Top Ten Tuesday - Books that Surprised Me 😮

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. Here is the topic of the week:

😮 Books that Surprised Me 😮 

There are various reasons a book might surprise me so I'll only choose 2 categories: 1. less known books I fell in love with (or just random books I haven't expected anything from but they blew me away), and 2. books I expected so much from, but was severely disappointed. Let's dive into it!

BOOKS I DIDN'T EXPECT TO LOVE, BUT DID ❤️

    

Beauty Reborn was a retelling I knew I'd like, but I didn't expect to love it. Not only that, but I didn't expect such a soft romance. Usually Beauty and the Beast retellings take a different turn 😂 Also, before reading I saw a few negative reviews and started doubting, but I shouldn't have because the story was just so lovely. 

Royal Decoy, on the other hand is anything but soft 😂 It's got action, political intrigue, scheming, spying, great friendships etc. The whole series is a hidden gem and I'd recommend it anytime.

While on the topic of book series, Sanctuary is one that shocked me both by plot twists and reasonable decision-making making teens. It's sort of like The 100 mixed with aliens and Prison Break. It's got so many things going on and each is done well. READ IT!

If you're looking for a story about two girls building one of the best friendships ever, pick up Kat and Meg Conquer the World. At first they bond over loving the same gaming creator, but later develop a deeper understanding of each other and what they need. There's also some talk about mental illnesses. 

Of course, this list wouldn't be complete without one of the best horror books I've read in a long time. How We Became Wicked is criminally underrated and deserves more spotlight!

BOOKS THAT SHOULD'VE WOWED ME, BUT DIDN'T 😥

     

 I could easily sum up the first four books as "final installments* in a series that ruined everything." Honestly, besides that comment, I don't have much to add 😂 In all 4 cases, I've loved every book until that one - it either ruined someone's character arc, killed off characters for no good reason, or was simply stupid.

*technically, Imagine Me isn't the last book in that series, but u get the gist 😂

The last book may come as a surprise because...I can't believe I'm gonna say this - there's a Kasie West book I didn't like. Not just that, but I hated it...

The MC in Lucky in Love is too naive and stupid. Everyone manipulated her, and she just did nothing. The whole premise about winning the lottery is just ridiculous ughh

💬 Have you read any of these books? Which ones surprised you? 💬