Happy Tuesday, and happy Top Ten Tuesday day, everyone! This week it’s all about the books that surprised us. I’m sure that every reader is both pleasantly, and unpleasantly, surprised by many books throughout their lifetimes. Here are the top ten that come to my mind. Some surprised me in the best of ways, while others sadly let me down. I don’t really like to think negatively of books, but for a book reviewer, it kind of comes as part of the job description, right? We sadly can’t love every book. Read on to see which books surprised me in the best and worst ways in recent years!

For those of you who don’t know what Top Ten Tuesday is all about, here is a quote
from The Artsy Reader Girl, the host of this weekly meme!

I assign each Tuesday a topic and then post my top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join me and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.

You’ll find the schedule of upcoming TTT topics below so you can plan ahead. I’ll post a Linky here on the blog each week so you can link up your post (if you want). If you don’t have a blog, post your picks in the comment section below! Have tons of fun talking books and getting to know your fellow bloggers!

… and now that all of the necessary stuff is out of the way …

– Top Ten Books That Surprised Me –

– ONE –

Gloria Chao’s American Panda

…surprised me in a good way! Not because I didn’t think it’d be good,
but rather because I didn’t expect it to be good in the way that it was
good, (if that makes sense, haha)

– TWO –

Sarah Glenn Marsh’s Reign of the Fallen

…surprised me in a bad way, sadly. It was not what I expected
at all, and something that happened really upset me, and the
plot felt kind of all over the place. I really wanted to love this one!
The world and magic were great and unique though!

– THREE –

Adrianne Finlay’s Your One & Only

…in a good way! I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book,
but I certainly didn’t expect for it to be as good as it was!
It really stuck with me, even now, after a few weeks.

– FOUR –

Rin Chupeco’s The Bone With

…in a bad way. Which is sad because this was one of my most
anticipated releases of last year. The mood, the characters, the writing
… none of it jived with me at all, sadly. But I did love the world-building!

– FIVE –

Seanan McGuire’s Rosemary and Rue

…in a good way! My friend Milana from A Couple Reads recommended
me this one, and while I knew that I would probably like it, I didn’t expect
to fall in love with the series so intensely!

– SIX –

S.J. Kincaid’s The Empress

…kind of in a bad way? I really wanted a sequel to The Diabolic,
but I guess this is a case of “be careful what you ask for,” maybe.
The writing was great, the story was great, but I didn’t click with it
on an emotional level like I did with the first book. That being said
I will still be reading the next book, because I’m invested now haha.

 – SEVEN –

Gabrielle Prendergast’s Zero Repeat Forever

…in a good way! I think that going in, I expected this book to
be kind of meh. But I was very pleasantly surprised! It’s now
one of my favourite sci-fi books, and I’m eagerly awaiting
the sequel! Fingers crossed for this year?!

– EIGHT –

Ashley Poston’s Geekerella

…in a good way! I wasn’t too sure about the plot of this one, and
it had a slow start for me. But, boy am I happy that I kept going,
because this turned into one of my favourite contemporary novels,
if not the favourite. Ashley Poston is now an insta-buy author for me!

– NINE –

Dhonielle Clayton’s The Belles

…sadly, in a bad way. I did like the description, and the world
in this book, but everything else fell kind of short for me.
I was very excited for this one, and really wanted to love it!

– TEN –

Rachel Caine, and Ann Aguirre’s
Honor Among Thieves

…in a good way! I expected this book to be good, but it
was more than good, and the plot was completely different
from what I had expected! I also wasn’t sure what to expect
from 2 authors working together, especially since I haven’t
read either of their respective books before! This is one of
my favourite sci-fi books now though!

ARE THERE ANY BOOKS ON THIS LIST THAT YOU WOULD ALSO WANT TO RE-READ FOREVER? WHY? WHY NOT? AND ARE THERE ANY BOOKS THAT I DIDN’T LIST THAT YOU’D LOVE TO RE-READ FOREVER? LET ME KNOW IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!