Liked it a lot better than expected
586865
I'm leery of modern Bible translations, but found this to be a good one, reads a lot like New King James Version.
4544559
This movie was actually a lot better than I had anticipated. There where some great actors cast, and the story behind how Facebook came to be is quite surprising. The view of the movie is some-what of a flashback type which can definitely get confusing at times; just a head's up.
2283657
Liked it very much... Much better than the First one.
3063326
I got this for free, and was really surprised at how much I liked it.  It was funny, my first thought is that it's an office romantic comedy.  But it took a turn somewhere and it became more.  There's drama, a sweet romance and a scary (warning, violent) scene as well.  But it's really good and I'm glad I found it.
1278005
My husband very much wanted to see this movie.  I thought it looked pretty stupid, but I decided to watch it with him anyway.  It was actually pretty enjoyable.  Not too goofy, not too gory.  There are funny parts and the acting is much, much better than expected.  Give it a shot, even if you are skeptical.
2824210
With all the hype and hysteria surrounding this book, I really expected it to be a disappointment.  It wasn't.  I'm a fan of the books and movies (although I'm not a freaky, dress up in character, kind of fan), and I've enjoyed most of them.  The darker the story got, however, the less I enjoyed it.  I expected this one to be pretty dark, and it was in spots, but it certainly redeemed itself.  I enjoyed it tremendously.
658270
Loved it, it was a lot prettier when I got it, I was pleasantly surprised.
4552913
Much better than I expected.  I clicked on the book to purchase accidentally but ended up enjoying it much more than I thought I would.
915501
I didn't know what to expect but it was better than I thought it would be. I really had a problem with Sawyer though. I didn't like him. But in away that helped making the story more interesting. It wasn't a sweet read. At all. No giddy feelings. But it caught my attention and I'm glad I picked it up.
688787
It held well thru the whole day, better than I expected
562318
I liked this novel much more than I expected. It is a bit episodic, and the character of Satan/Jeremy is a bit less intelligent and much more petty than I'd expect. But the denouement is fantastic and delightful
4658999
I had read several reviews on this site complaining that this book was somewhat trite and not as good as "The Kite Runner", so I was a bit biased against it when I picked it up. However, it's a lot better than I expected, and I really enjoyed it.

There's a genre of books involving abused women escaping brutal, piggish husbands that I've gotten bored with, for example, Amy Tan's novels like "The Kitchen God's Wife" and "The Joy Luck Club". After a while they start sounding repetitive. I'm not arguing with anybody that domestic abuse is a real and serious problem - my high school friend's father used to beat up her and her mother - but there's only so much mileage you can get out of it on the literary front. People don't primarily read novels to "educate" or "enlighten" themselves, but for entertainment; education is secondary.

However, Hosseini's writing is good enough that it's not JUST the same old story of saintly victim/devilish husband. The descriptions of Maryam and Laila's respective childhoods and the development of their relationship with one another are interesting enough to add some "meat" to the book. The one thing I think the Maryam/Laila interaction is missing is the total absence of humour. Not that they had a life that was funny at all, but in the sense of "black humor" or "gallows humor" that people in bad situations use as a way of commiserating.

Also, it's generally fun to read about everyday life in cultures other than the middle-class Southeast Asian I was born into or the middle-class white American I'm familiar with.

What really scared me was when Laila and her childhood friend Tariq were introduced. Given that most readers of this book have probably read "Kite Runner" I don't think it'll surprise anyone to say that I instantly assumed that something horrible was going to happen to Tariq. In spite of my assumption, it's nice that there was a happy ending, but in some ways Laila's rescuer was something of a deus ex machina too, although Hosseini justifies it.

Aside from this single plot hole, it's a good book overall and definitely worth reading.
2728428
It was better than expected. I read it comfortably and pretty fast. Liked Laney's character...BUT. I expected more, especially reading the next books. For being so strong and a daddy's girl kind of tomboy, she gives too easily to Dane. And although she was in a predicament and hesitated, Evan was too easy with her, so was the people back home. I expected more doubt and more reassurance afterwards. It doesn't make sense to me that she's a competitor and independent girl, but accepts almost anything from her boyfriend and doesn't think back to gain things on her own (like her first apartment), plus Dad says close to nothing about the trips and duplex. Overall it was cute, endearing and entertaining. I'm enjoying the others in the series.
129811
LIKED IT WELL MADE FOR THE PRICE, LARGER THAN I EXPECTED
1783452
I enjoyed it more than I expected. The author's story flowed and I found I hated to put it down. I liked Chey, Mattias, and Sander's characters and found myself not sure about who I wanted to see her with most. The women aren't that likable and many of the characters besides these three are left under developed in the Royal Family and frankly that's why it's only a 4 star and not a 5 star for me. But the two Princes Chey spends time with are great characters and they'll leave you wanting to read more. Nice twists and suspense.
2518459
Better than expected. Hooked me pretty quickly ,good story .
1530518
Had low expectations of it, but it was more enjoyable taht I thought.
While no masterpiece by any means, its also not as bad as some people seem to think, though that in my own opinion of course.
If your intrigued, go for it. Good bit of entertainment.