I’ve really missed doing Friday Favorites, and since no one was currently hosting it, Cait @ Functionally Fictional decided to jump into the gap. Each week, she provides a prompt, and I get to talk about my favorite books that fit the topic. Feel free to join in – the more the merrier!

This week’s prompt is a freebie, so I’m going to talk about some books I’ve read recently that are definitely underrated. Every so often I come across a book that is fantastic, but I’ve never heard about before. It feels like the same book are always hyped on blogs and social media, and I definitely fall into this trap as well, but it means that some of the really good books get overlooked. Here are some awesome books I rarely see on social media that you should absolutely check out:

1. Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat — this YA fantasy is super dark and it’s about the ultimate battle between Light and Dark, and it’s fast-paced and full of twists and turns that I never saw coming.
2. You Are My Sunshine by Sean Dietrich — this is a memoir of a married couple that goes on a life-changing bike ride through one of the most scenic trails in the country, but it’s so funny and it has a great message of hope.
3. Our Crooked Hearts by Melissa Albert — this was a really dark and twisty story of both a mother and a daughter, and it’s creepy and I couldn’t put it down, and I highly recommend it.
4. Ten Years Gone by Jonathan Dunsky — this indie book is the start of a historical mystery series that I was instantly pulled into and couldn’t stop reading. I loved the setting and the characters and the plots of each of the books.
5. Kill the Queen by Jennifer Estep — this is the start of an adult fantasy series that takes place in a Roman-inspired setting, with an unforgettable cast of characters and the coolest magic system.
6. Triptych by Karin Slaughter — this is the first book in a mystery/thriller series that has just been made into a Hulu series, and it’s fantastic. Dark, gritty, and gory, but with an emotional punch.
7. The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish — this was a fantastic start to a new fantasy series where a colonizing force takes over an independent country, and the resistance sees the deposed prince as their hope for success, training him to be an assassin.
8. On the Savage Side by Tiffany McDaniel — although this wasn’t an easy read by any means, it takes a new look at an unsolved series of murders in Ohio, told through the eyes of one of the Chillicothe Queens, as the small group of women call themselves, even as they are hooked on drugs and rely on prostitution to survive, knowing that they are putting themselves in danger from the killer.
9. The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson — this incredible horror book took the bones of the original story from Carrie and created something totally new, making it even more relevant in today’s day and age.
10. City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita — I couldn’t put this locked building mystery down, set in a claustrophobic building during the Alaskan winter, but I haven’t seen anyone mentioning it.

What are some underrated books that you can’t stop thinking about?