Books That Gave Me the Biggest Book Hangovers!

Do you ever read a book so good that upon finishing it you get so sad that you’re not a part of that world anymore that you cannot stop thinking about it and become unable to pick up another book because you just know it will never be as good as the book you’ve just finished??? If so, you understand what I mean when I say that book hangovers truly are a struggle! I have personally experienced many a book hangover in my time, and so I’ve decided to create a list below of the books that have effected me the most! These are by no means all of the books that have resulted in a book hangover; they are only the worst cases! I would love to ear whether we have any in common in the comments below!

Now… lets begin…

 

The Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo

These books were so so good! Like… crazy good! The plot and character exploration were brilliantly executed and the ending was so heart- wrenching and beautiful that I couldn’t bring myself to read another book for weeks! I won’t gush over them too much here because this post would become incredibly long, but if you do want to hear my thoughts on these books you can see my reviews here: Six of Crows Review, Crooked Kingdom Review!

 

The Winner’s Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski

I read these books a very long time ago and the thing about them I remember most is becoming so invested in the characters that it became increasingly difficult to even comprehend moving on and reading about other characters in other worlds! After reading these I remember being in a book slump to end all book slumps, which effectively reflects just how bad this book hangover was! You can see my reviews for these books here: The Winner’s Curse, The Winner’s Crime, The Winner’s Kiss!

 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I’m not exaggerating when I say this is one of the best books I have ever read! It deals with such important issues regarding sexuality and identity in such a sensitive way, and the prose is absolutely beautiful! I connected with both Aristotle and Dante so much that finishing this book was painful, and I was left wanting to read nothing other than books about their lives! You can find my full review for this book here: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe!

 

 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

 

This was the first dark academia novel I’d ever read, and it absolutely blew me away! I took my time reading this and it was an experience so intense that once I’d finished reading I felt that any other book would inevitably pale in comparison! The characters in this are all so interesting, and despite hating half of them I found that I just couldn’t get enough of their complexity and morally dubious actions and beliefs! You can find my full review for this one here: The Secret History!

 

 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

This book was absolutely beautiful! The prose, the structure, the characterization, the romance, the depiction of the theme of legacy… everything was executed so so beautifully! The ending was so poignant and heart wrenching that I couldn’t even think about picking up another book for weeks, and I was so sad that it was over that I actually considered rereading it immediately!! If you want to see me gush more over this book, pop over to my review: The Song of Achilles Review!

 

 

Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

This book is a tragedy, so it logically follows that the ending evokes some form of catharsis in a reader. However, despite this catharsis I was left with a feeling of sadness at having finished the book and subsequently having finished following Tess through her life of hardship. This book was so incredibly good that part of me wanted to re-read it, yet another part of me did not want to experience the harsh life of Tess all over again!  You can see a full review and analysis of this book here: Tess of the D’Urbervilles Review!

 

 

 

The Shades of Magic Trilogy by V.E. Schwab

This trilogy was so much fun to read, and the world building in particular was executed so well that once I had finished the novels I found myself so sad that I was no longer a part of it! I became very attached to Kell in particular, and a book hangover certainly was inevitable in this instance! You can see my reviews for this trilogy here: A Darker Shade of Magic, A Gathering of Shadows, A Conjuring of Light (this review is coming very very soon!)

 

As you can see book hangovers are very common for me (unfortunately!), and the above are only a fraction of the books that have resulted in book hangovers!

I would love to hear which books have given you book hangovers and whether we have any in common, or if you’re lucky and rarely/ never get them!!