Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I've only read one book from but need to read more

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.


This week's topic are authors that we've only read one book of so far, but loved so much that we NEED to read more by them! My top ten are in no particular order.


Erin Morgenstern - The Night Circus
I don't think she's written (or at least published) anything since, but I'd sure love to read it!

Kimberly Derting - The Pledge
I've got The Essence on my shelf but haven't picked it up yet. I think I'll re-read The Pledge first. I really loved the world building and I'd rather avoid this period of confusion at the beginning of the second book when you don't really remember the 'rules' of the world.

Libba Bray - A Great and Terrible Beauty
I really need to read the sequels, as well as The Diviners. Beautiful writing, and I like her feminist stance.


Robin Wasserman - The Book of Blood and Shadow
This was so suspenseful and at times creepy. I really want to read The Waking Dark. It sounds just as ruthless and horror-ish.

Maggie Stiefvater - Lament
I'm reluctant to read the sequel, Ballad, because it switches the point of view. But I really want to pick up The Raven Boys!

Chuck Wendig - Blackbirds
I need the sequels of the series. Really great horror!


Victoria Schwab - The Archived
Such an amazing story!  I want Unbound as soon as the paperback is out. And Vicious. I want villainous narrators.

Jackie Morse Kessler - Hunger
I need to get the rest of the series about the Four Horsemen. I love the concept of this, and how each book picks up on an important social issue.

Andrew Davidson - The Gargoyle
I'd definitely read another one of his books written in the same vein, but everything else I see on his goodreads seems to be more children's literature. The Gargoyle though... it was perfect. It made me cry. A lot.


Rosamund Hodge - Cruel Beauty
I loved pretty much everything about this one. Can't wait to read more when they come out!

This was actually more difficult to compile that I thought it'd be, because there aren't that many authors I've only read one book of. Or if I've only read one, there is often a reason for that. Do you spot any favorites on my list? Anyone I need to move up on my TBR pile? And who did you pick?

Top Ten Tuesday: most underrated books in certain genres

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.


Hey guys :) This week's topic was to pick a genre and spotlight ten books that we think are underrated within that category. My problem is that I can't think of a single genre where I can find so many underrated books! I mean I could easily give you ten awesome vampire novels or dystopians or whatever, but not all of them would be underappreciated. So I'm picking more than one genre.


Underrated reaper books


The Croak series by Gina Damico
These books are hilarious! Well, serious too because they're about death. But you can't read this without laughing. And Mrs Damico has the most awesome ideas! Just wait until you see the jellyfish or her version of the afterlife. Also, the romance is refreshingly non-sappy.

The Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent
This is also to a big extent a series about banshees, but the reapers become more important as it goes on. Also, there is Tod, my favorite reaper and one of my favorite male leads in general. He has the best black sense of humor. Also, the world building here is extensive and original - big plus! No weird, unresolved for-the-sake-of-plot convenient stuff. Things go badly. People die. The survivors continue to fight.


Underrated contemporaries


Notes from the Blender by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin
Two very different teens (queen of high school / the metal guy) suddenly have to deal with living together because their parents are getting married. It's both hilarious and sad and just generally wonderful :)

Collide by J.R. Lenk
I found this one on a list of books with bisexual characters, but I ended up reading to a big part because of the music. In a way, this was my scene when I was a teen (minus the parties). This was my music. These were, to an extent, my people. Reading this was like taking a trip down the this-might-have-been-me road of memory lane. It's really well-written! To bad I can't find anything else by the author...

Lovely Vicious by Sara Wolf
I bought this one on a whim and read the whole thing in one night (yes, until like four in the morning). I just couldn't stop. I just like how nobody is who you first think they are and I thought the voice was very strong.


Underrated YA crime/thriller


I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent series) by Barry Lyga
I always think this series is huge but then sometimes I think that not all that many people have heard of it. I'm not sure. Either way, it's fantastic and I think more people should read it. Jasper is a really untypical and lead with a complex personality. However, this is about gruesome murders. So you shouldn't be easily put-off.

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman
I mainly read this one because parts of it are set in Prague, but I got sucked in by the mystery/thriller element. Couldn't stop reading. So many possible suspects. So many secrets. But again, not a sunshiny read. This title is to be taken seriously.


Underrated historical / steampunk


Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel
This is one of my favorite steampunk/zombie novels. I love it. I love the world building, I love Nora, I love Bram, I love the type of relationship they have together. I love that the book is both action-packed and bloody but also funny and romantic. Also, it talks about important social questions that apply to our own world as well.

Something Strange & Deadly by Susan Dennard
I think with the sequels, this series has garnered more attention, but still not all that much compared to other YA fantasy novels. Which is a pity because again, great steampunk/zombie historical combination. There's both awesome mechanical stuff but also magic and social boundaries and family issues. I really need to get the third one now that it's out...

The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton
I've only read the first two but I loved them! It's Victorian London with faeries, and the protagonist is a girl thief living on the street. I love how it picks up on how many Victorians believed faeries existed alongside them and how it portrays both the hardships of life on the street but also the companionship between Tiki and her chosen family.


So, that was it from me. Do you know any of them? Do you agree they are underrated, or do you think they are already getting enough attention? And what did you pick this week? Link me up in the comments :)

Waiting on Wednesday: The Waking Dark, by Robin Wasserman

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine to spotlight upcoming book releases that we're excited about.


This week's pick:

Release date: September 10, 2013
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover, 464 pages

Goodreads description:
They called it the killing day. Twelve people dead, all in the space of a few hours. Five murderers: neighbors, relatives, friends. All of them so normal. All of them seemingly harmless. All of them now dead by their own hand . . . except one. And that one has no answers to offer the shattered town. She doesn't even know why she killed—or whether she'll do it again.

Something is waking in the sleepy town of Oleander's, Kansas—something dark and hungry that lives in the flat earth and the open sky, in the vengeful hearts of upstanding citizens. As the town begins its descent into blood and madness, five survivors of the killing day are the only ones who can stop Oleander from destroying itself. Jule, the outsider at war with the world; West, the golden boy at war with himself; Daniel, desperate for a different life; Cass, who's not sure she deserves a life at all; and Ellie, who believes in sacrifice, fate, and in evil. Ellie, who always goes too far. They have nothing in common. They have nothing left to lose. And they have no way out. Which means they have no choice but to stand and fight, to face the darkness in their town—and in themselves. 


I read Robin Wasserman's Book of Blood and Shadows a little over a week ago and I was hooked! It was amazing and I was really impressed with the writing. The Waiting Dark sounds equally atmospheric - creepy, violent, intriguing, with a cast of very different characters. The 'awful things happening in a sleepy town' thing also reminds me of Stephen King novels. I really hope this one is as great as it sounds!
What do you think of the description? Is this your kind of read? And what book are you highlighting this week?

Stacking the Shelves: mini-haul because I'm busy

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews to display all the books we got in the previous week. You can include print or ebooks, bought, borrowed, for review, gifts, wins... just show us your new pretties :)

I didn't get all that many books this week, which is a good thing because I have way too many anyway. I'm sorry I haven't been very active and haven't posted a review in ages!!! I'm just so busy writing a paper (deadline on the 15th and I'm waaaay behind) and I've also had to work extra shifts. Bad combo. And writing a review always takes me minimum 1 hour - time that I just don't have right now, or I'm tired or otherwise unmotivated. In addition to all that, I've been working on a short story for my application to the Clarion West workshop this coming summer. Sigh I hope I can get things back on track soon, but I might be forced to go on a sort-of-hiatus for the next week :/

For Tour:

Rapture, by Phillip W. Simpson

It's been a while since I signed up for a tour (months, even though I have 2 tour stops in the coming weeks but I signed up for those ages ago) but I liked the concept for this one. Sound a bit different from your usual postapocalyptic book!

Kindle freebies when I got them:

Rocked Under, by Cora Hawkes
Glamour, by Penelope Fletcher
Identity, by Ted Dekker

Glamour was cover love, but I do enjoy fairie books :) I read a review of Identity a while back and was intrigued. And Rocked Under... well. Bad boy in a band ^^'


Okay, my haul isn't that mini after all... these waited for me in my mailbox when I got home Friday night:

Spell Bound, by Rachel Hawkins
The Book of Blood and Shadow, by Robin Wasserman

To be honest, I had forgotten that I'd ordered TBoBaS ^^'' I think it was only 4 euros or something... and since it plays in Prague and I'd been meaning to read the author for a while, I couldn't resist that offer.
I'm curious about Spell Bound and the conclusion of Hawkins' trilogy! And last Tuesday it was finally out on paperback.


What do you guys think of my haul? Anything I need to put on my priority list? And what did you get this week? Leave me a link so I can check it out :)