It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve done a Top Ten Tuesday but I’m back this week. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week I’m featuring ten books that I got on a whim.
1. Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios
I don’t remember exactly why I bought this book. I think I saw the cover somewhere, somehow and just went on Book Depository and bought it. It ended up being a really great book about a jinni in Hollywood. I thought it was wonderful and cannot wait to read the sequel!
2. Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo
This is a book that I randomly picked up as I was browsing the Australian YA section of my bookstore. The interesting cover and spine caught my eye and I thought the blurb sounding really good. I ended up really enjoying this book too and it was a delight to read a book that was set in the area where I go to uni.
3. One Plus One by Jojo Moyes
I bought this one a couple of years ago before I even heard of Me Before You. I saw it when I was browsing the bookstore and the cover must have just enticed me to buy it. I have yet to read this one but I hope to get to it sometime this year.
4. This is Shyness by Leanne Hall
This is a relatively new purchase. It was one of the books that was featured at the magical realism-themed YABookmeet at Dymocks Sydney. The synopsis was really intriguing so I picked it up on the spot.
5. The Stars at Oktober Bend by Glenda Millard
This was one that I saw in Allen & Unwin’s catalogue earlier this year. I hadn’t heard anything about it but the synopsis sounded like it was right up my alley. I completely fell in love with the characters and the story and am so glad that I requested this one!
6. Sway by Kat Spears
This was another cover buy and it was a bit of a fail. It was one of my least favourite books of last year because of the way that the book portrayed women. I found it to be offensive and disrespectful and did not like it one bit.
7. The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan
I love David Levithan so when I saw this one on sale on Book Depository, I checked it out straight away. It has a really interesting format and I loved what David Levithan did with it.
8. A Little Something Different by Sandy Hall
This book was another cover buy – it has such a cute cover! But the contents were really boring and it felt like a super generic romance. There were 14 perspectives in the book and I hated the way that it was done. Not an enjoyable read at all.
9. One Hundred Days of Happiness by Fausto Brizzi
I bought this one last year because the cover is beautiful and the synopsis sounded heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. I have yet to read this one but I’m hoping to get to it in the coming months.
10. YOLO Juliet by Brett Wright
I’d been interested in these Shakespeare emoji books for a while but I never intended to actually read any. But when I saw YOLO Juliet in store, I just had to get it. The cover was hilarious and the couple of pages that I read in store were super funny too.
Wow, 14 perspectives? That sounds… excessive, lol. I’ve heard so much about a Lover’s Dictionary. I must read that one one day.
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I didn’t really know what to except from The Lover’s Dictionary but it was a really great read. It all made sense as a whole and I wasn’t really expecting it to. You should definitely give it a go!
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i have read one plus one and it is on my list too! 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy it, Jenna! 😀
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I hope to pick it up soon! It’s just that the edition I have is really big and thick and kind of intimidating. But I know it’ll be good so hopefully I can get around to it in coming months!
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yay! good luck, Jenna! 🙂
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YOLO Juliet sounds so funny, just thinking about Romeo and Juliet played out in emojis makes me laugh. Just a whole line of like heart eye emojis with a skull at the end XD
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Haha it was hilarious in bits but also had some parts that didn’t work quite well. Like the author tried to stick closely to the original play script format and had the characters check into places on social media… which made no sense given it was all supposed to be in secret XD
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Exquisite Captive sounds really interesting and it. is. gorgeous. I picked up The Lover’s Dictionary on a whim too, but unfortunately, I didn’t get into it very much.
My TTT this week
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Ahhh that sucks to hear. I enjoyed how it all came together but I can see how it might be hard to get into. Exquisite Captive is amazing and so underrated!
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I agree: I expected a lot more from A Little Something Different, especially considering what the title itself seems to promise! The multiple perspectives had so much potential, but it just ended up falling flat for me. Still, you’ll got to love that adorable cover! 🙂
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I think all the Swoon Reads books have really great covers but none that I’ve read have impressed me. Most of them have been pretty bad actually… and A Little Something Different was probably the worst of them all. It was just so boring!
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I’ve had my eye on A Little Something Different, for a while now, but then I found out about the FOURTEEN different POVs and I was like NO THANKS! Great Top Ten!
My TTT!
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Haha good decision! It was really boring and not worth the time.
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Yep, I’m staying away!!
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I completely forgot about A Little Something Different. I picked that one up on a whim, too! The only other book on here I’ve read is The One Plus One. It was good. Not Me Before You amazing, but a good, solid read.
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Oooh good to hear that One Plus One is good! Haha I don’t even mind that it’s not as amazing as Me Before You. I’d rather not have to go through all that again.
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I want to read the Glenda Miller book. Glad you liked it.
The Captain
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It was such a beautiful read. I knew nothing about it going in and it completely blew me away with how beautiful and emotional the story was!
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As you know by now I absolutely adore Heather Demetrios’ books and I had no idea she’d ventured into fantasy until recently. Exquisite Captive definitely sounds like a book I’d enjoy so it’s definitely made it to the priority read list. This is shyness also sounds really interesting. I completely forgot about A Little Something Different and while the cover is cute and concept quirky I did feel like the story fell flat.
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Yes, you NEED to read Exquisite Captive. It has more of that awesome writing that’s easy to read but emotional at the same time. BTW, I ordered Something Real last night!! I’m so keen to check out This is Shyness too. I love magical realism and the synopsis of this one seems beautifully haunting.
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I thought The Lover’s Dictionary was such a wonderfully put together little book. It gave me all the feelings. I love books that are easy to read in a single sitting. Have you read Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist? That’s another one that’s great for that.
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That’s also why I loved The Lover’s Dictionary as well. It was just so nice and easy to read, but it all made sense as a whole. I haven’t read Nick and Norah yet but it’s been on my wishlist for a really long time. I just love David Levithan ❤
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I haven’t heard of any of these except for “YOLO Juliet”, which I’ve seen a few times in store. I’ve thought about maybe giving it a try. Hope you enjoy the ones you haven’t gotten to yet!
My TTT
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YOLO Juliet was funny but there were some bits that weren’t very successful. Bits of it fell kind of flat but the funny parts were really funny!
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A Jojo Moyes that’s not Me Before You! I wonder if it’s as good? Hope you like it and come back with good news. 🙂
Also I LOVE The Lover’s Dictionary. Just so subtle and I love all those moments he included – the nitty gritty of being in a relationship that we don’t get to hear about in fiction usually. Great picks, Jenna!
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Ughhhh I have still yet to get to One Plus One but I’ve heard really good things and it sounds emotional in a non-ugly-crying kind of way. Hopefully I can get to it soon…but knowing me, it probably won’t happen for a while.
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I have an ebook copy of A Little Something Different. Haven’t read it though but hoping to be into it sometime this year.
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Hope you enjoy it! I wasn’t a fan of it but it’s a pleasant romance.
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Lol I actually bought a Little Something Different because of someone’s review, but when I saw you hated it I’ve put it off the TBR pile. I did not like Signs Point to Yes one bit! I’m glad a few of these impulse buys worked for you.
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I bought it because I saw a good review as well! We probably saw the same one HAHA. It was honestly so boring and the multiple POVs definitely did not work! I didn’t bother getting Signs Point to Yes, though I’m drawn to the cover each time I go to the bookstore. Never again.
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A Little Something Different has been on sale as an ebook for the longest but I’ve stayed away every since I read your review. Wasn’t there something about point of views of animals? XD And gosh, I buy books at whim all the time especially if the cover is pretty and happen to be blue. (And they just collect dust on my shelves since I don’t read nearly as fast a you do. You always do a good job with tackling the TBR with books you haul it seems.)
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Good job staying away from A Little Something Different! Continue to do that XD I have to admit that the cover is extremely pretty but definitely not worth the money just to pretty up your shelf 😀
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