Thursday, June 4, 2015

Underrated books need Love Too & Recommendations ♥

Thursday, June 04, 2015

Feminist Reflections is a feature I created to share my personal thoughts and provoke a discussion.

So, would you pick up a popular or an underrated book?
I used to read popular books more, but now I prefer underrated books because usually out of 4 of 5 popular books I end up disliking. I remember once I DNF five popular books back to back. Underrated books appeal to me more. It surprises me there are actually crappy books that are bestsellers, and most people don't even look at non-popular books. I can understand when no one you know has read or reviewed them, a lot of underrated books are self-published too but still take a chance. My blog mostly shares reviews on upcoming releases, and some underrated books. If it's a popular book I'm reviewing, most of the time it will be a negative review. I don't get along with hyped books usually.

I wanted to put spotlight on these amazing underrated books(under 10,000 ratings). they deserve to be read and loved too. Some of these are actually my favorites. I will add onto this list as time goes on.


What Happens Next is one of my favorite books. It's a heartbreaking story of Cassidy, she meets a college guy name Dax and what happened afterwards she cannot remembered. This is a young adult novel about rape, and it does have a strong impact. I also love how the heroine is portrayed as a curvy heroine, then the usual heroines who are skinny and shown as acclaimed perfection (Nothing wrong with being skinny though, I'm thin as well) The book shows diversity. The male lead Corey was adorable as well. Recommended for fans of Just Listen, and Speak. You can find my full review here. 5/5

Unravel is one of the few novels that is actually mind-blowing, it messes with your mind and it's fantastic. This is a new adult novel, but it is rather unique. Naomi is in a psychiatric ward, she is in the hospital and is being treated. No one believes her, yet she believes she is telling the truth. It's best to go blind in this novel, this is one of all-time favorite books. The cover is gorgeous as well. You can find my full review here. 5/5

Free To Fall is a dystopian novel where an app called Lux made by the corporation. Gnosis controls every moment of your life. It advises you on what action to take for your own happiness. Rory Vaughn meets North, he is an outsider and who doesn't use the app. Rory wants to make her own decisions, and ultimately do what she wishes instead of what the app recommends. This is a brilliant concept, the novel was fast paced and fairly interesting as well. It also has science fiction in it as well. 4/5

Puddle Jumping is an adorable novel about a teenager name Lily Evans who falls in love with Colton Neely who has autism. I have never read about a autistic teen in young adult books, so this novel is quite refreshing. This novel is realistic, and the romance is swoon worthy. The cover is gorgeous as well. 4/5


Broken Skies is a beautiful read - Jax Mitchell lives in a world where humans are nearly extinct and aliens have now settled in. Jax's brother is captured by one of the Erikson's, the alien group so to rescue him she forms an unwilling alliance with one of the teenagers of that group. She will help him reach the city in return he will help her find her brother. The concept sounded quite similar to Angelfall, although this book is amazing in it's own way. The romance is amazing! A true treasure that is hidden. 4/5.

Clean is a novel about five teenagers who are a rehabilitation center. They all have one thing in common: they're addicts. None of them are here by their own will, but now they must stick together and help each other recover. This was a wonderful novel, I love how this novel doesn't encourage addictions but rather discourages them. My favorite stories would have to be Olivia's and Jason's, this is one of my favorite novels. You can find my full review here. 5/5

The Truth about Alice is told from many different perspectives, there are rumors about Alice Franklin and everyone calls her a slut. This book is about stereotypes, and it's pretty fantastic. The book is gripping, and uncovers what's beneath those stereotypes. It shows the reason why teenagers can be cruel, vicious, and hurt others. 4/5

Rites of Passage is about a teenager name Samantha McKenna. As a military brat, she joins the first ever class of girls at a prestigious Military Academy. She is an amazing character, and many cadets in this novel are against women in military. I also loved the male interest Drill who is the sergeant. He is the quite, and brooding type and I adored his character - romance between cadets and upper lever superiors is forbidden though. This book has the right balance of a good plot and romance. I do wish this was a standalone novel though. 5/5

 
My Beautiful Failure is about a male lead name Billy who takes upon volunteering at a suicide hotline. Isn't that concept so unique?? I have never even heard about a concept like this before in novels. Jenney is an incoming caller who is troubled and on the verge of suicide. Through Jenney's problems, Billy begins to fall in love. This is a brilliant novel, the powerful message in the end is amazing. I would really recommend this book. You can find my full review here. 4/5

Veil of Roses is an amazing debut about Tamila Soroush who travels to America to make her future. Tami wants the freedom that an American girl whereas she was oppressed in the country Iran. She soon finds comfort in her English classes, and there is also a forbidden love waiting for her. The stereotypes in the novel were irritating, but ultimately this is a beautiful book, one of my all-time favorite novels. You can find my full review here. 5/5

Of Beauty and Beast is a wonderful retelling of Beauty & the Beast except the difference is the Beast get's captured, not the beauty. The twist is in the premise, so it is a rather unique retelling. The Beauty Princess Isra is also blind, and she is the human sacrifice for her city. The Beast, Gem is a mutant beast and soon their paths cross when he is held as her prisoner.. Do I need to go on how AMAZING the book is? It's pretty much my favorite as well. Pick it up already! 5/5

Deeper is an new adult novel about a college student name Caroline whose ex boyfriend posts their private pictures for the world to see. Now, it has destroyed her reputation. It really bothers me how the college targes her only, and not the ex. He was a participant too, plus she never meant to leak the pictures out. Taking private pictures for your partner is kind of dumb move because you might break up in the end, but it was an unintentional mistake, so everyone needs to leave her in peace! I loved the heroine though, I also liked the male lead West - it was interesting to see their relationship started with geniuine freindship. This could have worked better as a standalone novel though, otherwise it is amazing. 4.5/5.

Do you guys like to read underrated novels too? What are some of the underrated books you have liked and read? Any other recommendations?

Thank you for reading this! Have an amazing month of June - Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & drop by :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..

“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron 
femmmefatalee@gmail.com


27 comments:

  1. Thank you for this! I have new books to add my tbr now :)

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  2. The only book I know out of this is Clean oops! But that was a wonderful book, so depressing at times, but really uplifting at others. I loved the many different formats the story was showed to us and THE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT *_*

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  3. I couldn't agree with this more and I adored both Puddle Jumping (seriously good book!) and Rites of Passage. I loved how different they each were. I haven't read all the others but I do plan to eventually. So many great books out there that need more attention!

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    1. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, they're both fantastic reads that I really enjoyed ♥

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  4. Wow, Unravel sounds totally up my alley, I love the suspense! It sounds amazing!

    Love the curvy role model in What Happens Next.

    I did like the Truth about Alice, even though there were some cliche characters in there.

    Clean sounds like it would be such a heart warming read! I know heaps of people love Rites of Passage too.

    Viel of Roses sounds so amazing! But yeah, definitely sounds like there'd be some stereotypes. Glad ot hear you love Of Beast and Beauty, that's always fallen off my radar for some reason but I might read it for a challenge!

    I love underrated novels as well <3

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  5. I’ve heard of most of these but the only one I’ve read was CLEAN–which I really loved. You should pick up DAMAGED, which is also really good, if you haven’t already! Great recommendations :D

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  6. Excellent choices! Rites of Passage... just everyone stop what you're doing and READ IT. It is on my epic favorites list which basically is just RoP and The Hunger Games ;) And Free to Fall has been on my TBR for WAY too long, I NEED to read it ASAP. I also own Broken Skies and The Truth About Alice, so it sounds like I have a LOT of reading ahead of me! So glad that you loved them!

    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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  7. The only two I've read out of your recommendations is What Happens Next which really wasn't for me, and The Truth About Alice which left me an emotional mess, completely agree with that one being so underrated. It was incredible, so gripping and powerful and I only wish that more readers would pick it up, especially teens. Going to check a lot of these out Benish and thanks so much for sharing <3

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  8. Before blogging, I used to ONLY read popular books because I had no means of discovering the underrated ones. Now, I wouldn't say that I *prefer* underrated books, but now I'm not scared to actually seek them out. :)

    Unravel sounds FANTASTIC. I don't read many unique NA novels, so this one is definitely going on my wishlist. Puddle Jumping sounds so cute as well.

    Unfortunately, I didn't like Free to Fall myself... At all. I was really frustrated with it, though I can't remember why. I think it was because of the romance?

    I didn't *love* Rites of Passage either. I liked the story, but when the romance came in I was practically cringing. :(

    Of Beast and Beauty was GLORIOUS and I'm so happy that you enjoyed it. :) I loved the characters, the world, the writing... Everything about it. :) I'm so sad that Stacey isn't writing anymore. :(

    Thanks for the awesome recommendations, Benish!

    Aimee @ Deadly Darlings

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  9. Underrated books NEED MORE LOVE! I'm with you on this Benish! Amazing post :D I never really thought Rites of Passage was underrated. I mean, I thought it was a hyped-up novel because so many book bloggers were rec-ing it to me :P Can I give you a rec? You should definitely read Branded by Abi Ketner and Missy Kalicicki! It's a dystopian novel that used to be self-published, but last year they just got a publisher. I'm surprised how amazingly awesome this book was because it was indie. :P

    I don't get how some awful books like Fifty Shades could ever published. I mean, so many underrated books are far better than some traditionally published ones. They deserve more attention! :)

    Jillian @ Jillian's Books

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  10. Right? I seem to get more along with underrated ones than the hyped, I mean, I do like some of the hyped ones, but most of the time I'm disappointed by them. SO GLAD YOU HAVE RITES OF PASSAGE ON HERE! YAY! Totally agree and loved it, especially the girl power and strength and determination, definitely a character to look up to. I haven't read Of Beast and Beauty yet, but I read one of her Romeo & Juliet retellings and really liked that, so will have to get on it! :D

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  11. What Happens Next and Puddle Jumping are phenomenal reads. I often recommend them. Great choices here!

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  12. I like reading both popular and also underrated or unknown books - which is why I try to mix it up a bit! I have Rites of Passage, The Truth about Alice as well as Of Beauty and Beast all on my TBR, and I cannot wait to break into those. I can imagine myself enjoying them quite a lot, and it looks like there are some other gems on here too ^.^ Great recommendations!

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  13. Great post Benish! I love discovering underrated books and books that are excellent, but don'y get all of the hype. Heather Lyons Fate Series is one that I think is amazing, but doesn't get enough attention! Thanks for these recommendations. I love discovering new-to-me books!

    Lindy@ A Bookish Escape

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  14. Thanks for these recommendations, hun! I'm really curious to read Puddle Jumping because I, too, haven't read a book with a teen autistic character. This just sounds sweet, and maybe heartbreaking a l little?

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  15. I would definitely have to agree! Underrated books are the best because you're just not expecting it to be so amazing yet after you read it, you're wondering why the book's not talked about more. I love that feeling of discovering an underrated book too! Thank you for sharing your favorites wit us Benish! Unravel sounds like my type of book! And it's only 2.99 on kindle! What a steal! :D Puddle Jumping does sounds so original, I do love the premise. Again, thank you for sharing! I'm going to check them all. Some of the books I'm a bit scared to read because it sounds so sad but I really need to stop being a wuss when it comes to these types of books! Thanks again Benish!

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  16. I've only read one of these (The Truth About Alice) but I agree that it needs more hype! Bullying is not to be taken lightly. I think my TBR just increased... thanks for sharing, Benish!

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  17. It really saddens me that The Truth About Alice doesn't have enough ratings! It's such a beautiful story told in an unconventional, yet really effective way. I remember when this came out, there were a lot of books about bullying and being bullied, and this was one among those that absolutely stood out to me! I wish more people read it!

    Faye at The Social Potato

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  18. I am a huge underrated book supporter! It's a shame that sometimes beautiful and heartbreaking books don't get enough recognition while some books are too hyped up,more than they deserve.
    I loved Of Beast and Beauty! It's probably my favourite retelling of the fairytale, and I loved how we continuosly question who's the beast and who's the beauty in the story. And I loved the romance too!:)
    A rec I'd like to give you is One Last Song by S.K.Falls. That book is heartbreaking, beautiful,intense and also painfully underrated. Here's my review if you want to take a look at it.

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  19. I'm definitely going to check some of these out :) it's always so satisfying to find a gem of a novel that isn't popular (and then tell everyone about it lol)

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  20. I haven't picked up or seen most of these! Of Beauty and Beast sounds like one I would just love. I really do love retellings of Beauty and the Beast. I do like the sound of the plot; definitely different! I'm going to be picking up a few of these :)

    Wonderful post!

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  21. I've always wanted to read Puddle Jumping! But I can never seem to find it anywhere (then again I haven't looked haha). I will have to see how much it is on Amazon!

    Hmmm. Underrated novels....I don't know! OH Dangerous Girls! It's so so so underrated, but it's so good!

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  22. I love this post Benish! I actually have four of the books that you've mentioned sitting unread on my bookshelf, so it makes me excited to give them a go soon. A lot of the others you mentioned I haven't heard of before either, so thanks for putting it on my radar! :)

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  23. I like to read both popular books, often books by my favourite more popular authors and indie and udnerrated books. I usually mix them a bit and I think it's more about if the book appeals to me than whether it's popular or not. Although with popular books it can happen that there is so much hype and it just falls flat when I read it. Although sometimes the hype is right and I do enjoy the book.
    A few more udnerrated authors I would recommend are SJ Pajonas, Susan Kaye Quinn and Siobhan Davis, I love their books and I don't understand why their books aren't even more popular.
    I recognize quite a few of the books you listed, I have Deeper and Free to Fall on my to-read list.

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  24. I like reading what I like to read. Sometimes those are popular books, and sometimes they're less known books, and sometimes they're indie and self published books. Whether or not they're popular doesn't really influence my decision to read them! I read a book based on whether or not I think I will like it, by the sound of the blurb.

    As for these books, I have heard of some of them and a few are on my TBR.

    I read THE TRUTH ABOUT ALICE last year, and it was really good. I liked the style, and the overall story. And I LOVED the ending. I thought it was such a sweet conclusion to everything that had happened.

    OF BEAST AND BEAUTY has been on my TBR since before it was released! I love the sound of it, and I really want to read it ASAP. I shall have to read it soon, especially since I have heard mainly good things about it!

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  25. I haven't read any of those books. I do own Rites of Passage. I met her a few months ago for a signing she did and got a copy....which I then packed up to move and haven't unpacked yet.

    I really like reading underrated books because I don't have to wade through that "hype pool" to find out how much of the publicity is based on the book's merits versus blah blah reasons that have nothing to do with the book or it's content.

    Dreams @ Once Upon A Dream Books

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