Do you ever read one of those books that when you’re only a few pages in you already know you are going to love it? Because I do. Sometimes I start a book and I just insta-crush on it. SO BAD.
This post was inspired by my current read, which is The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven. I just started reading it today and I’ve just started it and couldn’t stop. I love it so much (as I’m writing this, I’ve actually put it down, but I’ve read a third of it in about half an afternoon.) Anyway, I wanted to talk about what made me fall in love with these books (and authors) instantly and why!
Why I Love Insta-Loving Books
I love reading, obviously, but there’s something very magical about starting a book and instantly knowing you’re going to love it. For me, that’s a very rare thing. Usually, it takes me at least a third of a book to make up my mind whether it’s going to be 5 stars or less. Insta-loving a book reminds me why I love books in the first place and why I spend so much time reading. I’m not easily engrossed with a book from the very start, and when that happens it just makes me forget about everything that’s going on except the book.
Books I Insta-Loved
The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven
Of course, I have to start with the inspiration for this blog post: The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven. I was very lucky to be in the street team for Laura and got access to an ARC. But before I go into why I fell in love with it, look at this glorious cover!! *heart eyes*
I think I fell in love with it after like line 3?? The story is about a girl named Izzy and she’s such a vivid and amazing character. She writes blog posts and she has so much personality! She’s funny, shameless, feminist, and is very comfortable with her sex-positive attitude. I loved reading from her perspective so much I immediately went to book depository and pre-ordered myself a copy (also so I can see that pretty cover in real life)
First line(s):
Look, you probably bought this book because you read the blurb about how I’m an impoverished orphan and also at the heart of a natinoal slut-shaming scandal, and you thought, Oh great, this is just the kind of heart-wrenching tale I need to feel better about my own life, but seriously, you have to relax.
goodreads – pre-order on bookdepository*
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
What grabbed me immediately about This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab were the first lines. They hooked me and got me so intrigued about one of the main characters that I just had to read on. I got charmed by Kate Harker’s incredible character, she just does what she wants without caring for the consequences but she has a small heart and I love her.
This was my first ever Victoria Schwab book and it has definitely got me hooked on her books. Again it has a gorgeous cover, but there’s so much about this story that I love.
First line(s):
The night Kate Harker decided to burn down the school chapel, she wasn’t angry or drunk. She was desperate.
Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne
Am I Normal Yet? by Holly Bourne actually didn’t grab me as much from the first line as the others. It starts with a recovery diary form, and therefore immediately starts talking about Evie (the main character’s) mental health. I have not read many books that talked about mental health the way Holly Bourne did with this book. Not only that but the heavy feminist undertone of the book, the amazing characters and the friendship dynamics made me fall head-over-heels in love with the story and with Holly Bourne’s books. When I was halfway through Am I Normal Yet?, I was already looking up prices for the second and third book in the series and I just had to buy them soon after. I have no regrets.
First line(s):
It started with a house party.
This wasn’t just any house party. It was also My First Date. Like first EVER date. In my entire life. Because, finally, following all the crap that had gone down, I was ready for boys.
*Affiliate link, I get a 5% commission for purchases
Those first lines from This Savage Song are amazing! I’ll have to check it out for myself.
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It’s so good! I hope you’ll love it!
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This rarely happens for me but when it does it is such a great feeling! I am going to have to check out the books you mentioned. I was intrigued by all of the first lines! Everyone seems to love This Savage Song! I think the last book that was like this for me was I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. I was hooked from the first line which is – “This is how it all begins. With Zephyr and Fry – reigning neighborhood sociopaths – torpedoing after me and the whole forest floor shaking under my feet as I blast through air, trees, this white-hot panic.” Great post!
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I hope you’ll like the books! They’re all amazing if you ask me 🙂
I read I’ll Give You the Sun such a long time ago and back then I didn’t like it?? But I think I’d love it much more if I reread it. I actually love that first line! Thanks!
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There have been a few books that I knew by like page 4 that it was going to be the best book I’ve read in a while. The Hate List by Jennifer Brown stands out, and The Gentleman’s Guide to Vices and Virtue. The tone, character, and writing jump off the page and it’s instantaneous.
It’s such a great feeling knowing that you’ve picked up something that will be wholly amazing and change something about how you think about books.
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Ooh, I’ve been wanting to read The Gentlemen’s Guide! It’s been on my tbr a while! I love that feeling!
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It is so good. I can’t even put how good it is into a coherent sentence.
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OOH, I
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Uh okay, apparently I made a weird mistake with the other comment, but uh, anyway, I LOVE THIS WHOLE CONCEPT. Insta-love as a trope? Get outta town. Insta-loving an actual book? TOTALLY HERE FOR 1000%. The two books I remember absolutely insta-loving was Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and First & Then by Emma Mills. O. GOOD.
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Hahaha that’s what I was thinking too! I really don’t like insta-love as a trope but insta-loving books? hell yeah! I’m so glad you loved those!!
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I love Insta-Loving a book! It’s one of the best feelings in the world knowing that you’re going to love the book in your hands the moment you read the first page. It last happened to me with Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay. I knew it was going to be amazing, and it was. It’s now one of my all-time favorites, and it’s a debut releasing in just a few weeks!
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Yes, it’s definitely an amazing feeling!! I haven’t heard of that book, I’ll definitely check it out!
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I agree! And I hope you love it!! I think you’ll love it! 🙂
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It’s been a while since I insta love books. It doesn’t happen that often but when it does it immediately becomes my all time favorite book.
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Yes, same for me!
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Insta love happens for me all the time when I read! If I start a book and I adore it, then I get this gut feeling that I will adore the entire book. On the other hand, if I start a book and I don’t like it, then it rarely ever turns itself around for me. First impressions are huge! Great post, Lia!💕🙂
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That’s great!! I do have read a few books I thought I wouldn’t enjoy and ended up loving them! Thank you!
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Ah this is such a good idea for a post! I really want to read Holly Bourne since you talk about her books so much. I think the last book that I loved from page one was Thruthwitch and it doesn’t happen that often really.
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Thank you! Hehehe maybe I talk about her books a little too often 😛
I’ve heard great things about Truthwitch lately so maybe I should pick it up one day!
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I don’t remember if I’ve fallen in love at the first line, but definitely the first few pages! Those are always my favorite books to re-read, too. It gives you such a warm, cozy feeling 🙂
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Yes it is! So warm and cozy 😀
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It’s such a great feeling when you fall head-over-heels from the first page! Two insta-love books that come to mind for me are The Raven Boys and Wolf by Wolf, by Ryan Graudin. I actually remember reading a teaser of the first few pages from The Raven Boys a few months before it came out and being completely smitten. That was one of the hardest book releases I ever had to wait for!
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Ooh I loved both those! I don’t think I fell in love with them from the first pages, but I definitely started to love them while reading the book!
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I am obsessed with the cover for The Exact Opposite of Okay, so I’m glad to hear the book is awesome too!
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It is so awesome! And I’m in love with the cover :O
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Yessss, so glad to hear I’m not alone in this! It hasn’t happened for me in a while, bit insta-loving a book is just the MOST magical.
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It is so magical!! I hope you’ll insta-love a book soon 😀
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Oh this is such a great idea for a post, I love it 🙂 I’m also really happy to hear you love The Exact Opposite of Okay, that book is one of my most anticipated reads (and the cover is absolutely stunning), I can’t wait to read it. SO happy you loved it this much! 🙂 I also really want to read that Holly Bourne book 🙂
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Thank you!! Yess it’s so good! I absolutely loved it and I can’t wait for it to come out!
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This Savage Song was AWESOME and I dont know why so many people were disappoited by it. I ALSO LOVE THE TEXT ON THE COVER, it ssooo pretty! I definitely need to read the other books here! Great idea for a post Lia!!
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I don’t understand either!! It was sooooo good! And the cover is so pretty *heart eyes*
You definitely need to read the others, you’ll love them!
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Aaahh I need to read all of Holly Bourne’s novels!! I’ve heard they’re all super feminist and I am HERE for that. And I had a really hard time getting into TSS (like I usually do with Schwab books) but I ended up LOVING it (like I usually do with Schwab books)??? But I got into ODD SUPER quick haha. Great post!
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Yes!! You should read Holly Bourne’s books!! I did have the same with the shades of magic series, I loved them but struggled more with getting into it! Surprisingly that didn’t happen at all with TSS!
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The last book I instaloved was The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel. I think it was the writing style and how it was a very narrative non-fiction. Awesome post Lia!
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I have not yet heard of that one! I’m glad you loved it! Thank you Luna!
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What a great post idea! 🙂 Insta-Loving book is the best, because it fills you up with so much appreciation for a book 😍The Exact Opposite of Okay sounds really good, I immediately had to add it to my Goodreads TBR 🙂 I have only read Am I Normal Yet? AND I LOVE IT 😍 This was a case of Book Insta-Love for me as well ♥
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Yes! It fills me with so much joy! TEOoO is so good! I hope you’ll love it!
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It honestly don’t happen often, when it does it’s amazing!
The one I just finished actually. Caraval by Stephanie Garber 🙂
My review is officially up and I’ve been all over book blogs talking about this book😂💜
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I’m so glad you enjoyed Caraval! I wasn’t a huge fan of the book, actually, but I did enjoy it 🙂
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I can definitely see why you immediately fell in love with The Exact Opposite of Okay – that first line immediately drew me in and now I need this book haha
I really want to read Am I Normal Yet, as I loved What’s A Girl Gotta Do. Can’t wait to pick that one up!
It’s such a great feeling when you start reading a book and you know you won’t be able to put it down until you’re done. It kinda feels like coming home 🙂
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Hahaha I hope you’ll love it! You read the Spinsters club out of order?? Am I Normal Yet? is the first book haha
Oh yes! It definitely feels like coming home 🙂
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Yeah I accidentally bought the last one without knowing it was a trilogy haha. I ended up reading it as it sounded like it wouldn’t be that hard to read without having read the first two – the important things to know from the first two are explained and by now I’ve forgotten that stuff anyway so I didn’t get spoiled haha
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Ohh haha, well there aren’t a lot of spoilers I think, because the first two books are about the other two main characters. There might be little things, but as you said, I’m sure you’ve forgotten most of those hah
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