Most Surprising Books of 2017 || Books with Emily Fox

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

What book surprised​ you the most this year? :D

[@yesindeed3852]

BookswithEmilyFox I think the most surprising book I read this year was Red Queen, because I wasn’t expecting anything and it caught me completely off guard. I end up really enjoying myself and liking it a lot. Also, Emma by Jane Austen was a big surprise because I didn’t expect to love it but I certainly did.

[@GrapplingBook]

The Anubis Gates by Tim Powers. I wasn't taken away by the blurb and I often gravitate away from books with time travel elements, yet it proved to be a very entertaining read!

[@amysmith3543]

Big Little Lies was one of my most surprising books this year also!! I hated her other book What Alice Forgot so much, I was sure I would hate Big Little Lies. I couldn’t put it down, I just had to know what happened with all the characters!!

[@ohfortheluvofbooks365]

ACOMAF because I HATED ACOTAR. I hated it so much. The only part I even kind of liked was the second half but everything about it was horrible and slow and I almost didn’t continue the series, but ACOMAF became a favorite of mine. It was very very surprising!!! Also A Map for Wrecked Girls, it didn’t have amazing ratings and I didn’t expect much but I really enjoyed it.

[@BreakfastAtFabianas]

Nevernight!!!

[@emilybonilla7206]

I always thought the original Vampire Academy cover looked like Angelina Jolie

[@mayomassa29]

you really did encourage me to read books that I have low expectation for

[@ashleysigala3079]

Red Queen gets so much better! It gets so intense, and it gets your adrenaline running! The only thing about them is that there are a lot of parts where you may hate the books, but it’s worth it !

[@jothamcadlaon3090]

Totally agree with you but i think king's cage was so dragging.

[@emmavanweert1013]

(I thought) King's Cage was awful.

[@imaginarycosmetics]

I really liked Red Queen and Glass Sword, but King's Cage is definitely the worst of the series so far. I thought this series is a trilogy, so I was really disappointed when the story wasn't wrapped up at the end of King's Cage, but that's my fault I guess. For the most part I enjoyed King's Cage, but the different POVs were pretty annoying, necessary for the story but still annoying. I don't even remember the ending anymore, but I remember that the ending pissed me off so much, that I don't want to read the fourth book.

[@maxx1112]

So true! It honestly gets better. And contrary to popular opinion, I really like King's Cage. Very excited for War Storm, as well! I hope she continues to read the next books.

[@cristinapavel3230]

I actually really loved King's Cage because we get more insight on Maven and he's my favorite character for some reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@asamola]

YES!! Vampire Academy! It gets better with each book. Would recommend for you to continue reading. :) And yes - movie did ruin everything.

[@JanaMorgen]

Vampire academy is one of my teenage favs and I want to reread it this year to see how I developed as a reader. But also because I like was in love with these books.

[@Huldiie]

A gentleman's guide to vice and virtue. I'm not the biggest fan of fluffy romance reads, but I am a fan of historical fiction, so I thought there was tiny chance that I would actually like it. I ended up absolutely loving it!

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

oooo I still need to read Grisha!!! TOTALLY agree with VA! I did not expect to like it as much as I did!

[@HaleyNixt]

100 percent agreed about A Court of Mist and Fury, and I also consider it a standalone.

[@stacisbookishprobs8043]

Red Queen gets a lot of shit but it’s so much fun! The third book in the series is the best so far in my opinion

[@annehartung6511]

totally agree!! the third is my favourite, so I'm kind of scared to read the final book when it comes out, wheps

[@khalifaal-rowaiei4656]

I totally recommend you to continue reading the VA series!!! I grew up reading the books, so imagine me waiting every year for the next release! The books gets better i promise, and it’s full of surprises, twists, and things you won’t see them coming! After the VA series, there’s the Bloodline series, which is spin off, and it’s really good too! Have fun, i envy you as you’re gonna read them with fresh eyes!

[@cintgold]

I like that even when you have heard bad opinions on some books you still give them a chance. Your videos are great, i'm looking forward for what's coming up next year ❤

[@bunnyjanie]

I’ve been binge watching your videos and loving it . I’m slowly getting back into reading

[@skzftw2489]

Glass sword and king's cage(red queen #1 and #2)areee so good

[@linasburrow]

I read VA years back when I was a teenager. I binge read the entire series and absolutely loved it. I am re-reading the series now. Well, as a 24yrs old, I find it a bit cheesy now, but it's still quite enjoyable. You should continue on with the series. I think you will like it.☺ I will also be reading the VA spin off series Bloodlines soon. Hope I enjoy that as well.

[@okim2cool4u]

Great video :) My feelings are exactly the same on the ACOTAR series! A book that surprised me would be Radio Silence. I love it so much.

[@sleepmode8116]

I’m reading a court of thorns and roses right now and really..... ugh not feeling it so your review of the second one gives me hope to continue on! Also I’m so surprised you didn’t speak English 10 years ago!

[@n00bfairy]

I'm the same with Red Queen, I was so surprised by it and now I'm like dreading continuing them even though I have the next two books! I'm so nervous for what's to come even though I really loved it haha! Crazy what books can do to us! There are some good books on this list, totally convinced me to try out the Shadow and Bone books!

[@hellobookss]

Yay for Vampire Academy! I read this years ago and I enjoyed the series so much! I don't know how I would feel about it now, but it is very entertaining, that's for sure :) Anyway, hope you continue on with it! Great video!

[@emmamc6765]

You by Caroline Kepnes really surprised me! I wasn’t sure what to expect from it but I ended up freaking loving it. It was so creepy but Joe’s humour was great and it was different from what I usually read!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

It's such a hard book to recommend but I did like it too!!

[@MarcosFerreira1]

If you leave the cringy sex scenes out, it's a very good book. LMAO. It could have been so much better without them, don't you think?

[@emmamc6765]

Marcos Ferreira omg, that’s so true. I got such secondhand embarrassment from those scenes so I’d kinda blocked them out lmao

[@MarcosFerreira1]

Me too. lmao

[@morganwilliams3301]

Regarding the Red Queen series, I enjoyed the three books ( fourth one is coming in 2018). Glass Sword is my least favorite, but you need to read it in order to gain ground for what all is coming in Kings Cage. So be warned that Glass Sword is not that great. There is a lot of repetition, but if you enjoyed Red Queen, then you will enjoy the next two.

[@gabbyreads]

YAAASSS. I loved Behind Her Eyes, I thought the ending was so unique and amazing!

[@oodlesofbooks]

There are definitely a few surprising titles you added in here, like Vampire Academy. I am planning on reading older books I have on my shelf that are definitely paranormal and vampire like, and I really don't know how I'll feel but I may be surprised like you. Several others have been on my radar and looking forward to reading them more now.

[@mianayanez4071]

I did enjoy all of the vampire academy's six books. Then, I read Richelle Mead's spin-off series Bloodlines and I enjoyed it so much more. Hopefully you consider finishing the first series and moving on to the second.

[@nicolelyn90]

I was also surprised by Behind Her Eyes!! I LOVED the ending!! Idk why everyone hated it so much, I thought it was very original and I actually did NOT see it coming! Glad to see someone else enjoyed it like I did!

[@rileyjean6119]

I adored Red Queen! I can see why some people would dislike it for the tropes, but I've always loved it for the writing style. So happy to hear that you liked it! The second book is really good as well, so don't be too intimidated!

[@ocean9801]

You are going to love the Six of Crows! Well, I really hope you do. It is simply so beautiful and amazing and urgh, I hope you love it because that small series is my absolute favorite. Can't wait to see you're thoughts next year

[@melrose985]

I loved behind her eyes!! I read did during the summer...and that book stuck with me. I was not expecting it at all

[@anushkasharma7088]

This popped up in my recommendations, I've been following you more than a year now and I didn't know you too loved Red Queen :')

[@Robin-vf4wh]

The Grisha Trilogy made it on my most surprising list this year too. It was the first YA series I read since I was teenager and had really low expectations - but I wanted to read the Six of Crows books because everyone raves about them! And I was super surprised with how much I enjoyed them! It definitely had some cringe/eye-roll worthy moments, but the magic and villain were really well done.

[@gabrielafernandes9052]

if you liked grisha trilogy you will love six of crows!!!! and now we have to wait until 2019 for king of scars :(

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

It's on my list for 2018!

[@ayakox3]

I had similar feelings about ACOTAR series! I didn't like it the first book, ACOMAF was so goooood and the last one was super meh!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I'm glad I'm not the only one feeling like that!

[@thesonicmaestro]

kicia the last book lmaoo

[@ayakox3]

rc_kunoichi haha okay you know what I meant 😂

[@brianna3318]

it’s interesting that thanks for the trouble seems to be popular especially when we all looked up missed the bar completely.

[@camilalecaros7171]

The book that surprised me the most this year was Six of Crows, I wasn’t expecting to like that much because I had never read a heist book before but it became of my favorite books ever!

[@lexysue9556]

vampire academy gets so much better as it goes! power through! i personally adore this series. i’m a sucker for vamps though.

[@jodisheridan5223]

Red Queen also surprised me-I really enjoyed it. I like them all. I don’t think it gets worse and I don’t think it gets better. Make sense? 😂

[@maxx1112]

My most surprising read this year is This Savage Song Duology. I jumped into it without really expecting anything because it was my first book of Schwab and I ended up loving it. One of my most favorite reads this year, honestly. I really recommend it :)

[@gabbysoria2865]

Glass Sword is very repetitive when it comes to Mare, but it's overall a good book. I think the good parts definitely outweigh the annoying parts. It'll deifinitley give you an idea if you want to continue with the 3rd book though.

[@maryseneverwithoutmymascar6672]

Red Queen was my first book of 2018 and I was so pleasantly surprised! I can’t wait to read the rest of the series.

[@gracefulbooks7320]

Yes. I'm so glad you enjoyed Red Queen. The Red Queen series is one of my favorites. Though the second book is a bit on the slow side in comparison to the first one. But the third book is fantastic in my mind and was very good. Either way I'm super excited you loved the first one.

[@lisa-tanayazwerger7059]

The second and the third book from red queen are also great. I love them

[@hubawuba628]

YESSSS EMILY!! Please continue the vampire academy series! It gets better and better!! ☺️♥️

[@lenny7003]

Big Little Lies was a massive surprise to me this year - I went into it the same way, thinking it was just a fluffy, 'mum' (ie, books I could recommend to and talk to my mum about, lol), beach read, but I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. And just wanted to talk to everyone about it! My poor suffering boyfriend!

[@martinagjyzari8197]

Yes. Yes. I have the exact same feelings for VA. I went into them with very low expectations and now I loveee them. You should absolutely read the rest of the series. It just gets better though I don’t think I like the ending that much.

[@MysticsLibrary]

Shadow and Bone surprised me as well. I had pretty low expectations of it after hearing what other people had to say, but I actually really enjoyed it. I haven't read the other two in the trilogy yet, but the first one was great.

[@charityyoder9028]

Biggest surprises: *If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio. 4-4.5 stars. I knocked it down because of the Shakespeare quoting. *Dramatically Ever After by Isabel Bandeira. It's a companion novel, and in the first one the MC in this drove me nuts. She was a horrible friend (and kind of still is, TBH).. But I enjoy hate turned love romances and this one was just my kind of thing. 5/5 stars, hands down. *I am with you on Big Little Lies. Rich people with petty lives don't generally interest me. However, adding murder... a bit more interesting. 4/5 stars.

[@Alexandra-dd5du]

I just finished the audiobook of "Big Little Lies" and I was also pleasantly surprised at how fantastic it was! It ended up being one of my favorite books of the year!

[@cynthiadesgagne8548]

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg. It's a children's classic that I had never heard of, but I needed an X for the A-Z Readathon. It was amazing! (And it's a good thing I didn't read it as a child or I too would have run away to live in a museum!)

[@GirlOnFireEee]

I kind of thought the same about Red Queen so I was really excited to read Glass Sword. The first half I found a little annoying but overall enjoying. But then it got really repetitive in my opinion so I DNFed it. However, you shoul try it and see for yourself, but lower your expectations as much as possible and I really hope you like it more than I did. As far as Vampire Academy goes, it still has some tropes but I've read the first three and I think the world building and the character's development is expanding in each one. Like the first one, the second and the third are very fast reads and are perfect if you feel you're getting into a reading slump. With that said though it's always better to not have any expectations at all :D

[@goneherondale]

I looovvve the honesty in this video, totally gonna subscribe!! I actually find most of your opinions very convenient to mine lol which is unusual because I rarely fine any youtube like that!

[@anamark7064]

Liane Moriarty has this special "unable to put down the book" kind of writing. Been hooked on Truly Madly Guilty for few evenings in a row.

[@shubhang1]

I love VA, please do continue the series!

[@vavila16]

Night Circus surprised me! I mainly read adult high fantasy. Also, The Queen of the Tearling shocked me! Good writing!

'Kill Order', prequel to the Labyrinth series, was the biggest surprise for me. everyone was saying that it's really really bad but..girl, i loved it! i like it more than the original trilogy.

[@littlebookbin]

What most surprised me was you liking red queen, I still have to read it

[@kaitlint05]

I read all the Vampire Academy books in back junior high, I don't think I understood everything back then, so I'm considering giving the entire series a reread!

[@nadaali1900]

The sex scene in the library thing is on a court of wings & ruin not acomaf i believe (which makes the second book better)

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Yes someone else mentioned it! My bad! I still think the sex scenes were cringy but I don't like them in general :/ Otherwise ACOMAF was good!

[@yinyuejuns]

Red Queen was pretty okay, and I was excited for the second book but it ended up disappointing me so much. The ending just annoyed me, it felt like the whole action until that point was for nothing. But you can read it, give it a try.

[@AoiSora603]

I agree with Red Queen! I read it on the heels of Snow Like Ashes (omg UGH), and when it first started I thought “Well, here we go again, one way ticket to SUCKTOWN” but it totally surprised me! It wasn’t my favorite, but I enjoyed it! Book 2 was great as well. Book 3......dragged a bit. It didn’t get pick up until about the last hundred pages or so. But on the whole, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the series.

[@alina7973]

I agree with Shadow and Bone and Red Queen... A lot of people hate on them, but they're still super entertaining and interesting! Also, can't lie, I liked sharing a name with the main character of SaB... Not something that happens often, lol!

[@MeSimoneI]

I definitely prefer Six of Crows to the Grisha trilogy (I've only read the first one but I'm lumping them together) but I still really enjoyed it. Glad you did too :D I have Red Queen on my shelf to read but I've been putting it off because of all the chatter around it. Maybe I'll finally pick it up now!

[@shamrinmohaiminisarah9028]

I finished VA series this year and this is one of the best YA series I have ever read I love love love it!

[@qualifiedarmchaircritic]

To be fair, if I'm correct, Zelda is actually a Turkish name (at least I think so, 2 of my 3 Turkish friends are called Zelda). But I am guessing Zelda in Thanks for the Trouble is not actually portrayed as being from Turkey, which is kinda disappointing? I haven't read the book though.

[@ACourtofCrownsandQuills]

Emily, what did you think of Theft of Swords? I see it on your shelf. I just received it for Christmas but haven’t started it yet. :) Also agree with Big Little Lies. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked it!

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

I haven't read it yet but I'm hoping to in 2018!

[@HooptyHoops]

BookswithEmilyFox Theft of Swords is on my favorites shelf...the end of the trilogy has the best ending of any series I've read! Read the entire trilogy!!

[@anarchist_cat]

If you want a good twist, I recommend Dangerous Girl by Abigail Haas

[@imyimane5421]

I think the book that surpised me the most this year is One of us is lying. I didn't excpect to like it because its premise screams ya cliché, but i really enjoed it. Definitely a surprise read!

[@fairlyoddvic4734]

Imy Imane I actually checked that one out at the library. I just haven't read it yet as I checked out 4 other books.

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

Agreed! I listened to it as an audiobook and it was good! I gave it 3.75 I think! Kinda breakfast club murder mystery!

[@imyimane5421]

BookswithEmilyFox yes exactly! I gave it as well a 3.75-4 stars, it really did surprise me

[@imyimane5421]

victqrius i do recommend it! It is still very cliché at parts and it might not be an excellent read but it was very enjoyable.

[@xoHAUTEGLiTTERS]

Imy Imane I listened to the audio book on Emily’s recommendation and couldn’t believe how much I liked it

[@AldaMrkreNielsdottir]

I loved Red Queen but the sequel, Glass Sword was super disappointing, and I still don't know if I'm going to pick up the rest of the series, but I think with a series like this you need to read the sequel and make up your own mind about whether or not it gets better.

[@justbelievelt21]

Emily! You should read The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah and Those Girls by Chevy Stevens! I really enjoyed them. They're suspenseful. I read The Kind Worth Killied on your recommendation and I loved it. Maybe you'll like these too (:

[@zahranejad6192]

I read The Glass Sword (the sequel to the Red Queen) and I have to say i did not like it at all. I loved the Red Queen, but Glass Sword was so slow and boring and nothing really happened, plus I ended up hating Mare because she is just so annying! However, I've heard that the third book is much better so maybe give it a chance?

[@crazybooklady2104]

I loved red queen. Currently reading a court of mist and fury right now. Vampire academy was ok. It's cool how you can speak two languages.

[@sarahwood991]

My biggest surprise was Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. I was expecting a light, funny book to read during exams but instead I found something deeply thought provoking and beautiful(but still hilarious).

[@spaceforbooks_2115]

I enjoyed Red Queen but couldn't get past the first 60 pages of Glass Sword since everything about Mare's character became intolerable. I don't know if I just read it at the wrong time but I had to DNF the book

[@anajimenez8353]

The Red Queen series just gets better and better

[@SarahEsmaeWolfe]

I love Red Queen! The second book is my favorite.

[@JennV-B]

This Salvage Song was a surprising hit for me! I know it's hyped up but judging by the synopsis I didn't think it was one that I was going to like. Then I saw it on Book Outlet for really cheap and thought why not? I ended up ordering the second one as soon as I was done because I really wanted to continue the series. Although I have to say I liked the first book more. Red Queen has been in and out of my cart more times than I can count lol. The reviews are so mixed! I'll probably order the next time I place a Book Outlet order though :)

[@TheKris47]

Apparently this is an unpopular opinion in these comments, but I do think the Red Queen series gets worse. The third especially annoyed me so much. But at this point I’ve read most of the series so I probably will read the next one when it comes out.

[@megseccles]

TheKris47 agreed. I liked the first half of book 3 but the second half is so blah.

[@SignedbySanne]

I really enjoyed the first, really didn't like the second and stopped reading the series after that one..

[@biancab.arzanmontanez5286]

I loved the first one, hated the second one and gave 3 stars to the third one.

[@someone878]

And then there's me who loved every single book to death xD

[@theshinythings123]

Most surprising is Shatter Me. Turns out love triangles don't bother me much. I really liked Shadow and Bone too, but haven't continued yet. I also liked vampire academy.

[@Isabelllyrics]

The Red Queen was the most surprising series for me. I was not expecting to like it as much as I did, and I ended up loving the entire trilogy.

[@kclantz]

YA contemporaries in general were surprising to me this year. I have always been a die hard fantasy person, hardly reading YA contemporaries even when I was a teenager, but I was pleasantly surprised when I branched out this year. Most of my favorite reads of the year were contemporaries, and I'm hoping that trend continues into 2018!

[@katiespickard2335]

I enjoyed Glass Sword and King’s Cage, but I thought Mare and the whole “chosen one” trope with her got really annoying, but I did still enjoy them!

[@ScarletClarity]

Kinda shocked about Vampire Academy, not gonna lie :P But to each their own and I absolutely believe that some tropey cliche books still have some redeamable qualities to them sometimes! :) That being said, I have no idea how you got past the main character being so self obsessed and female-hating :/ I honestly couldn't even finish this one!

[@porcelainturquoise]

I wasn't expecting myself to really like ACOMAF but that's what happened. Take out the sex scene (which was cringey anyway) it's really gooood. And I need to read the 3rd book of Vampire Academy soon! Actually been avoiding Red Queen because of the negative reviews, well looks like I'll have to give it a go now 😆

[@savannaramsfield3380]

Glass Sword, the second book in the Red Queen series is not bad, but the third one Kings Cage it does slow down a bit, as least for me it does.

[@Kellas_Kat]

Lol! Fun fact: The Vampire Academy movie was "reviewed" on one of my favorite podcasts called How Did This Get Made. It's a comedy podcast that rips on bad movies.

[@MichaelaWagner]

I had the same experience with Shadow and Bone!! I read it after Six of Crows, and I like it more!

[@angelavillano7107]

i feel so blessed. u literally just uploaded like yesterday. damn thanks so much legit

[@BookswithEmilyFox]

There's one video every day until the end of the year! :D

[@meganharris6188]

The Red Queen does get better. The second one Mare is pretty whiny still but the third one (the second half) is amazing !

[@gabrielejuce4100]

Speaking about Acotar series (I still didnt read it), if you hate the first one and love the second one - the same thing is going to happen with Trudi Canavan trilogy about Dark Magician. The first book was sooo bad and boring and so plain. I even regreted that I bought all trilogy at once. But the second and the third books were so great. I easily fell inlove. I saw first book on your TBR. My advice is dont give up after reading the first one.

[@kittymagica6408]

Question: would you recommend "Vampire Academy" to someone who liked the MC in the movie? She was the best part of the movie and I heard someone say she's more like Jace from TMI in the books and. . . well I hate him with a burning passion.

[@LyraValley]

There's just one thing I don't understand: Why would you read books that you're not expecting to like? I mean, I wouldn't want to waste my time on a book I think I wouldn't like when there are so many books that I think I would like.

[@goticrose]

The books of Stuart McBride suprised me this year!

[@KeriJo12]

"The Black Wolves of Boston" by Wen Spencer really surprised me, and I was incredibly sad when I realized the sequel hasn't been published yet! Very interesting characters! One is a 300 year old vampire with a hoarding problem. :) The other one that really surprised me was "Daughter of Dragons" by Jack Cambell. Seriously, I didn't even realize how much I was interested in it until I just read the second book. At least 65 books between the first and the second and I still remember exactly what happened!! Great characters! I also agree on "A Court of Mist and Fury." I marathoned those books. ACOTAR was okay, ACOMAF was AMAZING, and ACOWAR was rather disappointing and annoying.

[@byersjul]

You should do a best audiobooks of either all time or this year, since you seem to listen to some audiobooks.

[@leticiatoraci9855]

We have so much the same taste in books, I also made the mistake of watching the movie of Vampire Academy after reading the first book and now I don't feel like reading the rest of the series. lol

[@Helgacabbage]

I liked A Court of Thorns and Roses because I could tell that the Tamlin relationship was unsettling on purpose, especially as it was so much easier to like Lucien. I was already intrigued by Rhysand from his behaviour during the trials Amarantha set for Feyre and wanted to know more about him, so this trilogy was everything I'd hoped, but I agree that the second book is by far the best. I would have hated A Court of Thorns and Roses if the romance was meant to be taken at face value. I also love Liane Moriarty, my favourite by her is Big Little Lies but I also loved What Alice Forgot.

[@AliCatWrites]

I think my most surprising book was IT. I thought I’d hate it because I’d tried to get into King before and couldn’t. I didn’t hate it, but it feels wrong to say I LOVED it. It was disturbing, and then it gets to that part...you know the one; the part that makes me think King needs to be on a federal watch list because Jesus.

[@ManiacalReader]

I want to read The Grisha trilogy this year, and I really like The Vampire Academy series.

[@emma748]

I think that it is worth it to continue with red queen, it does get worse. Mare gets even more annoying and it’s kinda boring and cheesy, but if you’re in the mood for an quick, entertaining read, then I recommend it.

[@Isilana]

Read the old six book of Vampire Academy. I'm really not into vampire but it was good. Not perfect. But I really enjoy it.

[@karleenburns7291]

I think my most surprising read of 2017 was the woman in Cabin 10. I read it out loud with my boyfriend who isn't a reader and we had a really hard time putting it down!