Top 5 Wednesday: Forgettable Books

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

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This week's Top 5 Wednesday topic: 

Forgettable Books

Whether you liked them or not at the time, 

these are the books you just don't really remember.

I was actually going to skip this week's T5W because I was pretty sure I had no books to fit the topic. But when I started checking GoodReads... oh yeah, there were way more than five. Apparently some were so forgettable that I just forgot about them completely. Ha. These aren't necessarily bad books, and I didn't always dislike them (except when I did), but they were just... forgettable.

Truest | Jackie Lea Sommers

I know this was a YA contemporary - and it might have had a religious aspect (don't quote me on that) but I remember nothing about the story. I gave it 3.5 stars on GoodReads but I seemed wishy-washy about that.

Bad Romance | Jen McLaughlin

This one felt so generic that truly nothing about it stood out or was memorable. I rated it 2.5 on GoodReads.

Stir Me Up | Sabrina Elkins

It's possible I only picked this one up because it featured the same cover models as my beloved Lux series. I can't tell you what this one was about - only that there was no Daemon Black to be found.

Forget Me | K.A. Harrington

I mean, with a title like that is it any wonder... ?

Falling for the Wrong Guy | Sara Hantz

Another YA contemporary. Another 2.5 star rating. Don't remember a thing. 

Have you read any of these?
Have you read books that 
you remember nothing about?

Top 5 Wednesday: Books I Want To (Finally!) Read in 2017

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

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This week's Top 5 Wednesday theme is about the books you meant to read in 2016 (or 2015, or 2014... ) and never got around to. The books that have been on your TBR for sooo long and you really still want to read them. We all have those, right? I mean, we're truly excited about them and yet somehow we never seem to get to them? (What's up with that, by the way?!) So here are my top five books that I meant to read in 2016 that I finally will read in 2017.

MAKING FACES

Amy Harmon

I just checked GoodReads and I added Making Faces to my TBR in February 2014. Almost three years ago. What am I waiting for?! This is one of those books that I just know I am going to love (even though I have no doubt it's going to destroy me). But I am the master of putting off reading certain books in order to prolong the anticipation and this one tops the list.

TORN

Jennifer L. Armentrout

There was such a long wait between Wicked and Torn. And I just knew that by the time Torn was finally released I would be grabbing it immediately and inhaling it. I mean, after the way Wicked ended I must know what's going to happen! But, yeah, that hasn't happened yet.

TATIANA AND ALEXANDER

Paullina Simons

This is another perfect example of me purposely not reading a book just to prolong my anticipation of it. I read The Bronze Horseman in September 2013 and it instantly became my favorite book of all time. Three years later and I still have not continued the trilogy. It's like, I'm still savoring the perfection that is The Bronze Horseman. (Plus, knowing what TBH did to me, I'm not sure my heart can handle it.) But I *will* be reading this one in 2017. 

SHADOW & BONE

Leigh Bardugo

I've been meaning to read the Grisha trilogy for sooo long. I know so many people who love this trilogy and, even though I'm not a big fantasy reader, I feel like I'll really enjoy it. All three books have been sitting unread on my bookshelf for far too long.  

UNDER THE LIGHTS

Abbi Glines

I read Until Friday Night, the first book in the series, back in July and bought Under the Lights as soon as it was released. But still haven't read it. Because, y'know, reasons. So I'll definitely be making this one a priority in 2017. 

What book are you *finally* going to read in 2017?

Top 5 Wednesday: Favorite Character Names

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

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I love characters with interesting and unique names so this week's T5W is a fun one. But, straight up, I'm telling you now that I'm totally cheating. I have way more than five so I'm getting a little creative. :)

1. NAMES FROM ABBI GLINES BOOKS

I love Abbi's Rosemary Beach series and it has some great character names.

Tripp Newark

Mase Colt-Manning

Rush Finlay

Kiro Manning

 

2. NAMES FROM KATIE MCGARRY BOOKS

Katie doesn't necessarily go for unusual names but there are still a couple that I really loved.

Logan

Breanna

3. NAMES FROM JENNIFER L. ARMENTROUT BOOKS

JLA's Dark Elements series is one of the best for unique names that caught my attention and were totally memorable. And I'm sneaking in one from the Covenant series, too. 

Roth

Zayne

Cayman

Seth

4. NAMES FROM COLLEEN HOOVER BOOKS

Colleen has mentioned in the past about how she likes to use unique character names that aren't seen anywhere else. And I love that. My favorites are:

Tate

Miles

Six

Lake

Ridge

5. AND ALL THE REST...

Everly

Forgetting August - J.L. Berg

Pixie

Best Kind of Broken - Chelsea Fine

Fallon & Cade

Just a Little Flirt - Renita Pizzitola

Knox & Harlow

To the Stars - Molly McAdams

 

What are some of your favorite character names?

Top 5 Wednesday: Books With Hard Topics

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

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This week's theme is books with "hard" topics - like illness, mental health, sexual assault, etc. I can't believe for a minute I actually drew a blank. I'll blame a mid-morning sugar crash since I didn't have my McD's sweet tea this morning. But then I regained my senses and came up with plenty of possibilities. Here are my Top 5:

Eleanor & Park - Rainbow Rowell
Eleanor and Park were incredible characters that completely charmed me. But Eleanor's home life also hurt my heart. 

Stolen - Lucy Christopher 
Gemma is kidnapped from an airport and taken to the Australian Outback. Her captor? A man who loves her and has planned this new life for years. I tried hard to hate Ty but found it impossible.

Hopeless - Colleen Hoover 
There's very little I can say about Hopeless without spoilers. But between Sky and Holder it covers several issues.  

Addicted To You - Krista & Becca Ritchie
This remarkable book (the first in my favorite series *ever*) deals with addiction in a heartbreakingly real way. Lily and Lo's struggles aren't pretty but I fell in love with them and have cheered them on throughout the series.

Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
After 5 years with her abductor, Alice has lost all hope of salvation. To this day I'm not sure if I'm glad I read this book or not. 

Do you enjoy books that tackle tough topics? 
Have you read any of these?

Top 5 Wednesday: Books That Feature Time Travel

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

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As much as I enjoy a time travel element, once I started looking at my books I realized I haven't read all that many that I really loved. And it's not that the time travel wasn't done well in some of these - sometimes I just didn't like the writing or the story as a whole. So apparently I really need to find myself some kick ass time travel books to make up for some of the duds. So here are my time travel reads - the good, the bad and the downright ugly.

1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon - I imagine this is going to show up on a lot of lists today. And it's definitely an exception to what I mentioned above about many of the time travel books I've read being disappointing. It's been almost 20 years since I first read Outlander and it is still an all-time favorite. Claire's sudden arrival in 1743 Scotland kicks off an epic journey. And there's Jamie Fraser. Enough said. 

2. Endless by Amanda Gray - This one was kind of middle of the road - not terrible, not great. It's definitely YA and didn't have a lot of depth but the fact that the time travel element dealt with Romanov Russia (a time period I find fascinating) had me sold. 

3. Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon - I wanted to love Doon. I *really* did. Time travel, romance, Scotland, strong female friendship... what's not to love? Overused tropes, lightweight plot and squeaky clean romance, that's what. Younger teens would probably love it but it gave me a headache from all my eye-rolling.

4. Landline by Rainbow Rowell - This kinda counts as time travel, right? I say yes. Present Georgie's connection with Past Neal was so uniquely done and I loved watching her navigate their relationship for the second time - while hoping for different results.

5. The Here and Now by Ann Brashares - Ugh. I read this as an ARC for review and it was painful. Time travel is tricky and once a reader trips up on an inconsistency it's almost impossible not to spend the rest of the book picking everything apart. The background was so poorly explained and there were so many plot holes and flimsy logic. Definitely not a shining example of time travel done well. Be gone with you book.

Do you enjoy time travel in books?
Have you read any of these or have any recommendations?

Top 5 Wednesday: Books You Did Not Finish

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

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This week's topic is Top 5 Books You Didn't Finish. I actually don't often quit books. I have a good feel for what I'm going to like and what sounds good. And even if something is just meh, I will still usually soldier on through it. I'm telling you, a book has to be bad for me to just totally quit on it. But it's happened. What happens a lot more often is reading the first book in a series and and deciding I have no interest in continuing. So here are the Top 5 books I did not finish and - as a little bonus - the Top 5 series that I did not finish:

THE BOOKS

1. Now & Forever by Susan Colasanti - Sterling was one of the most annoying main characters I've ever encountered. Obnoxious and judgmental, I wanted to smack little miss priss - often. And hearing over and over again about how her teenage boyfriend's music was unlike anything ever heard and was going to change the world. Yeah... no.

2. London Eye by Tim Lebbon - The premise was interesting but the execution - not so much. The world building was so non-existent that I was completely confused about what kind of world these people were living in. 

3. Please Don't Tell by Elizabeth Adler - The characters actions defied belief and the dialogue was so bad I couldn't continue. I should have heeded the GoodReads reviews.

4. Friday Nights by Joanna Trollope - Total yawn-fest. At 50 pages in nothing had happened. Nothing. Did I not notice the 2.98 average GoodReads rating?

5. Tumbleweeds by Leila Meacham - Absolutely nothing rang true in this one (or at least in the 50 or so pages I read). The wooden characters, the cringe-worthy dialogue - bad, just bad. Be gone with you, book!

THE SERIES

*These are the series I quit/decided not to finish. I know my opinions on most of these are wildly unpopular, so withhold the pitchforks, please. :)

1. Mara Dyer - I fell victim to the gorgeous cover and the hype. Unfortunately it contains one of my major deal breakers - an unreliable narrator. That's one trope that I loathe and can't get past. So, adios, Mara Dyer.

2. Half-Bad - My overriding feeling reading Half-Bad was: boredom. One of the slowest paced books I've read and there was nothing there that made me want to pick up book two. Half-Bad put me half-asleep. 

3. The Raven Cycle - Yeah, this is the one that will probably elicit the most boos and hisses. Everyone loves The Raven Boys. I did not. The first book felt like it was laying a whole lot of groundwork, and maybe I would have enjoyed the second book more. But after finishing the first book, I honestly just couldn't be bothered to continue.

4. The Forsaken - I actually read the first two books and even then couldn't drum up the interest to finish off this dystopian trilogy. It's just so middle-of-the-road and nothing really stands out. Plus, the "romantic relationship" is eye-rollingly bad. It was insta-love in book one, zero development of the relationship, and they just stood around clutching hands, professing their love. No thanks.

5. The Remnant Chronicles - I read The Kiss of Deception last year and just wasn't blown away. Fantasy isn't my genre of choice so that probably had a lot to do with it, but I just found it over-long - plus I had zero connection with Lia. I'm all for strong heroines but Lia defied belief for me. Her seemingly never-ending reserve of strength had me thinking she had no emotions at all. 

What books (or series) have you decided you just couldn't finish?

Top 5 Wednesday: Authors I Discovered This Year

Top 5 Wednesday was created by Lainey at GingerReadsLainey.

Click HERE for a complete list of participants and future topics.

This week's topic is Top 5 Authors You Discovered This Year. While I've read a whole lot from my favorites this year (Colleen Hoover, Abbi Glines, Jennifer Armentrout, K.A. Tucker), it's also been a good year for me trying out new (to me) authors. Some were so impressive that I've already read more from them - or added more of their books to my TBR. So here are my Top 5 favorite new discoveries this year:

1. MIRANDA KENNEALLY

  

I picked up Breathe, Annie, Breathe on a whim and was prepared for a light, fluffy YA contemporary. It was so much more than I expected. It dealt with some serious themes and I was so invested in Annie and her story. Kenneally managed to develop YA characters that felt completely realistic and the dialogue always rang true.

2. SARAH DARLINGTON

 

  

I can't even remember how I came across Kill Devil Hills by Sarah Darlington but I am *so* glad I did. I was in the mood for a new adult contemporary and this one blew me away. Sarah's writing style pulled me in right away and I fell in love with Georgie and Noah's story.  I have to say I didn't enjoy the second book quite as much but I'm definitely sticking with the series. 

3. KRISTEN CALLIHAN

  

I can't believe I almost missed out on Kristen Callihan because of this cheesy cover. (I mean, seriously, it's pretty cringe-worthy.) This one had so much more substance than the cover and title suggests. Callihan's writing is smart and sexy and funny and I thoroughly enjoyed this one (and may have even got a little teary at one scene. I hear the next book in this companion series is just as good if not better and I will definitely be reading more.

4. MIA SHERIDAN

 

Oh, what this book did to my emotions! Mia Sheridan managed to make me fall in love with this story by *PAGE TWO.* She created a story that captivated me and characters that I absolutely loved. I was an instant fan. I've read once other by Sheridan since Leo and I won't stop there. This woman is amazing at piling on All The Feels and I'll be reading everything she writes.

5. J.A. REDMERSKI

I've had several J.A. Redmerski books sitting on my shelves for quite a while... unread. Then I was sent an ARC for The Moment of Letting Go in preparation for the blog tour/release date. Wow. Just WOW. Redmerski crafted a story that was unforgettable. Well-developed, realistically flawed characters and a story that was equal parts heart breaking and uplifting. Loved it. It immediately became one of my favorites of 2015 and I know I'll be reading those other Redmerski books on my shelves soon.

What authors have you discovered this year? 
Share with me below so I can check them out, too!