Top Ten Tuesday used to be a weekly post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, but was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. “It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.” This is definitely something I can understand and want to participate in.
This week’s topic is a fun one—books that defied my expectations, and it was submitted by Sia @ Every Book a Doorway. The prompt further clarifies: we can focus on books we thought we wouldn’t like that we loved, books we thought we’d love but didn’t books that weren’t the genres they seemed to be, or subverted our expectations in any way. Instead, I’m going to leave it open and just discuss the last ten books that defied my expectations in some way, and then explain a bit about how they did that. Here goes nothing!
- Forget Me Not by Julie Soto. I just finished this one, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. It’s great, especially for a debut.
- In the Woods by Tana French. After loving one of her stand-alone books, I thought I’d love this one just as much if not more. I was wrong.
- Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus by Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy. This one wasn’t bad, but it definitely wasn’t what I was hoping it would be.
- The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma. This was super slow at first, and I thought it was going to be a DNF, but it picked up and turned out to be a really good read!
- Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke. That awkward moment when you’ve read a whole book only to find out that it’s Christian fiction … whomp whomp whomp.
- The Combat Codes by Alexander Darwin. I was surprised at how good this one was, and how much I enjoyed it.
- Before She Finds Me by Heather Chavez. This was another one that completely pulled me in and wouldn’t let me go, and it was totally unexpected.
- House of Marionne by J. Elle. I was expecting to love this one, but it just wasn’t a good fit for me (or my buddy read partner).
- Love, Betrayal, Murder by Adam Mitzner. This one sounded kind of interesting, but when I started reading I just couldn’t stop because it was that good!
- Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen. I had such high hopes for this one, and it just didn’t do it for me.
What are some books that defied your expectations in some way?
Categories: Top Ten Tuesday
Leah's Books 
It’s always fun to read a book that defies expectations. But only when it’s a good thing. 🙂
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Exactly! Although I did want to include both sides of the coin so that people don’t think I only pick amazing books all the time 🤣
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I tried reading Skin of the Sea but had to stop, as it just wasn’t cutting it for me at the time. I may give it another shot in the future, but I’m not sure.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/books-ive-stopped-reading-recent-reads/
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Yeah, that one wasn’t for me. I read the whole thing because it was a buddy read, but neither of us really enjoyed it.
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In the Woods frustrated me quite a bit with that crazy revelation at the end. If the author is going to build up the suspense like that and then let it fizzle out with a deus ex machina… gah!
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Yes! That’s the worst when that happens! The other book of hers that I read was fantastic, so I’m on the fence about whether I want to read the next one. And I’m so frustrated about the questions that didn’t get answered, especially since that storyline doesn’t seem to feature in future books.
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That’s good to know about Rabid.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
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I’m actually surprised that you haven’t read that one yet – you always find the coolest sounding nonfiction books! Maybe I should just check out what you recommend in posts instead.
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I loved Ladies of the Lake! My TTT
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I really expected to like that one. I’m glad that you enjoyed it though!
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In the Woods is the only one I have read on your list, but I remember liking it a lot.
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I really wanted to love it! But she’s got a lot more in the series, so I’m clearly in the minority here.
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Well, I will say that I liked it a lot but I think I only read maybe one more book in the series? So maybe not as much as I remember?
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I’ll have to check out the next one for research haha
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Bummer about IN THE WOODS. I’ve enjoyed all of French’s novels, although there are definitely ones I like more than others. Par for the course with most authors, I think,
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
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It wasn’t awful, but it wasn’t my favorite. How is the rest of the Dublin Murder Squad series? And all authors, even my favorites, definitely have books I like more than others.
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Did you enjoy Ladies of the Lake? I’ve seen it around some, but haven’t really seen if people love it or not.
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I didn’t enjoy it, but it’s Christian fiction. That’s not a genre I read and it wasn’t marked as that genre, which is why I picked it up. Just guessing from your blog name, you’re more likely to enjoy it than me!
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I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the book. It’s frustrating when books aren’t marked correctly or at all. It can make you feel like you’ve wasted your time. 😀
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Definitely! I was just as mad when a mystery wound up being paranormal fiction!
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