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Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

formerly hosted at The Broke and the Bookish

 

I’ve made it past the long weekend! Yes, Labor Day here in the US was yesterday and it was my adulting day. Booo! I actually took a couple of days off last week because of my heart issues and my trip to the ER so I am up and running and ready to go to work tomorrow!

This year is another year of firsts. I am a creature of habit and because of that, I don’t tend to read outside this box that I put myself in. This year is different. I actually tried to read books that I normally don’t read and I was NOT disappointed! Listening to book recommendations does pay off!

As most of you know, I used to be a primarily historical romance reader. I’ve branched out a bit now and I am game to trying all other romance genres!

Here are the top ten books that I read outside my comfort zone that I absolutely loved!

 

Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost

review

I haven’t really gotten into the vampire craze, even after Twilight came out. I mean, I read Twilight and I watched the movies but I didn’t go out seeking other vampire novels. It was when I moved in 2015 and I listened to the amazing audiobook for Halfway to the Grave that I was hooked! I LOVE Cat and Bones! Bones is probably my very first book boyfriend – and I don’t have book boyfriends! I loved that this was a forbidden romance and the heroine is a vampire slayer!

The Winter King by C.L. Wilson

review

The Winter King was my very first fantasy romance! I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I started this book, but I was entranced! High fantasy and romance? Magic and power? This is also an arranged marriage trope, which ticked another of my favorite trope boxes!

 

Evernight by Kristen Callihan

Evernight is my first adult steampunk romance and WOW was it an amazing experience. I read this book right after I read The Falconer (see below) and I loved being in a steampunk world! It is a mixture of romance, Gothic and Victorian and steampunk engines! Plus the paranormal! In Evernight, the hero is cured and has iron trying to take over his body and the heroine (who has the power to manipulate iron), is the only one who can save him.

 

Wait for You by Jennifer L. Armentrout

review

While Wait for You isn’t my first new adult romance, this was the book that started my love for the new adult genre. I love both the hero and heroine in this book, the slow burn romance, and the emotional parts. Especially the emotional parts. This book also dealt with real issues which were handled really well.

 

Pestilence by Laura Thalassa

Laura Thalassa was a new-to-me-author last year. I picked up this AMAZING audiobook and was hooked! We have always heard about The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and it’s in our pop culture. What I didn’t expect was a reimagination of the Horsemen in a post-apocalyptic romance novel! Pestilence and Sara’s relationship was a slow burn resulting in an amazing HEA.

 

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

review

I’ve never really read high fantasy. Heck, I started reading The Lord of the Rings and I couldn’t get past page 2! I decided to read The City of Brass this year on a whim when I requested an ARC for Kingdom of Copper, and I do not regret my decision. This debut has astounding world-building and amazing character development. Plus djinn and magic? WOW! This is not a romance, though.

 

Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh

review

A lot of romance readers have recommended reading the Psy-Changeling series by Nalini Singh. I’ve heard of this series for years, but I was never interested in paranormal/urban fantasy/shifters. Man, was I wrong! Slave to Sensation is an amazing read and Nalini’s writing is just magical! I can’t wait to continue reading this series!

 

These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner

review

I credit my love for young adult fiction to These Broken Stars. I’ve read other YA book prior to reading this, but this was the book that made me fall in love with the genre. The premise is basically Titanic in space, and it’s also a romance! I love sci-fi, but I don’t really care for the adult highly technical sci-fi fiction, so this book was just right!

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

review

I read this book a few weeks before the movie came out and I thoroughly enjoyed it! Dystopia isn’t my genre. In fact, I haven’t read a lot of dystopian novels, but I could not stop reading this series! It was just weird and crazy, and quite possible today!

 

The Falconer by Elizabeth May

review

As I mentioned earlier, I was reading steampunk back to back when I read Evernight before this book. WOW! This book was amazing! I can’t wait to finish this series! Unfortunately, only book 1 has an audiobook version.

 

Have you read any books on my list?

What books have you read outside your comfort zone?

 

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