Top Ten Tuesday: More or Less

by - February 21, 2017


Top Ten Tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week will be a different Top Ten list. Everyone is welcome to join and link up.

This week is “Ten Books I Loved Less/More Than I Thought I Would”. For this list I used books that I liked more than I thought I would.

This list is in no particular order. Click on *link to learn more about the book on Goodreads.

Secret Society Girl by Diana Peterfreund
Secret Society Girl #1 (*Link)

Elite Eli University junior Amy Haskel never expected to be tapped into Rose & Grave, the country’s most powerful—and notorious—secret society. She isn’t rich, politically connected, or…well, male.
So when Amy receives the distinctive black-lined invitation with the Rose & Grave seal, she’s blown away. Could they really mean her?
Whisked off into an initiation rite that’s a blend of Harry Potter and Alfred Hitchcock, Amy awakens the next day to a new reality and a whole new set of “friends”—from the gorgeous son of a conservative governor to an Afrocentric lesbian activist whose society name is Thorndike. And that’s when Amy starts to discover the truth about getting what you wish for. Because Rose & Grave is quickly taking her away from her familiar world of classes and keggers, fueling a feud, and undermining a very promising friendship with benefits. And that’s before Amy finds out that her first duty as a member of Rose & Grave is to take on a conspiracy of money and power that could, quite possibly, ruin her whole life.


Someone Else’s Fairytale by E.M. Tippetts

Someone Else’s Fairytale #1 *Link

*(Kindle Edition is free here)
 
Ordinary Chloe Winters has what every woman wants--the heart of Hollywood's hottest celebrity Jason Vanderholt. Falling for a hot shot A-lister is the last thing on Chloe's mind. She has no interest in romance--or his scene, especially the crowd of people who surround him. After all, Chloe's more wrapped up in finishing college--not fraternizing with Hollywood's elite. Her best bet is to stay under the radar and steer clear of everyone's leading man.
But Jason can't get his mind off the timid and sweet girl. Now, it's up to the heartthrob to steal the heart of the one girl who doesn't want him. But what happens when this contemporary Cinderella doesn't even want to try on the glass slipper?
After all, not everyone has the same fairytale. . .
  
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay

*Link *


I live in a world without magic or miracles. A place where there are no clairvoyants or shapeshifters, no angels or superhuman boys to save you. A place where people die and music disintegrates and things suck. I am pressed so hard against the earth by the weight of reality that some days I wonder how I am still able to lift my feet to walk.
Former piano prodigy Nastya Kashnikov wants two things: to get through high school without anyone learning about her past and to make the boy who took everything from her—her identity, her spirit, her will to live—pay.
Josh Bennett’s story is no secret: every person he loves has been taken from his life until, at seventeen years old, there is no one left. Now all he wants is be left alone and people allow it because when your name is synonymous with death, everyone tends to give you your space.
Everyone except Nastya, the mysterious new girl at school who starts showing up and won’t go away until she’s insinuated herself into every aspect of his life. But the more he gets to know her, the more of an enigma she becomes. As their relationship intensifies and the unanswered questions begin to pile up, he starts to wonder if he will ever learn the secrets she’s been hiding—or if he even wants to.


Damaged Goods by Lauren Gallagher

*Link*


Jocelyn Rhodes is a single mother with a demanding career and a long-neglected libido. Frustrated with the dating scene and way overdue for some satisfying sex, she takes a friend’s advice and hires Sabian, a deliciously sexy escort. He’s well worth the money, and the sheets haven’t even cooled off before she’s ready to call him again.
The more time she spends with him, the more she realizes she and Sabian have more in common than she thought. She’s a single mom, he’s a prostitute, and when it comes to dating, they’re both damaged goods. To most potential mates, Jocelyn and Sabian are in a category akin to dented soup cans, but if the two of them can look past each other’s respective dents, they just might find something they’ve both been missing.
But even if they do find that something, how on earth can she make a relationship work with a man who sleeps with other women for a living?
 
Awakening by Wendy Corsi Staub

Lily Dale #1 *Link


Calla thought that her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. With her father heading to California for a new job, they decide that Calla should spend a few weeks with the grandmother she barely knows while he gets them set up.  
   To Calla's shock, her mother's hometown of Lily Dale is a town full of psychics--including her grandmother. Suddenly, the fact that her mother never talked about her past takes on more mysterious overtones. The longer she stays in town, the stranger things become, as Calla starts to experience unusual and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother's unique gift. Is it this gift that is making her suspect that her mother's death was more than an accident, or is it just an overactive imagination? Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover the truth. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother's past and her own future?


A Different Kind of Forever by Dee Ernst

*Link*


Michael Carlucci, the hot, young musical genius behind the successful rock band, NinetySeven, knows that he’s found the woman for him. Diane Matthews is not just beautiful and smart, she’s got an infectious passion for everything in her life, from her three daughters to her new play. For him, the search is over. He knows they belong together.
For Diane, it’s not as simple. She’s almost twenty years older than Michael. She’s not interested in remarrying – she’s very happy with her life just the way it is, thank you very much. But she can’t deny the growing attraction between them – and it’s not just his touch that she craves. But it’s not until Michael is gone and an old love returns that she realizes just what he meant to her. He said he would love her forever. Can she trust that? Or should she find a safer route to happiness?


Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Precious Stone #1 *Link


Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!
Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.


Electric Storm by Stacey Brutger

Raven Investigations #1 *Link

 Everything changed when Raven, a natural born conduit, accidentally walks in on a slave auction. She only wants a night out with her friends before her next case as a paranormal liaison with the police. Instead, she ends up in possession of a shifter and his guardian. When your touch can kill, living with two touchy-feely shifters is a disaster waiting to happen.
To make matters worse, a vicious killer is on the loose. As mutilated bodies turn up, she can't help fear that her new acquisitions are keeping secrets from her. The strain of keeping everyone alive, not to mention catching the killer, pushes her tenuous control of her gift and her emotions to their limits. If they hope to survive, they must work together as a pack or risk becoming hunted themselves.


One Paris Summer by Denise Grover Swank

*Link*


 Most teens dream of visiting the City of Lights, but it feels more like a nightmare for Sophie Brooks. She and her brother are sent to Paris to spend the summer with their father, who left home a year ago without any explanation. As if his sudden abandonment weren't betrayal enough, he's about to remarry, and they’re expected to play nice with his soon-to-be wife and stepdaughter. The stepdaughter, Camille, agrees to show them around the city, but she makes it clear that she will do everything in her power to make Sophie miserable.
Sophie could deal with all the pain and humiliation if only she could practice piano. Her dream is to become a pianist, and she was supposed to spend the summer preparing for a scholarship competition. Even though her father moved to Paris to pursue his own dream, he clearly doesn't support hers. His promise to provide her with a piano goes unfulfilled.
Still, no one is immune to Paris’s charm. After a few encounters with a gorgeous French boy, Sophie finds herself warming to the city, particularly when she discovers that he can help her practice piano. There’s just one hitch—he’s a friend of Camille’s, and Camille hates Sophie. While the summer Sophie dreaded promises to become best summer of her life, one person could ruin it all. 


Blade Song by J.C. Daniels

Colbana Files #1 *Link


 Kit Colbana - half breed, assassin, thief, jack of all trades - has a new job: track down the missing ward of one of the local alpha shapeshifters. It should be a piece of cake.
So why is she so nervous? It probably has something to do with the insanity that happens when you deal with shifters - especially sexy ones who come bearing promises of easy jobs and easier money.
Or maybe it’s all the other missing kids that Kit discovers while working the case, or the way her gut keeps screaming she’s gotten in over her head. Or maybe it’s because if she fails - she’s dead.
If she can stay just one step ahead, she should be okay. Maybe she’ll even live long enough to collect her fee...



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8 comments

  1. I really enjoyed both One Paris Summer (who doesn't love travelling to Paris!? :D) and Ruby Red. Though vastly different in their stories and genres, both have an interesting story to tell.

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  2. I loooove The Sea of Tranquility. I was a little taken aback when I started reading and realized it was YA because the blogger who recommended it doesn't read a lot of YA, but it was just as fantastic as she said. Glad to see another fan!

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  3. I LOVED Someone else's fairy tale! I was going to add it to my list today!
    My TTT.

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  4. I haven't heard of most of these but I'm glad they were good reads for you! I have read Ruby Red and liked it, I wish I could watch the movie (and understand it) though!My Top Ten

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  5. Ruby Red has always intrigued me. I'm glad you liked these book more than you thought you would!

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  6. I love everything Paris, so thanks for the thumbs up for Paris Summer.

    https://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/02/books-i-loved-much-more-than-i-thought.html

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  7. I haven't heard of too many of these, except Sea of Tranquility and Ruby Red, but I'm glad to hear that you were pleasantly surprised. I will have to check out a couple of these. Hope you have a great week!

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  8. Nice list! I loved The Sea of Tranquility, it was just a brilliant book :)
    Here's My TTT

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