Top Ten Tuesday – The Last 10 Books I Read but Don’t Plan to Review on the Blog

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is actually supposed to be My Ten Most Recent Reads (maybe share a one-sentence review to go with?).  I have either already reviewed or am planning to review the last 10 books I read, so I decided to twist the topic to make it a better fit for me.  I’m sharing the last books I read but have no plans to review on the blog, mainly just because they’re older reads and/or I just didn’t have enough to say about them to even write a mini review.

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The Last 10 Books I Read but Don’t Plan to Review on the Blog

1. ALEX, APPROXIMATELY by Jenn Bennett (4 STARS)

This was my 5th Jenn Bennett novel and probably my favorite yet.  Loved the enemies to lovers plot with a You’ve Got Mail twist.

2. AUTOBOYOGRAPHY by Christina Lauren (5 STARS)

I had been avoiding this book, afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype, but wow, it really blew me away. Such a moving, beautiful, cute, and all around special story and I adored all of the characters, especially Tanner.

3. THE BOOKSHOP OF SECOND CHANCES by Jackie Fraser (3 STARS)

This book actually releases today and I had somewhat mixed feelings about it.  I loved the setting – a bookshop in Scotland and I liked the main character, Thea.  I also love a good second chance romance.  So why mixed feelings?  I wasn’t the biggest fan of her second chance guy.  I guess he was supposed to be a cute grumpy type, but for some reason, it just didn’t work for me this time even though it normally does.  I also thought the pacing was slow at times.  It was still a nice read overall but just didn’t captivate me the way I expected it to.

4. BOYFRIEND MATERIAL by Alexis Hall (4.5 STARS)

I love a good fake dating story and this one totally delivers.  The main characters, Luc and Oliver, are wonderful, both individually and together.  Plus, there’s tons of humor so that was a bonus as well.

5. THE HOUSE IN THE CERULEAN SEA by T.J. Klune (5 STARS)

I think every other blogger out there has said everything there is to say about this book, but it is truly one of the most special and unique books I’ve ever read.  Truly magical and it had me crying happy tears by the end.  I adored all of the children so much, especially Lucy and Chauncey.

6. CODE GIRLS: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE AMERICAN WOMEN CODE BREAKERS WHO HELPED WIN WWII by Liza Mundy (3.5 STARS)

One of my goals this year has been to read more nonfiction and this is one of the books I have read so far in 2021.  Since I enjoy WWII historical fiction so much, I picked this book up since I had never heard of these women code breakers before.  It’s a pretty interesting read, although a little dry at times. I definitely recommend the audio version.

7. EXCUSE ME WHILE I UGLY CRY by Joya Goffney (4 STARS)

This book actually releases today and although I enjoyed it, I just didn’t have enough to say about it to review it in full on the blog.  Imagine having your journal, with all of your innermost secrets and private thoughts, land in the worst possible hands. This is exactly what happens to Quinn, the main character. And not only does her journal end up in the wrong hands, but the person who has it decides to blackmail her with it.  This is a wonderful story about facing your fears, figuring out who you are and who your true friends are.  There’s also the possibility of a romance but that takes a backseat to the coming of age storyline.

8. HIDDEN FIGURES by Margot Lee Shetterly (4 STARS)

This is another nonfiction book I read this year, mainly because I loved the film of the same name so much.  This was a great read, although slightly different from the film in that it focuses much more on the science and the history and a little less on the personal lives of the individual women.

9. A PROMISED LAND by Barack Obama (5 STARS)

Also part of my quest to read more nonfiction.  This was such a fascinating inside look at Obama’s political rise from his younger years up through his Presidency.  It’s volume 1 of what will be a 2 volume memoir so this one runs up through the mission where we finally got bin Laden.  It’s basically a record of every major event that happened during those years and Obama’s thoughts at the times as well as his hindsight reflections on those events.  I really enjoyed that he talked about both his successes and his failures, and how things affected him both politically and personally.  I also highly recommend the audio version.

10. DAUGHTER OF SMOKE & BONE trilogy by Laini Taylor (4 STARS – Books 1 & 2, 3 STARS – Book 3)

This trilogy had been sitting on my shelf for several years so I decided it was time to finally knock it off my TBR.  I really enjoyed the series overall, although not quite as much as the wonderful Strange the Dreamer series.  The world building was very impressive, I loved all of the main characters, and I especially loved the seraphim versus chimaera premise.  The series finale was a bit of a let down for me, mainly just because it introduced new characters and I just wasn’t invested in them at all and felt they were in the way of the characters I wanted to read about.

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Question:  Have you read any of these?