Top Ten Tuesday #113

1fe45-toptentuesday

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had a great week since I last did one of these, I’ve had a pretty quite week really, but my parents were away over the weekend, so I made the most of it by watching all my favourite musicals plus all the Harry Potter movies! Best weekend ever! Anyway, I’m back with another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of the lovely ladies over at the Broke and the Bookish. This week is Best Books We’ve Read So Far in 2017. I’ve had a pretty good 2017 when it comes to books, but most of the books I’ve read have been in the 3-4 star range, with only one book standing out above the rest as a 5 star. I’ve only read 18 books so far this year, so I don’t know if I’ll be able to pick a full 10 out of that, but we’ll see! Here are my current 2017 favourites (for once in order of preference!):

  1. A Conjuring of Light-VE Schwab-5 stars

My only five star read of 2017 so far! I swear this book is the reason I’m having trouble finding any more five star books, because nothing I have read since has lived up to this. It was the most perfect series finale I could have hoped for and probably one of my most favourite books ever, not just of 2017.

2. Caraval-Stephanie Garber-4 stars

I was worried about this one, because I’d heard a lot of comparisons to The Night Circus which I struggled with when I read it last year but I fell in love with the beautiful writing and the magical setting and the growth of the main character was so wonderful.

3. A Court of Mist and Fury-Sarah J Maas-4 stars

Everyone and their cat seemed to love this book and I was worried that I’d be the black sheep who didn’t, luckily that was the case! This book was so much better than the first one, Feyre grew so much as a character and actually became someone I liked rather than merely tolerated. I also loved the new cast of characters in Rhys’ court and can’t wait to see where they all go in the final book.

4. The Dark Prophecy-Rick Riordan-3.5 stars

I didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the first one, but it still had a great cast of characters, was extremely witty and a fast paced fun adventure. Plus my favourite Leo was back in this book, so that made it even better! The best thing about Rick Riordan books is that they never fail to put a smile on your face, they remind me of one of the things I love most about reading, the simple joy that immersing yourself in a new world can bring.

5. Daughter of The Pirate King-Tricia Levenseller-3 stars

Some of the books lower on this list actually have a higher rating from me, because the writing style in this one was little simplistic and the pacing was a little off, but it was such a fun, piratey adventure and I just really enjoyed reading it, so I thought it deserved to have a high place on my list, even if I did only give it a 3 star rating.

6. Traitor To The Throne-Alwyn Hamilton-3.5 stars

This book did suffer a little from middle book syndrome, but I still really enjoyed it, the stakes were higher, the plot was more complex, Amani’s development was brilliant, we got to meet some great new characters and there were a lot of great twists, it was just a shame about some of the pacing issues in the middle of the book, otherwise it would have got a much higher rating from me.

7. The Crown’s Game-Evelyn Skye-3.5 stars

There were some pacing issues in this, but I did overall love it, the magic was great, the setting was wonderful, there was so much gorgeous FOOD, the writing was vivid & there was a masquerade which is basically catnip to me!

8. Under Rose Tainted Skies-Louise Gornall-4 stars

I know this has a higher rating than some of the other books that are placed higher on here, it was a really great book, just extremely intense due to the nature of the subject matter discussed, so I’m not sure “enjoy” is really the right word for how I felt about this book, it was enlightening more than anything else.

9. Paper and Fire-Rachel Caine-3.5 stars

This book also suffered a lot from middle book syndrome (it’s not technically the middle book of this series, but I think the syndrome still applies), however it was still a really solid read, I love Caine’s characters and world, I’m just not always thrilled with her writing or pacing. Still, the great character dynamics, diverse cast and brilliant settings in Caine’s book definitely overcame my lack of love for her writing and pacing.

10. Salt To The Sea-Ruta Sepetys-3.5 stars

I didn’t love this one as much as I loved the other Sepetys book I’ve read Between Shades of Grey, but it was still an interesting book about a historical event that I knew nothing about and as a History student, I always love getting to learn about new things that I didn’t know about before!

I’m going to stick to just ten this week since I only have 18 books to choose from anyway! What have been your favourite books of the year so far? Have you read any of these? Did you like them? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday is going on hiatus until August, the girls deserve a break after all! Don’t worry though, I’ll be going through the archives and seeing if there are any old topics that I can do until they’re back. In the meantime, I’m hoping to keep regular posting going throughout the summer, so there should be no shortage of new stuff for you guys!

100 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday #113

  1. TeaPartyPrincess June 27, 2017 / 3:02 pm

    I really need to get Daughter of The Pirate King, it sounds fantastic.
    Great list 🙂

  2. meganm922 June 27, 2017 / 3:14 pm

    I loved DotPK so much! Great list.

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:13 pm

      Yes it was great! Oh cool, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 🙂

  3. Louise June 27, 2017 / 5:01 pm

    Nearly all of these are still on my TBR! I really need to get caught up on this years books. XD

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:11 pm

      Ha ha I know the feeling! I’m still trying to catch up on 2016 books!

  4. booksandmunches June 27, 2017 / 5:45 pm

    Your list contains some books I have on my TBR. Definitely an extra motivation to read them! [Caraval, ACOTAR – still have to start that series even- and Daughter of the Pirate King]

  5. Jacque Smith June 27, 2017 / 5:51 pm

    I still have Salt to the Sea and all of Sarah Maas’s books on my TBR list. I plan on reading Throne of Glass this summer, so I’m happy to see you enjoyed these books. Thanks for stopping by my blog and sharing!!

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:11 pm

      I hope you enjoy them! No problem, thanks for returning the favour 🙂

  6. Shoto June 27, 2017 / 6:15 pm

    Heard so much about Under Rose Tainted Skies and tbh, most of the books on your list ahah. Hope you have more 5 star reads by the end of the year 😀

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:10 pm

      Ha ha yeah, I’m not exactly going with the hidden gems this week! Thanks, I hope so too!

  7. ChrissiReads June 27, 2017 / 6:59 pm

    I struggled with The Night Circus too, so I’m glad to see that you still enjoyed Caraval. Great list!

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:09 pm

      Thanks! Yeah I was worried, but honestly they didn’t seem that similar to me, other than they both have a performance style aspect.

  8. Destiny @ Howling Libraries June 27, 2017 / 7:13 pm

    Ooooh, great list! I’m currently reading ADSOM and can’t wait to read the rest of the series, too.

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:08 pm

      Thanks! I hope you enjoy the rest of the series 🙂

  9. Lynn VA June 27, 2017 / 7:28 pm

    Great list! I feel exactly the same about Daughter of the Pirate King! I hope the sequel is a bit better, though!
    Oooh, which are your favourite musicals? Mine is The Phantom of the Opera, I could watch that one every day! 🙂

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:07 pm

      Thanks! Yes I hope so too. Stage wise I love Wicked, in terms of movie musicals (which is what I was watching) Moulin Rouge is my favourite.

  10. emilymbird June 27, 2017 / 7:41 pm

    Great list! I’ve been meaning to read The Shades of Magic series. It’s great to hear you liked A Conjuring of Light so much! (I always get a little nervous when I start a series that the later volumes will go downhill.)

    Which is part of why I’m so torn over whether or not to read Traitor to the Throne. I already thought the first book struggled with pacing :/ do you recommend overall?

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:05 pm

      Thanks! Oh that is definitely not true with the Shades of Magic books, all the books are of a very high standard! I think Traitor To The Throne has a lot of good aspects that make up for the poor pacing, so yes, I would still recommend.

  11. @lynnsbooks June 27, 2017 / 7:41 pm

    I want to read Schwab – I think I’ve bought a couple of her books but not had a chance yet – I must go and check if your book is on my list.
    Lynn 😀

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:04 pm

      Well I hope you enjoy her books when you do read them 🙂

  12. Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog June 27, 2017 / 8:02 pm

    I enjoyed Under Rose Tainted Skies and Salt to the Sea. I want to read the VE Schwab series at some point. Great list!

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:03 pm

      Good to hear! Oh you definitely should. Thanks 🙂

  13. Jaymie Pierce June 27, 2017 / 8:07 pm

    Gosh. I keep telling myself that I am going to read The Crown’s Game, but for some reason it never comes to mind when I’m looking for my next book. I hadn’t realized until you mentioned it that there was a lot about food…I do love books with yummy food in them! Great list!

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:03 pm

      I have that all the time, I get excited about a book and keep telling myself to get it when I’m out looking and I just forget! Yes there is a lot of food in it. Thanks 🙂

  14. journeyintobooks June 27, 2017 / 8:30 pm

    Great list, I’ve yet to read Caraval but it sounds really good.

  15. Alison Doherty June 27, 2017 / 10:01 pm

    I LOVED A Court of Mist and Fury. It was probably my favorite book of last year.

  16. anovelglimpse June 27, 2017 / 10:11 pm

    Everyone has Caraval on their list! That must mean it’s good. I need to read it. That and Salt to the Sea. I’ve wanted to read that forever. Nice list!

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:00 pm

      Yes it is! Salt To The Sea is also good. Thanks 🙂

  17. Jaime June 27, 2017 / 10:13 pm

    A Conjuring of Light! Yes! That book ruined me as well. I normally read fantasy, but I had to read a couple contemporary books to get over the book-hanger ACOL left.

    I’ve read some of the others on your list, but they weren’t as high for me. Glad you liked them, though!

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 11:00 pm

      I’m still not over it! 3 months later and nothing has quite measured up since. Still I have had some good reads, if not incredible. Fair enough, we don’t all rate things the same way. Thanks 🙂

  18. Jess Gofton (@JGofton) June 27, 2017 / 10:44 pm

    Great list! I love historical fiction but I still haven’t read any Ruta Sepetys despite hearing nothing but good things about her work, I’ll have to rectify that soon. =)

    • iloveheartlandx June 27, 2017 / 10:58 pm

      Thanks! Oh yes you definitely should. Start with Between Shades of Gray, that book is beautiful!

  19. Katieb Mundie Moms June 27, 2017 / 11:02 pm

    Awesome list! There’s two on here I’ve not yet read, but they’re on my TBR pile to read.

  20. Tangled N Books June 27, 2017 / 11:09 pm

    Need to check out more VE Schwab reads~! So glad to hear A Conjuring of Light is worth the read!

  21. Clodagh O'Carroll June 27, 2017 / 11:53 pm

    Interesting that you loved Between Shades of Grey but not Salt to the Sea – for me it was the other way round!

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 12:33 pm

      Oh really? I did like Salt To The Sea, just preferred Between Shades of Grey. Funny how these things work!

  22. Literary Feline June 28, 2017 / 12:05 am

    VE Schwab is an author I really want to try. It sounds like such an awesome series. Caraval is one I have been curious about. I am glad to see you like it so much! Thank you for sharing!

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 12:34 pm

      It is an awesome series, I hope you enjoy it! Yes Caraval was great, I hope you enjoy it too. No problem 🙂

  23. Cait @ Paper Fury June 28, 2017 / 1:36 am

    Aww I feel really sad for you only having one 5-star read, BUT AT LEAST IT WAS ACOL WHICH WE CAN AGREE IS THE PERFECTEST BOOK OF ALL PERFECT. *flails happily* 😍 I’m absolutely in love with all Schwab’s worlds. And I really enjoyed The Crown’s Game/Fate books hehe, the food is delicious and the magic!! I also love Rick Riordan so much. Apollo cracks me up.😂

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 12:39 pm

      It’s okay, there’s still another six months of the year to find more 5 star reads! And yes, if I have to have only one then ACOL is definitely the best one to have! She does write such wonderful and unique worlds, I love that no two books of hers feel the same. Yes the Crown’s Game made me feel so hungry, I’m sure the Crown’s Fate will do the same! And the magic is awesome. Me too, he’s one of my favourite authors. Well how could he not? Apollo is hilarious 🙂

  24. Sarah @ Reviews and Readathons June 28, 2017 / 1:44 am

    A Conjuring of Light was really amazing. I can’t wait to get my special edition of the first book this fall, so I’ll have the complete set and can re-read all of them. It was a perfect series finale…and I think I’ll enjoy it a lot more when I’m prepared for the story (e.g. not afraid every 5 seconds that something awful is going to happen to a character I love, but rather able to anticipate). A few of these are on my TBR, so I’m glad to see you liked them. (also, I think going back and doing older topics for Top Ten Tuesday is a great idea…and I may do the same!). Thanks for sharing!

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 12:47 pm

      Yes it was! Oh me either, I don’t usually get special editions/multiple editions of books I already own but I couldn’t resist with the ADSOM special edition. It was brilliant, but yes, will probably be even more enjoyable when you’re not fearing for the lives of all your favourites! Oh that’s good, I hope you enjoy them too! Yeah, I was originally just going to leave it, but then I was like, a month is a long time to go without TTT! No problem 🙂

  25. Greg Hill June 28, 2017 / 2:02 am

    Under Rose- Tainted Skies is one I’ve heard some good things about, and I do want to read it. Nice to hear that Caraval was good too, that’s another one I’ve been thinking of.

  26. Elizabeth H June 28, 2017 / 2:10 am

    I haven’t read any of these yet, but the Sarah J. Maas is on my list to get to!

  27. Iridescence June 28, 2017 / 4:42 am

    Caraval has been on my TBR pretty much since the first time I saw it mentioned on Twitter but I haven’t gotten to it yet! It’s paperback has only recently released in my country, but since I’m broke I couldn’t buy it 😂 waiting to save up and then read it.

    Oh I didn’t know that The Broke and The Bookish are going on a hiatus! Thanks for mentioning that! I was waiting for the topics 😅 (I’m new to TTT)

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 1:16 pm

      Well I hope you enjoy it when you get it! No problem, yeah, they’ll be back August 15th. Welcome to TTT 🙂

  28. thebrightspark June 28, 2017 / 7:18 am

    I’ve got a bunch of these books on my to read list! I neeeed to get to Caraval.

  29. pagesandtea June 28, 2017 / 7:47 am

    I read A Darker Shade of Magic and really need to carry on with the rest of those, so glad you enjoyed book 3.
    I keep wondering whether I should try A Court of Thorns and Roses too, so seeing one of those books made your list makes me think I probably should 🙂

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 1:21 pm

      Well I hope you enjoy the rest of the series! ACOTAR is definitely worth a shot, though the second book is much better than the first.

  30. Maraia June 28, 2017 / 11:06 am

    Omg, I would be crying if I only had 3 books with a 4-start rating or higher. It’s a good thing ACOL was there to save the day! I love that book so much.

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 1:22 pm

      It’s okay, all the books on my list were actually pretty good, just not enough for a 4 or 5 star. Yes ACOL was amazing! Me too 🙂

  31. Julie Maguda (@JulieMaguda) June 28, 2017 / 12:49 pm

    I haven’t gotten to read any of these yet, but almost all of these are currently on my TBR list! lol! So many great books and not enough time!!

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 1:23 pm

      Well I hope you enjoy them all when you read them. Ha ha yeah, I know the feeling!

  32. Stacee Evans June 28, 2017 / 1:10 pm

    1000000000x yes to ACOL. I am dying for a reread of that series.
    Great list!

  33. Ashley W June 28, 2017 / 1:36 pm

    Uhg, I’ve heard nothing but great things about Daughter of The Pirate King and I need to read it ASAP! Loved the list! ACOMAF was SOOOOO GOOD!

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 1:40 pm

      I hope you enjoy it when you do! Thanks. Yes it was 🙂

  34. Ashley June 28, 2017 / 2:35 pm

    Great list! Quite a few of the ones on your list I really need to read. Like Caraval being number one!

    • iloveheartlandx June 28, 2017 / 2:35 pm

      Thanks! I hope you manage to get to them and enjoy them 🙂

  35. Eve L (Evilous) June 28, 2017 / 4:56 pm

    I haven’t started the Schwab books yet but hope to at least start this year. Same for Caraval but I just picked up the audiobook so how to fly through it. ACOMAF was a huge fav of mine and made my list. So did Daughter of the Pirate King. I read Crown’s Game last year and want to check out the sequel soon, yes lots of food lol!

    • iloveheartlandx June 29, 2017 / 10:30 am

      Well I hope you enjoy them when you do! Me too, so much food!

  36. utopiastateofmind June 29, 2017 / 2:13 pm

    There’s so many books here on my TBR like the Daughter of the Pirate King!

  37. rudejasper June 29, 2017 / 2:44 pm

    I’m glad A Conjuring of Light got such high marks!! I can’t wait to read it VERY SOON. Also intrigued by The Daughter of the Pirate King, because pirates.

    • iloveheartlandx June 29, 2017 / 6:56 pm

      IT’S SO GOOD! I hope you love it! Ha ha yes, Daughter of the Pirate King is great, because pirates!

    • iloveheartlandx June 29, 2017 / 6:56 pm

      Fair enough, I had the same issue, I just found enough other stuff in there that I liked that it didn’t bother me so much. I hope so too, I feel like the ending was setting up for an exciting conclusion.

  38. Flavia June 29, 2017 / 6:22 pm

    I’ve only read like one or two of these, and they were amazing! Everything else is on my TBR and waiting to be read 😀

    Great post!

      • Flavia June 29, 2017 / 7:23 pm

        Thank you! 🙂

  39. Helia Reads June 29, 2017 / 11:29 pm

    I’m sorry you didn’t like Paper and Fire so much. I agree that the writing and pacing of the books isn’t brilliant, but the world and characters are truly awesome. I hope you have better luck if you chose to continue the series!

    • iloveheartlandx June 30, 2017 / 5:31 pm

      I did enjoy it, just not as much as the first book. Yes, they are so I will definitely be continuing, I’ll just have to bear in mind that the writing and pacing is something that I don’t love.

  40. thebookishlibra June 30, 2017 / 2:13 am

    So many of these are on my TBR so I’m glad to see how much you enjoyed them. ACOL was brilliant, probably my favorite read so far this year.

    • iloveheartlandx June 30, 2017 / 5:29 pm

      Oh cool, I hope you enjoy them when you read them! Same here, it was so good!

  41. Annemieke July 1, 2017 / 1:03 pm

    I didn’t enjoy The Dark Prophecy as much as the first one either, and I’ve heard this from many others as well. I hope the next book will be better again.

    • iloveheartlandx July 1, 2017 / 8:47 pm

      Well I’m glad I’m not alone there then! I hope so too 🙂

  42. lindseyhabets July 3, 2017 / 7:26 pm

    Yay for A Conjuring of Light! Definitely worthy of the five star rating 🙂

  43. Lois July 3, 2017 / 8:19 pm

    I can’t believe how overlooked the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff is. The scope of that tragedy id one of the largest in maritime history and no one speaks of it. I’m a history graduate too and I never heard a word about the Gustloff.

    • iloveheartlandx July 4, 2017 / 11:41 am

      Me either! It’s a bigger disaster than Titanic or the Lusitania and yet you hear squat about it. Definitely glad I read this book, if I only so I could be more informed about this terrible tragedy.

  44. Di @ Book Reviews by Di July 14, 2017 / 11:01 am

    Sorry! I’m super duper behind on blogging and only managing to get back around to TTT’s NOW! Yikes. Massive apologies.

    I love your list. It’s full of awesome books!

    I’m desperate to read a Schwab book – any book!

    Caraval I really enjoyed also.

    ACOMAF – my favourite book in that series. 🙂

    Rick Riordan is always a good read for me.

    All the rest are on my TBR!

    • iloveheartlandx July 14, 2017 / 12:42 pm

      No problem, don’y worry about it! Aww thanks 🙂 You definitely should, Schwab’s books are amazing. Yes Caraval was great. I haven’t finished the series yet, but ACOMAF is definitely my favourite so far. Rick Riordan is always a guaranteed fun read. I hope you enjoy the rest of them when you get to them!

Leave a Reply to Tangled N Books Cancel reply

Please log in using one of these methods to post your comment:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out /  Change )

Google photo

You are commenting using your Google account. Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out /  Change )

Connecting to %s

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/top-ten-tuesday-113/?replytocom=8955
jjbookblog.wordpress.com
crawl=CC-MAIN-2019-51
240114
application/http; msgtype=response
sha1:I63PSBWAGNKJOU6G35JMZKZ2V52VJLSM
<urn:uuid:ba7cedac-4425-41a1-b052-a75cecc82f19>
2019-12-09T02:04:32Z
192.0.78.13
text/html
sha1:MLJI2ZPBEVXGKFEO2YHSYBPM4GTGEWBW
<urn:uuid:f6c90b0e-a944-4a86-9e40-39333b58fc11>
https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2017/06/27/top-ten-tuesday-113/?replytocom=8955
response
<urn:uuid:f8f5d1e3-4f2a-4993-85b4-1c92d8b7b50a>
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2019-51
publisher: Common Crawl
description: Wide crawl of the web for December 2019
operator: Common Crawl Admin (info@commoncrawl.org)
hostname: ip-10-67-67-206.ec2.internal
software: Apache Nutch 1.16 (modified, https://github.com/commoncrawl/nutch/)
robots: checked via crawler-commons 1.1-SNAPSHOT (https://github.com/crawler-commons/crawler-commons)
format: WARC File Format 1.1
conformsTo: http://iipc.github.io/warc-specifications/specifications/warc-format/warc-1.1/