Hi! Jana hosts Top Ten Tuesday @https://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/. This weekly meme was born out of a love of lists and bringing the book blogging community together. Each week, Jana will post a prompt, and we readers will write our response. We also have the option of doing our own thing if we would like. This week our topic is Books With a Unit of Time In the Title (seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, eternity, etc.) (Submitted by RS @ The Idealistic Daydream). I was not really feeling that this week, but might revisit the prompt in the future. I went and found this prompt that I never did, and I just loved it. This is books that surprised me (in a good or bad way), for this, I stuck with mostly in a good way. 

Books that surprised me in a good way

1- A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

I’m not a fantasy reader mostly, but man, these books really sold me on the genre. I love the stories and the characters. What I believe SJM does to make me want to read these is that she weaves the world-building into her stories in a way that doesn’t seem like she is dumping a bunch of world lore onto you at once. 

2- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Thorns and Roses was going to be a one hit wonder, I thought. I enjoyed these last year before I started taking a break from the genre. I need to get back into this series. The characters and the story made me happy.

3- House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

I know you’re all seeing a pattern here, but I honestly thought that Middle Grade and YA Fantasy was going to be my sweet spot. I didn’t think I would enjoy an adult Fantasy. I love this one, and I can’t wait to read the second book next month. 

4- Grisha Verse by Leigh Bardugo

This follows the same thinking as SJM. I didn’t really read fantasy because I felt like it was a lot of world-building, and not enough about the characters. I was proven wrong, and I’m glad I checked out this series because it’s my favorite fantasy series. 

5- The Rick Riordan Greek Mythology Universe 

I didn’t read these as a kid. I didn’t even know they existed until a few years ago when people were talking about them. I didn’t think I would be interested in Middle-Grade, because I was past the age market to read them. This series is fantastic and I’ve read most of them twice, and The Lightning Thief three times. I think once every few years I’m going to reread these books.   

6- Sea Witch by Sarah Henning 

I didn’t know how to feel about a retelling of one of my favorite villains’. Although this story is a prequel in a way, I was still wary going in. I loved this book, and I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed reading it. 

7- All books by Casey McQuiston 

I heard all the hype about Casey McQuiston. I wasn’t sure that I would love them as much as other people seem to, because I hadn’t read an adult romance. I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed reading Red, White, and Royal Blue, One Last Stop, and I Kissed Shara Wheeler. They all filled me with all the feels.  

8- All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir  

I heard that Sabaa Tahir had a fantasy series, and not many people can go from fantasy to other genres. All My Rage is one of my favorite books of the year, and one of my 

Books that surprised me in a bad way

9- Alice By Heart by Steven Sater 

This is the novelization of a musical, and I enjoy the musical. This book started off well, but then I just wasn’t feeling it. I love Alice in Wonderland, so I was surprised by how much I didn’t enjoy the book as a whole. I loved the Wonderland parts. I want to give this another chance down the line.

10- The Late Comer by Jean Hanff Korelitz

This was a physical ARC I got from Bookish Frist. The plot seemed like it was good, so I wanted to enter for a copy. I didn’t enjoy the family drama as much as I would have thought I would. I believe this DNF was a case of me just not liking the writing style, and the pace of the book being slow.