My Favorite Unpopular Books

Last week, I saw an older BooksandLala video where she went through the books she'd read on Goodreads and saw which ones had low average ratings but high personal ratings. I thought that looked really fun and wanted to give it a try!

I didn't find any absolute shockers for this list. The lowest-rated book I gave 5 stars to was SON OF A WITCH by Gregory Maguire, which I read over six years ago and remember nothing about. And in those lower ratings, I found a lot of books I'd rated 2 or 3 stars. Even so, there were certainly some books I expected to be rated a little higher!

First up, THE LOVE INTEREST by Cale Dietrich, with an average rating of 3.20 stars. For a book that I remember being so hyped, I was surprised that it was rated so low! From what I can see in reviews, the consensus seems to be that it was too hyped and didn't quite live up to people's expectations. A lot of people brought up a plotline that I had slight problems with, too, but I really enjoyed reading this and gave it 4 stars.

Next, one that really surprised me: THE UNBINDING OF MARY READE by Miriam McNamara only has an average rating of 3.23 stars! There doesn't seem to be a consensus of why this one was so apparently disappointing. I've been able to recommend this book on the premise of gay pirates alone, not that it doesn't have other things going for it! I didn't totally love this book - I gave it 4 stars - but I'm really disappointed that it's rated so low.

Next is one I understand more: THAT INEVITABLE VICTORIAN THING by E.K. Johnston is another one with an average rating of 3.23 stars. The general verdict from the reviews is something I totally understand: not enough worldbuilding. Even so, I loved the setting and the premise so much that I really enjoyed reading this and gave it 4 stars. I would definitely still recommend it, especially because there's really just nothing else like this out there.
 
Another one I understand: THIS DARKNESS MINE by Mindy McGinnis is the third book on this list that has an average rating of 3.23 stars. This book messed me up. And not everyone's going to be a fan of that! Almost every review that I've seen boils down to "this book is weird," which is totally true. If you're looking for a deeply disturbing Halloween thriller, I definitely recommend this one. I gave this book 4 stars. It's also worth noting that this is the only Mindy McGinnis book I've read that didn't make it onto my favorites shelf.

Coming back to the big surprises: FINAL DRAFT by Riley Redgate has an average rating of 3.56 stars. This book got 5 stars from me and almost got a spot on my favorites shelf. I can't seem to find any consensus in the negative reviews, which just makes me all the more curious. I can understand that it's not a book for everyone - it certainly took some time to grow on me - but I did not expect it to be rated this low.

My last big surprise was 10 THINGS I CAN SEE FROM HERE by Carrie Mac, which has an average rating of 3.58 stars. This is another almost-favorite that I gave 5 stars. It's another one where reviews seem to be all over the place, but I can't really think of anything in the negative reviews that I would have agreed with that much. I absolutely adore this book, partially because it gets representation of anxiety so right. No matter the average rating, I still highly, highly recommend this.

What are some of your favorite unpopular books? Tell me in the comments!