My Top 10 Hidden Gems

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl. The theme for today is top ten hidden gem books, and I’m always excited to share the word about books that I think deserve more love! This list is in no particular order.

1. Rook by Sharon Cameron 

This book almost reads like alternate history, and then you realize it’s actually set in a future in which history repeats itself. It’s a interesting retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel that I think deserves more love!

2. For Darkness Shows the Stars/Across a Star-Swept by Diane Peterfreund

I really wish there were more of these sci-fi retellings by Diana Peterfreund because I absolutely love these two! The characters, the writing, the world, all so dynamic and underrated!

3. The Fixer/The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

My only complaint about these books is that it’s a duology that seriously needs to be trilogy, because the last book leaves us hanging a little! But JLB is the Queen of plot twists and I love her for it.

4. The Naturals series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Just like the previous books by the same author, this series delivers a lot of twists and turns! I enjoyed them all, but my favorite is the third installment, All In.

5. A Dash of Dragon/A Hint of Hydra by Heidi Lang and Kat Bartkowski

Since I don’t really follow the middle grade world, these might be really popular books there and I just don’t know it, but I think more YA fans should check out these middle grade gems because they’re fantastic!

6. Better Off Friends by Elizabeth Eulberg

This one was published way back in 2014 and may have been more popular then, but I think it deserves more staying power as it’s one of my favorite YA contemporaries.

7. Don’t Touch by Rachel M. Wilson 

This was a contemporary I thoroughly enjoyed but seemed to fly way under the radar. It explores mental illness and features a nice guy (AKA my favorite kind of guy).

8. What Light by Jay Asher

I know we’re not all happy with Jay Asher at the moment for various reasons, but this is a very sweet and underrated book in my opinion. I liked Thirteen Reasons Why just fine, but this book is very different, so I wouldn’t let that book alone influence your decision to read What Light. It’s perfect for the Christmas season.

9. Nora and Kettle by Lauren Nicolle Taylor

It’s hard to explain this story… it has parallels with Peter Pan without really being a retelling, and explores the subjects of abuse and of the Japanese internment camps from WWII. I understand this book isn’t widespread since it’s from a small publisher, but I feel it’s beautifully written and packs a punch. I saw the sequel came out recently so I need to check it out!

10. The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

While this book isn’t quite as dynamic as his Mistborn books, I loved The Rithmatist so much more than Sanderson’s other YA series, Steelheart. I love the characters, and this world in which chalk drawings come to life is so interesting! Sadly, we only have book one right now and I DEMAND A SEQUEL, BRANDON.

Have you read any of my top picks for hidden gems? What other books do you feel like are hidden gems?