Ready for another round of Yvo’s Shorties? This time around I will be reviewing two books I actually read this year. Shocking, I know haha. Both are Beat The Backlist books and titles I’ve been meaning to read for a while… The first to finish a series: The Ends Of The World by Maggie Hall. The second from a genre I normally tend to stay away from, but ended up being a more than pleasant surprise: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.
Title: The Ends Of The World
(The Conspiracy Of Us #3)
Author: Maggie Hall
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Romance
First published: July 18th 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books For Young Readers
Finished reading: January 10th 2018
Pages: 320
“You’re a survivor. I’d never wish it on anyone, but you’re just like the rest of us now. Welcome to the world’s worst club.”
I picked up this title as part of my goal to finish more series this year. I really enjoyed the first two books of this trilogy so I was looking forward to it, but unfortunately the third and final book The Ends Of The World ended up disappointing me. Why? First of all, I found there was way too much focus on the romance, significantly more than in the previous books and this took away a lot of the magic of this series. Sappy romance scenes, cliches, love triangle, you name it; this third book is coated with it and I wasn’t happy with that development. Especially since I enjoyed the first books a LOT. The spark that put this series on my radar in the first place was definitely missing in The Ends Of The World and I found there was too much focus on the political side rather than the mystery and conspiracy. The international settings saved this final book for me somewhat, but all in all not the thrilling and explosive ending I was expecting.
Title: The Hating Game
Author: Sally Thorne
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
First published: August 9th 2016
Publisher: William Morrow
Finished reading: January 12th 2018
Pages: 387
“Both love and hate are mirror versions of the same game – and you have to win. Why? Your heart and your ego. Trust me, I should know.”
Spoiler alert: I usually don’t like the romance genre, especially if it involves sexy scenes and love triangles. Was I afraid to go against my instinct and pick up The Hating Game? Hell yeah, but sometimes you just have to think outside the box, jump right in and live a little. Right? And I guess my jump into the unknown has turned out to be a right bet this time. Oh yes, I definitely understand why so many people love this book now. Because even though I’m not into romance and hate both sexy scenes and love triangles, Sally Thorne made me completely forget about that and I had a blast reading this one. Even though there are a lot of cliches in this book and the whole ‘gorgeous, gorgeous, I’m drooling’ thing can get annoying, somehow the dynamics worked and resulted in a highly entertaining read. It’s a miracle, but I here’s the proof I can actually enjoy a sexy romance read. Shocking, I know.
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glad you liked The Hating Game… I agree that it was filled with cliches but it was a fun read. 🙂
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I’m normally allergic to cliches, but sometimes the author is able to make you forget all about them… I was surprised, but The Hating Game was so much fun to read!
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Agree… And sometimes, you forget all your rules and enjoy reading. 🙂
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Definitely want to read The Hating Game!
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I can recommend it!
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I’m planning on getting to The Hating Game soon! I didn’t realize there was a love triangle which actually makes me all the more excited. Love the shortie reviews btw!
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I hope you will enjoy The Hating Game! I wasn’t sure it would be for me, but ended up enjoying it so much better than I thought I would… Kuddos to Sally Thorne for that. And thanks! It’s definitely helped me getting back on track again… I’m going to keep Yvo’s Shorties in the future as to not spam the blog with too many separate reviews. 😉
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I love that The Hating Game was such a good read even though it’s not your normal type of book. You’ve definitely made me want to read it so I think I’m going to treat myself soon. 🙂
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I love it when a book outside my comfort zone is able to win me over! The best feeling… I hope you will enjoy it as well!
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I loved The Hating Game! Although I also like romances I don’t usually like the work romances. This one was entertaining!
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Good to hear you enjoyed it!
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Love The Hating Game! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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Good to hear you enjoyed it as well! 🙂
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I have The Hating Game and can’t wait to read it! I’m not a fan of (graphic) sexy scenes but I do love some romance so I’ll probably like it as well. Great reviews!
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I hope you will enjoy reading it! I’m still surprised I didn’t mind the adult content myself, but between the writing, characters and constant bantering it was a really fun read.
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