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 of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.
Books I LOVE that have an Average Rating Below 4 Stars on Goodreads (Love Freebie)
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is to come up with an idea that fits within the topic of “love.” I was trying to come up with something different for the love freebie and thought of all the books I love which are rated lower on Goodreads. These are all books rated below 4 stars that I rated 5 stars.
1. That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler
- That Way Madness Lies is one of the best short story collections I have read. I enjoyed how each of the writers used different genres to retell the Shakespeare plays. My favorite in the collection was a cross between Hamlet and Dracula. I am going to have to pick this up again soon.
2. Upon a Frosted Star by M. A. Kuzniar
- As soon as I heard that this was going to be a cross between The Great Gatsby and Swan Lake, I knew I had to read it. I enjoyed this world so much and had a great time getting drawn into Forester and Odette’s story. It was such an entertaining take on the Swan Lake premise.
3. Midnight in Everwood by M. A. Kuzniar
- It surprises me that both of M. A. Kuzniar’s books I have read are rated lower on Goodreads. A beautiful retelling of The Nutcracker. I adored the magical aspects of this novel that still has me hoping for more books from this world. This had me thinking of the Wood between Worlds in The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis, which is the reason I first got into portal fantasies to begin with.
4. The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
- I love the dark fairy tale world Melissa created in this book and the rest of the series. It was one of my favorites from 2020 and I still to this day remember it fondly.
5. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
- I first read Death of a Salesman in tenth grade back in 2010. Over the years, I have watched the play performed many times and I have read it a few more times myself. It is one of my favorites plays of all time.
6. Midnight Strike by Zeba Shahnaz
- I was lucky enough to get an ARC copy of this book back in 2023 and I fell in love with this time loop fairy tale. A time loop is one of my favorites elements in books along with time travel stories. I love any story that messes with time in interesting ways. And I loved watching Anais try to fix everything going on in this story so many different times. This was a clever take on the “Cinderella” fairy tale that I highly enjoyed.
7. The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick
- Both of Alexandria’s books in The Four Winds series could get onto this list, but I figured I would talk about my favorite of the two. I adored The North Wind when I first read my ARC of it in 2022. It is a romantasy book with elements from “Beauty and the Beast,” Greek Mythology with the gods of the winds playing an integral role, and Hades and Persephone retellings. I love slow-burn enemies-to-lovers romances. It was great to watch Wren and Boreas throughout the book and seeing their relationship grow over the course of the story.
8. An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker
- This is one of my favorites books on this list. I first read this book because it was recommended for lovers of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and the movie A Knight’s Tale. These are great comps for this book because of the type of humor infused into the story. I love historical fiction books which deal with Shakespeare and this is one of my favorites.
9. The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
- This book was another one I got to read an ARC copy of back in 2020. I was excited to read this book when I heard it drew some inspiration from Les Miserables which is one of my favorite musicals. Kester wrote such an interesting system with the Guilds in this book and I enjoyed following Nina throughout her plans in this book. I’m still waiting for the rest of the series and hope one day she will finish it. Supposedly the second book is supposed to be out this year, but that has been said many times before.
10. I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle
- I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons was my first book of this year and I enjoyed it so much. I love Peter S. Beagle’s writing style. He has this whimsical way of writing which pulls me in from the first page. Such an entertaining book. Not my favorite of Peter’s but still a great read.
I’m Afraid You Got Dragons looks interesting.
ReplyDeleteHere is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Yes, it has Peter S. Beagle’s signature style and I had a great time reading it.
DeleteI’ll check it out your TTT. Thank you for looking at mine.
I’m curious about Upon a Frosted Star.
ReplyDeleteHere is my post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-platonic-relationships/
I recommend checking it out. I’ll read your post too.
DeleteYour list got me curious. An Assassins Guide to Love and Treason sounds intriguing. I'm adding this one to my to-read list. As for I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons, you had me at whimsical..
ReplyDeleteFeel free to check out my TTT here.
I’m always recommending An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason because I loved it so much. I’m Afraid You’ve Got Dragons definitely fits into what I have come to expect from Peter S. Beagle’s signature style of writing.
DeleteThank you for reading my post. I’ll check out your TTT.