.
LISTENN just read the infernal devices. don't read any of Cassandra Clare's other books. Just read this one series. i promise you will not regret it and it will change your life.
No truer words than this.
wisdom
THIS
Agreed
Will i still be able to understand it without reading TMI?
I really liked Vengeful! I wasn't aware of all the negative reviews when I first read it, and I really liked it. However, I will say that I can definitely see what people didn't like about it, but I LOVED the way Eli was explored and I LOVED the whole aspect of science and ahhh, I just really, really adore both Victor and Eli. And Syd and Mitch. Gotta love those two.
thank you for not bashing maas. i absolutely love her books and have emotional connections with the characters, but i accept the criticisms and see them myself. however, whenever people go on rants bashing her and making it seem like trash, it makes me feel like i’m doing something wrong by liking them and it makes me sad
I just finished king of scars and let me tell you YOU HAVE NO IDEA YOU HAVE TO READ IT IT WAS SO GOOD
The language of thorns is actually very good and it's just six stories. I don't really like reading short stories either but I absolutely loved this collection
this was the most respectful anti-tbr thing I have ever watched!
I think you should read vengeful, but having in mind that it is not the same kind of storyline. It isn't the continuation of the story of victor and eli, but how the world moves on after that, with the focus being on other characters and situations. I liked it but not as much as the first one, on the other hand my sister LOVED IT so it may depend on your preferences.
I'm not a Bardugo fan, but the Language of Thorns is great. I don't even count it as a part of Grisha-verse, it's more like Grimm or Anderson stories, fairytales. Most of them dark. And the art inside is Amazing!
King of Scars was one of those books where you love reading it but then go back and question everything
The girl with the dragon tattoo series... My favorite! They are just so good!!!!! On the 5th one now😳
god i loved that series
You can just read the three books in The Infernal Devices series be done with all of her works. They're some of her best.
I HATED City of Bones and dnfd City of Ashes , but gave the Infernal Devices books 4 or 5 stars each.
Sameeee I loved TID but can't get through mortal instruments.
Yess same
“emotions? ew” wow can relate
I personally love the whole shadowhunter universe but yes it is a BIG commitment, I personally also liked King of Scars so if you really on the side maybe try a sample and see if you liked it, that is normally what I do
if you want to give shakespeare a try again i'd recommend reading alongside watching a movie adaptation/recorded theatre performance!!! it adds so much to the story and makes it a lot more fun. i also find it helps with the old english thing!!
I honestly ADORED King of Scars and highly recommend! It doesn't just follow Nikolai and ties the two original series together really well!
Woah you're the first person I hear who said they DNFed The Raven Boys. I did too and I feel so bad because apparently everyone loves it. I really tried to restart it but I just fell into a slump instead 😶
I felt the same way about the Raven boys when I first started I didn't really enjoy it until the second half of the book and now I'm obsessed with the whole series but I totally see where your coming from.
I am thinking about giving it a try.
Honestly Shakespeare wasn't meant to be read, it was meant to be performed so I totally understand why people don't enjoy, or have difficulty reading them. If you are interested in trying again somewhere down the line I would suggest starting with one of the more popular plays Midsummer, Much Ado, or Romeo and Juliet not Merchant.
In King of Scars Nikolai isnt the only main character. Zoya and Nina have the same amount POV chapters. Im not planned on reading the next book because I thought it was disappointed. Not really wanna spoil something, but someone is gonna be back and I hate that. I liked the person in the other books but they shouldn't bring the person back.
I think you should check out Vengeful, I don't think the story in any way detracts from the original so even if you don't love it, I don't see it changing your opinions on the original characters negatively (personally after reading it I liked Eli more than I did in the first book). I do want to add though, that Vengeful isn't really focused on Eli and Viktor's story like Vicious... they aren't the main players in the book as that is taken up by the new characters - Marcella driving the plot forward for the most part.
Vengeful: Yes, Myrcella was really interesting to follow.
King of Scars : Spare yourself... Nikolai is my fav character in the grishaverse but the plot just made me mad, especially the whole let's re-use some previously established dead people... I thought it was lazy. Anyways 💕💕💕💕💕
for me, the king of scars duology is far better than the shadow and bone trilogy. if you're concerned about the focus being too much on nikolai, then don't cuz zoya is featured just as predominantly. also spoiler alert!!
it sets up SoC 3 with an interesting premise so i'd say definitely read it.
The only books I have even heard of that you mentioned are the Game of Thrones series and the Outlander series.
They are nothing alike though often compared.
I am currently rereading Outlander it is an amazing series and you are missing out but that's entirely your choice.
So yeah I probably wouldn't read any of those either nor would I bother even looking them up except for Outlander.
I tend to read Classics and less known series I am typically not into reading whatever is popular at the moment.
Happy reading 📚
Okay you should reaaally read Illuminae, just give it a chance! Even my friend who doesn't understand sci-fi loved it. Other than that, the Outlander TV can be recommended haha 🥰 totally agree with not having to read all the hyped books, I'll have to get rid of a lot of the ya contemporary on my tbr as well 😅
my experience with Shakespeare is that reading it is a horrible experience bc 1) the language is somewhat incomprehensible and 2) also highly contextual, so there’s lots of references that were designed for his audience at the time. my mum always says that watching the plays is the best way to go with Shakespeare.
With King of Scars, for me, Nikolai was the least interesting. Zoya and Nina’s POVs were really good tho. Also the magic world building is being built up more, with more history and explanations. I will say that the disconnect between Nina’s and the others storyline’s is a bit annoying, and fells like you’re reading two books at once.
i'm usually a non-committal person so i don't know how Cassandra Clare got me to want to read all of the shadowhunter chronicles lol i get why you & other people wouldn't be able to go through with it
smart choice about Children of Virtue and Vengeance
Hello Leonie Have you read The Giver by Lois Lowry. It is one of my favorite books of all time and I love Lois Lowry's writing style. It is labelled as for middle grade/YA but I think all adults can read it. I think why some people don't love this book is because one of the concepts is not explained and left ambiguous, and you are left asking how this concept ever came upon in this community. But if you don't think of that too much I think you will enjoy the book.
I am kinda the same with the crime genre. I can't really get into it, but I do sometimes enjoy it on the screen. It is just EVERYWHERE these days, and I do not really get it. Especially the true crime stuff
The only times I read Shakespeare was in school or university but I also have such difficulty understanding it. In school I had to read „Much Ado about Nothing“ and that was actually interesting. But to my understanding that’s also his only play that’s not written in verse. But still I had such a hard time understanding it. And what’s the point of reading Shakespeare when there is no fun involved. But maybe we find the Shakespearean English so hard to understand because English itself is not our mother tongue? 🤷🏽♀️ (I’m German so greeting from your neighboring country 👋🏽:D)
ofc I have no way of knowing but my guess is that you want to read _Vengeful_ so I think yes you should read it and enjoy it even if it isn't a four star. Thx - enjoyed the video - good luck with your thesis paper.
I'll be honest, LBD kinda ruined nikolai in the king of scars. Idk what went wrong but she didn't write him the same way she wrote him in shadow & bone series.
Vicious is one of my favourite books of all time and I also loved Vengeful! It's not as good as Vicious because I just love the plot of the first book so much, but it's still really really good. I think you should try it at least
The plot of Raven boys isn't that much interesting for me (but it reminds me of one legend in my country), but i want to finish the serie because i like some of the characters
I am with you on Serpent and Dove and a lot of books similar to it, especially books that feature abusive relationships. It just doesn't appeal to me. RE: Vengeful, I did read it and enjoyed it, but after finishing it, my screaming feeling was: there should be a third book, it's not finished. So yeah, maybe read it? :D
Ohh I love the idea of this video!! I'm pretty much the same whenever I get overwhelmed with my TBR pile, I just get rid of books I know I won't *love*, but there are still so many books 😅😅 One of my friends keeps recommending me The Raven Boys, and I keep seeing Serpent & Dove everywhere, and I understand you, there's not much appealing me XD (I love Outlander the show, but I'm not reading the books EVER, they're so big 😭😭)
I find it kinda funny that everyone loved vicious (me included) but on Goodreads vengeful (who only got negative results on booktube) has a better rating overall.
Nice video, I DNfed game of thrones around 300 pages I found it a bit too descriptive and detailed. For example it detailed Catelyn Stark just going up a mountain for so many pages lol.
I can sort of relating to how you felt about Adam Silvera, I liked his book "They Both Die at The End" but, I've tried to read his other books but they weren't very interesting at all.
I'm with you on Vengeful! I've heard that people love or hate the the female main characters of Vengeful but... idk I'm still skeptical... Although I loved serena and Sydney 😭
I really enjoyed King of Scars and I highly recommend giving it a go.
I have to admit, the book is not marketed correctly. Although yes we follow Nikolai as a main character, he isn’t the ONLY MAIN CHARACTER. Zoya and Nina play big roles in the book and I dare say they are the stars of the books. This book is empowering, female centric and I loved it so much.
I think you should read vengeful, I myself can't just NOT finish something that I truly like. And at least I can separate the experiences, if the sequel is bad I cant still appreciate the original and just hide the sequel on some dark corner of the mind
I have found that audiobooks are a good way to get through classics.
I won't read it because I'm not interested: Dune, Children of Blood and Bone.
Dnf: Throne of Glass twice. The Raven boys. (Stiefvater is one of my favorite authors, but I don't think this series is for me...)
Series I've started but won't continue: The Mortal Instruments (read four books, but no, no, I won't continue), Millenium trilogy (two books), The Folk of the Air.
Writers I've read but don't want to read more by: Sarah J. Maas, Cassandra Clare, Diana Gabaldon, Shakespare, J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter 7. I won't read the eighth or anything else by her. I'm not interested anymore), Colleen Hoover.
And many more :D
i agree with most of your picks. meaning i'll also not be reading them. except raven boys. and kinda have to read king of scars as i own the physical copy.
and dude i read four leigh bardugo books so far sans ninth house and soc and the language of thrones was the best of them. please read it.
I was the only one to hate Serpent and Dove in my book club. I groaned like every other page. So yeah. It definitely is either a love or an absolute hate.
I loved Vicious and I loved Vengeful. I didn't think it was any better or worse than Vicious, but they were two different books and I guess some people would've preferred more of the same.
English is my second language and I simply cannot follow the ye 'ol English of Shakespeare... but I love watching stage productions. I saw Sir Ian McKellen in King Lear and Andrew Scott in Hamlet and it was wonderful. You can definitly tell those plays are meant to be acted on stage or at least read aloud. I am also steering clear of ASOIF for now at least. I really enjoy the lore and watch a lot of videos about it (theories, backstories, etc) but the series is incomplete, with the next book 'Winds of Winter' having been postponed for 11 (?) years. And not to sound morbid, but the author is 73 years old so with 2 books still to go there's a chance it won't be completed. If the WoW and Dream of Spring do come out eventually I might give them a go...
I don't really plan on continuing reading many of my teenage favs such as anything after City of Angels, Maas, and the Hunger Games. I feel like I have become more critical and cynical which is why I also can't touch YA contemporary. I am with you though on preferring to watch something instead of reading, I prefer to watch my SciFi mostly just for the VFX no matter how bad the plot is, something I wouldn't stand to read. 👀👀I am not sure if I want to finish reading the Storm Light Archive. 🤫🤫 I don't want my fantasy entry card taken away.
I read vengeful and i was really dissapointed 😔
Vengeful did not ruin Vicious for me. It is definitely not as good as Vicious, and my biggest problem with it is the fact that it is unnecessary and brings very little to the table. Yes, we get new characters and yes a really interesting thing is done with one of the minor characters from the book previously. But I would prefer personally if they left Sydney, Mitch, Victor and Eli in the first book simply because nothing was added to them in this book. Just new obstacles, and a bit more backstory. You are not losing anything by not reading it, but if you did I don't think it ruin Vicious for you.
As for King of Scars, I personally love it even though I do say it is not perfect. It just isn't. But even though Nikolai is technically the main, Zoya is more the star if you ask me in this story. You get so much from her character here, so much more understanding about who she is as a person and the way she develops throughout King of Scars I absolutely adore. I also really liked Nina's perspective and I found her storyline interesting. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, and if the story isn't grabbing you then that's fair, but the book isn't solely about Nikolai just like how Six of Crows isn't just about Kaz. Maybe borrow it from the library and give a few chapters a shot and see if it intrigues you if you are really unsure? But if don't have any desire to read the book, then you don't have to. I'd rather you read what you want to read.
I loved King of Scars!
I personally feel like vengeful is better than vicious.
Honestly I know you said you wont but asoiaf/game of thrones is amazing i refused to read jt for so long because i thought id hate it i hated that whole political intrigue and the whole "adult" fantasy but a friend kept reccomending it. I read the first book in a week i couldnt put it down and finished the series (well all published books of the series) within 5 months and have reread them 3 times since they are my life 😂😂😂
I've read them like 4 times too😂😂
Sameee
Yes I'm so sad that she doesn't want to read game of thrones asoiaf, it's sooo good, I remember I read all the books in one week, one day I stayed all night reading bc it was so addictive!
I wish I had enjoyed it this much! It's the only book I've ever given one star lol
I'm still in the denial phase of "I'm definitely going to read these popular books one day even though they're stupidly long series and/or I just don't think I'm going to find them very interesting" and this kinda helped ahahah
Good to know im not the only one who DNF the raven boys
well, to be fair, you're not supposef to READ Shakespeare, you're supposed to WATCH his plays ON STAGE
You didn't hear this from me but-
Outlander the show is wildly different from the actual story. They have messed so much up and combined and left things out and it's just kinda a ✨mess✨ especially the later seasons.
My advice if you ever do want to read it, just audiobook it on double speed lol
I loved Vengeful just as much as Vicious, maybe even more
I was at the library today and stumbled upon the 'A song of Ice and fire series' and was like: nope I won't read them.. too long, too time consuming, the series was enough 😂
But a series I started this week and can recommend: Arkadien by Kai Meyer
It's a fantasy YA novel and very captivating! 😍
Loved Arkadien! 😍 Also Wellenläufer/Wave Runners by the same author is quite good (loved the first 2 books, the third was only okay)
You should read ASoIaF anyway. It won't disappoint you.
Personally whenever I'm intimidated by a long book series I tell myself that I'll only read the first book just to have a general idea.
How about making a video about 15 books that you would read again and why?
I rlly wanna read more but like... school makes reading like not seem appealing for some reason 😂
Conclusion: read books that spark your interests.
yes!
@@TheBookLeoyour awesome I really like you and your practically me inside a girls body❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Every English teacher I have had has stressed that Shakespeare was never meant to be read. Those stories are plays, they were meant to be watched. So I wouldn't feel bad about not being able to get through written Shakespeare, just go watch a production (when the theaters open up that is) or watch a movie adaptation.
In my experience (which is sadly limited so this is more my opinion) I like reading Shakespeare after I watch a version of it. Seeing it performed adds a contextual understanding and going back and reading/translating the dialogue helps me understand it better. It is hard to get through anyhow and I hate the way teachers teach it.
Same thing with the crused child BUT NOBODY UNDERSTANDS
When I was in high school many years ago, they had this series called "No Fear Shakespeare" where they had the old English and then a translation into modern, understandable English on the next page. I know my teachers hated me using it, but it made getting through those stories a lot easier and made the text more enjoyable to read as well. I had to read like five Shakespeare stories in high school and although I would never read another one as an adult, it did make the process better. Not as good as seeing it performed on stage with talented Shakespearean actors, but it helps.
@@adambeeable I would have really appreciated something like that when I was a student. English wasn’t my first language, wasn’t even second but I had to read Shakespeare for my “normal” English class while also trying to learn the language. Needless to say that wasn’t a very enjoyable experience for me, especially having to analyse the text clinging on specific words.
well the thing is that you can't really JUST read Shakespeare..youll have to STUDY MOOFYY SHAKESPEARE!!! ARHG
cassandre clare’s books are my comfort books but yes there are SO MANY
ahh yes I just love her world sm
I loved them a lot when I was in high school and I reread them a couple of times, but in all honesty, apart from the sheer number of them, they're getting ridiculously looooooooong too
Then don't read them all read only one...... then u will read all on autoread bcoz they are amazing
I have just started my TMI series and u guys are making me worried.. I watched the movie and later got interested in reading the book.
I think TMI is not a really good books series, but it's not bad though.
I loved them when I was a teenager, but I feel like as a young adult, I just can't relate to the characters anymore.
I'd reread the prequel though.
If you cannot read Shakespeare because of the old English, "No Fear Shakespeare" series are great! They give you old English on the left page and modern English on the right page. I highly recommend.
Are they available online?
@@shubhamtiwari9472 yes, you can read them on Sparknotes!
@@raoul_alexander thank you so much
Old English is not that hard to understand but it will be impossible if you just dont try at all
@@finlaymcdiarmid5832 So what? It's not like that's important nowadays. If you want to deal with it, fine. If not, then don't.
I died at the "Eww emotions" lol
I have never related to something so bad
If you did ever want to read Shakespeare in the future, I highly recommend watching a play production along with reading. It makes it WAY easier to understand what’s going on & far more interesting. There’s a lot of great productions for free on RUclips!
This is how I got through a college Shakespeare class
@@RealReaderEmily same! The movies made the stories graspable
Exactly, plays are meant to be seen in theaters, it's so much more fun than reading them! :)
I personally love SJM, however I can totally understand why she isn't everyone's cup of tea! I am just a sucker for fantasy romance lol
@Alexandra Masella same I'm on the heir of fire and I'm about to start acotar
Honestly, I loved Throne of Glass, but ACOTAR is not for me
@@sukanyaparashar9474 I really loved the Throne of Glass series after the first book when things stated to unravel. I think she did a great job with the world building in that series. And I really loved ACOTAR and ACOMAF but by AOWAR it got a little too smutty. I HATED the frost and starlight book OMG I didn't even make it half way haha.
I just want to mention for any of you who do like SJM. I just finished the two books that are out in the "Blood and Ash" series by Jennifer L Armentrout. I absolutely LOVED them. Especially the second book.
@@natashagabrielle5984 it wasn't the smut per se that bothered me. She focused too much on smut and forgot to give relevance to the actual plot, that bothered me. Also, I feel like the characterization of most charecters was a bit off.
“No river follows another’s path, though all are made out of water” (Kutb Aibek)
It would be boring if all of us had same tastes
It's really cool that there was 0 negativity in this video ⭐️
I feel you on Shakespeare, probably will never read any of his plays. Another popular book I have no intention of ever reading is "A Little Life" by Hanya Yanagihara, too much suffering, no thank you.
ohh i should ve put that one on the list as well!
Good for you girl, been honest with yourself and no read them just because your a booktuber and you have to agree with popular opinions or been part of the hype just because... 👍
I reaaallly enjoyed Vengeful, I think I even loved it more than the first one. Highly recommend
I’m a native English speaker raised by generations of English professors and I have no frickin clue what Shakespeare is saying 98% of the time.
I have never resonate to another human being this much before
I’m a native English speaker raised by generations of English professors and I LOVE Shakespeare! ❤
I adore Leigh Bardugo’s writing and I thought King of Scars was great. It was just wonderful to be back in the Grishaverse. The book really shapes Nikolai as a character, but it’s not just about him. I loved where she took Zoya’s character as well. That said, if you weren’t a fan of Nikolai in the first place it might not be for you!
I have this feeling about Schwab, and it's her story ideas are great and super interesting so the first book is usually amazing. However. Her sequels are weak and tend to ruin the experience. I thought it was only me but apparently more people feel that way
Sorry but Shades of Shadows > Shades of Magic and Vengeful > Vicious
you should definitely try king of scars! it has others pov's similarly as soc, not only nikolai's one but also nina and zoya as well, and the next book is supposed to be the end of the grishaverse
Yes! I really loved Nina’s POV and thought it was the most interesting aspect for the book. But I love Nina in general, so it was a must for me.
@@Hello_Kristie, i skipped Nina's POV, I found it boring
I didn't really like Nina's POV in KoS as much as I did in SoC duology. I even found that I enjoyed Isaak's POV more than Nina's POV in this book.
Heeey. I sort of enjoyed King of Scars, though plot kinda does have weird stuff. Like, if you love the characters - Genya, twins, Zoya (my queen, my goddess) all come back, so I think you'll enjoy it just because of that. I liked the political plot A LOT, and some new characters are just awesome. I am willing to read Rule of Wolves and I pray weird plot stuff will get logical.
Also, do I do all of this for Zoya? Maybe. So take it with a grain of salt if you don't love-love the characters.
omg not the raven boys 😭😭😭 it’s my favorite lol
I loved the "A Song of Ice and Fire"-series so much when I read it in 2011 but I won't ever recommend this series to anyone, even if they enjoy that kinda thing. Not because I don't think people will like it but I simply cannot, in good concience, recommend someone a series that it is most likely never going to be finished. I mean, there are still two books missing and I've been waiting for almost ten years now and G.R.R.Martin is busy doing a million other things apart from continuing the book, so yeah. I'm just realistic.
Similarly, I absolutely love and adore the "Kingkiller Chronicles"-series but I wouldn't ever recommend it to anyone because it's ALSO been almost 10 years sind the last book. I doubt the next one will come soon. Wait, the "Gentleman Bastard"-series as well...it's been 7 years now. Now that I think about it... why am I cursed to love series that seem to have been abandoned? Why!
Leo: I'm not going to read books by Sarah J Maas
Me: Well... She won't make a mistake that I've done
I adored King of Scars! Zoya is such a queen and Nikolai’s character has some really interesting stuff going on: conflict, development, and the like. The characters have matured a lot because they are several years older than they were in the Grisha trilogy, but they are still recognizable. Definitely recommend giving it a try.💗☺️
If the reason you don’t wanna read any of Cassie’s books is because of how many of them there are. Don’t worry. You can literally pick up any of the series and read them on their own (except for TDA which will spoil so much of TMI) like TID which is a very short trilogy, or the last hours which only has one book out.
I feel you on game of thrones
give it a try... I couldnt care less about the show when it was at its peak popularity... and I had been evading the books for the longest time... I finally gave book 1 a try... GRRM is a genius... he wrote chapter 1 specifically with the purpose of hooking you up... when I read it I knew that I had to continue reading.. and it only gets better.
Me too. I even tried once. I started Book one. I've read like 300 pages and then gave up because I was too bored and didn't care about the vast majority of the characters. (And that was a major issue, because of the structure of the book, if you are only interested in a couple of plot threads and characters then it seemingly takes forever until the book circles back to those.)
@@UmbraKrameri very sad that it didn't work for you.. I find GRRM writing style exquisite and I literally devour the chapters... I love his descriptions, specially of food.
@@oscarbautista4156 Yeah, the style was good I guess. I have read it in translation though and I think it decreased the quality somewhat. I might try the original someday (and most likely in audiobook, I just have a hunch that I would really enjoy his way of storytelling better as an audiobook), but I am in no rush. I don't really want to get into the series as long as it is unclear if he can finish it. XD
i agree, im not going to read a court of thorns and roses, throne of glass or shadowhunters either!
@Alexandra Masella I love heir of fire. I did skip to the Rowan parts tho lol
OMG where are your earrings from? 😍
i started reading king of scars literally yesterday and i’m actually really enjoying it ! i don’t think i can tell you what to do because i JUST started it but idk i really wanted to read more stuff about these characters and ravka and it’s delivering pretty well!
btw i love your videos so much you are my favorite booktuber of all times
Nobody will read the entire Game of Thrones series. George R.R. Martin probably wont live long enough to finish them. Which is a shame. It's such good writing.
I read city of bones and LOVED IT and proceeded to beg my mum to buy me the rest of series... and I never got through the second book. Just kept falling asleep. Oops...
I get it! I loved City of Bones, hated City of Ashes but pushed through because I already owned book three - which I loved again!
Not saying anybody should read them (too many, not very good) but I'd say book two is the weakest.
Exactly just push through city of ashes. You'll definitely like the rest of the series and the other series of Shadow hunters. It won't be so hard for you as you already know the base of Shadow hunters world
Infernal devices got me hooked to shadowhunter world
I didn't enjoy King of Scars that much because of some major plot issues - you're not really missing out
King of scars was SO disappointing. It is not Nikolai’s story- he was a side character in his own story. It was also super boring and repetitive. I would recommend skipping it.
I'm fairly new to bookstagram and booktube and I've seen ACOTAR everywhere. I was so excited to read this book, because the hype is unreal. It's one of the worst books I have ever held in my hand.
I have the same problem with long series. They really intimidate me and I just can not commit to them...
Just watch the Outlander show !! Especially the first two seasons are amazing adaptations
I'm so happy that I'm not the only one who doesn't love SJM books❤