Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
I jumped into this book and series a little later in the game. I didn’t start reading these until right before Obsidio was published. I’m glad that I waited, if only because these were SO good I wouldn’t have wanted to wait for the next book to come out. I had the perfect timing to be able to start the next book as soon as I finished the one before. These were also not your typical book, with multiple different types of reading material, be it emails, memos, diagrams, etc. I was caught up in the action from the very first page and ended up loving these books soooo much!
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
I actually read this right when it was published a while ago because I had fallen in love with Leigh Bardugo as a writer after reading her first grisha trilogy. And I absolutely LOVED this book back then, so when it became super hyped up over the past year or so, I was so happy to see that it was getting the love it deserved! This was one of those books where you wonder how in the world the author could come up with so many schemes and twists and turns. I realized while reading this that there is something to be said about and author that can make you gasp or cry while reading their works. This book and its partner Crooked Kingdom gave me all the feels and I feel like they lived up to all the hype and more!
The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
Maggie Stiefvater along with a select few other authors, is one of my favorites who I will read pretty much anything they write because I know that I will without a doubt love whatever is written on the pages. These books though were the type of books that even after I finished the entire series it stuck with me. I could NOT get these out of my head, and found myself constantly thinking of the characters and their epic journey. These have everything you need to check off the hype list, with diverse characters, mystery and a little romance in there as well!
The Giver by Lois Lowry
This one is an oldie but a goodie 🙂 I was so excited when I found out that they were making a movie for this and that “The Dude” would be in it! This was a book that I read as a kid and then again as an adult with the same love that I had for it the first time I read it. I think that thing that keeps this book so hyped is because it is very unique, I have yet to read anything like it. While the movie wasn’t quite as good as the book, it still is one that will get your mind working. There are so many things that we learn to appreciate after reading The Giver.
This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab
What’s that you say?! Scwhab is coming out with a YA book!?? When this news hit headlines it seemed like everyone was jumping on board to get a taste of what Schwab had in store for us in the world of YA. I will admit that this was actually my first Scwhab book, but that didn’t lessen the amazingness of this book in the least! I found that after reading this duology I was officially a fan! These books were dark and delicious, but at the same time kept you on edge and gave you all sorts of emotions. I flew through these, unable to stop reading until I had consumed every last word. I think its safe to say that Scwhab can write just about anything she wants and it will all turn out amazing. Oh if only I could take a peak inside her brilliant mind!
The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey
After I finished this book, I immediately passed it on to my dad to read since I knew he would love it. We quickly read through the rest of the series talking over breakfast about our favorite parts and looking forward to seeing how the movie would compare to the book! I loved that these weren’t your typical aliens, but more like body snatchers living among us. Without being able to tell who is human and who is ET, people quickly began to turn on each other and therefore chaos ensued.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
A book that is written based off of old photographs?! Yes Please! I am a photographer in my spare time, so the idea of a story written based off of old photographs really called to me. And although it seemed a little slow in some parts the story as a whole was fantastic! And to add to all the spookiness, there are some really cool photos in the book as well which were actually the book’s inspiration. I love when you can see how a book came to be, and this one was quite a unique experience! I can see why so many loved it like I did.
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
While Meyer is known mostly for her Lunar Chronicles books, I kept hearing a lot about her take on the Queen of Hearts in Heartless. I am a big fan of Alice in Wonderland, so when I heard about this book, I had to give it a try. The story of the villain is always an interesting one because we know no matter how good the story is going, its always going to end bad, otherwise they wouldn’t be the villain would they?! So when I was half way through Heartless, completely in love with the characters in the story I was distraught to think that things would not be ending with happily ever after. I still loved it even though it broke my heart! After reading Heartless, I have since been rooting for Meyer to write more of her side of the villains stories! This was such a good (or should I say bad) read!
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Written in a poetic way, this was a book that was a slow read in the best way possible. Taking my time to read every little detail created this beautiful world that I longed to be a part of. I loved that the descriptions were all so beautiful, and the MC Lazlo was a fellow lover of books. The journey that you take throughout this book will leave you breathless. I loved every minute of it, and can not wait for the sequel to be published. I do believe a reread is in order before Muse of Nightmares is released!
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
To be honest, you had me at Faeries. Holly Black is known for her world of faeries that she has created throughout many of her other books. And to no ones surprise she hit it out of the park again with her latest book The Cruel Prince. I heard so many good things about this before starting that I could not wait to crack it open and see what it was all about. And I was not disappointed! I loved that there was a different twist on the Faerie genre, and that we didn’t follow the story of a faerie in the human world but the exact opposite. Jude was a human who was kidnapped from the human world to live among the faeries, and all the things she must do to blend in and survive kept me wondering if she would succeed or fall into their lure like the rest of the humans that they prey on. These aren’t your average Tinkerbell faeries, but dark and twisted ones that will do anything to entrap you. I can’t wait to find out what happens to Jude in the next book!! AHH, let the wait begin!!
Lets Discuss
I feel like this list could have gone on and on and on.. Have you all read any of these? Do you have a favorite out of the bunch? What were some of your favorite books that lived up to the hype!?
