Reacting To Negative Reviews of Books I Love Volume 2

You are entitled to your own opinion but you are wrong.

A little while ago I did a post in which I reacted to negative reviews of my favorite books! You guys enjoyed it and I promised I’d do another one, so here I am because I like to suffer. And it’s exam season, so I like to really drive the nails to my coffin and be miserable. YAY!

I am gonna be pulling negative reviews from Goodreads (or some of my friends) of some of my favorite books and then I am gonna be reacting to them. I think this is gonna be sad and fun, which is exactly what we aim for here on Inside My Library Mind. So let’s get into it.

DISCLAIMER: I am using reviews that are available online. I don’t want anyone to be offended and I am just doing this for fun. If we don’t like the same books, that’s great and that’s the beauty of literature. So that’s that! Here we go!

This hurt me on so many levels – Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Goodreads overall rating: 4.29

This is one of my favorite books of all time and I haven’t shut up about it ever since I first read it. It’s one of the few books that can make me cry and it’s so well crafted and has the most amazing characters. Please read it. Here’s my review. And now let’s see how wrong people are:

Leda wrote

“What on earth do people love about this book? I am totally perplexed by its rating here… I found it self-indulgent and in love with its own sense of poetry of sport (or its notions of said sport). The characters were thin and boring, but it was the self-serious writing style that really made me infuriated.”

My reaction: Leda, we love everything about it!!! How is it self-indulgent and also what does self-serious mean? I have no idea. And I actually loved the sports bits and I know nothing about hockey. AND THE CHARACTERS ARE MY FAVE, how are they THIN and BORING? Leda, please, why would you hurt me so much?

I thought it was physically impossible to dislike this – The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

Goodreads overall rating: 4.44

You guys know that I think that Sanderson writes the best Fantasy ever. His world-building is unparallel and he never fails to shock and surprise me. I just can’t comprehend how he comes up with such rich worlds. Love this series to no end. And let’s now hear how someone doesn’t:

Dana wrote: 

I made the mistake of reading this immediately after reading China Mieville’s Perdido Street Station, which is like eating a stale Little Debbie’s cupcake after a slice of the richest, most magnificent chocolate cake you’ve ever had in your life. The characterization was so painful I couldn’t get through it. The premise and the “magic” system are creative, but that’s the only praise I have to offer this book. I eventually threw it at a wall.

My reaction: I do get that when it comes to flowery writing, Sanderson cannot match Mieville. It’s impossible. And the characterization in Mistborn isn’t the best ever, but it’s really not that bad. And like, this is a Fantasy – the whole point is for the premise and the “magic” system to be creative. SO basically what Dana said is that this is great. Knew we’d agree.

Geoff said:

It was when the thief and the mage pulled out a whiteboard and started drawing a flow chart of how to conquer the fantasy kingdom that I realized, wait, I’m just reading some sad bastard’s D&D campaign.

I am not sure what purpose fiction serves but I am positive this is not it.

My reaction: Okay Geoff, that was funny, I give you that. Also why you gotta come for D&D players, what did they ever do to you?

Don’t Hate My Babies, Please – The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Goodreads overall rating: 4.06

I think I would actually die for this book and its characters. I love it that much. So let’s see someone trash it because why not hurt yourself on purpose:

Marguerite said:

But no. It was freaking boring. Not just boring. I like nothing in it. The story, the characters, everything seems tasteless. To me, The Raven Boys is just plain. And I’m never trying another book of Maggie Stiefvater ever again.

My reaction: TASTELESS? PLAIN? I will give you anything but tasteless and plain for this one. How can a gang of maladapted children searching for a dead Welsh king be plain? How many kids like that do you know, Marguerite? Huh? That’s what I thought.

Kate said:

Nope, I can’t do it. I’ve tried but I just can’t. DNF at 26% because I’m bored af and don’t know what the fuck is going on. This is literally one of the most pretentious books I’ve ever read and I am not intelligent nor poetic enough to understand it.

My reaction: Kate! You cannot dnf this at 26%. It’s not nearly as good at that point as it becomes later on. And it is one of the most pretentious books ever. I love it for that actually because I am like that. Also this convo:

– Did you get me notes?
– No, I thought you were dead in a ditch.

is really poetic and intelligent, you are right.

And that concludes another reacting to negative reviews post! Let me know how you liked this, if it was fun for all of you and what you think of these books! Do you agree with me or the reviewers (you know the right answer to that)?

                                                                                                                   

xxx

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