Posted in Book Discussion

Books I Loved with Low Ratings on Goodreads

So I saw this posted over on Kristin Kraves Books and fell in love with it.
I admit that there was a time I would totally write off a book because of a low average rating on Goodreads, but after giving a few of those same low rated books a chance, I was able to discover some pretty wonderful (to me) books! Had I never tried for myself, I would have never found some of my all time favorite books.
Sometimes other bloggers book reviews would cause me to read books that had low ratings on Goodreads and that’s part of the reason I decided to start my own book blog. Sometimes the general public doesn’t care for a certain book, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be wonderful to someone else.
So, without further ado, here’s a list of some books I loved that received low ratings on Goodreads.

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The Kitchen Boy by Robert Alexander

Kitchen Boy

Goodreads rating: 3.91 / My rating: 5.00

So this book doesn’t have TOO bad of a rating but it’s definitely lower than mine was by a lot. This book was so memorable and supplied such a powerful story. Also, it’s apparently a major motion picture now? So that’s cool and I guess I’m going to have to hunt that down.

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Standing Still by Kelly Simmons

Standing still

Goodreads rating: 3.42 / My rating: 5.00

Ok. Mind you, I was lenient on my ratings back in the day and some of these books I’ve run across are more of a 4 than a 5. But thinking back on this one, it was such a unexpected and powerful story. I’m also unhealthily obsessed with Stockholm Syndrome stories… so there’s that…

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The Goblin King by Shona Husk

The Goblin King

Goodreads rating: 3.65 / My rating: 5.00

I am an AVID reader of paranormal romance. Gena Showalter is my absolute favorite but Shona Husk BLEW ME AWAY with this one. I loved it. I’ve mentioned my love for the movie Labyrinth with David Bowie in my blog before and this book felt like a retelling of that movie and it made me so, ridiculously, irrevocably happy.

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The Mandalorian Armor by K.W. Jeter

The Mandalorian Armor

Goodreads rating: 3.61 / My rating: 5.00

I love a good Star Wars expanded universe book and this one was fantastic. It’s the story of Boba Fett’s adventures after climbing out of the Sarlacc that was thought to have killed him. I loved where this book took the character and I especially loved getting a glimpse into the life and thoughts of one of my all time favorite SW characters.

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Pod by Stephen Wallenfels

Pod

Goodreads rating: 3.52 / My rating: 4.00

I read this book right out of high school and reread it about 4 years ago and both times I was delighted. This book was amazing. It had various story lines and you’re left to wonder how these characters are related if at all. The ending was perrrrfect.

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The Homecoming by Andrew Pyper

Th Homecoming

Goodreads rating: 3.76 / My rating: 5.00

This book was creepy, it was puzzling, and it was chilling. I LOVED IT. Maybe it was because I loved how creepy it was so much so that I couldn’t find the flaws within this one but it was so so good and I definitely recommend this one.

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The Red Labyrinth by Meredith Tate

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Goodreads rating: 3.86 / My rating: 4.50

While I did see some flaws in this book, it wasn’t enough to make me dislike it. In fact, I loved this book. I loved the characters, the world the author built for us, and I loved how relentless the author was with her characters. Nothing was easy for ANYBODY. Some people had to die, some people had to go through tough times… and then she ended on that cliffhanger and I was forever changed. I need the second book… ASAP!

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Before I get to the last book, I want to mention Rosamund Hodge’s short stories. These consist of Situation Normal, Rules for Riding the Storm, Ways of Being A Mermaid’s Daughter, Of Death and Kings, Desires and Dreams and Powers, and But World Enough and Time. These short stories were AMAZING. I loved them. The ratings for these 6 short stories ranged between 3.22 and 3.87 but I feel like they deserved so much more. Hodge has such a way with words and I adore the way she lays out her stories. Which brings me to my final book…

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

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Goodreads rating: 3.72 / My rating: 5.00

All ya’ll that rated this low have lost ya damn minds. My chest is tight just typing this remembering the characters and the story and the struggles… aghhhhhh. This was my favorite book of 2018. It still stands as one of my favorites but The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden sneaked up and stole me away. Still, this is in my top 5 and I highly recommend it. It seems people didn’t like it as a retelling of Beauty and the Beast but if you go into it with an open mind and treat it as it’s own book, you will be pleasantly surprised to find that this is an amazing story. I hope. I mean, it’s magical and I sure loved it.

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Have you read any of these books? Did you like them too notwithstanding the poor ratings it received on Goodreads? Is there a book you absolutely loved that received poor ratings on Goodreads? Holler at me in the comments!

3 thoughts on “Books I Loved with Low Ratings on Goodreads

    1. I was surprised about Cruel Beauty too! I hope you love The Homecoming! I’ve added a few from your post to my “to-read” list as well! 🙂 Happy reading!

      Like

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