Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is a perennial favorite topic of mine: hidden gems! I love talking about books I’ve enjoyed that I think deserve more love (check out last year’s post here), so here are 15 for you:
A Dash of Trouble by Anna Meriano- full of sweetness, friendship, and family magic.
The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows- an engaging YA fantasy with an excellent ship.
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill- a twisty, heart pounding, time traveling page turner.
Girls Made of Snow and Glass by Melissa Bashardoust- nuanced, beautiful, and a fantastic fairy tale retelling.
Ash & Bramble by Sarah Prineas- one of the most unique villains I’ve come across in YA fantasy.
American Panda by Gloria Chao- a heartwarming and heartwrenching story full of Chinese culture and American college firsts.
The Truth About Happily Ever After by Karole Cozzo- the perfect intersection of YA/NA with a hearty dose of Disneyish charm, prickly friendships, and sweet romance.
The Secret of a Heart Note by Stacey Lee- unique, charming, witchy, & richly complex.
PS I Like You by Kasie West- my favorite book of hers by a mile, and what I consider to be her best. I can’t resist anonymous penpals!
Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills- I love all her books but this is my favorite- relatable and sweet and funny. Loved the friendships, the music conversations, and the romance.
Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman- an exciting and tense Western based on real legends.
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee- very funny and action-packed!
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins- a fierce, vibrant, Norse inspired family saga.
The Boleyn King by Laura Andersen- a twist on history that reads like true historical fiction and extremely engaging characters to boot.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton- often overlooked when compared to her other titles but I love how enchanting, engaging, and mysterious the story is.
What are some of your favorite hidden gems? Do we share any favorites?
I love your answers!
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Thank you for reading!
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So many great books in your list! I really liked Heart Note, Foolish Hearts, Vengeance Road and Genie Lo and I agree that they are underrated. I hadn’t heard of those historical fiction books but they sound amazing. I should look into them!
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Let me know what you think of them! Ooh yes, I love the ones you mentioned! So much. I need to read the Vengeance Road sequel soon.
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I enjoyed The Truth About Happily Ever After, Secret of a Heart Note, PS I Like You and loved Foolish Hearts. Great list!
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You named all of my absolute favorites!
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I love seeing Foolish Hearts on here! Such a great read.
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I agree! I love Emma Mills so much.
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Yes, I totally think Foolish Hearts is a hidden gem! All of Emma’s books are, really. I’ve been slowly going through Kasie West’s contemporaries and P.S. I Like You is next, so I’m glad to hear you loved it the most 🙂
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They so are! I love them and everyone should read them. Oh yayyyyy, you’ve probably read it by now haha, I’d love to hear what you thought!!
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I second All Our Yesterdays and Vengeance Road! I feel like it’s especially easy for standalones to be “hidden gems.” Series have a bit more time and shelf visibility and marketing to pick up new readers. Other gems I’ve liked…hmm. Maybe Blackwood and Fallout (Lois Lane) by Gwenda Bond? The first is technically out of print and has since been rewritten and re-published, I think, so the original is really hidden. ^^
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That’s such a good point! All Our Yesterdays was incredible. Oh I have the Lois Lane books! I need to read them 🙂
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I loved the Orphan Queen, did you ever read The Mirror King?
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YES omg I loved it too!! There is that One Scene in the middle, I legit screamed and closed my book for 20 minutes hahah.
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YES!!! All Our Yesterdays is incredibly underrated. It was a fast-paced read, and I shipped the romance so hard. I really enjoyed Vengeance Road and Genie Lo as well. Most of the other books here are on my TBR. ♥
– Aimee @ Aimee, Always
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It really is, I need to reread it someday. So incredible. Yay that’s so fun to hear, hope you love them!
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omg I love Vengeance Road!! I actually have the sequel but haven’t read it yet because I need to reread VR.😂 I also adored The Orphan Queen (again argh I need to read the sequel) and really want to read American Panda and the Epic Crush! I’ve heard that one is super funny too, eep, just what I need.😂
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I’m the same way haha, I need to read Retribution Rails soon though! Omfg The Mirror King is REALLY good! Bonkers in the best way.
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I haven’t read one of these books yet but several of them are either on my shelves are on my wish list! Glad to see them in your list as I’m sure I’m going to enjoy them!
This is such a great list! Thank you for the book recommendations!
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That’s always a good sign haha! I hope you do enjoy them, thanks for reading my list! 🙂
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