Five Star Predictions

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! 

A couple of years ago I did a video talking about some five star predictions on my physical TBR. I recently went back and rewatched that video, and I have realized something: I don't actually know my own taste. Also I have terrible time management skills apparently, since I still haven't read half of the books I mentioned. Since I put all of my old videos on private, I'll just list the books I thought would be five stars and tell you if I was right or not. 

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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: I did indeed give this five stars! I thought it was a fantastic book and it really sucked me in from the first page. It also gave me a newfound appreciation for Shakespeare and how it can bring all sorts of people together. The nuances were so well done and I felt so attached to the characters by the end of the book. 

The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden: I still haven't read this. At this point, I'll need to reread the first book in the series, The Bear and the Nightingale, before I can read this, because it's been years and I can't remember a single detail.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by E.K. Johnston: I also haven't read this. I still have it on my TBR--actually, thankfully, all the books I haven't read yet are still on my TBR--but I just haven't been in the mood to pick it up. 

American Panda by Gloria Chao: I gave this 2.5 stars, which obviously is vastly different from my prediction. I feel bad about it, because the story premise was wonderful, you could just tell that this was a debut novel, and the writing reflected that. 

The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab: I gave this book four stars, which isn't five stars but it's pretty damn close. The reason it didn't get five stars is because I didn't enjoy the story nearly as much as I do her other books (all of which have been five star reads) so it didn't seem right to give the same rating when I didn't have the same level of enjoyment. However I did still really like this book! I just didn't love it, you know what I mean?

Wilder Girls by Rory Power: I haven't read this yet. And I don't know if it will still be a five star prediction for me. Like, the concept sounds so cool, and I am really excited to read it, but now that the hype has died down for it, some book reviewers who I trust implicitly and have very similar reading tastes to me have said that they didn't really enjoy it, so I'm going to go in with lower expectations than I would have previously. 

The Meaning of Birds by Jaye Robin Brown: Another four star read. It was raw and heartbreaking and I cried a hell of a lot while reading it, I just didn't like the main character. I found Jess to be too rough and selfish and I hated some of the things she said and did, and that dropped my enjoyment of the story significantly. 

The Tyrant's Tomb by Rick Riordan: See, I think I was cheating for this one, because how could I not give it five stars? Like, I've never not given a book in this universe five stars. So I was definitely giving myself a cheat when I put it on this list. Of course, I loved this book so much, as I always love his books. 

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Still haven't read this one. It's the same thing with Wilder Girls I think, that I've seen a lot of mix reviews for this book and now I don't know which side I will fall under. I hope I love it, but I've heard a lot of things about the book that make me think I won't. 

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Okay, now that I've caught y'all up on my previous list, it's time to get into the new list! I'm not going to put any of the unread books I talked about on the new list, just because I don't think any of them will actually be five stars anymore. My taste has changed drastically in the past couple of years and now I have a new set of criteria I look for in a potential five star read. 

So, without any further ado, here are my (revised) five star predictions!

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir: I have full confidence in Andy Weir. He wrote my all-time favorite sci-fi novel, The Martian, and I did really like his sophomore novel Artemis as well. The reason I like his books so much and I trust that I'll like his new stuff is because he understand physics and doesn't fuck with it when he writes his books. I read an interview he did about Project Hail Mary and he mentioned that all of the extraterrestrial life forms in the book were carefully crafted around how physics would affect them, and I think that's great. I may not be able to do physics on a mathematical level, but I still appreciate it. 

The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune: I feel like this one is a no-brainer, because I haven't seen a single person not enjoy this book. Everyone says that if you enjoy Seanan McGuire's Wayward Children series, you'll like this book. And since that series is one of my favorites, I have it on good authority that this could be my next five star read. 

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor: Yes, okay, I still haven't read this book even though I've had it on my physical TBR for like four years. I honestly think I'm scared of it at this point. But I adore Laini Taylor's writing and I don't think this will be an exception. I just know that it's the purpliest of purple prose, and I need to give myself time and dedication in order to tackle that. 

The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho: Paulo Coelho wrote my favorite book of all time, The Alchemist, so I don't really doubt his other works are just as incredible. It's a goal of mine to one day own every single one of his novels. I have six right now (I've read three), and he's written at least eighteen, so I've got my work cut out for me. But at least I'll have plenty of material to read. 

The Maidens by Alex Michaelides: This is probably the biggest leap of faith I have on this list. I've had a bit of a rotten streak with dark academia, even though I keep telling myself it is one of my favorite genres. I just want to love it so badly. I haven't read his other novel, The Silent Patient, because I don't gravitate toward thriller unless there is another subgenre, like this one. So, I am hoping this will be a five star, but I don't know if I'm putting all of my eggs into this basket, if you know what I mean. 

The Witch's Heart by Genevieve Gornichec: A literary fiction novel about Loki's wife? Uhm, yes please, sign me up! I'm so excited about this book, I've talked it to death on my blog, so is it really any surprise that it made this list? I didn't think so. I will be profoundly disappointed if this doesn't get five stars from me. 

The Diviners by Libba Bray: I know I'm technically cheating again with this one, since I've already read the first book in this series, but I'm talking about this series as a whole. I know I have to reread The Diviners before I can continue on with the series, so I'm just saying that it's going to get five stars (again). Almost everyone I've spoken to that has read and loved this series says that book four is such a let down, but I still have hope, however misguided it is. 

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean: Another wild card but rooted in good intentions. I absolutely adored Emiko Jean's debut novel, Empress of All Seasons, so I know I love her writing. And this book is pitched as "The Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians" which are two franchises I thoroughly enjoy. I can so easily picture myself becoming ridiculously invested in this book, so it's going on the list. 

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Alright, there are eight more five star predictions of mine! Have you read any of these books? Were any of them five stars for you? Do you think I got them all right, or do you expect one to crash and burn for me? Let me know in the comments! Also, once I read all of these, I do plan on coming back and seeing if I was right for them all. 

Until next time!