Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is a free one, and I have a feeling I thought
hours to find a topic, but I finally found one, yay! There are books we hear
about a lot, but when you read them, they're not that great. Lately, I've read
a few books that hadn't so much hype around them, which is a bit sad, because I
thought they were great. This week, I'm going to focus on these books, the
underhyped ones.
- STOLEN SONGBIRD BY DANIELLE L. JENSEN
I posted a review for that book a few days ago, but like I said, I
heard about it because Goodreads hosted a giveaway a year ago, and after that…
Nothing. I had forgotten about this book, in fact. It's a great high fantasy
set in a world inspired from French culture, with trolls. Those trolls are
hidden under a mountain because of a curse of five centuries. Of course, they
are trying to break it, and apparently, only a human young woman could do it.
Our main character, Cécile, is abducted and sold to trolls, because some of
them believe she could be the key to their problem. That's where our story
begins… I enjoyed this book a lot, the character development was so well done,
there isn't insta-love or anything. I can't wait to pick up the sequel, Hidden
Huntress.
- DAUGHTER OF DEEP SILENCE BY CARRIE RYAN
This book was released a few months ago, but I didn't heard much
about it either. If you liked Revenge, the TV show, you will love this book. I
can't tell you too much about it but it's about a girl who is saved from a ship
wreck, then she learns that there are two other survivors… But they lied about
the wreck. For that wreck that killed her friend and her whole family, she
wants revenge and the truth. And she will do whatever it takes to have it. I
read this book in one setting, because I was so hooked into the story.
- TALON BY JULIE KAGAWA
I heard a lot about her Iron Fey and her Blood of Eden series, but
not this one. It's an urban fantasy with dragons, which I find super
refreshing, because these creatures are in high fantasy, most of the time.
Dragons are part of an organization named Talon, when they're 16-17, they have
to live among humans for a few months, as part of their trainings. Ember and
Dante are unusual, because they're twins. They have to succeed at living as
humans, to finish their trainings and know what they will do for the rest of
their lives. But in the mean time, an agent of the order of St. George (who
hunts and kills dragons) is sent to their location. The heart starts to get
involved, and one of the twins might go rogue…
- ROOK BY SHARON CAMERON
This is such an unusual book: it's a dystopia inspired from the
French Revolution. Our main character, Sophia, who lives in the United Kingdom,
is reluctant to marry a French gentleman, René. But their fates are much more
complicated than that, because the Rook (a Robin Wood who saves the peoples
that should be killed under the Razor in the City of Light) seems to be
involved with them… And he's searched by the whole French government, to be put
down.
- INK AND BONE BY RACHEL CAINE
I'm not a big fan of dystopias at the moment, because they usually
follow the same schems. I was intrigued by this one because it was a world
where the Great Library had survived, and ruled the world we know. Being part
of the Library is a great honor, and our main character is trying to be in, to
serve as a spy for his family, who runs the black market of books in London.
This book has an academic setting, is full of plot twists and no one is safe.
Oh, and by the way, people like Gutenberg who wanted to improve the book
industry are considered heretic and are killed.
- DREAM A LITTLE DREAM BY KERSTIN GIER
This author wrote the Ruby Red trilogy. Dream a little dream was
translated in English and published in April, or something like that. It's the
story of Liv, who arrives in London for another year of school (her mom travels
a lot, she has been a little everywhere), which won't be as boring as the
others. She starts to do strange dreams, where four boys of her school are
involved. What about it those dreams were real? This book made me think a
little of the Raven Boys, for the atmosphere, the plot isn't the same. I really
enjoyed it, I can't wait for the second book to come out. If only I could read
German *sighs*… The German covers are gorgeous…
- JACKABY BY WILLIAM RITTER
This book is pitched as "Doctor Who meets Sherlock
Holmes". Set in 1892 in New Fiddleham (New England), this book follows
Miss Abigail Rook as she tries to find a job and not go back to England, where
her parents want her to be a lady. She meets a mysterious Mr Jackaby, a
peculiar detective, who searches an assistant. She finds out that Jackaby only
investigate the impossible (all cases with magic) and that it could be very
dangerous for her life to follow him.
- THE GLASS SENTENCE BY S.E. GROVE
This is a fantasy where every part of the world is set in a
different time period, because of what is called "the Great
Disruption". After Sophia's uncle is abducted, she tries to find him with
the help of special maps - because her family has the best mapmakers in the
world. Apparently, the whole world is in danger because of the Disruption, and
finding the people who abducted her uncle could be the key to find her parents
who disappeared during a trip in Europe and saving the world.
- THE LAST TIME WE SAY GOODBYE BY CYNTHIA HAND
I feel like I'm mentioning this book all the time, because it didn't
get as much love as I was here, My heart and other black holes and All the
bright places. This book is about suicide, like those mentioned before, but
it's the best of them. It's such a genuine story and it made me cry so much…
But overall, it was beautiful.
- THE STARS NEVER RISE BY RACHEL VINCENT
Another dystopia, and here I was, saying it wasn't my cup of tea
lately ;) But seriously, I don't read as much dystopia as I used to, and I
either love or hate them, there is no in-between. This dystopia was a world
were humanity has to deal with demons, so the society is ruled by a very
powerful Church. When Nina gets involved with demons, she discovers that there
are much the Church doesn't tell people… And she's in the middle of it all. The
world-building of this book was SO GOOD, I still can't deal with that. It
doesn't end on a cliff-hanger, but there is room for so much!
Which books are underhyped in your opinion? Give me recommendations ;)