A fact of publishing is that sometimes certain books get hyped waaaay more than other books.
Doesn’t mean the other books are worse. Doesn’t mean hyped books are better. Reading is subjective, and it really comes down to the Wizards of Marketing, who all gather in a secret location, brew something tasty (or possibly disastrous, who really knows with wizards) in their cauldrons, read the future on chicken bones (probably cooked in the cauldrons, I assume, for efficiency), and then decide what to promote heavily. And who can argue with magic?
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is a freebie, and I had a hard time coming up with what I wanted to do, so I figured I’d call out some less hyped books that still deserve all the hype.
Granted, some of these books still have thousands of reviews, so not all of them are underhyped. They’re just less hyped than what I compared them to, and y’all should read all of them because I said so. That works with my daughter, I’m assuming it works here, too. Mom powers.
I’m also going to admit that some of these are across age groups, because I fully believe that adults should read all age groups (which I do myself), so I’m not discriminating. Hyped is hyped. For the purposes of this post, that’s mostly what I focused on.
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ➔ The Last Human
What they have in common:
- Comedic space operas featuring plenty of alien species.
- Humans are a bit of an endangered thing.
- For some reason, everyone wants the humans dead? Pfft. Offensive.
- Lots of space travel and space tech.
- Some very meta thinking and discussions.
- A robot that’s more helpful than it first appears.
- Despite being funny, somehow makes you think about bigger things.
Children of Blood and Bone ➔ David Mogo, Godhunter
What they have in common:
- Plot based on the richness of the Orisha pantheon.
- Except in David Mogo, the gods are actually ON EARTH, and that is a yikes scenario if you know anything about these gods.
- Both set in a fantasy Nigeria … except one is dystopia, and I think you can guess which.
- #OwnVoices
- Unique “chosen one” protagonist fighting to save the world.
- All sorts of different kinds of magic and powers!
Six of Crows ➔ Diamond City
What they have in common:
- Heist plot! Gang dynamics!
- Protagonist who’s not always great at being a team player.
- Interesting, fun gang dynamics with characters you can’t help but love.
- Protagonists with a grudge and something to prove.
- Dark worlds that kinda suck to live in.
- But that’s okay, because these protagonists are tough enough to carve out a place for themselves, tooth and nail.
Steel Crow Saga ➔ Knightmare Arcanist
What they have in common:
- Humans bonding with animals … or mythical creatures in Knightmare Arcanist.
- All sorts of super neat elemental powers.
- Animals with personalities that are super fun and quirky.
- A larger war brewing in the background.
- An antagonist that has abused the beautiful powers of the world.
- Found family and enemies teaming up.
Sorcery of Thorns ➔ The Library of the Unwritten
What they have in common:
- Books about books (and libraries, in particular!)
- Bad-ass female librarians as protagonists.
- Books that sometimes come to life and have personalities, the result of which can be terrifying or adorable.
- Enemies teaming up to stop the Big Bad.
- Authors and their works creating all sorts of trouble, like they do.
- Breaking all sorts of forbidden things.
- Eh, rules are really just guidelines, right?
- Besides, does it even count if you don’t get caught?
- (But they totally get caught, because of course they do)
The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep ➔ Twist
What they have in common:
- Characters from books coming to life and terrorizing poor, unsuspecting humans.
- Okay, so the humans probably had it coming. Not the point.
- Range of characters with varying personalities to enjoy.
- Fuzzy magic that seamlessly blends the real world with fantasy.
- Strong sibling bonds!
- Perfect for bookish, geeky, nerdy readers (and aren’t we all).
- Giant dogs that are more than happy to eat your face.
- And probably the rest of you, if we’re honest.
Howl’s Moving Castle ➔ The Will and the Wilds
What they have in common:
- Whimsical fantasy world facade that only barely covers the dark fantasy underneath.
- Drama queen males that need to be kept in line by soft, but strong, females.
- Magical male leads that have to protect the female lead.
- But let’s be honest, the female lead is really the one keeping things from going tits up.
- Demons!
- A backdrop of war.
Small Spaces ➔ The Jumbies
What they have in common:
- Just creepy enough to give mid-graders shivers, but not enough to keep them up at night … probably.
- Set in small, close-knit communities.
- Have a plot focused on local lore in the given setting.
- The Jumbies is #OwnVoices with Caribbean lore.
- Mothers who have since passed away, leaving single fathers to raise their daughters (and good luck to them).
- Sweet father/daughter family vibes.
- Super creepy antagonists that you wouldn’t want to meet in real life.
- Kids teaming up to take down the bad guys.
Steelheart ➔ The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind
What they have in common:
- Action-packed urban fantasy, filled with humor.
- Superhero books!
- Which means lots of fun powers, for better or worse.
- Obviously something bigger going on with the powers, but they’re not giving anything away just yet.
- Set in major metropolitan areas and really bring those settings to life.
- Protagonists that make really lame jokes and/or puns.
- Which we obviously love them all the more for.
- Crews attempting to secretly save the world.
- Suspicion of betrayal within these crews.
Furyborn ➔ The Tiger at Midnight
What they have in common:
- Sexy enemies-to-lovers with a sort of coy, one-upmanship quality to it.
- Fierce, stabby women who will stop at nothing to get what they want.
- Oh, and they both just happen to be assassins, which is the best class of stabbiness.
- Both have fierce nicknames to drive fear into the heart of their foes, as they should (The Dread vs. The Viper).
- Betrayal and backstabbing seems to be a general theme.
- Love interests that also happen to be soldiers/warriors.
Yes, The Library of the Unwritten totally deserves all the love it can get!
YES! Have you seen the announcement for the sequel?! I’m so freaking excited.
I can’t wait! I’ve actually got approved for the ARC via NetGalley – it’s going to be so awesome!
SO DID I. I’m pumped. I’m so curious to see what direction it’ll be taken after the first book, and I’m ready to revisit that world again.
Such a unique list!!!!!! I love it!
Thank you!
I love these kinds of posts! And you gave so many recommendations! 😀 I’ve read and absolutely loved both Sorcery of Thorns and The Library of the Unwritten so happy to see those two compared. Great list!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them both! I actually *just* read Sorcery of Thorns, and I’m not sure why it took me so long, but gosh, yes, it was great. I need me a Silas now, please.
Are you looking forward to Archive of the Forgotten?! I got an ARC, and I’m so looking forward to it!
Another if you liked THIS, try THIS post and I am here for it! I find those super helpful, especially for casual readers who might not be as plugged into the book community!
My TTT: https://ichlese.blog/2020/07/28/top-ten-tuesday-my-favorite-seasonal-book-movie-sustenance-pairings/.
I don’t normally do them, because when I try, my brain tends to kind of … die. It’s like … books? Yes books. Read … more books? It’s a work in progress. xD Glad you liked it!
Well, now I have to read The Last Human. It sounds great.
My TTT .
Lydia recently posted…Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Character Names in a Book I Can’t Pronounce
I hope you get a chance to! It wasn’t as funny as Hitchhiker’s Guide, but it had a much more put-together plot and did some really interesting things that were similar! Plus, it combined humor and philosophy, which was super neat!
Of all of these books, I’ve only read Hitchhiker’s! But The Last Human does vibe with me and I’ll look for it as soon as the library’s open.
I hope you’re able to find it! And that the libraries get to open soon. x.X Is yours not doing curbside? That’s what my library is doing right now until we can let people inside again. :3
Awesome idea for a post! I have sooo many of these on my TBR and think I’ll be adding the rest ASAP 😊
Glad I could help add to your TBR problem. xD I hope you enjoy them when you get a chance to read them!
Oh I really need to check some of these out! Especially David mogo, gohunter and Library of the Unwritten!
(Www.evelynreads.com)
Evelyn recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday – (freebie) Backlist books I want to read
David Mogo was a little slow to get into, I’d just warn you of that. I think you’d really like Library of the Unwritten, though!
Love your topic choice! Small Spaces and The Jumbies both sound really fun, I need to try them.
Jess @ Jessticulates recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday | Books with non-human narrators
I hope you get a chance to! I love reading middle grade horror, because it’s enough to give me the creeps without keeping me up at night. xD Goodness knows I don’t get enough sleep as it is haha.
I love this idea! It’s so true, though, that some books seem to get all the hype. (Whether or not they deserve hype, other books deserve hype too!)
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Tag Tuesday ~ Disney Parks Book Tag
It’s so true. I understand why publishers can’t hype everything … but that’s where we come in, obviously. 😉 Besides, throwing books at people is not only fun but good exercise.
I love this list! Definitely going to have to check out The Library of the Unwritten!
Abby @ A Novel Destination recently posted…10 Cool Bookstores to visit (Top Ten Tuesday)
I hope you enjoy it! The sequel is coming out soon, too. :3
First, I love that you shared less hyped books. Second, I love that you gave us a list for if you like one book which one to try. Third, I did that today, too! I love that we both did!
Ha, great minds think alike, right? 😉 Love it!
This is an amazing topic! And so many wonderful recommendations too! 😀
Proxyfish @ Books by Proxy recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten… Books with Red in the Title
Thanks!
I definitely need to check out Steelheart (I know I’m going the wrong way on your suggestion chart, lol) since I loved The Girl Who Could Move Sh*t With Her Mind:-)
I’m pretty sure there IS no wrong way on a suggestions chart. xD This ain’t bumper cars. 😉 You do you. Also, yes, I 100% recommend Steelheart if you haven’t read it. The whole series is *chef’s kiss*, though hubby and I were both kinda disappointed with how the series ended.
Brilliant list!! I definitely need to check these out. xx
I hope you enjoy them when you do!
Aww yiiissss I love lists like this and yours are very well crafted! I’ve added the Last Human and Diamond City to my want-to-read list!
Thank you! I hope you enjoy both of them when you get a chance to pick them up!
This was such a great idea! I will definitely need to have a look into all of these books! Thanks for this!
Hope you enjoy them!
Oooh, I love these kinds of posts! I will definitely be looking into a few of these titles based on things I’ve read and liked.
Lisa @ waytoofantasy recently posted…Can’t-Wait Wednesday: Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Hope you enjoy them! :3
Great list, Sammie! I do love to see some love for the ‘under dogs’ in well in anything really! However the only one I have read is The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy (love it 😍), so looks like I need to check out The Last Human. 😃
jessicabookworm recently posted…More Than A Carpenter by Josh McDowell & Sean McDowell
I hope you do! I definitely think it deserves more love and attention. 😀
Look what you did! Now I have to add all these to my TBR *sigh*
AB @ iwishiownedabookstore recently posted…TTT: My Overdue/Upcoming ARC’s
*totally fake tone* Ooooh nooo. Shucks. That’s totally the opposite of what I was going for. xD /sarcasm
Hehe, hope you end up enjoying them!
Oh I love this! I always enjoy ‘if you loved this, then try this’, whether it’s books, movies, or music. So helpful!
Sadly, I haven’t read any of these yet, but several are on my tbr. Six of Crows is pretty darn near the top. If I can just commit. 😉
Dedra @ A Book Wanderer recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday: My Unfinished Series
I always feel like they’re so dangerous for my TBRs, but I’ve found some really good books from posts like this. xD
Ha, I have a lot of books like that, too. We just need more reading time to make it happen for sure. We should start a petition.
I did love Six of Crows very much, so I will have to take a look at Diamond City.
Happy readings!
I hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to read it! I had fun with it, and it’s got a sequel coming out soon. 🙂
This is a great topic choice! I REALLY want to read The Last Human, it looks great! And Tiger at Midnight! And Diamond City!
Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight recently posted…Monthly Minutes at Midnight: July 2020
I just read The Library of the Unwritten and absolutely loved the world-building! I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!
booksandbark recently posted…An Absolutely Remarkable Thing // Not My Cup of Tea, But Maybe Yours?
Yeees, soon now! I loved the world, too. Definitely one I want to visit.
Clearly I must now try The Will and the Wilds as I loved Howl.
You should! It was really interesting and has a similar sort of romantic interplay. Ish. I think you’d like it!
[…] in World Building by Tony Johnson. ⌘ Sammie from The Bookwyrm’s Den shared a list of if you liked this hyped book you will like this book. ⌘ Cande from Latinx Magic shares Middle Grade Recommendations for Every […]