Thursday, September 5, 2019

Top Ten Tuesday: Not in My Zone

NOTE: NO, IT'S NOT TUESDAY, but I had a blog tour, and you all know I love TTT. So here it is!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week's topic is...

Not in My Zone!


Most of the time, I am that woman on the right. People will be screaming about all these book,s which just aren't my jam. I mean, if you take a look at my "read" shelf, you will notice that it is cluttered with contemporaries. They may be young adult, middle grades, new adult, or middle grades, but they all tend to be contemporaries, specifically, light and fluffy contemporaries usually featuring romance. Every now and again, I branch out, reading something outside of those parameters, and quite a few of those books have been hits for me. Below are some of those book, outside of my zone, which I recently read and earned between 4.5 - 5 stars. I mean, look at all the covers together. They are so much darker than my norm, right? But, still loved them!


What's an "out of your zone" book, that wowed you?
Let us know in the comments!

32 comments:

  1. I loved Two Can Keep a Secret and One of Us is Lying! Glad to hear you had some success venturing out of your comfort zone! Chasing Truth looks interesting. :)

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    1. I love Julie Cross, so I guess I wasn't too surprised about Chasing Truth, but it was a lot more action/suspense than my norm.

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  2. Killing November doesn't sound like something I'd read too but I'm happy knowing everyone's stepped out in their comfort zones and somehow did enjoy the books so I might take that chance too. I mean I did already (you've seen my list) but for some other time. I do tend to read something that isn't the norm for me from time to time. Anyway, I'm so glad you've enjoyed Two Can Keep a Secret!

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    1. Killing November was another book I read based on previous success with the author. I think I am more willing to take that step out, when I have enjoyed other books from the author's catalog.

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  3. Haha, yes, those covers are very different from the ones I normally see here! But that can be a good thing! Glad you enjoyed these!

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  4. I feel like I’m a less adventurous reader than I used to be, but I still enjoy stepping out of my comfort zone to try new things. (And I love the library for that because I can try without any expectations and return without guilt..)

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    1. I am definitely more adventurous with my library picks and especially with audiobooks, because they occupy a time that is wholly separate from my reading time.

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  5. Ever since I've started using the library (& audio!) I'm branching out more. Books I know I wouldn't have liked if I had read them are 5 star reads on audio for me.

    And I'm more willing to give them a shot because I'm not obligated to review. So many books outside my zone look good but then they don't work for me and I hate feeling obligated to review those.

    But The Cruel Prince is one for me. I hate Fae and fantasy but I enjoy that series a lot.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I recently set a book aside, and then picked it back up in audio format and enjoyed it. Some books are better when read to me. And, yes! Not have the pressure of having to review the book is always good, and that definitely plays a role in books I will "try". A few of the books up there were reviews books, but I requested them, because I had had prior success with the author.

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  6. You know I’m a contemporary girl... just like you. And it’s not often I branch out. But there are always those rare exceptions. And how did I not know about Chasing Truth by Julie Cross? I’m off to look into that one right now.

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    1. I just checked, and the Julie Cross book is not lendable. BOOO! I should have guessed that with the way that pub is about ebooks. --sigh-- It's a cool kid government agent story with a good romance.

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  7. I loved Killing November. And Two Can Keep A Secret actually as well.

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    1. *high five* I cannot wait for the follow up to November.

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  8. You know I'm excited to see a Kendare Blake pic here, right? I'm about to jump into the final book!!

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I can only imagine what the final book will bring us. I guess you can give me a heads up, if I should brace myself.

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  9. WELL now I really need to get to Legendary, don't I?! Also agree about TDR and Smelly Houses! Speaking of, Five Dark Fates has shipped to me, so I am eager to get to that too! I ordered the UK one because for whatever reason, I have been collecting those? Idk it's weird. Aurora Rising was fun too. I really want to read Two Can Keep a Secret one of these days too!

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    1. My daughter made me read Legendary, and I have zero regrets, even if the ending left me in happy/sad tears. Nicole mentioned she is getting ready to start FDF. I will be awaiting both your thoughts.

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  10. I have only read one book that made your list, The Smell of Other People's Houses, which I loved. It is nice to branch out from time to time :)

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    1. It was so good. I am happy I finally made the time for it, because it was on my TBR for quite some time, and it was AJ who reminded me I wanted to read it.

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  11. Oh yeah, you've got some great reads on your list. You also have several that I still need to read so I'm glad to hear they were winners for you even though they're not your usual reads.

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  12. For fiction, I could happily stay mainly in horror and apocalypse though I can always be tempted by a great sounding urban fantasy or Tudor fiction. I sneak out my comfort zone mainly into thrillers and certain types of SF, but rarely into traditional fantasy. It is mega rare that I venture into anything contemporary now.

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    1. So, you read everything, but what I read. HA! We are like each other's yin and yang.

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  13. How come Aurora Rising was not in your comfort zone? Because it is sci-fi?

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    1. Sci-fi is not my thing. The book also has a lot of fighting, which is outside of my norm, but I have had success with this duo in the past, and I think they strike the right balance with their story elements, and I always fall in love with their characters.

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  14. The Caraval series was so great. I can't wait to read Aurora Rising. :)

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    1. Aurora Rising was so good!!! I was crying at the end, but at least I know there is more story coming, and I am really excited about the adaptation too.

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  15. Reading outside of your comfort zone can sometimes be fun and it's always so nice being pleasantly surprised by a book you didn't expect to enjoy. I really liked that Julie Cross series but I can't say it's outside of my comfort zone, I don't even know what that is anymore.

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    1. I found, that if I had prior success with an author, I was willing to read outside my zone. I love Cross' contemporaries, and I really enjoyed the Eleanor Ames books. I would love another book just to see what happened next. There was so much uncertainty at the end.

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  16. It's always great when you read a book outside of your comfort zone and then you're able to fall in love with it! Killing November and The Smell of Other People's Houses are both ones on my to read list as well, so that has me all the more excited ^.^

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    1. I am still dumbfounded, that I did not hear more people talking about Other People's Houses. It was so good and well done.

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