Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Were Totally Deceiving

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Top Ten Books That Were Totally Deceiving



01. To Beguile a Beauty by Kasey Michaels. Attack of the Pretty Cover. That really explains it all. Taught me not to buy a book from an author I've never read, just because of a gorgeous cover.

02. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. The first time I came across this book, I rolled my eyes and scoffed. Sure, it sounded good, but the title made it sound like it was just going to be a lame, clichéd teen romance. But when I finally picked it up, HELLO, AMAZING. Also, my future husband is found within these pages. I'm just saying.

03. A Duke of Her Own by Eloisa James. Few books have incensed me so much as this one (Looking back, it's more than a little irrational, but I don't like being mislead.) Romances are generally straightforward, right? Well, not here. To me, at least, the back cover blurb was rather obvious. It makes you think Villiers will wind up with one woman, but YOU ARE WRONG. He actually winds up with the other. One day, I will actually finish this book, once I have come to terms with this fact.

04. The Spymaster's Lady by Joanna Bourne. This book is cursed with a ridiculous title and ridiculous cover. BUT DO NOT BE FOOLED. Well written with amazing characters and a great plot, it is actually one of the best historical romances I've read.

05. Smooth Talking Stranger by Lisa Kleypas. Admittedly, I will pretty much pick up anything by Kleypas by default. Because she's amazing. But after the first two gorgeous covers in the series, this one is quite the eyesore. I hate the font, and the cover image is boring and not indicative of the book at all. The book actually deals with some really heavy issues, and it's very well-written. Not to mention the smoking hot romance!


06. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen. I knew nothing about this book when I started, other than the fact that it was about two sisters. I love Austen, though, so I figured it would all be good. I completely fell in love with the idea of one of the sisters with Colonel Brandon. The book was witty and fun, and I was a huge advocate for this romance. BUT THEN HE WINDS UP WITH THE OTHER SISTER. Which, yes, had obviously been a possibility, but I thought it was just supposed to be misleading. I was crushed. What can I say? I get really into my fictional worlds.

07. Entwined by Heather Dixon. MOST GORGEOUS COVER EVER, but the book itself was a resounding meh. It was okay, but nothing special. This does not, however, diminish the appeal of the cover, which is stunning.

08. Definitely Not Mr. Darcy by Karen Doornebos. From the summary, this looks like a fairly straightforward chick lit romance read with a fun and different setting. However, it's actually a love triangle that is honestly not even all that romantic. And the end is incredibly ambiguous. The book was okay; it certainly wasn't horrible. But there were a lot of things I felt that could have been done better.

09. The Summer I Turned Pretty Trilogy by Jenny Han. I always thought this trilogy sounded interesting. What a fun summer read! However, I put it off a long time because the girl's name is Belly. Sorry, but ick. Worst name ever. But I finally decided I would power through and read them. After all, they sounded so summery and cute! Thankfully, I got past the name thing; it actually worked with the character and explanation, I think. But these books? Way more than a fun, throwaway summer read. I LOVE THEM. They have some angst and a lot of depth. So wonderful. I want to re-read them soon.

10. Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire. I am currently a little more than halfway through this book, so no spoilers in the comments, please. But it is definitely appearing that things are not going to be what they appeared they would be from the summary. And if they are, I might actually hate this book. Because no. Just no. But it still has the potential to be a really good book; it depends on how things play out from here. I can't tear myself away, so I'll find out soon.