Well, troche that was a seriously fun title. I kept trying to make it shorter but nothing I did made it sound…right. This was the closest. It got the point across and that’s all that matters.

So do you ever go to a bookstore, pharmacy or read a blog or talk to some friends, buy and there is a book that they just won’t let go, and you just have no desire to read it. You’re reluctant and there’s several reasons you could be. You don’t like the cover. You don’t like the name. You don’t do “zombie books”. Its too popular.

Whatever the reason is, you’re just reluctant to pick up a copy and read it. But for another reason, you finally decide to. Maybe you found a super cheap copy somewhere or your friend just WON’T STOP BUGGING YOU ABOUT IT. And you know what, the book surprises you. And it becomes something that you like, or even a favorite of yours.

That happens to me a lot actually. I’m kind of a book snob. I make fun of my boyfriend all the time for being a movie snob but I’m totally a book snob, and I might even be worse than him. I judge books b y their covers and their names. I tend to stay clear of vampires and romances, fallen angels and ghosts.

So I have trouble a lot when people recommend books. I have to really hear good things about it, or be bugged enough about it to sit down and read it. And sometimes, I’m like, “Okay, well that was a waste of my time.” But more often than not, I’m actually pleasantly surprised.

Here is my top ten of those books.

10. The Lightning Thief 

I know, right? I know! This is one of my absolute favorite series, along with its spin-off, The Heroes of Olympus. I mean, how could I ever be reluctant to read it. I don’t know if I thought it was going to be childish, or I don’t know. I just remember that it took forever for me to sit down and read them, and when I finally did, I remember speeding through all five books, plus the first two of HoO in like, a week and a half because I was just blown away. I know that it got a lot of Harry Potter comparisons in the beginning and that also could have been something that turned me off since there really can only be ONE Harry Potter but its more like, if you like HP, you’ll like PJ. And I definitely agree with that. I absolutely loved these books.

9. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father

I LOVE Jessica Brody and I seriously love everything she writes but I must admit I felt a little skeptical to read this book. The cover (both this and the hardback cover) turned me off a bit and I just wasn’t sure how to feel about it, and it sounded weird, and cliche-ish. But I decided to read it because I got it signed and its Jessica and I absolutely adore her. And I LOVE this book. Its exactly what I thought it was going to be and yet so much more. It surprised me with its realness and its humor and I loved the main character so much that even while she was driving me absolutely insane, I still totally wanted to be her best friend. And the whole 52 jobs in 52 weeks thing actually sounds like it would be fun, inspiring and life-changing.

8. Anna and the French Kiss

I hated this title so much. I hate everything about it because it sounded like a fluffy, no substance YA romance novel and it proved me massively wrong. I definitely enjoyed this book immensely but I think the reason I am so glad that I got over my aversion to this book was that it led me to the “sequel”, Lola and the Boy Next Door, which I LOVE so much. I am so in love with Cricket and Lola is just an awesome character. I was pleasantly surprised with how much depth these books had, and that they were so much more than just a fluffy novel. Stephanie Perkins is an absolutely fantastic author and I was surprised and happy that I had read these books.

7. Between the Lines

I purchased this for about 2 or 3 dollars on Kindle about four years ago. It kept popping up as a recommendation and I remember thinking: it looks super fluffy romance AND its self-published so what if it totally sucks. I eventually gave in because I think I had nothing else to read and it was super cheap and I’m so glad I did because she has become one of my absolute favorite authors and a dear friend of mine. This is a four book series and while it has the fun and sexiness of Hollywood (and I totally wish Reid Alexander was real so I could drool all over his washboard abs), there’s all this substance in there. There’s alcohol and drug use and charity work and neglect and abuse and teenage pregnancy and so much coming-of-age-ness. I absolutely love this series, and this author and I’m SO glad I took a chance with this.

6. Unbreakable

The reason I was super reluctant to read this was because I was not a fan of Beautiful Creatures at all. While the premise of this book sounded really awesome, I just didn’t want to be disappointed after BC. I just wasn’t a fan of that book at all. Not my thing, I suppose. But I decided to give this one a chance, based on the recommendation of some fellow bloggers and, again, I’m so very glad that I did. I love this book. Its exactly what I wanted from it based on the description and I think Kami super rocked it. I loved all the myths and legends woven into the story and I love that its kind of like Supernatural, with two hot brothers but its told in the point of view of a girl, who I just know is going to be totally kickass as this series builds. I am counting down the days until book two.

5. Obsidian

I hated the cover, I hated the stupid synopsis on the back. I hate when books don’t even have a real synopsis on the back. Its like “One Girl. One Guy. One Destiny. He’s an alien. She’s a book blogger. Kisses. What will happen next?” Okay, that was so made up right now but you know what I mean. It’s like, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS BOOK ABOUT? And the cover was just, ugh. It only caught my eye because the spine was all pretty and green. Then I met Megan and she convinced me to read it so I went back, bought it and decided to give it a try, and I read the next two super quickly. It’s not super substantial or life changing but its fun and sexy and I love it. Plus it also just introduced me to JLA and I adore her, and I’m massively in love with her Covenant series.

4. The Selection

Again, the cover. I’m such a snob. I judge books by their cover and I was like, this one doesn’t look good in the slightest. But someone, I can’t remember who, told me to read it so I did and it really surprised me with the depth that it had. It had sort of a Bachelor meets Hunger Games meets Divergent sort of vibe. It was very dystopian but it also feels kind of like the Bachelor. I thought America was a well thought out character and that her struggle as a girl in the Selection was so real and raw and familiar. Even though I’ve never sat and competed for the hand of a prince with 20 other girls, I could understand her confusion and her constantly waging emotions. Its such a real book, and I can’t wait til the next one comes out, I’m just dying. Kiera Cass really impressed me and I want to meet her and tell her that.

3. The Hunger Games

I KNOW. I know right? I can’t even…whatever. (If you missed that as a Mean Girls quote, you don’t deserve to read my blog…haha). I read the first two books in the series about two weeks before Mockingjay came out. Again, I’m kind of a snob and everyone was reading it and it was around the same time as the Twilight outbreak and I was just kind of over reading “trend” books, if you know what I mean. I was just so much “too cool” for that. HA! My sister kept bugging me to try it though so I picked up a copy at Barnes and Noble one night and the begged my sister to let me borrow her Catching Fire because the stores were closed and I needed it RIGHT NOW. I remember buying Mockingjay on my Kindle app so I could download it at midnight and start reading. I can’t believe I ever was like, I’m too cool for this because I don’t know what my life would be without this series.

2. Unspoken

I adore Sarah! However, I had read her Demon’s Lexicon and just wasn’t that impressed. But I really liked her, I liked meeting her so I saw this book and was like, meh, I’ll add it to my TBR. I was interviewing some authors and I interviewed her and she was so sweet and so quick about it and I was so happy, and I was like, I have to read this book. I read this one and its sequel, Untold, in about two days because I LOVE this book. I love the main character, Kami, and all her sassiness and I’m madly in love with Jared Lynburn and his dark sexiness, and I just loved the story. I thought everything about it was so fresh and new, and the characters felt new and yet familiar and I was just so in love with this book. It just sort of reminded me that I shouldn’t give up on an author simply  because I may have disliked one book. Another book may completely surprise me.

1. Vampire Academy

I don’t do vampire books. I don’t like this cover. I don’t like the title. The girl reminds me of Angelina Jolie and I’m not a fan of hers. There was so much about this that just turned me off. Every time I saw it in the bookstore, I just made a face and turned around. I seriously have to thank Jade and Stephanie for this, for beating me down and making me read it because now I have a VA tattoo. I mean, that’s how much I am so glad I gave these books a chance. I mean, they basically were like “Sara, shut up and read this book” and I did and I am just…I am so glad I did. The title and cover is still not my favorite at all, but I love these books. They don’t even feel like vampire books. They have so much darkness and romance and action and coming-of-age-ness (I keep saying that, I think I made that up) and I just love it all. I love Rose and Lissa and Christian and Dimitri and Adrian (ADRIAN!!!) and I just love it. I’m so massively glad I read these because now I have a molnija mark on my shoulder and its beautiful.

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What are some books that you were reluctant to read but you did and you ended up liking? Share in the comments!