Top Ten Tuesday: Hidden Gem Books

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

If you've been around my blog before at all, you'll know I love recommending the books fewer people know about, the #quietYA titles that need a little more love. So any time Top Ten Tuesday has a topic where I get to recommend those, I get super excited. I'm gonna stick mostly to 2018 releases for this post, just because the year is halfway over and there are only so many books that got on the NYT bestseller list. Also... because these books deserve more attention, I'm hosting a couple giveaway! Details at the bottom.


1. Not Now, Not Ever by Lily Anderson


2. The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo


3. Chaotic Good by Whitney Gardner


4. Don't Touch by Rachel M. Wilson


5. The Things You Kiss Goodbye by Leslie Connor


6. What You Always Wanted by Kristin Rae


7. Maid of Secrets and Maid of Deception by Jennifer McGowan


8. Dissonance by Erica O'Rourke


9. The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby


10. The Geek's Guide to Unrequited Love by Sarvenaz Tash


11. In a Perfect World by Trish Doller


12. More Than We Can Tell by Brigid Kemmerer


13. Calling My Name by Liara Tamani


14. Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson


15. Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett


And now for the giveaway! First up, some rules:

1. No cheating. I check entries.
2. The giveaway is open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to you.
3. If you're the winner, you must reply to my email within 48 hours; otherwise, I will choose another winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rewind & Review #117

Created by Shae Has Left the Room.

~I had a whirlwind trip home, between Niall Horan's concert, a day in D.C. (including the National Book Fest), and lunch with my aunt.
~The new interns are starting to arrive at work. I'm so excited to get to know new bookish people, and I'm also glad a few of the friends I made this summer are sticking around. 
~I've started listening to Lea Michele's solo stuff, and it's actually good?? "Hey You" is so beautiful and heartbreaking.
~My roommate and I had a fun weekend together. I showed her around part of our neighborhood and took her to my favorite winery.

Books I Received for Review

Caterpillar Summer by Gillian McDunn (from Bloomsbury)

Books I Won/Traded for/was Gifted

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera (trade)

Books I Bought

My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows
The Hate U Give Collector's Edition by Angie Thomas
Dare You to Lie by Amber Lynn Natusch
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake

Books I Read

A Paris Year by Janice Macleod (3 stars)
The Wren Hunt by Mary Watson
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (3.5 stars)
Wild Blue Wonder by Carlie Sorosiak (4 stars)
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan (3 stars)
P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han (reread)
What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
First Class Murder by Robin Stevens (reread)
The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman (5 stars)
More Than a Princess by E.D. Baker (3 stars)
When We Caught Fire by Anna Godbersen (DNF)
What You Always Wanted by Kristin Rae (reread)
The Last Summer of the Garrett Girls (4.5 stars)

Blog Posts You Might've Missed in the Last Few Weeks

   (from 8/27-9/1)

• Top Ten Tuesday: Nonfiction I Want to Read
• New York Adventures, Month Three
• Review: Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman (3 stars)
• Most Anticipated September 2018 Releases

   (from 9/2-9/8)

• Top Ten Tuesday: Bingeworthy Media
• Sadie Blog Tour: Review (3.5 stars)
• Random Friday: Media That Makes Me Think of Fall
• Judging a Book By Its Cover

Judging a Book By Its Cover

Do you ever see a cover that is so pretty, you want to buy the book, despite a) not liking it, b) having no idea what it's about, or c) not being able to read it because it's in a different language?

I fall victim to this problem, mainly when it comes to the third reason. I collect YA books in French because I can kind of comprehend them, but there are also a bunch of YA novels I want in other languages just because the covers look so cool. And I think y'all will agree with me after I show you these covers. (I've done a post related to this but not specifically about my wishlist, so I hope you'll forgive me for repeating a topic.)

For example, look at these matching Indonesian covers for Gayle Forman books:


And admire with me the illustrated cover for When We Collided in Portuguese:




Part of it is a culture thing because I deeply want this Finnish edition of Heist Society:

(I'm part-Finnish.)

But it's mostly just pretty covers:


(Bulgarian Anna and the French Kiss and Turkish Written in the Stars)

(Italian The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight and Romanian Eliza and Her Monsters)

It does make me sad that a lot of the #ownvoices or diverse YA I've enjoyed either don't have foreign editions, or they're not very pretty or unique (many use a variation on the original U.S. cover or go for the standard girl-in-a-dress or typography formulas).

Do you collect foreign editions of your favorite books when you can? How do you acquire them? Would you rather acquire a foreign edition for its cover or because you understand the language?

Random Friday: Media That Makes Me Think of Fall

Want to participate in Random Fridays? Just do the following:

• Include the above image in your post and link back to my blog.
• Blog about this week's topic (or a variant of it).
• Add the link to your Random Friday post at the bottom of this one.

Sometimes there's a movie or book or TV show that really feels like fall to me. So that's what inspired this week's topic.

1. Gilmore Girls

It just felt so right to rewatch Rory's first day at college episode before my junior and senior years at Asbury.

2. Harry Potter

I mean, duh.

3. Anne of Green Gables

After all, with quotes like "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers," this book (and its sequels) were made for autumn.

4. Main Street series

Granted, the first book is set in summer, but the second and some of the later ones are set in fall, and the small town feel is perfect, no matter the time of year.

5. You've Got Mail

"Don't you love New York in the fall?"

6. The Language of Thorns

Just something about these Grisha-verse fairy tales feels perfectly autumnal to me.

7. The Caroline books

More so than Little House in the Big Woods, there is something lovely and quiet about Caroline's series.

8. Dead Poets Society

This one is another given to me.

9. The Red album

Taylor always releases her albums in the fall (although, to be honest, I hope this pattern changes with TS7), but Red especially feels like an autumn album.

What about you? What books/movies/TV shows/music make you think of fall?

Sadie Blog Tour: Review

Goodreads  Read Between the Lynes  Barnes & Noble  The Book Depository

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. 

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meagre clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.

website  Twitter  Instagram  

Courtney Summers was born in Belleville, Ontario, Canada in 1986 and currently resides in a small town not far from there. At age 14, and with her parents' blessing, Courtney dropped out of high school to pursue her education independently. At age 18, she wrote her first novel and never looked back. Her first book, Cracked Up to Be, was published in 2008, when she was 22. To date, she has authored five novels and is best known for her unapologetic, difficult female protagonists. In 2016, Courtney was named one of Flare Magazine's 60 under 30.


REVIEW

This is not a book for the faint-of-heart. It is difficult and heartbreaking and dark. But the narration is magnificent. Split between a true crime podcast and Sadie's own narration, we learn what's happened to her and her younger sister. The parts where the reader knows more than the podcast guy are both thrilling and heartbreaking. The narrative is very cinematic in a lot of ways, with the dual narrators and timeline. Sadie is definitely an unlikeable heroine, but it works for this story. And I'm not big on podcasts, but I can see how that angle will draw in readers. The way the story is told, through the podcast and Sadie's POV, is so unique and really well done.
However, what I really struggled with is that there is little to redeem this story. It's dark and pessimistic, and none of the main characters are truly good people. 
But I know plenty of readers will enjoy the podcast and mystery angles and will be hooked by the narrative!

Content warnings: pedophilia, sexual assault, foul language, death, violence.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bingeworthy Media

Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

It's that time of year where TV shows are about to start their new seasons, so it's time to get some bingeing in. I'm also gonna include a few bingeworthy book series/authors, cause why not?

1. The Great British Bake-Off (or, The Great British Baking Show in the U.S.)

Netflix has four seasons and they are so, so, SO binge-able. 

2. The Good Place

Although I don't agree with all the perspectives of this show, it draws you in from the first episode and keeps you watching. And that cliffhanger at the end of season one? I was absolutely reeling and had to wait for season two to hit Netflix (which it did last week).

3. The Office

I am a firm believer that sitcoms are much more binge-able than hour-long dramas, just because of the quick, humorous nature.

4. Hart of Dixie

Of course, HoD is kind of an exception to my last comment. It's soapy and fun, so the hours fly by.

5. Stranger Things

The plot keeps you wanting to watch numerous episodes in a row.

6. Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Technically a web-series, but it totally counts.

7. Green Gables Fables

Same as LBD. They really hit their stride in the second season, but the back half of the first season is excellent too.

8. Morgan Matson's books

She's written five under her own name, and six under a pen name, so there's a lot of bingeing potential here.

9. Gallagher Girls by Ally Carter

Six books that start off deliciously fun and grow a bit darker but still have a strong voice.

10. Kasie West's books

She has ten published YA books. TEN. And three of them came out in 2017, which is epic. Some of hers aren't as good as others, but she has such a solid set that she's worth bingeing.

What media do you think is particularly bingeworthy?