Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books On My Summer TBR

It’s another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish

 

Top Ten Books On My Summer TBR

This week it’s the top 10 on my summer TBR (to-be-read) list. First, let’s establish that “summer” officially goes through September 22, if we’re considering the change of the seasons. Sometimes September doesn’t feel like summer, though. But that’s another topic 🙂

Some of these are new releases, and some are just now making it onto my soon-to-be-read list. (And a few appeared on my “beach bag” Top Ten Tuesday).

My top 10 on my TBR, listed in order of most-anticipated:

10. The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron

9. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

8. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

7. Made to Last by Melissa Tagg

6. A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

5. Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter

4. Love’s Fortune by Laura Frantz

3. Stuck Together by Mary Connealy

2. A Table By The Window by Hillary Manton Lodge

1. When I Fall In Love by Susan May Warren

 

What are you most anticipating this summer?

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Top 10 Books I’ve Read This Year

It’s another Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish

 

Top Ten Books I’ve Read This Year

I have a feeling this should be called the top ones I’ve read SO FAR this year, because there are some awesome books set to release soon. Also, there are a few others I really want to include, but I can’t, because they are INSPY nominations I’m judging. Alas, I can’t discuss them until the winners are announced. But, these books I’ve included are each wonderful in their own right. It’s just so hard to pick 10!

Here’s my list of this year’s top favorites, in no particular order:

It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren (review here)

The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn by Lori Benton (review here)

Dancing With Fireflies by Denise Hunter (review here)

The Sentinels of Andersonville (review here)

George Washington’s Secret Six: The Spy Ring that Saved the American Revolution by Brian Kilmeade and Don Yaeger (review here)

A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander (review here)

A Stillness of Chimes by Meg Moseley (review here)

The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd (review here)

Healer of Carthage by Lynne Gentry (review here)

Divergent by Veronica Roth (mini review here)

 

What are YOUR favorites from this year???

 

 

Mini Review of “Divergent” & latest Empty Shelf Challenge Reads, including “Healer of Carthage”

My latest reads this week are Healer of Carthage by Lynne Gentry and Divergent by Veronica Roth. (They are books 13 and 14 in my Empty Shelf Challenge!) Two TOTALLY different books. I loved them both for different reasons.

Later next week, I’m excited to post a review of Healer of Carthage AND an interview with author Lynne Gentry. She’s just fabulous!

Here are my thoughts on Divergent, also posted on Goodreads.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Never a dull moment. That sentence best sums up my thoughts on “Divergent”.

It is a skillfully written, fast-paced adventure, exploring themes of bravery, selflessness, sacrifice, and the strength of love. From the beginning, the reader is plunged into the story of Beatrice and her world. Veronica used a proper combination of action and feeling to convey each scene. I loved getting to know the characters through the course of the book.

The only reason I did not give it 5 stars was my dislike of some of the content. Mild profanity, depictions of drinking, and some of the suggestive content cause me to hesitate. I would give it a “PG-13” rating. The violence I expected, but some of the other content I did not, considering its popularity among young teens.

Despite the reasons above, I still thoroughly enjoyed “Divergent” and would recommend it to YA, Dystopian, and Sci-Fi fans alike. Because I typically read Christian or Inspirational fiction, I would caution someone reading “Divergent” to keep in mind that it IS secular fiction.

I definitely plan to finish this series – I can’t wait to see what predicaments Tris gets into next!

View all my reviews on Goodreads

 

Have you read either of these books? What are your thoughts, from a Christian perspective, on Divergent? Have you seen the movie?