Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week a new theme is suggested for bloggers to participate in. This week’s prompt is TTT Rewind (Pick a previous topic that you missed or would like to re-do/update.)
Hello Readers! Brrrr! I thought it was supposed to be spring here in Texas, but we’ve had another cold snap with freeze warnings included. At least we’re not seeing snow like so many of you are. But my dreams of back porch reading will have to be postponed for now. I’m more than halfway through my Trope-ical Readathon and I’m doing okay, but it could be better. I’ve read six books so far, and I really wanted to double that. I do have some novellas up my sleeve if it gets down to the wire. 😃
Today’s TTT is a Rewind, which is so fun. Since I’ve only been blogging for three years, there are a ton of topics I haven’t done yet. I’ve decided to look at my current auto-read authors and the books that made them auto-read authors for me. The first five are the first books I read by the author, and I loved them so much they sealed the deal. The last five authors took subsequent books to convince me, but now I’m sold! BUT now that I’ve assembled all the covers, I’m thinking maybe I just have a thing for yellow and blue book covers?! 😆
Let’s see what I found! (In no particular order)
(Link to Goodreads synopsis through book title or link to my review through the book cover, if available.)
- Emily Henry’s Beach Read – Within the first few pages, I clicked with this book, and although I’ve read every book she’s published since, none of them have quite reached that first benchmark. But I’ll keep picking up her books to try.
- Carley Fortune’s Every Summer After – Okay, so yes, I’ve only actually read this one book by the author, but I connected with it so hard, I’m waiting with breathless anticipation for the next one.
- Maggie Stiefvater’s The Scorpio Races – After I first read this book by the author, I quickly went searching for her backlist. The Raven Cycle, her most popular series, is still one of my all-time favorites.
- Christina Lauren’s The Unhoneymooners – The same goes for this book, after I finished it, I couldn’t wait to read this duo’s backlist. I’m still working my way through it.
- Jen Devon’s Bend Toward the Sun – Another author that I’ve only read one book from, but it was so good, I’m that confident I’ll devour her next book, as well.
- Lia Louis’ Eight Perfect Hours – I knew I loved this author after reading her book Dear Emmie Blue, but it was this second book that really closed the deal.
- Ali Hazelwood’s Love, Theoretically – I adored this author’s first two books, as well, but it was reading this one that made me long for more as soon as possible.
- Talia Hibbert’s Take a Hint, Dani Brown – While I enjoyed the first book in the Brown Sisters series, it was this second one that completely locked me in.
- Katherine Center’s Things You Save in a Fire – I knew when I picked up my first book by this author (How to Walk Away) that she was something special, but it was this second book I read by her that made her a favorite.
- Amy Mason Doan’s Summer Hours – It was this second book I read by the author that made me a devoted fan.
Do we share any auto-read authors? Let me know in the comments!
Happy Wandering!
I loved SCORPIO RACES so much. It is one of those books I wish I could read it again for the first time.
Yes! Same here. I reread it for the 10th anniversary and it was still so good.
1000% agree with Emily Henry. I keep trying Stiefvater books, but nothing has really captured the feel of The Raven Cycle for me. Those books are pretty much perfect.
Yes, I feel the same about The Raven Cycle—with the exception of The Scorpio Races! I felt like it was perfect, as well. I’ll be curious to see how her new material is, though.
The Scorpio Races was my first Maggie Stiefvater book too. I’ve read a few of her others but haven’t liked them as much.
The Scorpio Races and the original Raven Cycle books were all pretty perfect for me. I’ll be curious to see how her new material is.
Love your choices! Ali Hazelwood and Katherine Center have both become auto-read authors for me, too. Their books are so amazing. 😀
Yes! So happy I finally caved and picked up Hazelwood.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about Beach Read.
Hope the weather warms for you soon! It’s just beginning to get warm enough for walks outside here in Toronto.
My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-bookish-things-ive-quit-doing/
It’s finally warm here! At least for the moment. It was cold one day and warm the next. Such typical Texas weather. Ha! Toronto is definitely on my bucket list of destinations to visit.
I’ve read several Emily Henry books and while I mostly enjoy them, they don’t make her a go to author for me. I read Things You Save in a Fire and thought that quite good. Although I haven’t read anything by Maggie Stiefvader yet, her name has popped up multiple times and so is on my TBR. I’ll get to her eventually! Have a terrific week.
Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys
https://www.bookshelfjourneys.com/post/ttt-series-to-finish
I think it was only because I read and loved Beach Read so much first. If I would have read any of her more recent books first, I don’t know that I could say the same. I keep trying her books to capture that first feeling. 🙂 If you try Stiefvater, start with The Scorpio Races. It’s a standalone and just a perfect book for me.
I have most of these authors on my auto read list too!
I’m not surprised we agree! 😊
Center and Hazelwood are one my auto-read list. CL has fallen off it in recent years. Same for Stiefvater. I need to read her last 2 books still. I haven’t added Fortune and Devon to the list just yet because I want to see if I enjoy their sophomore releases.
Yeah, I hear that from other readers about CL. I don’t know what it is, but I just click with everything I’ve read so far from them. With every book, I think, “I probably won’t like this one as much,” but then I do! I have a feeling even if I don’t like Fortune and Devon’s sophomore books as much, I’ll still keep trying. It’s the same with Emily Henry for me. It’ll take something drastic to make me give up. Ha!
I’ve had maybe 2 bad experiences with their books and that’s it. I just haven’t been called to their newest releases.
Great list and fun topic! I still need to read an Emily Henry book. BEACH READ sure sounds like a fun one!
My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2023/03/21/top-ten-tuesday-ttt-rewind-hidden-gems/
It’s the one I would recommend to start with, but many readers disagree with me. 😉
I really should read Take a Hint, Dani Brown sometime!
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.
Oh, I adored it! So very much!
There’s quite a few books on your list that I need to pick up ASAP. Beach Read is one that I’ve been eyeing at my library, but haven’t picked it up yet.
My TTT where I talk about popular books I haven’t read yet.
I hope you get to Beach Read especially. Although many Henry readers disagree with me, it’s still my favorite. 🙂
We’re having the same weather here in Alabama. It was in the eighties last week, but it was 33 this morning lol.
So crazy, right?! Now we’re back to 70s. The weather in the south is so unpredictable.
Us too lol!
Beach Read and Unhoneymooners were the books that added them as auto-buy for me too!! Such amazing books. Great list!
Yes!! I wish I could find the time to reread them this summer. 🙂
Fun topic for this week and I can see why those covers drew you in!
I do seem to have a thing for bright covers. 😃
I read my first Emily Henry and Katherine Center books last year, and I look forward to reading more by them. And I hope to get to Carly Fortune soon.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/favorite-historical-fiction-the-1960s-1970s/
Oh yay! I’m glad you enjoyed them. I hope you like what you pick up next by them, as well!
Things You Save in a Fire was my first Center book, and I was pinning my fan club membership badge to my chest. Such a great one! I had read older CLo, but it was Autoboyography that made me a fan. I definitely like their newer stuff better than those Wild books.
I still haven’t read Autoboyography or any of their series books yet. I’m still making my way through their romance backlist. I’m hoping to get to Half-Night Stand next. But someday I’d like to get through them all!
I know not everyone was a big fan, but I liked Half-Night. Hope you do too
The Scorpio Races was the first book that I read by Maggie Stiefvater, but strangely, it wasn’t until The Dream Thieves that I was totally hooked on her books. I liked The Raven Boys well enough to try the second book, but it was The Dream Thieves that had me hooked on The Raven Cycle, and subsequently the rest of Maggie’s books!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2023/03/21/top-ten-tuesday-412/
It’s funny because I didn’t originally like The Dream Thieves very much when I first read it. I mean, it was still Stiefvater, so I loved the writing, but it took a second read for me to really appreciate what she’d done. I think I also sped through it so quickly the first time. It’s hard to take it all in!
It is definitely a little different to the other books in the series, for sure! Ha ha that’s very fair 🙂
We do have some similar auto-read authors: Lia Louis, Emily Henry, and Carley Fortune,
Oh yay! I’m happy you’ve enjoyed them, as well!
I would say that four of these are auto-read for me as well, Dedra. Katherine Center, Lia Louise, Emily Henry and Christina Lauren. I do have some of these books you showcased on my TBR though.
I’m not surprised we agree, Carla! 😊
Great post! I still haven’t read some of these authors even though I have a feeling they’ll end up being auto-read authors for me, too. But I *do* love Hibbert who’s definitely an auto-read for me!
I’m so happy I picked up the second Brown Sisters book. It’s my favorite, so far!
Beach Read I wasn’t the greatest fan of, but I loved the others Emily Henry books. Happy reading! My TTT https://readwithstefani.com/top-ten-non-fiction-titles-on-my-tbr/
I hear that a lot! I’m the oddball. I still like her others, but they haven’t compared to Beach Read for me. I think I liked the more serious tone of it. 🤷♀️😃
Ah I need to read that Hazelwood one <3