#1 Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Loved So Much I Couldn’t Write Reviews – 15th Feb 2022
Happy Tuesday! Top Ten Tuesday is a tag born out of love for lists and books and is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today’s theme is one I absolutely love!
15th February 2022: Books I Loved So Much I Couldn’t Write A Review
While it’s true that I have actually written reviews for some of these books here, but they were mostly gush-fests and fan-girling on my part.
God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
It virtually impossible to talk about my favorite books and not have this one mentioned. A story for the ages, to this day, reading this book is like reading it for the first time again. The prose is nothing short of enchanting, the emotions quiet literally scrape you raw. It's both, one of the most mesmerizing as well the most difficult book I've ever read.
Take A Hint Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert
An absolutely perfect romance that lives rent free in my head! I laughed, cried, swooned, squealed and genuinely sobbed into my pillow after the last page was turned. If you haven't read Hibbert before, The Brown Sisters Trilogy is the perfect place to start!
It's a favorite that I actually did manage to review. You can read it by following the link below.
The Descent of The Drowned by Ana Lal Din
Talking about perfect books, here's another absolutely fabulous addition to the list. I will never, and I mean NEVER, stop talking about this story and the subjects that it manages to explore. It's a YA fantasy set in an Indo-Persian world and not an easy read by any means. There are trigger warnings galore so please be vigilant if you approach this story. I have discussed some of the content warnings in my review. Link given below.
The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
After two consecutive books that I did review, let's move back to books that left me speechless in a good way. The Duchess Deal absolutely tops that list! A historical romance retelling of the Beauty and the Beast with a scarred duke and seamstress, this romance has one of my favorite tropes: marriage of convenience. There's banter for days, forced proximity, a bad-tempered cat and hilarious Shakespearean insults.
If you haven't read this, you definitely should!
To Be Alone With You by Jodie Slaughter
Speaking of must-read romances, I bring you one by the amazing Jodie Slaughter. This book WRECKED me! It takes place at the beginning of the pandemic and is an age-gap romance that beautifully combines the angst of second-chance with the stakes of falling for someone for the first time. The way the emotions and the setting over lap is pure perfection.
The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
All I have to say about the Daevadad Trilogy is this: I left the last book sitting unread on my shelf for almost a year because I didn't have the strength to say goodbye to this world and it's characters. It was also a trilogy that reminded why I started to avoid reading series' until they were finished. THE ANGST!
A Dead Djinn in Cairo by P. Djèlí Clark
Speaking of worlds I never want to leave, there's the Dead Djinn Universe. A marvelous speculative fiction series, it takes place in 1912 in Egypt where magic and science have combined to create a futuristic past, thanks to Al-Jahiz, a Muslim theologian and scholar. This story is a prequel that's available to read for free on Tor dot com. I read this one and then promptly read the other two that followed and immediately ordered the book The Master of Djinn.
Please go read this! It's a world unlike another.
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
Have you ever read a book with prose so good, you stopped highlighting/tagging because you knew it will be almost every line on every page? THAT was what this duology did to me. I'm pretty sure I ran out of book tags and post-its at one point during my reading. And I literally cannot remember the number of times I read a line and just stared blank and dazed at a wall.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Speaking of books that leave you in a daze...
This book is on my annual reads pile and I flip through it routinely. I'm still kinda amazed sometimes that it exists and that I've had the distinct pleasure of having read it.
Of Love and Other Demons by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I cannot discuss magical realism and my annual reads and NOT mention this book. To this day, it's the one book that my heart is absolutely convinced will rewrite itself, and that the ending will be different when I pick it up next.
And that’s it for my list! Hope you liked reading through this. Have you read any of these books?
Let’s chat in the comments!
About Perveen
Perveen is a South-Asian Muslim, an introvert who daydreams about love-myths, monsters, and magic during my day job and occasionally binge-watch period dramas at night. Most of her time is spent reading, writing & talking to the cats in my backyard.
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8 Comments
imyril @ There's Always Room For One More
Ahhh The Night Circus is such a lovely book. And I know exactly what you mean about the Daevabad trilogy – argh the waiting for that final volume!
A. Perveen
I love love LOVE Night Circus. And oh, Daevabad will forever have a permanent place in my heart. Thank you for stopping by! Have a great reading week!
Julia @ Owls Reads
The Descent of the Drowned looks so interesting! 👀
A. Perveen
IT’S SOOO GOOD! Literally one of the best books I’ve ever read. And also one I’ve cried the hardest at. I hope you try it and will like it as much as I did!
Lauren
Ooh, The Night Circus. That’s such a good book!
A. Perveen
One of favorites! I was just ogling the illustrated editions that came out. 🤤 Book merch makes me so weak! 😭 Thank you for stopping by. Wishing you a great reading week. ❤️
Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies
Terrific list! I read The God of Small Things many years before I started blogging, and thought it was so incredibly beautiful, but I’m sure I’d never be able to write a review!
A. Perveen
Thank you so much! And oh, GoST is one of the most mesmerizingly beautiful books ever. It’s really impossible to put into words just what that book and it’s prose does to your insides. I’ve certainly tried and failed many times so I just settle for gushing about it incoherently whenever I find the chance. Thank you so much for stopping by! ❤️