Welcome to another TTT! This week’s topic is: Books That Surprised Me (in a good or bad way). I don’t know about you, but I am not great at remembering a ton of details about all the books I read. So this topic is hard for me! I’ve decided I’m going to handle it a little differently than I’d originally thought. I’ve searched my blog with the keyword “surprised” and am including the book title and the sentence of my review that included that keyword. I’ll also link you to my review instead of Goodreads like I usually do (unless my mini review was in a previous TTT post or survey, as is the case at least once here), if you need context and would like read more about the book. Goodreads links can be found in each of the reviews, so you’ve still got a fast way to go add it to your TBR if you’d like to!
1. Night by Eli Wiesel
“I was super surprised to find such a heartbreaking book that could lift me up at the same time.”
2. Never Gamble Your Heart by Lindsay Lovise
“I love this found family, and was so pleasantly surprised by how sweet and tender their relationships are with each other.”
3. Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise
“The ending surprised me!”
4. What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon
“The time travel aspect also really surprised me, and I loved how it tied it all together.”
5. Ciao for Now by Kate Bromley
“So I’m surprised and happy to say I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a kind of Devil Wears Prada-esque fashion story set in Italy, with a slew of characters to fall in love with.”
6. Just Like Magicby Sarah Hogle
“I’m not going to lie, I was surprised that Sarah Hogle could craft such a wild, zany story that both warmed my heart and confused me greatly at times.”
7. Marrying Winterborne by Lisa Kleypas
“I was so pleasantly surprised and delighted by the man that Rhys is during this scene.”
8. Captivate by Vanessa Garden
“I was pleasantly surprised to find that this world is super unique and gorgeous.”
9. The Governess Game by Tessa Dare
“I actually really liked these girls and their antics, which surprised me since I’m not usually a fan of children in romance novels.”
10. Gentlemen Prefer Nerds by Joan Kilby
“What surprised me the most, though, was the comedic element the author threw in.”
Are you surprised by any of my picks? (lol see what I did there?)
What book or books have surprised you?
Such a fun way to find books to feature – and it’s fun too because it leads to featuring books we don’t always spotlight. :)
Thank you! I agree, it’s nice to remember books I’ve loved that I haven’t given as much attention to. I need to think and come up with more TTT topics that encourage me to showcase books I don’t talk about as much!
Night blew me away. The horror. How can people treat other people like that?
It was such a heartbreaking read, but I’m so glad I read it. I’m with you, I have no idea how anyone could treat another living being like that. Stories like his need to never be forgotten.
I like how you have done that!
Have a great week
Thank you, Emily!
I ended up searching my blog for reviews with “surprise” as well! Lol. A few I knew off the top of my head but most I had to do with a search! Lol. I need to go back and read Vanessa Garden’s series! I remember enjoying the first book and maybe the second? I know it took awhile for the third book to come out and then there was an added prequel! I need a re-read of it all but will have to see if the prequel needs to be read first or if it’s better to read last since it likely was published last. Always confusing when that happens…lol.
Great picks and take on the post idea!
Here’s my Tuesday Post
Have a GREAT day!
Old Follower :)
Oh wow, great minds think alike! It was fun searching, wasn’t it? I need to go back to Vanessa Garden’s series as well! Your experience was the same for me. I loved the first book but never got to the second because the release schedule was pretty spread out and I didn’t want to forget anything! Now that they’s all out, I need to go back and read them. I looked into the prequel and the synopsis says is can be read as a standalone, so maybe the order doesn’t matter. Very confusing, indeed!
What a fun way to approach the prompt! I’m going to remember this for potential future occasions :)
Thank you! Yes, there will be throwback topics and freebie topics on the prompt calendar in the future so you can always come back to it!
That was a great way to do this week’s topic! I wish I had thought of it, LOL!
Thank you! I was struggling so much trying to think of titles to fit this prompt and then BAM. This took so much less brain power. LOL!
Great list, Jana. Just Like Magic and Gentlemen Prefer Nerds sound wonderfully fun.
Thank you! You’re right, both titles were delightful and took me on such fun adventures!
I never thought about Night by Elie Wiesel. Though I will say any of those books that take into account true stories from the concentration camps do surprise you. Amazing list.
Thank you! You’re so right. I think the fact that this is his personal story made it more of an emotional read for me than WW2 historical fiction would.
I love the way you found the books to include here! I also have trouble remembering a ton of details about everything I’ve read, so I couldn’t figure out how to make this prompt work for me.
Thank you! I’m sorry you couldn’t make the prompt work for you, but hopefully you’ll be back next week! I try so hard to keep prompts broad enough so everyone can find a way to make it work for them, but I know they’re not all going to be for everyone!
Oh, absolutely. I already have the next few weeks’ prompts scheduled, so those worked a lot better for me! 😁 I just can’t always find ways to change my brain’s mind about what a prompt means, LOL.
Happy reading, Jana!
Thanks, Jody! The same to you!
I love that you searched for the keyword “surprised” to find your books for this prompt. What a brilliant idea! It made me curious about what would turn up if I searched for it on my own blog and now I’m having fun searching keywords all over my blog! 😂
Thank you! And oh my goodness, I ended up searching my blog for more keywords when I was done. lol. It’s fun!
Night! You are correct–it did uplift somehow.
I’m glad you felt it too! That book is amazing, but so heartbreaking.
What the Wind Knows was amazing!
I never hear anyone talking about it, but it’s so wonderful! One of my favorites.
Night was definitely one that left me with feelings all over the place, and I liked Rhys Winterbourne’s character too
I think most WW2 books leave me feeling so many different things, but the fact that this man wrote about his own lived experiences made it even more emotional for me.
I searched for the word surprise(d) for my list too!
Great minds think alike!