Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme at The Broke and the Bookish.
Have you ever grabbed a book solely based on the cover and then when you started reading it was something completely different than you thought? How about the summary left out the main point of the story? I know I've had a few of those, but only a few. I've even opened a book--not expecting much--and it has turned out to blow me away! I won't have ten, but I'll show you my top 3. Let's talk about Books That Were Deceiving!
Have you ever grabbed a book solely based on the cover and then when you started reading it was something completely different than you thought? How about the summary left out the main point of the story? I know I've had a few of those, but only a few. I've even opened a book--not expecting much--and it has turned out to blow me away! I won't have ten, but I'll show you my top 3. Let's talk about Books That Were Deceiving!
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
I love this cover. I was under the impression it was a fairy story. But, it's not. Oh, there is some magic involved! It's an adult book. Women's fiction. It wasn't what I was expecting but it was really so good! I loved being surprised! I loved it!
Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon
Oh dear, I'm not even sure where to begin with this one. The cover shows a fairy and it sparkles! I thought there was going to be a cute fairytale. Well folks, it is not. I'm not a spoilery person but, I'm going to be. She slits her wrists with her glass slipper. Um, what?! Then she jumps off a bridge in the end! I really want to know where the editor was during this process. It was a seriously depressing book. Death by glass slipper. This book was NOT as advertised. I was a bit in shock for awhile after this book. Not what I was expecting.
This is a novella of 3 stories and there is absolutely no kissing in this book. OK, wait--there is a vague description of one the characters had in the past and they spend the whole rest of the story talking about it. So...seriously there wasn't any. A bit of a let down for a book entitled Kissing!
Interesting - that Cinderella story sounds like it's quite a bit closer to the real fairytale than most retellings have come in recent decades. Maybe a cross of the original Cinderella and the original Little Mermaid?
ReplyDelete@Carissa Taylor I'm not sure, but it was seriously depressing. The main character was mentally ill in her old age and ended up killing herself. It wasn't just sad, but mental! You didn't know what was real or not. It was NOT as advertised so I was not prepared!
ReplyDeleteHaha oh that is so strange that there was no kissing in 'Kissing'! I would have been sorely disappointed too!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT: http://www.pocketfulofbooks.com/2012/04/top-ten-tuesday-books-that-were-totally.html
I think I'd have been disappointed if there was no kissing in a book with the word as it's title!
ReplyDeleteI haven't actually read any of these, and maybe it should stay that way!
Tara @ Hey, Tara
Now I am curious....Why title a book Kissing if there is no kissing?!
ReplyDeleteHere's my
Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Were Deceiving. I'd love to have you stop by!
I know!!! Who would have thought there wouldn't be any kissing in KISSING! AH!!!! It's a book of short stories. So who knows? But, it was a big let down.
ReplyDeletewow lol, yeah godmother does sound depressing lol. Thanks for stopping by my blog. New follower
ReplyDeleteyoungadultbookhaven.blogspot.com
No kissing, in Kissing? LOL. How strange.
ReplyDeleteIt can be a bit frustrating when you think a book is one thing and find out it's something else.
I had been intrigued by the godmother book before, now I'm not so sure it is for me. I don't mind depressing, but not at that level! Garden Spells sounds interesting...beautiful cover!
ReplyDeleteJennifer @ Feminist Fairy Tale Reviews
http://feministfairytalereviews.blogspot.com/2012/04/top-ten-tuesday-21-books-that-were.html
I haven't read any of these, but the Garden Spells cover IS lovely. New follower via GFC :)
ReplyDeletehttp://ajarndtbooks.blogspot.com/
I resisted Garden Spells for a very long time (years!) because I thought it was about a witch/witchcraft and that just doesn't appeal to me. Little did I know that it was going to touch me in so many ways. What an absolutely amazing book! I am an Allen devotee now!
ReplyDeleteHa! I'd feel totally let down by a book that CLEARLY promises kissing too!
ReplyDeleteUm, wow. Godmother sounds pretty messed up.
ReplyDeleteThe cover looks like it might be some nice little chick-lit retelling, but damn.
Kissing needs one of those large circle with a diagonal over it, like the no smoking signs. :( Really, I would be disappointed if I was promised kissing and there was no kissing.
ReplyDeleteOkay I totally went bug-eyed on your description of Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story. "Death by glass slipper" - Seriously? Awkward way to retell a classic... LOL.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by! ^_^
Janus @ The Blair Book Project
I don't tend to read a lot of women's fiction, but I actually quite enjoyed Garden Spells!
ReplyDeleteYes! I hear ya. These kinds of book-deceptions make me so mad! (Seldom am I pleasantly surprised.) My example is "Big Girl" by Danielle Steel. First, I thought it would be a romance. It's not. Second, the cover made it look like chick-lit. It's not. At all. I finished it last week and I'm still fuming about it.
ReplyDelete