This Week's Topic:
We wanted to change it up a little this week, so we are picking CONTEMPORARY with Racquel featuring contemporary YA and Sharon listing adult contemporary romance! And we're getting CRAZY. Instead of splitting TTT between the both of us like we usually do, we're each doing a list of ten. Twice. We will be splitting it up into two categories:Top Ten All Time Favorite Books in X Genre
• Top Ten Books We've Re-read
• Top Ten Books We've Only Read Once
Since we're big re-readers, we thought this would be a fun way to split it up. Plus, we're adding a shocking encore in which we answer last week's TTT with one selection. And thus, it becomes TOP FORTY-ONE TUESDAY!
Racquel's picks:
HOLY GRAIL, REREAD OVER & OVER AGAIN BOOKS:
In no particular order!
In no particular order!
Total times read: around 10 times
02. Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt: So following Perfect Chemistry, Two-Way Street is my second all time favorite YA book. IT'S DAMN FUNNY and crazy and I love Jordan and Courtney together. Plus I think it portrayal of the crazier teens is spot on. This is also told from 1st person alternating POV.
Total times read: around 10 times
03. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen: I easily credit my involvement with reading and blogging because of of my love for Sarah Dessen. The Truth About Forever is my first read by here and also one of my first YA reads. It's why I went and looked for more YA books to read. It's just a precious book.
Total times read: around 10 times
04. The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti: Fun fact: I stapled the last chapter of this book together so I don't flip to the end and spoil it for myself but anyways, teen dad, elephants... this is perfect from start to end.
Total times read: around 4 times
05. Just Listen by Sarah Dessen: OWEN ARMSTRONG. This was my third Dessen after The Truth About Forever and This Lullaby but OWEN ARMSTRONG. The friendship between him and Annabel is so beautiful. I haven't read anything like it every since. The race between Just Listen and The Truth About Forever for my favorite book is a really close one and I can never make up my mind but I think Owen Armstrong wins.
Total times read: around 6 times
Total times read: around 4 times
07. Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter: I like the Gallagher Girls series in general but this one is my favorite. It is a MAJOR comfort read for me. The introduction to Zack is just SO FUN.
Total times read: around 4 times
08. Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff: This is a verse novel that I read when I was learning English and here I am years later and it is still special to me. If you're a fan of diversity, READ IT.
Total times read: around 4 times
09. There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones: Reading this book HURTS. I feel the main character's grief while reading and every time I reread, I always have to put it down every now and then to just BREATHE.
Total times read: around 3 times
10. On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves: another 1st person alternating POV! This one is just SO well done for the subjects it handles. I cannot recommend it enough.
Total times read: around 3 times
Favorites that I've only read ONCE but they're still favorites:
02. Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley: Aussie YA for the win! Graffiti Moon takes place during a 24 hours period, a favorite trope of mine, and is told from alternating 1st person POV. Insta love, duh.
03. You Against Me by Jenny Downham: this book will join the ranks of the reread pile because I recently bought the hardcover for my favorite shelf and it has been CALLING me and begging me to reread it and I will cave in and do it soon. This one also has 1st person alternating POV that I adore and it's a really well done story. Jenny Downham writes the gritty stuff.
04. Burning by Elana K. Arnold: yet another 1st person alternating POV book (when I said I loved it, I wasn't kidding!!) told from your average American teen boy, Ben and a gypsy girl, Lala. IT'S SO WELL DONE! It's a romance book. It has a relationship yes but it explores another side of relationship than what we usually see in YA.
05. Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos: this one is set over a 24 hour time period (again, a favorite thing of mine!) and it has such a hopeless, out of reach tone while still giving you a spark of hope. I read Arcos' next novel, out in April, and I also loved it SO MUCH. Me and Arcos just click like that.
07. The Chapel Wars by Lindsey Leavitt is not out yet and I only read it *whispers* 3 days ago BUT IT DESERVES A SPOT ON THIS LIST. It's so freaking cute and a WELL ROUNDED YA contemporary! You have a family, you have friends, you have work, you romance... you have everything. The romance was so freaking cute, it gave me way too many swoon-attacks to count.
08. OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu is a book that will fool you with its cute title, cover and summary but by the end, you will be crying so much and you will be so uncomfortable while reading the whole thing... it really is something. This is an example of book that's not "dark" but how do you explain the bucket of tears that I cried? It's intense. Reading this is like watching a train wreck. Or really bad reality TV. It's embarrassing and will make you uncomfortable but its oh so good.
09. Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell: IF YOU LIKE STEPHANIE PERKINS, AND I KNOW YOU DO, PLEASE READ Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe!!! First of all, the heroine is an EXTROVERT. Thank you Coriell for giving us SOME VARIETY IN OUR READING LIVES.
10. The Theory of Everything by Kari Luna is a really creative book. It deals with parallel universe and pandas and it's SO delightful to read.
I decided on adult contemporary romance for a couple reasons. One, I thought it would be a fun change since I tend to focus more on YA and historical romance. Two, it would be easier since I don't read as much contemporary. But I didn't realize just how much I was challenging myself, since I wanted to NOT repeat authors. I tend to find the authors I love and stick to them because I know they won't disappoint me (I'm looking at you, Jill Shalvis, Kristan Higgins, Julie James, and Sarah Mayberry!). I do this in all genres but especially contemporary romance. There are a lot of things that are prevalent in contemporary that annoy and/or frustrate me, so I am more wary of branching out. Regardless, I still have quite a few favorites, and I'm here to share them with you today!
04. Just One of the Guys by Kristan Higgins. While rereading took this book off the pedestal where it once sat, I still adore it! The last scene never fails to make me sob lots of happy tears.
05. Her Best Worst Mistake by Sarah Mayberry. This book is hate-to-love done to absolute perfection, PLUS an awesome forbidden element. And holy chemistry, Batman.
07. Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot. I haven't read this one in a couple years, but I read it several times throughout my teens. It is just so much fun!
08. Substitute Lover by Penny Jordan. If I haven't read Every Boy's Got One in years, it feels like eons since I've read this one. Back when I first discovered romances (a little over a decade ago! How time flies.), I devoured 80s Harlequins like they were penny candy (dying laughing over here at my accidental choice of words, as Penny Jordan was my 1000% percent favorite author at the time), and this was one of my favorites. I probably read it a dozen times.
09. Hunting and Gathering / Ensemble C'est Tout by Anna Gavalda. I've reached the point where I'm kind of stretching, because Hunting and Gathering is not a contemporary romance. It is a contemporary novel with a love story in it, though, and it is a massive favorite of mine. The prose is stunning, the friendship moving, and the romance beautiful. Fun fact: The movie - though obviously not quite as amazing - is very good too, and it features the swoon-worthy Guillaume Canet!
10. Just Like Heaven by Julia Quinn. I have officially deviated, because Just Like Heaven is flat-out historical romance. BUT I did include it for a reason! I think it would be a great starter historical for contemporary fans who are looking to branch out, because though it is a historical romance, it has some great contemporary elements. Quinn writes with pretty sparse prose which allows for quick reading, and it features a light tone with tons of humor sure to elicit everything from light giggles to outright guffaws.
02. Practice Makes Perfect by Julie James. This was one of my very first ~official~ current contemporary romances, and I fell completely in love with it. I am terrified to re-read it, though, for fear that it won't be as good as I remember. This is nonsense, though, given how much I adore all the more recent releases by Julie James.
03. Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey. Even though I've only read it once, this one quickly cemented a place among my favorites. It has a ton of great quotes and is fabulously sexy, romantic, and hysterical. I really want to own this book just so I can keep it close by always.
04. Sleigh Bells in the Snow by Sarah Morgan. This is the most recent (both read AND published) book on the list, and I was surprised by how hard I fell for it. It was the perfect Christmas romance with a charming setting and a family that captured my heart utterly and completely.
05. Within Reach by Sarah Mayberry. I was doing my best to not repeat authors for this TTT (minus Lisa Kleypas, obviously, because she makes her own rules and is the exception to everything ever), but I just had to include this one! Because while Her Best Worst Mistake showcases her ability to write hate-to-love stories, Within Reach is one example of her ability to write stunningly amazing friends-to-lovers stories, as well. I felt like I barely breathed during this book, but I loved every second of it
07. Something Blue by Emily Giffin. I was rather wary about this book because of how strongly I disliked Something Borrowed, but I'm glad I let my friend talk me into reading it. So good! It was such a fun and surprisingly moving story of two people who never expected to fall in love.
08. Welcome to Temptation by Jennifer Crusie. Most people tend to list Bet Me when they mention Crusie, and while I do love that one, Welcome to Temptation is my favorite of hers. It is so funny and charming and sexy. It made me fall in love with the name Phineas (before I started watching Phineas & Ferb, obviously, because that is now the other awesome connotation that name holds for me).
09. The Smoke Jumper by Nicholas Evans. I read this book one time nearly a decade ago, but I still remember it. On a whim, I started it at 11 PM after finishing a different book (something Meg Cabot, if I remember correctly), stayed up 'til an ungodly hour on a school night reading, passed out, and finished it the first chance I had the next day. It is probably a little more fiction than official contemporary romance, but HOLY CRAP was it swoony. It had build-up like no one's business, and we all know how I feel about that. ♥
10. Dying to Please by Linda Howard. This one is really more romantic suspense, but it is technically contemporary since it's not historical! And I just didn't feel right leaving Linda Howard off a contemporary romance list. The heroine of this one is a BODYGUARD SLASH BUTLER, okay. How much more awesome can you get? I do love a strong heroine. And the romance was spectacular.
AND NOW since we know you've been waiting and wondering, we shall now reveal our top answer to last week's Top Ten Tuesday question: What popular authors have you never read?
We know, we know. YA sacrilege.
Before you begin pelting us with stones - or, more likely, hardback copies of The Fault in Our Stars - please allow Joey to eloquently express our feelings on the subject:
What about YOU? Have you read any of these books? Do you share our adoration? What are your feelings on rereading? And are we the last people in the world who haven't read a John Green book?
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