7 Books I’m Pretty Sure I’m Going to Love // Five Star Predictions, Wonderings, & A TBR Taller Than Me

Nothing like starting off the new year with high expectations, right?

Okay, that may not be the most common saying ever, but we’re using it today because it’s time to take high expectations for the new year to the next level. Now that we’ve gotten all the it’s-a-new-year-and-a-new-decade posts written and published, I think it’s time to finally partake in a five star predictions post and set some specific reading goals for the next couple of months.

I was inspired for this post by Caitlin (she’s amazing, go stalk her blog right now, please), and when I did a little more research on this I discovered that it’s a thing that a lot of people do. I have to say, it looks like so much fun! I never use TBRs, so this is a new thing I’m trying here.

My hope is to share around five or six or more books on here that I’ve heard good things about and have high expectations for, and then I’ll make an effort over the next few months to read these books. Then I’ll do another post checking in and I’ll be able to see just how accurate my five star predicting abilities are. I’m using my recently cleaned out TBR to write this post (I cleared off 77 books off, are you proud of me?), which makes the whole thing even more exciting.

Without further ado, on to the predicting!

I really just have to say, if I don’t completely fall in love with Call Down the Hawk, by Maggie Stiefvater, I will be very disappointed. So of course this had to be the first book I talked about in this post.

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: I have to remind myself that this is not the Raven Cycle, so I’m trying not to base my expectations off that. However, it does have some of the same characters (with the addition of new characters, to my understanding) and that is…exhilarating. Please, please, please let there be Adam/Ronan moments. I already know I’m absolutely obsessed with Maggie Stiefvater’s writing style, and she hasn’t disappointed me yet so- I have high hopes!

If you’re active in the book blogging community and read blogs centered about YA novels, I guarantee you’ve seen Frankly in Love, by David Yoon, and chances are you’ve either read it or it’s on your TBR. Unfortunately, only the latter is true for me, but I hope that changes soon.

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: First of all, the synopsis of this book sounds like it’s screaming my name. I love a good YA contemporary romance, and when there’s fake dating involved, of course I’m instantly interested. Secondly, I’ve heard a ton of great things about this from bloggers whose reviews I really trust and usually agree with. Third, look at the cover. You can’t judge a book by its cover…but sometimes it doesn’t hurt at all.

I’m cheating a little by putting this one on my supposed TBR because I got it for Christmas so if I don’t read it in the next month or so, I’ll be severely disappointed in myself. I’m definitely making things easier for myself by including this one, but it’s worth it because I really am looking forward to A Very Large Expanse of Sea, by Tahereh Mafi.

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: This book just looks so good! Not only have I seen people praise it (thank you, Goodreads reviews for naturally sorting my friends’ reviews to the top of the review section, I really appreciate this detail), but it genuinely sounds like a captivating story. I have not read enough books with a Muslim protagonist, so I’m looking forward to it! Overall, this book sounds like it’s a recipe for five stars, so that’s what I’m predicting.

Unless you are living beneath a slight rock (well, that sounds mean, maybe just a little pebble) or are new to book blogging, it’s pretty likely you’ve heard of The Boy Who Steals Houses or about the books C.G. Drews has written. I would say they’ve made a big splash in the blogging world, and rightfully so!

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: I genuinely loved C.G. Drews’s debut novel, A Thousand Perfect Notes, so I have no reason to assume I won’t love this one just as much. The synopsis sounds amazing, there are Hufflepuff vibes and siblings and family dynamics and love of all kinds and it just sounds SO nice and cozy and like the ultimate Olivia Book™. The only thing keeping me from having already read this is the fact that acquiring it requires ordering it online, and I always forget to do that.

Oh look, I’m semi-cheating again by putting another book on here that I also got for Christmas. Ladies and gentlemen (pun intended), I’m finally going to read The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, by Mackenzi Lee. Cue the applause because I’m like two years late to this hype.

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: I just feel like this book has everything I could want in a novel. I’ve been really wanting some historical fiction YA novels ever since I fell in love with My Lady Jane, and honestly, with characters named Monty and Percy, what could go wrong. The adventure plot sounds so grand and something that’s going to keep me entertained and just be !!different!! from all the YA contemporaries I’m always reading. Not to mention there’s a lot of hype surrounding this book for me.

I feel like I’ve been wanting to read this book for forever now, I just never actually take initiative, put a hold on it at the library, use a gift card to buy it, or do anything that would ensure I actually read it. So this is me reminding myself that it’s going to be amazing (I think) and I need to read You Asked For Perfect, by Laura Silverman.

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: Just by the synopsis, I can already tell the chances of me enjoying this book are extremely high. I also think the messages about school and the stress it puts on students will resonate with me, and I’m more likely to rate a book higher if I feel connected and passionate about the issues the story talks about- which I do. Plus, it looks like there’s going to be a soft romance that I’m pretty sure I will be 100% be behind. Basically, I have a feeling this book will live up to its cover.

Olivia is putting a fantasy book on her list and she thinks she will give it five stars? What universe are we in right now? Oh, yes, of course- the one where she adored Six of Crows and now can’t wait to give Shadow and Bone, by Leigh Bardugo, a chance as well. Is it smart or absolutely dumb of me to read this after reading SOC, someone help.

Why I Think It Will Get Five Stars: I’m basing this off the fact that I had such an amazing experience reading Six of Crows, also by Leigh Bardugo. I think if I enjoyed her world-building and complex characters so much there, the chances are high of me enjoying them here. Also, one of my friends IRL recommended this to me before even knowing I had read any books by the author and it made me very happy. I put great stock in the opinions of all my online friends/blog reviews, but it was also gratifying to hear her tell me she enjoyed it, and gave me high hopes!

That concludes my five star predictions- I want to do this more often because I had such a wonderful time writing this post. I don’t know why, but it made me feel so relaxed and it was almost therapeutic to go through my TBR, pick out books I think I’ll enjoy, and then write about why I think I’ll love them. Almost as therapeutic as actually reading them!

The plan is to do a follow-up post in March or April and update you all on what I actually ended up thinking about all these books. I wish I could do it sooner, but since a) I’m a mood reader, b) I don’t have access to all these books at the drop of a hat, and c) I’ll be busy with school and dance, that wouldn’t be feasible.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a marvelous week! Here’s to starting off 2020 with high expectations and to hopefully meeting them.✨

Have you read any of these? What did you think of them, if you have? If you haven’t, do you want to read them too? Tell me how your day is going! I’d love to talk with you in the comments.

Credits for the image in my featured image >> Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash