7 Surprisingly Good Books
7 Surprisingly Good Books
By: Brittany Shields
Have you ever looked at a book, heard about a book, or started a book and thought— ‘That sounds stupid’ or ‘I doubt I will finish this.’?
Well here are a few books that I had pretty low expectations for. I basically assumed the worst. And they all surprised me. They actually turned out to be pretty good books.
Can I convince you to give them a try?
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Wells
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
I’m not usually into space and alien books. And when I started reading this one and the bad guys were called ‘Buggers’ I thought it was going to be a juvenile read. But I ended up really liking this… even better than the movie! I read this before I started reviewing so I don’t have a more detailed synopsis and opinion to share but it was very engaging, great world-building, and had a lot of action/suspense. And the ending is superb.
Short summary: Ender is training via computer simulators to fight the Buggers who are threatening to take over the world. He may finally be the general they’ve been waiting for to lead them to victory. And the situation might be more dire than the Commander is letting on.
2. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Genre: Mystery/Crime
In the vein of Agatha Christie mysteries, this book is a mystery within a mystery. The owner of a manuscript seemingly commits suicide. The manuscript itself details a few murders. As an audience to both, we get to solve them all! The beginning of the book kinda throws you for a loop in formatting and writing style which is what turned me off at first, but push through because it’s worth it!
3. Alone in Plain Sight by Ben Higgins
Genre: Memoir
Yes, this guy was on The Bachelor. I’ve watched the show before but more as a guilty pleasure than a show I’m passionate about. I expected a book by one of the contestants to be annoying or just terrible. Ben Higgins surprised me. It’s not a gossipy tabloid type of book but one with a message most members of Bachelor Nation probably don’t hear often. And a message people of all ‘nations’ should read.
4. On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson
Genre: Fantasy/YA
The book covers didn’t really inspire me. It seemed like more of a kid’s book. But this series is great! Yes, it’s great for kids, but as an adult I enjoyed it too. It was witty, creative, had great world building, lots of action and a profound message. This is a series I liked so much I plan to buy all the books.
5. Bug Man Novels by Tim Downs
Genre: Mystery/Christian Fiction
Christian Fiction can be hit or miss. A lot of it can be poorly written, boring, or cheesy. ‘The Bug Man’ novels sounded lame to me and I assumed I would not continue the series. But these are definitely worth reading. They are not overtly Christian and are not preachy at all. The main character is a funny, nerdy, blunt forensic entomologist who solves crimes by studying the bugs on them. So these are crime mystery stories that are super interesting, suspenseful, with actual good humor.
I read most of them before I started reviewing but the link below will take you to Book 5 that I reviewed.
6. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
Genre: YA/Fantasy
I was told about these but was so disinterested that it took me years before I finally tried them. And I’m so glad I did! They are super creative, fun, suspenseful, and unique. The vintage pictures incorporated in the stories are a great added element and help make the books to be fast reads. There is a corresponding movie, but the movies diverge from the books and the books are better (of course!).
7. Operation Bonnet by Kimberly Stuart
Genre: Humor/Christian Fiction/Romance
I don’t read many rom-coms. This is a local (to me) author so I didn’t know what to expect. But the author is hilarious in person so I tried her books and I was pleasantly surprised. They are light reads but the humor is there and is definitely worth trying. Operation Bonnet is somewhat of a mystery being solved by an amateur sleuth with a touch of Amish culture. But please don’t let the Amish scare you off— this is very different than the host of Christian Amish books out there.
If you give any of these a try, let me know what you think! Comment below with any books that surpassed your expectations!