Top Ten Tuesday – Books I Loved but Never Reviewed

Good morning and welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday! Today I’m focusing on books I’ve read but haven’t reviewed since I started blogging. There are plenty of books I’ve read and adored in the distant past but these are all books I’ve read after 1st January 2017. I actually have a shelf on Goodreads dedicated to books I haven’t actually written a review for yet. Some are books I’ve struggled to write a review for because I wasn’t that much of the fan, others I loved but probably read in a period where I was reading book after book and too much time had passed for me to be able to sit down and write a proper review… Maybe a reread or two will be in my future…

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Books I Loved But Never Reviewed

Tarnished City by Vic James

About The Book…

A corrupted city. A dark dream of power.

Luke is a prisoner, condemned for a murder he didn’t commit. Abi is a fugitive, desperate to free him before magic breaks his mind. But as the Jardines tighten their grip on a turbulent Britain, brother and sister face a fight greater than their own.

New alliances and old feuds will remake the nation, leaving Abi and Luke questioning everything – and everyone – they know. And as Silyen Jardine hungers for the forgotten Skill of the legendary Wonder King, the country’s darkest hour approaches. Freedom and knowledge both come at a cost. So who will pay the price?

Dates Read: 12th September 2017 – 23rd October 2017
I’m not sure why this one took me quite so long to read, although it appears from my Goodreads I read over 200 pages on the 23rd so something probably came up at work. I loved the whole Dark Gifts trilogy although I only shared my review of Gilded Cage here on SWB. I am planning on rereading that for the UKYA Readathon though so maybe I’ll reread the rest of the trilogy and finally share my review.

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The Book Of The Year 2018 by No Such Thing As A Fish

About The Book…

In a year dominated by Russian collusion and Brexit confusion, The Book of the Year returns with another dose of barely believable yet wholly unimpeachable facts and stories from the past twelve months.

Every week for the past four years, Dan, James, Anna and Andy – the creators of the award-winning, chart-topping comedy podcast No Such Thing As A Fish – have wowed each other and millions of their listeners with the most astonishing trivia they have learned over the previous seven days. Now, once again, they have put down the microphones, picked up their pencils, and transformed a year’s worth of weird and wonderful happenings into one uplifting book that you won’t be able to put down.

Discover how Peruvian mummies affected the World Cup, and why Love Island contestants are experts in game theory – as well as hundreds of stories that may have passed you by entirely, including the news that:

· NASA sent a man with a fear of heights to the International Space Station.
· An ice hotel in Canada caught fire.
· Mark Zuckerberg’s private data was compromised while he was talking to Congress about compromised data.

From Kim Jong Un’s personal potty to Jeremy Corbyn’s valuable vegetables, The Book of the Year 2018 is an eye-opening tour of yet another incredible year you didn’t know you’d lived through.

Dates Read: 18th October 2018 – 25th October 2018
I actually listed to the audiobook over the course of a week. The Book Of The Year is by the team behind the No Such Thing As A Fish podcast which I ADORE, and the audiobook is just like a super long episode! There’s no plot as such though, just lots of strange facts which I guess makes it hard to write a review for…

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Wishbones by Virginia MacGregor

About The Book…

Feather Tucker has two wishes:

1) To get her mum healthy again
2) To win the Junior UK swimming championships

When Feather comes home on New Year’s Eve to find her mother – one of Britain’s most obese women- in a diabetic coma, she realises something has to be done to save her mum’s life. But when her Mum refuses to co-operate Feather realises that the problem run deeper than just her mum’s unhealthy appetite.

Over time, Feather’s mission to help her Mum becomes an investigation. With the help of friends old and new, and the hindrance of runaway pet goat Houdini, Feather’s starting to uncover when her mum’s life began to spiral out of control and why. But can Feather fix it in time for her mum to watch her swim to victory? And can she save her family for good?

Dates Read: 16th April 2017 – 17th April 2017
I read this for the SundayYA readathon which happened over Easter weekend back in 2017. I remember really loving the character of Feather, and being fascinated by the family mystery that was unveiled throughout the story. This was definitely a case of reading a lot of books in a short space of time without making review notes. The books didn’t blur into one as such but I think I left it too long to do a review justice.

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Noteworthy by Riley Redgate

About The Book…

A cappella just got a makeover.

Jordan Sun is embarking on her junior year at the Kensington-Blaine Boarding School for the Performing Arts, hopeful that this will be her time: the year she finally gets cast in the school musical. But when her low Alto 2 voice gets her shut out for the third straight year—threatening her future at Kensington-Blaine and jeopardizing her college applications—she’s forced to consider nontraditional options.

In Jordan’s case, really nontraditional. A spot has opened up in the Sharpshooters, Kensington’s elite a cappella octet. Worshiped…revered…all male. Desperate to prove herself, Jordan auditions in her most convincing drag, and it turns out that Jordan Sun, Tenor 1, is exactly what the Sharps are looking for.

Jordan finds herself enmeshed in a precarious juggling act: making friends, alienating friends, crushing on a guy, crushing on a girl, and navigating decades-old rivalries. With her secret growing heavier every day, Jordan pushes beyond gender norms to confront what it means to be a girl (and a guy) in a male-dominated society, and—most importantly—what it means to be herself.

Dates Read: 15th April 2017 – 16th April 2017
This is another of my SundayYA Readathon books. It fitted perfectly into my post Glee life! I don’t remember many details about it but I do remember really enjoying it, maybe a time for a reread…

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If Birds Fly Back by Carlie Sorosiak

About The Book…

Linny has been living life in black and white since her sister Grace ran away, and she’s scared that Grace might never come back. When Linny witnesses the return to Miami of a cult movie star long presumed dead, she is certain it’s a sign. Surely Álvaro Herrera, of all people, can tell her why people come back – and how to bring her sister home?

Sebastian has come to Miami seeking his father, a man whose name he’s only just learned. An aspiring astrophysicist, he can tell Linny how many galaxies there are, how much plutonium weighs and how likely she is to be struck by a meteorite. But none of the theories he knows are enough to answer his own questions about why his father abandoned him, and why it left him in pieces.

As Sebastian and Linny converge around the mystery of Álvaro’s disappearance – and return – their planets start to collide. Linny’s life is about to become technicolor, but finding the answers to her questions might mean losing everything that matters.

Dates Read: 17th April 2017
I think this was the final book from my SundayYA Readathon. It was a book I got from Netgalley, I don’t remember huge amounts about it other than it felt like a great summer book. I enjoyed it enough to buy a final copy of the book though!

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Never Somewhere Else by Alex Gray

About The Book…

When three young women are discovered strangled and mutilated in a Glasgow park, it is up to DCI Lorimer to find their killer. Frustrated by a lack of progress in the investigation, Lorimer is forced to enlist the services of Dr Solomon and Brightman, psychologist and criminal profiler. Together they form an uneasy alliance.

But when a homeless man is brought in for questioning the investigation takes a bizarre turn. Soon Lorimer has to scratch the surface of the polished Glasgow art world and reveal the dark layers hidden beneath…

Dates Read: 23rd August 2017 – 5th September 2017 and 20th November 2019 – 21st November 2019
I first listened to the audiobook of this right back in 2017 and really enjoyed it, I moved onto the second audiobook pretty quickly and never reviewed. I even relistened last year with the aim of writing some mini reviews of the first 4 or 5 books in the series but haven’t even managed that!

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The Fourth Monkey by J. D. Barker

About The Book…

For over five years, the Four Monkey Killer has terrorized the residents of Chicago. When his body is found, the police quickly realize he was on his way to deliver one final message, one which proves he has taken another victim who may still be alive.

As the lead investigator on the 4MK task force, Detective Sam Porter knows even in death, the killer is far from finished. When he discovers a personal diary in the jacket pocket of the body, Porter finds himself caught up in the mind of a psychopath, unraveling a twisted history in hopes of finding one last girl, all while struggling with personal demons of his own.

With only a handful of clues, the elusive killer’s identity remains a mystery. Time is running out and the Four Monkey Killer taunts from beyond the grave in this masterfully written fast-paced thriller.

Dates Read: 5th November 2017 – 8th November 2017
I adore a good adult thriller and this was no exception, I absolutely devoured this one, but for some reason I never got around to reviewing it. It was the first in a trilogy though so a reread might be in order so I can finish it.

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My Box-Shaped Heart by Rachael Lucas

About The Book…

My Box-Shaped Heart is a powerful story of an unlikely friendship from Rachael Lucas, author of The State of Grace.

Holly’s mum is a hoarder, and she is fed up with being picked on at school for being weird . . . and having the wrong clothes . . . and sticking out. All she wants is to be invisible. She loves swimming, because in the water everyone is the same.

Ed goes to the swimming pool to escape the horrible house he and his mum have been assigned by the women’s refuge. In his old life he had money; was on the swim team; knew who he was and what he wanted. In his old life his dad hit his mum.

Holly is swimming in one direction and Ed’s swimming in the other. As their worlds collide they find a window into each other’s lives – and learn how to meet in the middle.

Dates Read: 11th June 2018 – 12th June 2018
I read (and actually reviewed) Rachael’s first YA novel The State Of Grace so I was so keen to get my hands on her second YA novel and I wasn’t disappointed with it, I absolutely adored it! Holly and Ed were just the cutest! I’m not sure why I didn’t get around to reviewing it…

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Floored by Various Authors

About The Book…

The Breakfast Club meets One Day in Floored, a unique collaborative novel by seven bestselling and award-winning YA authors: Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood.

When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn’t that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he’s the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn’t match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn’t as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who’s losing her sight but won’t admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shouldn’t be here at all, but who wants to be here the most.

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year.

Dates Read: 29th July 2018 – 2nd August 2018
This book was definitely a grower for me, I was a little unsure at the beginning but I kept going and ended up really enjoying it! I loved the concept with a group of authors each writing their own character. I’d love another group of authors to do something similar

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The Gathering Dark by James Oswald

About The Book…

A truck driver loses control in central Edinburgh, ploughing into a crowded bus stop and spilling his vehicle’s toxic load. The consequences are devastating.

DI Tony McLean witnesses the carnage. Taking control of the investigation, he soon realises there is much that is deeply amiss – and everyone involved seems to have something to hide.

But as McLean struggles to uncover who caused the tragedy, a greater crisis develops: the new Chief Superintendent’s son is missing, last seen in the area of the crash . . .

Dates Read: 20th September 2018 – 25th September 2018
I absolutely adore this series, I’m really not sure why I didn’t review this on the blog, I remember the truck crash being pretty full on and set in a bit of Edinburgh I’m pretty familiar with. I’ve fallen a little behind with this series, I think I’ve got two books to read after this one so I should really get on with it! I do love the audiobook versions of this series so I think another listen before moving on is required!

Ten books I adored but haven’t reviewed on SWB. Have you read any of them? What books have you adored but not reviewed? Let me know in the comments!