TTT: Hidden Gems/Underrated Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme put on by The Broke and the Bookish

Newly Discovered Hidden Gems

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells
I'd never heard anything about this book before I stumbled on it at the library and it's been out for at least six years. This is a fantastic, if morbid, tale with fantastic first-person narration and top notch character development.
(I know, I know; I've been talking about this one a lot! Don't worry; it totally deserves the praise.)

Vicious by V.E. Schwab
Though I know this book has been talked a lot about on blogs and booktube (that's where I first heard of it), for a long time it was only available in hardcover at $30+ so I'm assuming it wasn't all that popular at the beginning. With the success of Schwab's more recent books, Vicious is more readily available so if you haven't read it, you'll want to check it out. (FYI, I'd rate this one R for swearing. The book was good enough I read in spite of this, but there's quite a lot of it.

Beauty and the Clockwork Beast by Nancy Campbell Allen
This book is huge in Utah, but I'm honestly not sure how popular this book is elsewhere. If it isn't, IT SHOULD BE. This is a fantastic proper romance (aka, clean; my favorite) that's also a steampunk that's also a retelling of Beauty and the Beast that's also inhabited by ghosts, vampires, werewolves, and who knows what else at this point! I really hope Allen makes this a series, I don't really care if it has sequels or companion novels, I just want more of this awesome world.
(Note: While this is written by an LDS author, it's not an LDS book.)

Underrated Favorites

Half Moon Investigations by Eoin Colfer
I feel like a lot of Colfer's stand alone novels are underrated but my favorite among them by far is Half Moon. I've lost count of how many times I've read it and the audio version is great too.
This is funny mystery for middle graders, with a kid detective who thinks he's a hard-boiled private eye, which is absolutely hilarious in the first person narration.
Check out my review here!




Always Neverland by Zoe Barton

This is an after-Peter-Pan Peter Pan adventure. We know that Peter continued finding new mothers for the Lost Boys after Wendy went home and this is what happens when Peter decides to take Ashley to Neverland -but Ashley is more interested in adventures and fighting pirates than playing mother. I know this kind of story has been done a lot, but Always Neverland is the best I've read; Barton does a fantastic job of keeping Neverland and it's inhabitants true to the original while updating it for a modern audience at the same time.
Check out my review here!

The Ever Afters by Shelby Bach
Of course it's on this list! This series is phenomenal and it deserves the love of every school, librarian, and fairy-tale-loving child. No joke.
Check out my reviews for the whole series here!
I also hosted an awesome blog party when the final book came out.





What are some of your favorite underrated books? Newly discovered hidden gems? I'm all ears!

It's Monday! Here's What I'm Reading...

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organise yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog   and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. And here we are!

Jen Vincent, Teach Mentor Texts, and Kellee of Unleashing Readers decided to give It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? a kidlit focus. If you read and review books in children’s literature – picture books, chapter books, middle grade novels, young adult novels, anything in the world of kidlit – join them!

Good 2017, my fellow book dragons! It promises to be a good year. At least, I plan to make it so, and hope you do too! ^_^

 

What I Read Last Week:
I've somehow fallen into this deplorable habit lately of starting half a dozen books and audiobooks all at once and I haven't finished any of them yet. But I guess there was one thing I finished...

Avatar: The Last Airbender -Smoke and Shadow, parts 1-3 by Gene Luen Yang

Gotta admit, I loved a lot about this trilogy. The Avatar comics have been rather touch and go with me since the beginning, but I must say they're improving. Smoke and Shadow is probably my favorite of all to date, but let's leave the review for later, shall we?






What I'm Currently Reading:
*takes deep breath*
Are you ready for this?

Books:
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (Check out my review!)
An ARC from Netgalley that I am thoroughly enjoying, albeit a little slowly. Savoring. That's what I'd doing. Savoring.

The Green Man edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling
After reading their anthology The Faery Reel, I knew I had to read this one about the elusive 'Green Man' of mythology, which happens to be a topic of research at the moment.

The Last Gunfight: The Real Story of the Shootout at the O.K. Corral -And How It Changed the American West by Jeff Guinn
I have a mental list of books at my library that I need to read. They don't always make it onto my Goodreads TBR, but whenever I walk past their shelves, I get a reminder. This has been on that mental list for the better part of four years. I don't have a great track record with nonfiction, but I'm very interested in Old West history, so we'll see.

The Man With No Name by Frostfyre7
Okay, yes, this is a fanfiction. But it's a freaking amazing and totally believable Firefly/Doctor Who crossover and it is spectacular. Seriously.
You should go read it.
Right now.

I'm so excited about it I even made an appropriate YouTube playlist.

Audios:
Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
I read this a few years ago and I didn't remember enjoying it all that much. At least, I swear I read it a few years ago. It's a favorite of a friend of mine so I decided to give it another go and -you know what? I don't think I actually finished it the first time around. Because I don't remember Fae in this story at all. Or magic. And you know what else? I really, really like it!

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson
I felt like I was well-read in Sanderson until I realized Mistborn: Final Empire was the only Cosmere novel I've read. Might as well start at the beginning! As always, fascinating and elaborate and captivating.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
This has been on my TBR forever and I found this on my library's Overdrive. I love that, because I can put it onto my MP3 and listen when I can. I'm *almost* finished with it and I'm loving it.


What I'm Reading Next:
Next? Next?! Dudes, I'm not even sure I'll finish all of these!

Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
At the very least, I've gotta read this. Book club book, you know.

Girls to the Rescue by Bruce Lansky
Recommended by my niece, who absolutely adores them, because these short stories are all about girls being brave and heroic!

The Assassin's Blade by Sarah J. Maas
Told you I was enjoying Throne of Glass.

Well, that's what I'm up to.
What are your recent and current reads?

It's Monday! Here's what I'm reading...

Look! I found a new book meme!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week.  It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile!

What I read last week:

The Devil's Only Friend by Dan Wells
This is book four in the John Cleaver series and, yeah, I'm in love. This concept/genre is so not up my alley I almost didn't pick up the first book -I Am Not A Serial Killer- but I'm glad I did. IT'S SO GOOD. Review to come.

Original Sin #2 by Jason Aaron
This Marvel comic is on my Fall TBR, so *score*.

The Rocketeer #1 by Dave Stevens
OHMYGOSH I'M SO EXCITED I FOUND THIS! I loooove the movie and I've wanted to read the comic for ages and I just stumbled across it at my library. LOVE IT.

What I'm currently reading:

Over Your Dead Body by Dan Wells
Book five of the John Cleaver series and I don't have the heart to fly through it in a night like I did the other four. Don't get me wrong; I love it! But it's also a fairly recent release so even if it doesn't turn out to be the last book in the series (I have no idea; kind of dreading looking it up), I'll have a long wait for the next one.

Dracula by Bram Stoker
This is my book club's pick this month and, oh gee, look at that, book club date draws nigh! I'm actually excited to read this, because it's one I never thought I would, but I've recently been getting into the 'Silver Scream' favorites.

The Faerie Reel: Tales from the Twilight Realm edited by Ellen Datlow
An anthology of short stories regarding the Otherworld and fairy folk. So far, I like it, and it helps get me into the mood for my current work in progress. Bonus!

What I'm Reading Next:

 


The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
Another from my Fall TBR, it's both a Beauty and the Beast retelling, which I'm trying to read a ton of before March, and it's ground zero for Lackey's Elemental Masters series which has been on the back of my TBR for awhile.

Desolate Angel by Chaz McGee
I've heard very mixed reviews on this mystery series whose main character is a dead detective, but I snuck the first chapter in before work one day and I'm so excited to read it.






Did you notice that only one of my current titles in from my Fall TBR? I sure did. I'm going to be redoing that tomorrow.

What are you currently reading?