Top Ten Tuesday: More or Less
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
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...
8 comments
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.
ReplyDeleteI 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!
ReplyDeleteI LOVED Someone else's fairy tale! I was going to add it to my list today!
ReplyDeleteMy TTT.
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
ReplyDeleteRuby Red has always intrigued me. I'm glad you liked these book more than you thought you would!
ReplyDeleteI love everything Paris, so thanks for the thumbs up for Paris Summer.
ReplyDeletehttps://readerbuzz.blogspot.com/2017/02/books-i-loved-much-more-than-i-thought.html
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!
ReplyDeleteNice list! I loved The Sea of Tranquility, it was just a brilliant book :)
ReplyDeleteHere's My TTT