Top Ten Hidden Gems

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Hidden Gems in X Genre.

I'm just doing hidden gems period because I couldn't come up with 10 in any one genre, but I'll mention the genre for each.

1. PS I Like You by Kasie West Contemporary- I feel like Kasie West is fairly popular, but I also feel like her books are sometimes overlooked because the plot isn't always a new idea and her books are mostly clean with little to no language or physical scenes. PS I Like You is one of my favorite Kasie West books. (review coming soon)
2. Shattered Realms series by Cinda Williams Chima Fantasy- I admit that the first book (Flamecaster) took some getting into, and personally I enjoyed book 2 (Shadowcaster) better, but looking at the number of ratings on Goodreads, this series is definitely under read and appreciated.
3. Hawthorne House series by Kristi Ann Hunter Historical Christian Fiction - Christian fiction just isn't read by mainstream, and in some cases I can understand why. I've enjoyed this series because of the time period and unique situations that the characters find themselves in. Each book has a unique circumstance that I haven't ever seen with this genre before. (A Noble Masquerade, An Elegant Facade [review coming soon], An Uncommon Courtship, and novella A Lady of Esteem, with upcoming release An Inconvenient Beauty)
4. The Captive Heart by Michelle Griep Historical Christian Fiction - Again, this is mostly featured because it is in the Christian genre which I feel is just under read in general, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
5. True Reign series by Jennifer Anne Davis Fantasy - You guys this series consumed me. I read the first two books in almost 24 hours which is unheard of for me. Granted, I was trying to squeeze in all the reading I could before Little Girl was born, but I didn't want to put these books down. (The Key, Red, and War)
6. Divided We Fall by Trent Reedy Dystopian - I never would have picked this book up had it not been that it was a freebie with Audiobook Sync one summer. But the book so closely paralleled events that were happening in real life at the time that I read this and similar events have continued to happen periodically since I read the book which was super scary. Plus I liked the characters.
7. Push by Claire Wallis New Adult, Romance/Suspense - I can't say that I absolutely loved the sequel as much as this first book, but I hadn't read anything like this. It was hard to clarify a genre for this one as it fits in several categories. Do beware of language and scenes.
8. Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes Christian Contemporary - I don't mean to feature so many Christian books as I really don't read THAT much Christian fiction, but as I've said before these are just under read books. And the ones that I like don't beat you over the head with religion. They're just good stories with great messages. This one especially had my tearing up and I can't imagine trying to read it now that I'm a mother.
9. Full Tilt by Emma Scott New Adult Contemporary - As the NA genre does have language and sexual scenes so does this book, but the story had me all up in tears. And the sequel, All In was good too.

Which books are hidden gems for you guys? Let me know!

Driftwood Tides - Review

Driftwood Tides

By: Gina Holmes

Published: September 1st 2014 by Tyndale House Publishers

Genre: Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via Edelweiss (Thank you!!)

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--He made himself an island until something unexpected washed ashore.When Holton lost his wife, Adele, in a freak accident, he shut himself off from the world, living a life of seclusion, making drifwood sculptures and drowning his pain in gin. Until twenty-three-year-old Libby knocks on his door, asking for a job and claiming to be a friend of his late wife. When he discovers Libby is actually his late wife's illegitimate daughter, given up for adoption without his knowledge, his life is turned upside down as he struggles to accept that the wife he'd given saint status to was not the woman he thought he knew.Together Holton and Libby form an unlikely bond as the two struggle to learn the identity of Libby's father and the truth about Adele, themselves, and each other.

I read Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes back in 2012 and LOVED it. I don’t often cry when reading, so if there’s a book that even gets me close then I consider that a good book. And Crossing Oceans did. Crossing Oceans was my first experience reading anything by Gina Holmes, and since I was so impressed I knew when I came across Driftwood Tides on Edelweiss that I would need to check it out. I’m glad that I did, but yet Driftwood Tides did not live up to the expectations I had of it either.

I enjoyed reading Driftwood Tides because it was a nice change of pace from what I normally read. Instead of being about young adults dealing with teenage and college problems, this book was about adult problems. Yet, I didn’t feel like this book was very original either. It felt predictable on every level to me, which is always a disappointment. Even though this is an adult book, the problems weren’t that much different. Guilt. Shame. Alcohol abuse. Rejection. Fear. Who am I? Where did I come from? Can I move on? All of those things were touched on in this book. Also different from what I normally read is the fact that this was definitely a Christian book.

I like reading Christian fiction, but honestly, I don’t read more Christian fiction because some of it can be a bit cheesy. Yes, that’s right. I said it. Even being a Christian myself, I can struggle with this in Christian fiction. A lot of times it feels like the authors are trying to teach the reader a lesson versus the character learning a lesson. And often the seemingly miraculous situations that occur feel unrealistic and far-fetched. On top of all that, if a “regular” fiction book can struggle with everything being tied up too nicely in the end, then Christian books even more frequently suffer from this. And so that’s one of the reasons why I don’t read more Christian fiction—the stories don’t always feel real. And unfortunately Driftwood Tides fell into this pattern for me. It wasn’t overly, beat-you-over-the-head with the lesson Gina Holmes was trying to get across, and it wasn’t completely cheesy. But there were aspects of both.

Holton was a character that I struggled with because his first reaction to losing his wife was to turn to alcohol. It happens so frequently in the world, but it just felt so cliché. And I thought this as a conflict was too easy. He’s sober more than I expected throughout the book, but I really thought based off the description that the majority of the book would be about him trying to bond with Libby. Yet that wasn’t exactly the case. Libby was fairly likeable. I enjoyed her being able to see through her fiance’s emotional struggles, but she went through this phase of self-sabotage that annoyed me. Speaking of Libby’s finace, Rob was very familiar to me. I know a few Robs out there, but Rob learned his lessons easier than the “Robs” I know IRL. Tess was probably the most likeable character, but even then it was a bit hard to understand how she had fallen in love with drunk Holton.

Favorite quotes:

-“It’s not fair getting mad at you for being the person I fell in love with.”

-“You’ll like him a lot more if you listen more to his actions than to his words.”

-There were a million things she wished he was mature enough to hear at that moment—that his behavior was threatening to cause what he feared most. She loved him and only him, but she was so afraid that she was going to have spend the rest of her life trying to convince him of something he would never believe…or that his never ending well of neediness would never be filled no matter how many compliments and reassurances she poured into it. One day that neediness might even suck the life out of their marriage, but it didn’t have to be that way. If he could just learn to trust in her, trust in himself and his own lovability, they’d be okay. But those were all things she had already said a million times, in a million different ways, and it always ended with him apologizing, but not really getting it. … She just couldn’t bring herself to repeat it one more time.

”When I love someone God just takes them away.” “I know how that feels. But maybe—I don’t know—maybe it’s not God.”

Driftwood Tides was a fairly enjoyable read. It was a nice change from what I normal read. But I found Driftwood Tides a little on the cheesy and “pretty” side. Driftwood Tides gets 3.5 Stars from me. Have you read Driftwood Tides? What did you think? Let me know!

Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Books That Will Make You Cry.

1) Rose Under Fire by Elizabeth Wein
2) If I Stay (If I Stay, # 1) by Gayle Forman
3) Point of Retreat (Slammed, # 2) by Colleen Hoover
4) Reason to Breathe (Breathing, # 1) by Rebecca Donovan
5) Through the Ever Night (Under the Never Sky, # 2) by Veronica Rossi
6) Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, # 3) by Richelle Mead
7) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
8) Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes
9) The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William Paul Young
10) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
11) Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
12) Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
13) Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

I cannot seem to stick to ten books. Of course, there are TONS of other books that have made me cry, but these are some of my favorites. Which books are guaranteed to make you cry? Let me know!

Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition

Top 10 Tuesday is a post hosted by The Broke and the Bookish and this week's topic is Top Ten Authors Who Deserve More Recognition.

1) Carrie Ryan - Granted I've only read her The Forest of Hands and Teeth series, but I really enjoyed the voices that she gave to her characters--specifically Gabry, in book 2, The Dead-Tossed Waves. I know there are quite a few people who have read her stuff, but not enough man. Not enough.

2) Jessica Sorensen - Everything I've had a chance to read by her has been really good. I believe she self-published a lot of her novels and so they don't get as much press as the books from the bigger publishing houses.

3) Priscilla Glenn - Seriously, I couldn't put Back to You Down. I've recommended it, but I don't know that anyone I've recommended it to has actually picked it up. PICK IT UP PEOPLE!

4) Erin McCarthy - I've only read True by her, but I enjoyed it so much more than I expected. I've only seen a couple of people review this one. But it's worth checking out for sure.

5) Jay Crownover - I enjoyed Rule, but Jet was even better for me. I finished Jet over a week ago and I still can't get it out of my head. I want more.

6) Sophie Jordan - I've only read her Firelight series, but Sophie Jordan hooked me with book 1 and her unique look at dragons. I haven't seen many people fawn over these books either. Shame.

7) Katja Millay - The Sea of Tranquility was awesome. And I've seen tons of praise for it, but I want more--maybe I'm just anxious for her next book or something.

8) Cath Crowley - This Aussie author really impressed me with Graffiti Moon. I don't know how come more people aren't all over both Cath Crowley and this book.

9) Gina Holmes - I've only read one book by her, Crossing Oceans, but it was majorly emotional. She deserves much props and for me to check out more of her work.

10) Francis Chan - I know he has tons of fans out there, but I think many more people could be inspired by him if they gave his work a chance. Start with Crazy Love.

I tried to really focus on authors that I haven't seen the love that I think they deserve. Which authors do you think deserve more recognition? Let me know!

Crossing Oceans - Review

Crossing Oceans

By: Gina Holmes

Published: April 26th 2010 by Tyndale House Publishers

382 pages

Genre: Adult, Christian Fiction, Realistic Fiction

Source: Amazon Prime Lending Library

( Goodreads | Amazon | Book Depository )

*Note: The above links to Amazon and Book Depository are affiliate links. Affiliate links support giveaways for Somewhere Only We Know readers.

Goodreads description--Jenny Lucas swore she'd never go home again. But being told you're dying has a way of changing things. Years after she left, she and her five-year-old daughter, Isabella, must return to her sleepy North Carolina town to face the ghosts she left behind. They welcome her in the form of her oxygen tank-toting grandmother, her stoic and distant father, and David, Isabella's dad . . . Who doesn't yet know he has a daughter. As Jenny navigates the rough and unknown waters of her new reality, the unforgettable story that unfolds is a testament to the power of love and its ability to change everything--to heal old hurts, bring new beginnings . . . Even overcome the impossible. A stunning debut about love and loss from a talented new voice.

I might be stepping out on a limb here, but I'm going to give Crossing Oceans 5 Stars.

This was a different type of book from the genre I've been reading regularly, but no one can say I'm not willing to step out into a different genre. Sometimes I've found that the books I've liked the most are the ones I have the least to say about in my blogs (that's not always the case). Sometimes I just feel like the reader needs to experience the book for themselves. Just take my word for it. This is one of those books. I wasn't expecting much because it's not my typical genre, but I gave it a try as my first borrow from the Amazon Prime Kindle Lending Library--need to get my money's worth from that investment. And boy am I glad I did. I would have been willing to spend money on that one though.

This is a sad book. Let me go ahead and warn you up front. I didn't ever actually cry where tears spilled out and onto my cheeks, but my eyes definitely teared up a time or two. (I'm not the easiest person to make cry, but not the hardest either.) The reason why tears didn't actually fall is probably due to the fact that I'm not a mother yet. I'm sure if I had been I probably would have been bawling my eyes out.

Some of the plot seemed predictable which I normally really count against a book/author, but this book didn't suffer because of the predictability. It was heartfelt through and through, and I think that made up for any easily predictable moments. Ecclesiastes says "there's nothing new under the sun." And I really think this book shows the sacrifices we, as humans, as Christians, as mothers, are called to make in today's world. And while I might not experience something that's never been experienced before, I might not feel something that no one else has ever felt before, my circumstances, my experiences, my feelings all join together to make me unique. And that's why this book didn't disappoint.

Check out Crossing Oceans.

Updated: January 31, 2015