We have been having fun with Top Ten Tuesday, so we decided we will do one every week. This bookish meme was hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and has been going since June 2010! Since January 2018 Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week’s topic is books that defied my expectations! According to the topic page it can be both in a positive and negative way. Let’s take a look at 10 books that surprised me in one way or another!

Consider Me – Becka Mack

As a romance reader, I can say that I’ve read many sport romances. Consider Me seemed to be like it would be one like a few others I’ve read, but it ended up being such a pleasant surprise. Carter is a playboy and sleeps with a different lady every night until he runs into Olivia. They have some bumpy roads, but Carter really wanted to communicate and called things the way he saw them. That was so refreshing, because it’s normally the female MC in that role. I can’t wait to read the next books in this series.

As Above, So Below – Dana Islay

Unfortunately, this one defied my expectations in a negative way. The synopsis had me excited. Our main character gets shunned by her coven when she’s set up to make it seem she stole everyone’s magic. Certain events take place and it became a book that was focused a lot on the sexy scenes and less on her taking back what’s hers. The ending felt really rushed and it just didn’t work for me.

The Gilded Wolves – Roshani Chokshi

It’s actually funny that I ended up loving The Gilded Wolves. At the beginning of the year I unhauled my copy, because I wasn’t sure if I would end up reading it. Until my series slayers group ended up reading this trilogy. I went in open-minded and loved it. We get multiple POVs, some history, great world-building, and interesting puzzles. I’m glad I decided to read this one.

Love and Other Words – Christina Lauren

So Love and Other Words is actually a book that gets quite a few mixed reviews. I almost read this book in one sitting. Yeah, I understand that the twist at the end won’t work for some people, but I loved the dual timeline and these two people finding each other again.

The Confidence of Wildflowers – Micalea Smeltzer

The Confidence of Wildflowers is another really hyped book and I wasn’t sure if it was for me. Having an age gap in a romance isn’t my normal go to trope, but I wanted to give it a go. I couldn’t put it down! This story was very emotional at times, but I loved the characters. The sequel probably could’ve been a novella, but I still devoured it as well.

The Gay Best Friend – Nicolas DiDomizio

The Gay Best Friend sounded like a summer read that would be right up my alley, but it did disappoint me just a little. While I did enjoy Dom’s story and seeing him learn a lot about himself and figure out what he really wanted, the other characters weren’t really likable. I don’t think anyone can use best friends like that and it felt like they were using him. It’s something that really annoyed me while reading.

Carrie Soto Is Back – Taylor Jenkins Reid

Taylor Jenkins Reid is an author that’s written quite a few books that I’ve loved. I wasn’t sure about Carrie Soto Is Back at first, because I’m not much of a tennis fan. This was still a book I wanted to read, so I gave it a try. In all honesty, Carrie annoyed me quite a bit during parts of this book, but in the end I was sold. This was such an interesting book and it’s time for me to catch up on her backlist.

Ship Wrecked – Olivia Dade

After loving Spoiler Alert and All the Feels, I was so excited about Ship Wrecked. I’m all for a slow burn romance and enjoyed many parts of this book. There were some time jumps and decisions made that I didn’t completely enjoy. It was still a fun read, but I didn’t love it as much as the first two books.

Gild – Raven Kennedy

The Plated Prisoner series is very hyped, but Gild has a lot of mixed reviews. I’ve heard so many times that people say it’s the worst book in the series, but really does get better. So I went in with lower expectations, but I personally loved this book. It’s not always an easy read, but I think it’s was a great start of the series. I have started the second book, but need to continue soon.

The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels – India Holton

So I don’t read much historical ficiton, but The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels sounded like so much fun. I’m glad I picked it up, because this story had me laughing out loud. The writing was so much fun and pirating houses was a concept I’ve never read before. Thankfully I have two more books in this series to dive into soon.

 

Some Recent TTT Posts:

TTT #299| Ten Most Recent Books I Did Not Finish
TTT #300| Forgotten Backlist Titles
TTT #301| Books I Want to Read Because of BookTok
TTT #302| Characters from Different Books Who Should Team Up
TTT #303| Fantasy Books I Want to Read Soon
TTT #304| Water

That’s my Top Ten Tuesday for this week and ten books that defied my expectations in one way or another. Have you read any of these? What did you think? Or what are some books that defied your expectations in a positive or negative way? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you.