Tuesday, February 19, 2019

Top Ten Tuesday: My Little Known Gems

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

My Little Known Gems!


This week we are looking at books I LOVED that have less than 2,000 ratings on Goodreads. I apparently read off the beaten path, because many of my favorites fall into this category, however, I will be focusing on those I read in 2018, which I have not previously featured on my hidden gems post. I also noticed that I picked those books that clocked in between 4.5 - 5 stars, AND were written by authors I keep returning to for more. 


What are some little known books you adore?
Let us know in the comments!

63 comments:

  1. All the covers are so nice, for sure will check these out, always looking for new reads!

    Lotte | www.lottelauv.blogspot.co.uk

    ReplyDelete
  2. Most of what I read will be low rated as I read a ton of Indie books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And we know Indies don't tend to get as much love, but all of these are big press books. Like I said, I read off the beaten path, but I love supporting those less hyped books.

      Delete
  3. We Regret to Inform you and Hidden Pieces sounded damned good! Great list, Sam!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We Regret to Inform you was such an interesting look at the college application process with a bit of OTT in there for fun, and Paula Stokes is always good for me. I am such a fan of all her books.

      Delete
  4. The Geography of Lost Things has been on my TBR for a while now. Invisible Ghosts sounds really good too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Both were fantastic grief and loss books with Ghosts actually having a little paranormal spin. Loved them both!

      Delete
  5. I love that we both have Four Three Two One on our lists! I'm hoping it's only because it's rather new, and more people will read it soon. Wild Bird is another great one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am such a fan of Stevens' books. I have loved every one I have read. I read Flipped and then went on a mission to read any Van Draanen book I could find in the library. Her writing is something special.

      Delete
  6. *hides in shame*
    I haven't read any of these. :(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet if I did an adult list, which you know would really be all contemporary romances for me, you would have maybe read a few.

      Delete
  7. I’m surprised that some of these have so few ratings. I feel like I’ve seen them on a bunch of blogs. Maybe people are just hauling them and not reading them. (I’m definitely guilty of that.)

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. With the amount of books some bloggers haul, it's near impossible for them to read them all, and I guess these didn't make the cut. It's a shame, because they were all really wonderful books.

      Delete
  8. If I Fix You looks familiar! I love the cover to Invisible Ghosts :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All Johnson's cover's have the same look and feel, so you could be thinking of Fix or her newest book, which is making the rounds. I adore her book. All three were wonderful!

      Delete
  9. I haven't heard of a single one of these, Sam! *gasp* I'll check them out though. Hidden Pieces, Wild Blue Wonder, and How We Roll all really pique my interest. The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy by Sara Angelini is a book I enjoyed and it only has 1421 reviews. The Man Who Loved Pride & Prejudice by Abigail Reynolds was also a good read and only has 1584 ratings. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is my YA book. I will probably take a look at my adult books at a later date, and I feel like there are not as many YA contemporary bloggers out there, whereas I am dedicated to contemporaries. The Man Who Loved P & P looks interesting. I may have to check that one out.

      Delete
  10. You read so many books, it's not surprising that some of them are hidden gems! I have a copy of That Night, I have to read it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sometimes I feel like the bulk of my books are hidden gems. I feel like the lone YA contemporary blogger in a sea of SFF readers.

      Delete
  11. Curious about Wild Bird, since I loved her novel Flipped so much.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I went and binged as many of Van Draanen's books as I could get from the library after I read Flipped and they were all so good.

      Delete
  12. I really liked Geography of Lost Things. I have Four Three Two One and Hidden Pieces though and need to get to them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you do get to them, because I loved them so much

      Delete
  13. I have a copy of the Paula Stokes book in my pile that I need to get read. I still want to read We Regret to Inform You. It sounds good. Thanks for sharing your Hidden Gems, I love reading books that don’t get as much buzz.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I like Kaplan a lot. I love her humor and feel like she is so underrated. Stokes is under appreciated too, because I have yet to read something by her that I didn't find fabulous.

      Delete
  14. I STILL have Wild Bird to read. It's been sitting on my shelf and I need to get to it. And Paula Stokes is another author I've been meaning to get to- Hidden Pieces had me curious, and so did Geography of Lost Things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I recommend basically any book by Van Draanen. Her books are fantastic. I have nothing but love for Brody and Stokes too. They have yet to disappoint me.

      Delete
  15. I love all of the covers for these books. Very eye-catching.

    My Top Ten Tuesday post.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am a cover-ho, so pretty covers will always warrant my attention.

      Delete
  16. I haven't read any of these. I read loads of indie titles but I struggled to find 10 this week. Maybe I just didn't look hard enough, lol.

    It's good to read off the beaten path. 🙂

    I find it fascinating that your list is traditional publishing heavy yet under 2000 on GR. It says a lot about the variety and amount of options available now, I think.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You read a lot of romance, and indie romances seem to be well read, whereas indie YA books, not so much (though, these are all big press books)

      Delete
  17. I haven't read any of these, but I do know of a few of them! I've heard great things about Wild Blue Wonder!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved both Soroisak's books. She delivers a great YA contemporary involving family and friendship, which always work for me.

      Delete
  18. I like the look of The Geography of Lost Things. I'll have to check it out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Geography was a really well done story. I love road trip and grief books, and Brody kept it interesting with the Craig's list swapping and complicated romantic subplot.

      Delete
  19. I don't know any of these books and they look wonderful! This topic is so fun, I love finding underrated books to read. I'm adding a bunch of these to my reading list 😃

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Considering I read mostly big pub books, it's surprising how many of my books are little known.

      Delete
  20. Sometimes I just don't know why certain books don't have a lot of ratings. Hopefully people are reading them that don't use Goodreads. LOL Thanks for all these rec's.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I find when I am out on book twitter or bookstagram, it's dominated by fantasy books or a few huge contemporaries. I will also see people hauling the books, but I guess they don't get to them, because I review a lot of books, which I never see around the blogosphere.

      Delete
  21. Oh this is a great list! I really enjoyed We Regret To Inform You as well, happy to see it here :) I have Wild Blue Wonder and Hidden Pieces on my TBR, can't wait to read both :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kaplan's books are fabulous. I am so excited for her new one!

      Delete
  22. A few of these books are in my tbr already! Glad to hear you love them so much!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you get to them someday, because they were all wonderful for me.

      Delete
  23. Thanks for sharing some new to me authors.

    sherry @ fundinmental

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you ever get an itch to read some YA contemporary, these were all fabulous.

      Delete
  24. I can't say I've read any of these, but I'd like to read We Regret To Inform You. :)

    Thanks for visiting my blog earlier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I loved both Kaplan's books, but there was something extra special about Regret. Her writing is great and the story was fun and had substance.

      Delete
  25. Looks like a great lineup. What does it mean when you say they have under 2K ratings? Is there something wrong with it? Do they get in trouble? Is there a special meaning to this? I don't know the significance of this and have seen it before. Can you explain it to me?

    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. More ratings, means more people are reading the books. I would think a lot of ratings plus book sales would equal success. I don't know if people are reading the books and not rating or these are just books that are falling through the cracks. Either way, I am happy I found them all, because they were wonderful.

      Delete
    2. Thank you, I was just wondering what it meant. =)

      Mary

      Delete
  26. I have The Geography of Lost Things and I LOVE Brody but haven't read it yet for some reason.

    I liked Wild Bird.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love all that is both Brody and Van Draanen. I am so happy I found both of those authors.

      Delete
  27. YESSS to Four Three Two One! Such a favorite! I also really liked Hidden Pieces. I need to read a lot of these, but especially want to read Wild Blue Wonder and If I Fix You- I have heard AMAZING things about the latter, but the former has always been on my radar too! Pretty curious now about Invisible Ghosts and That Night too, and now I want to go back and read all your reviews on the others! Thanks for sharing these with us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. All of these books are by authors, who I keep going back to for more. Their books work for me. Not too heavy, but still having depth and meaning. They know how to produce that balance I love, and their stories are just wonderful

      Delete
  28. I so love this week's topic Sam! I love raving about a book that I think needs more love! I added some from your choices above! Sophie @bewareofthereader

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am always screaming for those little books. They need love too.

      Delete
  29. Well, I haven't rated any of these books because I haven't read any of them! *Sigh* So many books, so little time ...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's hard to read them all. I am lucky to have access to so many books, and also, to read so many. It gives me a freedom to explore a lot more, than people who have to buy all their book and maybe don't have as much time to read.

      Delete
  30. I haven't yet read any of these but 4 of these are already on my TBR. And I am sure I would love them too because I have figured, we have similar tastes :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really adored each and every one of these books. If you have access and the time, I think they are all worth reading.

      Delete
  31. To some people these may be hidden gems but as a regular reader of your blog I recognise almost all of these. But I just need to read some now. A lot of them are on my wishlist DD:

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am sure I have many other gems on my wishlist too. I usually will cave on a hype book at some point, but I love giving the less talked about titles a look, if they fit with my tastes.

      Delete