Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blogging meme formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish but now resides at That Artsy Reader Girl.

I haven’t done one of these in a while, and the prompt for today seemed like something that I would be able to chose quite a few books for, considering I read a lot of indie books.

Stay tuned for my top ten hidden gems!

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Reign of the Fallen – Sarah Glen Marsh
This book deals with some heavy topics, such as addiction and the loss of a loved one. However, it still artfully takes on these topics with skill, and I found myself enjoying all aspects of this novel, from the action and fight scenes all the way to the intense feelings you would get from reading about the Sparrow’s journey.

Mouse – Richard Ford Burley
I’m so sad when I realize how many people are unaware of this book. Not only does it feature a non-verbal autistic protagonist, but it also features an intense and lovely storyline that kept me reading all night. The friendships were adorable, and I just couldn’t get enough. Even better, but Richard has another book coming out soon, titled Displacement.

The Rules and Regulations for Mediating Myths and Magic – F.T. Lukens
This book is probably one of the funniest books I’ve ever read, and literally no one is talking about it. Not only is it funny, but it follows an M/M couple, and the love interest is a PoC (I can’t remember or find his ethnicity, but I believe he is Latinx.) This book was hilarious, adorable, and the protagonist is bisexual. And no one is talking about it and it pissed me off.

Girl Out of Water – Laura Silverman
I’ll be honest–I’m not a big fan of contemporary, nor am I a big fan of romance. I honestly don’t even know why I picked it up in the first place. Maybe because it was about a black amputee skateboarder? Maybe. Either way, this is one of the very few contemporary romances I like, so you know it has to be good then, right?

The Scorpion Rules – Erin Bow
When I first heard of this book, I really didn’t look into what it was actually about. I was never really that interested in it, either. It was just another YA book in a world full of YA. Later, though, when I finally read it, I couldn’t help but wish I had read it earlier. It’s an intense, yet lyrically slow novel with a bisexual character. It was enthralling.

Dare Mighty Things – Heather Kaczynski
I’ve seen this book floating around here and there, but it really didn’t catch my interest until I learned that there was on-page asexual representation. And not only that, but almost all of the characters were diverse in some way. They were thrown into this exciting competition, and I just wish more people knew about this book.

Help Wanted – J. Emery
While this beauty just recently came out, I still want everyone to read it as soon as humanly possible. It’s like….what Harry Potter should have been, with diverse characters and better world building. The protagonist is questioning their gender, and I think they’re ace as well. Also, the author is a sweetheart.

A Study in Honor – Claire O’Dell
I … didn’t like this book as much as I was hoping. But I do believe that more people should read it. Listen–it’s a Sherlock Holmes retelling with two, queer black women in a near, dystopian future. It was an intense ride, if not a little disappointing for me, but it was definitely worth the read.

You Bring the Distant Near – Mitali Perkins
Same with the above book, I wasn’t much of a fan of this one. However, this book follows an important story that was really heartwarming and special. I’d never read such a quiet, lovely book before, and even though I had personal struggles with it, I would still recommend it to others for it’s messages.

 

Mask of Shadows & Ruin of Stars – Linsey Miller
And no Book Deviant post is complete without mentioning Mask of Shadows and Ruin of Stars. Of the people I’ve seen mention this book, a lot don’t like it. If you go onto the Goodreads page, a lot of the first reviews to come up are negative. But I love these books with all my heart, and I wish more would too.

What are some hidden gems you love? Do we have any similar ones?

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