As you can probably tell from the post title there is a Part 1 that you can check out! Believe it or not I actually buy a LOT of books that I don’t read right away but I had to have them so bad apparently. I’m terrible about getting into the hype and buying the books right away and then putting them off forever, book lover problems for sure!
(I was also just reading the first post and realized I’ve only read one off of that list, so I’m still being terrible!)
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
It has now been moved over to That Artsy Reader Girl.
I’ve done a very similar post not that long ago so a lot of these are “recycled” but I’m just very picky about my book romances, only a few truly impress me! Also a lot of these fall under the “forbidden romance” trope, I’ll just tell you now! I’m a sucker for forbidden romance, it’s like my brain thinks “Oh….they can’t be together? They shouldn’t be together?…….THEY MUST BE TOGETHER NOW!”.
These are in no particular order and I will link reviews if I have them.
**** SPOILER FREE! I won’t be naming characters just the books so you can read my post freely!****
10.) The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
I originally thought (judging from the cover especially) that this book would be loaded with the usualy YA romance tropes: insta-love and love triangles. I was pleasantly surprised though as there were none of those! The romance is actually very slow-burn and also forbidden, my favorite.
You can read my full review here.
9.) The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
Once again we have a forbidden, slow-burn romance that had me rooting for this couple! I love when I get to see two characters developed separately and then coming together by the end, it’s so satisfying. On a side note: the women in this book are so badass.
You can read my full review here.
8.) Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
This one has a dash of insta-love but it’s explained why later on in the story so it gets a pass from me! Otherwise it’s forbidden romance as well and I loved how well developed and complex the relationship is throughout the book.
You can read my full review here.
7.) And I Darken by Kiersten White
This one is a bit odd because I was NOT expecting romance in this book at all but I got it and I loved it! There is a love triangle but one…portion of it is unrequited so I guess it’s not technically a love triangle then, is it? I digress. This was just one of those relationships that had so much….angst. They secretly loved each other but felt it was unrequited so WAITED forever to say anything, it drove me crazy in the best possible way!
You can read my full review here.
6.) My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
Here we have another trope-free and slow-burn romance, well I guess I don’t know if the whole “get married and THEN get to know each other and fall in love” thing is a trope. If it is let me know what you sum it up as, haha! I loved how adorable the couple in this book was, sooooooo freaking cute!
You can read my full review here.
5.) The Diabolic by S.J. Kincaid
Another book you would never expect there to really be a romance in but there it is and it’s awesome! I love the couple in this book, I LOVE THEM! They’re so perfect for each other and the chemistry is just there! It’s pretty slow burn and definitely forbidden too!
You can read my full review here.
4.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Anyone who has read this book will agree with me, I think! This is slow burn and forbidden love and it will have you pining along with the characters because you just want them to be together dammit!
3.) The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
This is a historical fiction with an M/M romance and both character’s think their love is unrequited! They’re both so adorable and this book is so much fun and is hilarious!
You can read my full review here.
2.) Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
This book is almost 100% about the romance and I was really surprised that I loved it so much! There’s TONS of diversity with POC characters, gay characters, and characters with mental illnesses too! The relationships are all just so positive and adorable, they gave me those fuzzy warm feelings!
You can read my full review here.
1.) An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson
Normally I feel like I wouldn’t have loved this romance since it was a little insta-lovey but I loved both characters so much on their own and the love is forbidden of course so I was sold! Plus who wouldn’t love a Fae Prince?
You can read my full review here.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think?
Are any of these romances your favorite as well?
What are some of your favorite bookish romances?
Let me know in the comments!
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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.
It has now been moved over to That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s theme is pretty broad you can do any spin on it that you can think of! It’s books you can’t believe you read, I decided to go with an easy one and just do a list of books that are kind of out of my comfort zone that I ended up enjoying.
I will include reviews if I have them, these aren’t in any particular order.
10.) Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde
Normally I do not read contemporaries, ESPECIALLY if they’re romance focused so “Queens of Geek” didn’t seem like a book I’d enjoy. However, I was very surprised by how much I loved it! The romances were adorable, the anxiety rep was amazing, and the diversity is off the charts. Fantastic book overall and I’m so happy I gave it a read.
You can read my full review here.
9.) The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
I don’t usually read historical fiction, I find it can be a little too slow paced for me but this was an exception because it’s very fast paced and FUN! Definitely a book I didn’t think I would read!
You can read my full review here.
8.) Paper Princess by Erin Watt
If I was listing these in an actual order this would probably be #1 because it is so far from what I normally read, I didn’t think I would EVER read this but I borrowed it from the library to give it a try. I was surprised by how addicting this story was and how much fun I had reading it, it’s like reading a soap opera!
You can read my mini review here.
7.) Heartless by Marissa Meyer
This is only on the “can’t believe” list because I didn’t love “Cinder” and I could not understand what the big deal with this author was. So when she released this standalone back in 2016 I wasn’t sure if I’d like it or not, but I’m a sucker for Alice in Wonderland retellings so I gave it a go. I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it ended up being in the end!
You can read my full review here.
6.) The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski
So…a YA Fantasy with a girl in a ballroom gown on the front, I NEVER would have guessed it would have been as amazing and badass as it was. Kestrel, the MC, definitely matches the cover but she isn’t a damsel in distress either, loved her!
You can read my full review here.
5.) The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
As I already kind of mentioned, I don’t go for books that appear to be romance-heavy either by the cover or synopsis and “The Forbidden Wish” kind of appears to be romance-heavy. However, while the romance is a big part it’s such a “ship-worthy” romance and also the women in this book are total badasses! Very glad I read this one!
You can read my full review here.
4.) Lips Touch: Three Times by Laini Taylor
This is a book that you shouldn’t judge by it’s cover because honestly, the cover makes it seem very cheesy. But the three short stories within are very unique, well-written, and just downright awesome and I’m glad I made time for them!
You can read my full review here.
3.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book comes very hyped and very recommended by tons of people but normally slow paced, atmospheric books are not my jam. I’m glad I made an exception for this one though because it’s beautiful and very much worth my time.
2.) The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
I have to say that I completely misjudged this book and I blame the synopsis, which makes it sound like this book is all about true love, insta-love, and kissing boys. Which is why I DIDN’T want to read it but I am so glad I finally caved because this book might be about a kiss but that really isn’t even half of it, there’s magic and mystery and some amazing characters! I could rave all day.
You can read my full review here.
1.) The Wrath & The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh
Once again, a book that SEEMS like it’s all about that romance (which it kind of is) but is actually filled with badass women and magic too. Definitely loved this book a TON and didn’t think I would at all!
Have you read any of these as well? What did you think?
What are some books you can’t believe you read (positive/negative)?
Let me know in the comments!
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The other day I was looking at my bookshelves and noticing all of the books I’ve bought under the delusion that I could NOT wait and HAD to have them right away……and then still haven’t read them.
This makes me wonder sometimes if I’m actually nuts or not because why do I torture myself like this? Plus everyone always tells me “hey remember when you bought all those books and still haven’t read them? You don’t need more until you read those.” which they’re sort of right….
So I thought that it would be a great idea to share what a horrible reader/book hoarder I am with you all!
Basically this is me:
And then after not reading any of them:
I’ll be putting these in order of how long I’ve actually had these sitting around my house starting with the newest additions!
When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Of course with all of the hype that was surrounding this book before and after it’s May release date I had to get my hands on it! Most of the time I don’t give into the hype, or at least I like to think so, I just thought everything about this book sounded wonderful: diverse characters and culture, a cute cover, and non-stop glowing reviews!
Then obviously I couldn’t wait to get a copy and then it arrived and now it’s just sitting all lonely on my shelf because I’m a terrible person…….
Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios
I actually ordered this with “When Dimple Met Rishi” because once again I could not wait and just haaaad to have a copy right away! The cover is absolutely gorgeous and I’ve seen great reviews for it, plus I think it will be interesting to read about a dysfunctional relationship in a YA setting. I know that makes me sound weird but it’s nice to see unique books and books bringing attention to abuse like this (because it happens).
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
If I was going to rate all of these books by which book I was literally dying to have “Strange the Dreamer” would be #1 because I seriously acted like I was going to die without this book in my life. I even went to the trouble of ordering a UK edition as well because I HAD TO HAVE THIS BOOK AND LAINI TAYLOR IS LIFE!
And guess where the book is sitting? On my shelf. Unread.
The Valiant by Lesley Livingston
I was super pumped for this book before it came out and then with all of the great reviews afterwards I was even more excited for it. Female gladiator! That’s all I want in my books so when I was in the bookstore and saw it I decided to splurge and buy it right then and there because I NEEDED IT. Now it’s been sitting on my shelf for a few months……
Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza
I bought this book along with my spontanous purchase of “The Valiant” as well. You can see where this got me.
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
When I saw this book come out at first I was like: Norse Mythology?! Told by Neil Gaiman?! I MUST HAVE THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY! So I kind of started it and then slowly it worked its way back onto my shelf where it is still sitting waiting to be finished.
The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Everyone, everyone, everyone recommends reading this series and I saw the box set on sale on Book Outlet for about $12.00 so of course I was all “Hell yeah!” and bought it right away. Soooooooooo it’s all sitting on my shelf still unread where it will probably remain for a while.
Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter
This was a spontaneous buy I got with birthday money last year and I decided to use that money for this book because once again…..I couldn’t resist. It’s even a shorter book and I STILL haven’t gotten to it!
Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
I asked for this one for my birthday last year because I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted it and so then I actually received it for my birthday…….and haven’t read it yet.
The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski
After reading the first book “The Winner’s Curse” I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it after how much I was expecting not to enjoy it. So then after devouring the sequel as well I NEEDED to read the last book that was just released last year! And guess who still hasn’t finished that trilogy even after buying the last book? Me.
The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi
This book was super, duper hyped last year and because of that plus the pretty cover and promise of unique mythology I was 100% sold. I saw it when I happened to visit a Barnes & Noble and instantly bought it and now it’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year still unread.
Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas
This one hasn’t been a new release for a while but I found while reading a bunch of glowing reviews for it and having it recommended a ton. So I found it on Book Outlet and bought it straight away because I love twisted thrillers! I started reading it…..and then set it aside for some reason…..and it’s been sitting there waiting for me to return to it eventually.
The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
This book is the one I’ve had the longest on this list because back many, many years ago when I was binge reading the Percy Jackson series and finished it and was DYING for more! So I found the Heroes of Olympus series and bought the first book straight away…….it has been sitting on my old Nook Color for ages and honestly it probably won’t get read because I want physical copies now….awkward.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?
Do you have any of these on your TBR as well?
Did you buy any of these right away and haven’t read them yet either?
Do you buy books and let them sit for a long time?
What are some books you HAD to have and haven’t read yet?
Let me know in the comments!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.
This week’s theme is any books of any genre that you’ve added to your TBR recently! I decided to go with fantasy just because it’s my favorite genre so this is really going to be quite the mish mash of books since it went a little further back than I expected.
These are put in order by when I added them so the most recent starts at #10.
10.) Down Among The Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
I immediately added this after finishing “Every Heart A Doorway” because it was so amazing, I need more of this world…or really worlds!
You can read my full review of “Every Heart A Doorway” here.
9.) A Torch Against the Night by Sabaa Tahir
Once again I added this sequel immediately after finishing “An Ember in the Ashes”! I was actually really blown away by how unique the book felt and how complex the characters were, so of course I need to read more about them ASAP!
You can read my full review of “An Ember in the Ashes” here.
8.) The Tiger’s Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera
Honestly this book sounds straight up awesome! There’s two completely badass female warrior protagonists that were prophesied at birth to save the world from demons. How does that not sound like it’s amazing?
7.) The Alchemists of Loom by Elise Kova
I’ve heard a lot of ranting and raving about Elise Kova’s books and her newest one was on sale for $0.99 on Kindle so I bought a copy! I want to see what all the hype is about! Plus I like any story where a thief is the main character, especially in a fantasy setting.
6.) Beasts Made of Night by Tochi Onyebuchi
This one definitely has a very unique sounding premise where the character, Taj, serves as a slayer of sin-beasts which are called forth from sinners by mages. Doesn’t that just sound cool? Never heard of a book with anything really similar to this so I had to add it to my TBR.
5.) Library of Fates by Aditi Khorana
First of all I was really drawn in by the cover, it’s gorgeous! Plus what book lover doesn’t want to read a book that has library in the title? This one is about two women whose lives are thrown into chaos and must seek out the fabled Library of All Things to try and reverse their fates. Sounds awesome!
4.) Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Honestly, I wasn’t going to ever add this one but since the series seems pretty hyped up and it is YA fantasy I figured maybe I could give it a try. It might be a little too cliched for me though.
3.) The Language of Thorns: Midnight Tales and Dangerous Magic by Leigh Bardugo
While I wasn’t the biggest fan of “Shadow and Bone” I did love “Six of Crows” and am therefore a lot more willing to try out anything Leigh Bardugo writes! Of course I love any stories based off of folklore and fairy tales too so this book is bound to be interesting!
2.) Mask of Shadows by Linsey Miller
It’s mostly a guarantee for me to add any new or upcoming YA Fantasy books but especially when they have diverse characters. This book has a gender fluid character that’s also a thief and like I said earlier I love thief characters in fantasy!
1.) The Bird & The Sword by Amy Harmon
This was another book I found on sale for my Kindle and I wasn’t really going to get it since I hadn’t heard of it before but I read a sample and fell in love! Of course I haven’t read it yet clearly but it definitely will be read here at some point. It’s about a girl who has magical abilities and must not speak at all.
Have you read any of these? What did you think?
Do you have any of these books on your TBR as well?
What are some books you’ve recently added to your TBR?
Let me know in the comments!
This is pretty straight forward and I wanted to do up a quick, short, fun post for you all! So I just tossed together some of the things I know I ALWAYS do as a Book Lover and I know I’m not the only one!
10.) You Love Sniffing Books
New book smell, old book smell, they ALL smell good! I personally prefer new book smell though and like to fan the pages and get a good whiff when I’m walking around a bookstore……
9.) You Take Your Books Off the Shelf Just to Hold Them
I can’t be the only one that does this, right? I like to randomly go hold my books and stare at them, especially if they’re newer books! Something about holding new books in my hands is comforting.
8.) You Pack Too Many Books to Take With You on Vacation
Let’s see I probably will only need one or two books, realistically…..but what if I finish both of them?! And I have nothing to read when traveling?! The horror! I’ll just pack a couple more……
7.) You’re Never Without a Book
I always have a least one book in my purse at all times! You never know when you need to sit and read while waiting for an appointment, or have some sudden downtime, or your car breaks down and you just chill and read while waiting for help to arrive. You never know!
6.) You Can’t Wait Patiently For Your BookMail
This one MIGHT actually just be me because I’m the most impatient person in existence. When I order books I literally check their tracking pages more than once daily until they arrive, hoping that by some miracle they will arrive in a day. Yeah, right that won’t happen but I hope anyways!
5.) You Examine Everyone Else’s Bookshelves When You’re Over
I’m terrible at this! If I see you have a bookshelf I will immediately go over and examine what books you read and then proceed to tell you my opinion on any book I recognize. I don’t care if I go over there every day, I’ll do it!
4.) When It Comes Time For Your Birthday & Christmas You Have Books on the List
Oh, you want to know what I’d like for my birthday or Christmas? Books. It’s as simple as that.
3.) You Can Easily Spend Hours at the Bookstore (And Have a Blast!)
I can’t tell you how many times friends, family, or my boyfriend get irritated with the amount of time I can spend walking around in a bookstore. I don’t even have to buy anything! Mostly I end up having to go alone because it’s “too long” for anyone to accompany me!
2.) You Stay Up Late into the Night Reading
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I think my record was either 3 or 4 AM from what I can remember, of course I haven’t done that in a while but I still stay up way later than I should reading! When I was a kid I used to pretend to be asleep and then pull out a flashlight so I could stay up reading……
1.) You’re an Emotional Wreck While Reading/Books DESTROY You!
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If you don’t get totally invested in the lives of fictional characters, are you even a book lover? When there are horrible plot twists and you don’t cry, scream, or throw your book across the room in rage *gently because we don’t want to ACTUALLY hurt the book*, are you even a book lover? You guys know you’ve all done at least one of those things a couple of times!
Hopefully that was at least semi-fun for you to read through!
Which of these “signs” are some of your bookish habits?
Let me know in the comments!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jamie @ The Broke and the Bookish.
This week’s theme is bookish turn-offs, you know those books we shoot down completely because of these things. I’ve got quite a few that revolve around YA romances!
I’d also like to just add before I start that of course there are always exceptions to these but a majority of these types of books will turn me off.
Romance Being the Central Focus In A Non-Romance Genre
Just to make sure everyone understands this: I am not saying romance in any book is a no-no for me only when I’m reading say a Fantasy or Sci-Fi novel and it’s more about romance than action or anything else. That drives me nuts. I signed up for death, revenge, and action not kissy faces and moony eyes!
I just really don’t like when romance becomes the sole focus of a book when the book itself is supposed to be about more than that.
Love Triangles
Most of the time love triangles in books are unrealistic, I can totally be on board with a love triangle if it’s believable. Such as if both love interests have good reasons to attract the attention of the main character (similar interests etc.), but unfortunately most of the time it’s just “Hey he/she is super hot! Oh hey so is he/she! I will like both of them!”.
Love triangles just tend to make things messy and add a lot of unnecessary drama to the story and what’s worse is when the object of said love triangle strings both love interests along. Just….no.
Urban Fantasy (Anything With Vampires, Werewolves, Angels, etc.)
This genre is just a huge no-no for me, I’ve been there and done that! I was part of the Twilight phase and everything that came and went with it and that’s how I found out Urban Fantasy is NOT for me! I find that most of the time these books are riddled with the usual YA romance tropes that I can’t stand: insta-love, love triangles, etc. and are also full of air-headed characters that go around breaking all of the rules for said urban fantasy world.
The only real exception I’ve found for this was Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series and I’m not sure if that would hold up my scrutiny anymore these days.
Unappealing Covers
This may sound pretty shallow of me but I think we are all allowed to dislike ugly covers, right? I mean after all the book cover is supposed to draw your attention not make you cringe away! I usually wait to read other reviews before I read something with an unappealing cover….
Insta-Love
This one goes hand in hand with both #10 and #9! I cannot stand insta-love, it’s just unrealistic to me. I don’t believe in love at first sight (I do believe in attraction at first sight though) so having characters fall head over heels in love instantly just isn’t something I can take seriously. I want a slow-burn, developed romance!
Predictable/Over-Used Plots
You know the ones….the books that are referred to as the next “Hunger Games” or the next “Twilight”. I want more unique books, not ones that fall into the same old YA rut.
All Talk and No Action
I like my books action-packed and fast-paced so when the narrative drags on and on inside of a characters head instead of having exciting things happen, that’s boring. I can understand taking your time to set things up but I really can’t stand having pages and pages of inner monologue and no dialogue or action.
Not Enough World Building (Fantasy Lite)
I am the type of person that NEEDS intricate world building because I read to escape reality and I want to be completely immersed in the world the book is throwing me into. It’s kind of hard to get into the book when the world has no structure or information at all.
Under Developed Characters
Nobody likes dull characters. Nobody. I find that well written and complex characters can either make or break the book, it’s a lot easier to read a book with great characters and a “blah” plot than vice versa. If the characters are developed I’ll be more invested in what happens to them and therefore enjoy the book a lot more.
A Story That Is Completely Different Than What Was Promised (False Advertising!)
Okay there really isn’t anything I hate more than getting a book, reading it, and finding out that it is NOTHING like what the synopsis promised! Prime example: “Blackhearts” by Nicole Castroman. It’s supposedly Blackbeard’s origin tale! So of course I expected some damn pirates! Did I get any pirates at all? NO! What I did get was a trope-filled historical romance.
Do we have any bookish turn offs in common?
What are some of your bookish turn offs?
Let me know in the comments and feel free to link up your Top Ten Tuesday as well!
Hello everyone! I’ve decided to do up yet another bookish list post because I am not only a big fan of books (obviously) but also of lists, I love making lists. So I wanted to share with you all some of the book community’s most popular books that I have not read or even read any installment in the series. Try not to be TOO shocked with me, after all I did JUST read my first Sarah J. Maas book this year.
This is going to be a list that is a little quicker and shorter than usual!
I’ll also try to put these in order of what is the most popular (via number of Goodreads ratings) and not by how bad I feel by not having read them yet….
10.) Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes
I know, I know this one isn’t too bad but I feel like a lot of people like this series and the worst part is I have this sitting on my shelf unread as it has been for a few years. Whoops.
9.) The Young Elites by Marie Lu
While I definitely wasn’t a big fan of Marie Lu’s “Legend” I am pretty excited to read this book of hers even though I’m pretty late to the party considered the trilogy is complete now and I STILL haven’t read it. At least I won’t have to wait for the other books to come out……
8.) An Ember In The Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
I’ll get to this one…..eventually.
7.) Red Rising by Pierce Brown
I actually feel pretty bad about this one since it seems like a book and series I would enjoy but I just haven’t convinced myself to buy my own copy yet. I also probably won’t be reading this for a long time.
6.) A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
PLEASE DON’T HURT ME! I have only read “Throne of Glass” and wasn’t too impressed but I decided to buy this one anyways because I heard the sequel is very, very good. However, I’m just not sure I’ll be one to jump on the Maas bandwagon.
5.) The Iron King by Julia Kagawa
I have heard nothing but good things about this series as well as the author Julie Kagawa and so I’m really wanting to read this book or at least one of her other ones. Not to mention I haven’t really read any Fae books and that’s something I need to check of the list.
4.) Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
So I don’t really feel bad about not having read this yet because I’m not sure if I’ll actually like it or not. All signs point to no but I just can’t quite bring myself to delete from my TBR yet.
3.) The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
I’m disappointed with myself for not having read this yet because I think the movie looks good and I’m the type of person who has to read it before they see it.
2.) The Maze Runner by James Dashner
This was probably the one time I went and saw the movie without reading the book and I even bought the book before the movie came out so I would read it. Now I just think it’s going to sit abandoned on my Nook forever because I don’t really have an interest in it anymore.
1.) The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
I AM SO SORRY I HAVEN’T READ THIS YET!!!!!!! It sounds so good and everyone I know loves it so much! I’m actually debating on just picking up a copy of my own so that way it stares angrily at me from my shelves and I’ll be forced to finally read it.
Have you read any of these books? What did you think?
What popular books have you not read yet?
Do you feel bad when you haven’t read super popular books?
Would you rather read popular books or underrated books?
Let me know in the comments!
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