✨ Welcome back to another week of LTB! ✨
Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @Eternity Books and co-hosted by Aria @Book Nook Bits and myself! In this discussion meme, participants get to talk about certain topics, share opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts! Learn more about LTB, past topics and future topics HERE.
This week’s topic is:
Book Hype
Suggested by: Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog
Prompts: Has the hype ever ruined a book for you? Has the hype ever made a book better for you? Do you like lesser-known reads, and finding a gem of a book that no one’s heard of? Or do you prefer to read the more popular, mainstream books? Where are the majority of the books you read, in terms of popularity?
Has the hype ever ruined a book for you? Has the hype ever made a book better for you?
Ruined is kind of an intense word but essentially, yes, the hype has let me down plenty of times before. I get so caught up in everyone’s excitement and love over a book that my expectations skyrocket, and while it always makes me even more nervous about picking up a hyped book, I can’t help but hope that it’ll have the same effect on me as it did on everyone else.
On the opposite side, I don’t think I can really say whether the hype has ever made a book better for me. 🤔 I think it would be difficult for me to really say during the fact because of my enjoyment and my expectation being fulfilled or even exceeded. I think the only way I would really know is if I re-read the book and then realised that it wasn’t as great as I remembered. Even then, would I think that it was the hype that made me love it more than I did? Possibly; but it could also just be me outgrowing the book or author, which happens too!
Do you like lesser-known reads, and finding a gem of a book that no one’s heard of? Or do you prefer to read the more popular, mainstream books?
As a reader, one of the greatest joys for me is finding an underrated gem that the majority hasn’t heard of—and then spending all my time sounding like a broken record repeating how amazing it is and encouraging everyone to read it! I don’t know about you but I always feel shocked when I realize that a book I’ve read and fallen head over feet for isn’t a popular title because I’ve just had my life changed and how is everyone else not feeling the same way about it?! 😂 Probably the second greatest joy though is finding that underrated gem and seeing it rise to popularity over time. It’s so great to see an author’s work finally being recognized, appreciated, and loved by the masses, especially when you’ve already been in the know for a while.
As someone who always gets reeled in by the hype, even if I’m initially reluctant or resistant to it, I’m glad that it hasn’t always been a miss for me but I’ve been “burned” enough times by the hype to not be wary around those ever popular books, especially in certain genres. For example, I find that it’s easier for me to enjoy less mainstream/popular romances (and its sub-genres) compared to lesser known SFF titles. Maybe I’m less picky when it comes to romances because as long as the characters are likable and the chemistry is right, there’s a good chance I’ll enjoy it. When it comes to SFF there’s so much more for the author to get right from world-building, plot, character development, etc. But then you have romance fantasy which is the sub-genre that has let me down the most when it comes to the hype! I know that’s a big statement, but I’ve tried a few of these hyped books in recent times and let’s just say that I had higher expectations that weren’t met.
Where are the majority of the books you read, in terms of popularity?
If I look at my reading list, I’d say the books I read are a decent mix of extremely popular and lesser but still well-known titles, with a few obscure ones thrown into the mix. This is also ignoring the fact that I have piles of popular books in my physical and digital TBR, but they haven’t been read yet so… It doesn’t count, right? 🤭 As I mentioned in my previous answer though, I think it depends on the genres I’m reading because I tend to read a lot more mixed popularity romances vs. fantasies. However, I also pick up popular books in other genres like mysteries and literary fiction but I don’t read them often, so when a book comes on my radar in those genres, it’s usually because of book hype that gets me intrigued!
Don’t forget to check out the other bloggers who joined the discussion this week! 👇🏽
Annemieke @ A Dance with Books
Elle @ Unwrapping Words
Lost @ Chronicles of Tick Tock
Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly
Julie @ Bookflowerpath
Leyre @ Read You Leyre
Yolanda @ Past Midnight
Abyssal Librarian
Rachael @ The Green Tea Librarian
Emma @ Pages of Emma
Melanie @ Melanie’s Book Blog
If I’ve missed your post this week, don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments, and I’ll add you to this week’s list of community posts ASAP!
What about you—has the hype ever let you down before? Do you prefer to read more mainstream/popular books or do you love finding those hidden gems?
dinipandareads 
For me, I often avoid books that are super hyped up but there have been quite a few times where I finally picked up a hyped book and was surprised by how much I loved it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fair enough! There have been some hits for me as well and it’s always a great feeling to know what everyone means when they gush about a super popular book 🙂
LikeLike
This is such a thoughtful and relatable reflection! I completely get what you mean about hype setting expectations so high that the book can hardly stand a chance—it’s like going in already halfway to disappointment. 😂 I also really liked your point about not knowing if hype made a book better until a reread… it’s so true! Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether it was the buzz, the timing, or our own evolving taste that shaped the experience.
And yes to the joy of discovering underrated gems!! There’s something so special about feeling like you’ve uncovered a secret treasure, and it’s even better when you get to watch that little book rise and find its audience. That kind of personal connection to a story can’t be replicated by hype alone.
Also, your take on genre differences is spot-on—romance vs. SFF really does demand different things of the reader (and the writer!). I’ve been burned by romance fantasy hype too, so you’re not alone in that. 😅
This was such an enjoyable read—thank you for sharing! 💛
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aww, thank you so much for your thoughtful responses! 💜 It’s nice knowing people are resonating with what I wrote, especially about the genre differences! I thought it was just me, but seeing other people validate that thought is nice to see. Sometimes romance does get an easier pass for me but I feel when it comes to combining the two for romance fantasy, I just find it so hard to be get the hype! 🤭
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree with you that hype doesn’t ruin a book but maybe sets the bar too high. I am now a skeptic and it takes a lot for me to read a hyped book unless it’s an author I have already read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That makes so much sense! I love discovering new hyped books, but it definitely pays to wait until the hype dies down a bit to see if more mixed reviews start to come out or not. I’ve found that when more mixed reviews come out after the hype dies down, it’ll usually end up being an average or slightly above average read for me, lol. Sometimes I’m pleasantly surprised but mostly not.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the clarification between romance fiction and SFF fiction, because yeah, I hadn’t considered what each genre needs in order to please! I haven’t read a huge amount of the romantasy genre for the same reason, to be honest – a lot of them feel like cardboard copies of ACOTAR, with characters made from wood 😂 So many of them are only hyped up (especially on booktok!) over levels of *spice*, which does not automatically make them good…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I just had to make the distinction because I’ve had such varying experiences with the genres, especially the sub-genre! Hyped romance fantasy has let me down one time too many so I’m always never in a rush to pick them up as soon as it explodes on the scene. I just read one the other day that has been so hyped and I’m like… Really? 😬 Just not for me, maybe, haha. I mean, I’m all for spice but I agree, it doesn’t automatically make a book good and neither does it make the romance epic! 🤭
LikeLike
I’m 100% here with you, Dini! I have tried so hard to like hyped books, but I’ve been burned so many times that I just assume, going in, that I’m not going to enjoy books that receive a certain level of hype. I’m sometimes pleasantly surprised, but often not. I’m apparently just broken enough to not respond to what the majority of humans enjoy. xD
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I’m fully with you there. Maybe I’m too jaded for the good stuff that everyone seems to love but it just doesn’t hit the same way for me, no matter how much I wish it did! 🫣 Glad to know that I’m not the only one on this boat, haha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have to admit, I’ve had a few disappointments in the hyped fantasy romance space – I’m beginning to wonder whether that sub-genre just isn’t for me, for various reasons!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yeah, I have a very love-hate relationship with romance fantasy it’s just… So hyped all the type and it so rarely hits the same for me as it does for everyone else. I’ve been burned one too many times when it comes to this sub-genre! 🤭
LikeLike
[…] Let’s Talk Bookish: Hyped Books […]
LikeLike
[…] Dini @ dinipandareads […]
LikeLike
Ooh I’ve never thought about whether the hype ruins a book for me or not. I think it definitely influences me to read it as I’m curious to know what the hype is about. But I’m very aware not everything is everyone’s cup of tea so if I don’t like it so be it haha. It’s always interesting to see why people like or dislike something. I definitely don’t always jump on the bandwagon straight away as A. there’s too many hyped books out there and B. I only have soo much time / finances available haha. I also will only tend to buy what I’m actually interested in; although saying that if someone who’s opinion I trust recommends something that’s not my usual, I will give it a go, as that’s when you’re likely to discover new things you wouldn’t normally and that can be nice too. It’s nice to find and read those underrated and not so well known books 🙂 xo
LikeLike
Sometimes that is why I sit on a hyped book for a while. Just to let that initial hype excitement die down so it can’t ruin it quite as much. Like The Tainted Cup that came out last year. I didn’t read that until this year just so the expectations would have gone done a bit because the hype about it at the time was ridiculous.
LikeLike