Help Me Decide!
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!
Top Ten Books I'm Not Sure I Want to Read
1. Tsarina by J. Nelle Patrick
Why I'm Interested: Russia, duh.
Why I'm Unsure: It's gotten mixed reviews from bloggers I follow.
2. Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman
Why I'm Interested: I love WWII books, and this sounds like a different perspective.
Why I'm Unsure: I read a critical review that made me question my desire to read it.
3. Still Star-Crossed by Melinda Taub
Why I'm Interested: It picks up after the end of Romeo and Juliet!
Why I'm Unsure: I've heard nothing about it - it's only on my radar because I saw it at the library.
4. Gilt by Katherine Longshore
Why I'm Interested: Royalty is right up my alley.
Why I'm Unsure: I read a few chapters and never quite got into it.
5. Belle Epoque by Elizabeth Ross
Why I'm Interested: It sounds so unique, and I love learning about "new to me" time periods.
Why I'm Unsure: Honestly, I just don't know much about it.
6. Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger
Why I'm Interested: I basically want to read it because of the cover and title.
Why I'm Unsure: Steampunk doesn't really interest me very much.
7. The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Why I'm Interested: I see people talk about it a lot on Twitter.
Why I'm Unsure: I can't even tell you what it's about...
8. Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins
Why I'm Interested: The Southern setting mostly, but it's also got a fantastic cover.
Why I'm Unsure: It sounds a little cheesy.
9. The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas
Why I'm Interested: Kelly loved this book, and I trust her.
Why I'm Unsure: My eyes glazed over when I saw the word "elementals" in the summary.
10 The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell
Why I'm Interested: I've really loved fantasy lately.
Why I'm Unsure: I hate this cover, and the summary seems a little blah.
I've actually only read 1 out of these 10 books, and it was The Archived. IT'S SO GOOD. Not knowing what it's about shouldn't be a reason NOT to read it. ;) It's even cooler going into not knowing! I tried picking up Prisoner of Night and Fog, but couldn't get into it. :( I heard Rebel Belle is super fun and addicting though, you might be in for a light read! Thanks for sharing your list, Hannah!
ReplyDeleteI really want to read Prisoner of Night and Fog! I don't know why I haven't picked it up yet ... I really think you should give it a try despite the bad review. Who knows, you could really enjoy it! :)
ReplyDeleteI so cannot help you since I haven't read any on your list. =(
ReplyDeleteHowever, even I don't know what The Archived is about but I fully intend to read it because it Schwab! Have you read her book Vicious? It's perfect and I love it and now I want to read whatever Schwab writes.
Apart from that I'm really interested in reading The Burning Sky (fantasy!), Gilt (well, it sounds awesome), and Rebel Belle (yesss).
I just read Rebel Belle and actually really liked it! It's definitely more of a light-hearted read, but I loved the hilarious main character and I think that it gets away with maybe being a little bit cheesy because of how sarcastic the book is about it's own self. It was just a very adorable and fun read...I think you might like it! It probably wouldn't be a 5-star read, but I think that I gave it 4?
ReplyDeleteOkay, so here's my issue with Tsarina - and I even made a comment about it on GR that the author replied to, which was lovely of her to do. You know I love me some Romanovs. Pretty much any book focused on that family is one I need to read..but. BUT. This one seems to be a romance which would be fine..if it involved one of the older girls. Instead it's about Alexei and his True Love. Alexei was killed when he was 13. Somehow I can't imagine a 13-year-old having an amazing love life. I get that liberties were taken, but that's stretching it a bit too far for me.
ReplyDeleteI grabbed Prisoner of Night and Fog from EW but never read it. I'm big on WWII fiction as well and while the reviews I've read were mostly positive, there's something keeping me from reading it. Someday?
What exactly is the Romeo & Juliet one about? I'll admit it's been over a decade since I've read the play, but I thought they died at the end.. :( CONFUSED HERE, HANNAH.
I can't speak for Rebel Belle, but I thought her Hex Hall series was so much fun!
so I just realized that this comment is of NO help in deciding whether or not you should read these. Sorry!
The only one that I have read and can therefore comment on is The Cadet of Tildor. I was really interested in this one because it received so many favourable comparisons to some of my favourite authors. However, I think it really fell flat. I found the characters, plot, and writing all lacking. It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either... and I could recommend a whole whack of other fantastic fantasy books that would be a much better use of your precious reading time!
ReplyDeleteMost of these I still have on my TBR so I can't say too much about them. However, I read The Archived and it's absolutely amazing. It is a bit tricky to grasp what's going on, but once you do (we're talking within the first few chapters), it's absolutely amazing. The only sucky thing is only the first two books have been published and the third is kind of hanging in limbo. Despite that, it's definitely a book I'd recommend!
ReplyDeleteMy Top Ten Tuesday: To Read or Not To Read
I'm useless for you your list since I haven't read any of these! Not that it is saying much, but none of these are on my TBR or wishlist either :(
ReplyDeleteI admit, I haven't heard of a few of these! But titles such as Burning Sky and Rebel Belle are on my MAYBE list as well. I know Alexa ADORED Cadet of Tildor so maybe thats a go for ya!
ReplyDeleteI had NO CLUE what The Archived was about going into it and the synopsis just made things even more confusing for me (because of a typo that mixed up the gender pronouns!) but I started reading and it was SO GOOD. It sounded so complicated but it all came together and was really exciting and wonderful. You should definitely give it a try! :)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely read The Archived! It's SO Good!!!! The sequel is even better! Also, Rebel Belle is freaking cute. It's very much in the vein of Buffy. So if you like Buffy, you'd like Rebel Belle.
ReplyDeleteI think you should give Prisoner of Night and Fog a try! I was completely caught up in Gretchen's story - there were parts that really creeped me out and had me worried for her. WWII is such a fascinating time, and I think Anne Blankman gave us a unique spin on it. Plus it's obvious she did her research - the historical details feel authentic.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I'm a fan of The Cadet of Tildor! It was one of the strongest YA fantasies I read in 2013, especially because I'm a easily reeled in by the prospect of a girl disguising herself as a boy in fantasies. So yes, I really think that's one you should check out.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked The Prisoner of Night and Fog. It's quite disturbing, honestly, but it's also really interesting in how unique a perspective it presents to the reader. I'm still not certain how I feel about it being a series, or even about some of the things that happen in it, but it definitely stayed on my mind.
Also, The Burning Sky starts a little slow, but gets better! I was invested enough to want to read book two, so I think that says something about this story. I would personally be okay with skipping on Belle Epoque, though I did enjoy certain aspects of it.
You should read Prisoner of night and fog. I thought it was a great story and I loved seeing the different sides from Hitler.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read all the other books, but I see many of them that I have on my wish list :p
Mel@thedailyprophecy
Read Belle Epoque! Seriously. It was one of my favorite reads from last year and I highly recommend it. Well written, an intriguing storyline, and just all-around a good read.
ReplyDeletePrisoner of Night and Fog was a good book, though not a great one in my opinion. Still, it's impressively researched and a fascinating "what if" story to contemplate.
And a retelling of Romeo and Juliet after the ending? I'm so looking into that! How interesting!
The Cadet of Tildor seriously has a terrible cover. But it's a book I've been meaning to read for a while too. I think it's gotten fairly positive reviews.
Burning Sky!!!! I really loved that book! You should totally not let the elemental magic scare you. It's amazing!!! Trust Kelly!
ReplyDeleteI will say that I started E&E and made it like ten pages in and have decided to put it on hold for a little while - haven't given up entirely because I do enjoy this author! It may have been a case of the wrong book at the wrong time. Gail Carriger is really great though but you have to be in the mood...(I think).
ReplyDeleteYou got my text...that is all :)
ReplyDeleteOkay I have lots of thoughts haha!
ReplyDelete-I thought Gilt was a great YA historical fiction read. It's fast paced but I really enjoyed the characters. Some complained about a modern feeling, but it didn't bother me. I liked Tarnish even more.
- Don't let steampunk scare you away from Etiquette & Espionage, I'm not a steampunk fan either. The writing is so witty and clever; someone described her adult series as Jane Austen meets paranormal which I think is apt. I loved that series and this is set 20 years prior. Sophronia is very charming, I think you would love the characters if you give it a chance! Plus the mysteries and general atmosphere of ridiculousness is really fun.
-The Burning Sky is challenging to get into, sort of confusing and lots of info thrown at you, but if you can make it past the first couple chapters it gets really good! I ended up loving it.
-The Cadet of Tildor was a solid 3.5 for me. Worth reading from the library, it was a great story. I just wanted to connect to the characters more.
-The Archived is wacky. It sat on my shelf for months but I enjoyed it once I read it. The sequel continues to sit on my shelf though....
Out of all of them, I would most definitely try E&E, or her adult book Soulless. It's zany and wonderful.