Every year, when I reflect on what I’ve read, there are always these books that stick out to me and I’m like MAN these books were fantastic but they didn’t get NEARLY the attention they deserved! I decided that I’d make a list of those books for you if you are wanting to check out some books that were totally underhyped!
So let’s go:
Life by Committee by Corey Ann Haydu — This was one of my favorite books of 2014 and I’m really sad that it didn’t get talked about more! Lots of good things to talk about within these pages and I would have LOVED to have some conversations about it!
Wildlife by Fiona Wood: This was originally published in Australia but this year Little Brown published it in the States! I barely heard ANYONE talk about it and it was so fantastic!! I know it says it’s book 2 in a series but you don’t HAVE to read them in order (I didn’t but definitely plan to read the first one, Six Impossible Things, when it comes out here in the US — they did it backwards IDK WHY
Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley: Seriously, this one is such a powerful one and yet I feel as though not enough people read it! Set during the height of the Civil Rights era, an unlikely relationship is explored between a white teen and a black teen who is one of the first to integrate into this traditionally white high school.
A Mad, Wicked Folly by Sharon Biggs Waller: Historical fiction fans! WHERE ARE YOU? HOW DID YOU MISS THIS ONE? Suffragettes! Art! London! YAY WOMAN’S RIGHTS!
Illusions of Fate by Kiersten White: Seriously, why haven’t more people talked about this one? It’s a fantasy standalone that I found to be excellent and I SO wish it was a series (which is saying something because I’m so series weary). Magic! Great setting! Banter!
Girl Defective by Simmone Howell: Another book originally published in Australia that got published here in the States this year! I mean, it was definitely a very character driven book so you have to really like that kind of stuff but IT WAS FANTASTIC and quirky!
Behind The Scenes by Dahlia Adler: In the blog world we all know and adore Dahlia so it got talked a lot amongst a lot of my followers who also follow Dahlia but it needs to be more widely read! Romance! Hollywood setting! I couldn’t put it down!
Like No Other by Una LaMarche: Oh my goodness this was one I snuck in here at the very end of 2014 but I’m so glad I did! I love reading from a perspective that is not familiar to me and I loved the two characters we meet here and where their stories went. THAT ENDING. *slow claps*
There Will Come A Time by Carrie Arco: You all know I gravitate towards books dealing with grief like bees to the sweet sticky syrup of a melting Popsicle on a hot day. This one dealt so realistically and beautifully about the grief of a brother after his twin sister’s tragic death. It was beautiful and definitely a book that didn’t get talked about nearly enough this year!
Brazen by Katherine Longshore: Come on guys! Historical fiction can totally be awesome and page-turning! I promise! There was drama and betrayal and all sorts of good stuff in this one because HELLO…Henry VIII court!
Wish You Were Italian by Kristin Rae: If you like contemporary romance along the lines of Sarah Dessen plus books involving travel…GET ON THIS ONE! The Italian setting and the romance swept me away!
Tell me some books YOU think deserved more attention in 2014? I want to check them out!! Did you read any on my list??
Renae @ Respiring Thoughts says
I, sadly, haven’t read any of these! (So it’s good you made a post about them lol) BUT I do actually have A Mad, Wicked Folly out from the library right now, so it’s going to get read in the next week or so! And hopefully I’ll remember to get around to some of these other titles as well. Behind the Scenes and Illusions of Fate in particular look like ones I’d enjoy.
Alyssa says
I … have honestly never heard of these, except for Brazen. Which really makes your point, because from your descriptions THEY SOUND AWESOME. Great that you made this post — totally reading these as soon as I can 🙂
Genissa @ Story Diary says
I agree! I’ve only read a few of the books you mentioned above, but they were really good reads.
I feel that The Whispers of the Fallen series by J. D. Netto, Branded by Abi & Missy, Melt by Selene Castrovilla, The Book of Ivy by Amy Engel, and Between the Stars and Sky by David James deserved more attention this year.
Trina says
I just filmed a review for this book so it might just be burned into my mind right now because I swear I’ve said this like 50 times lately, but I really think that the Not a Drop to Drink duology (In a Handful of Dust came out this year) deserve much more attention than they get!
I’ve got several of yours on my TBR and hope to get to them soon, but you know how that goes… lol.
Amanda says
Yes to all of these. Most are on my to-read list and I totally agree about Wish You Were Italian! It’s one of my favorites from this year!
Kaja says
I only read Illusions of Fate (probably because I mostly read fantasy) and I absolutely agree – it’s one of my favourite 2014 reads! I feel like there are so many over-hyped books that often disappoin – and little gems like these get overlooked. I like that you wrote this post!
Kyra says
I haven’t read any of these but I really want to read Illusions of Fate and Wish you were Italian – they look fantastic!
Chrissi Reads says
I really need to read A Mad Wicked Folly and Behind The Scenes. Thank you for reminding me of them! I completely agree that more people need to read Lies We Tell Ourselves. SO powerful.
Cataluna6 says
UGH!! I haven’t read any of these – and they all sound fantastic. I’ll have to add them to the TBR. One that I read very early on this year was The List Of My Desires by Gregoire De???? I very much enjoyed this and I don’t think I’ve really seen anyone talking about it.
mary ann says
I haven’t read any of these books but a lot of them were on my TBR list. Such lovely post to give credit to those books which didn’t get attention they deserved 🙂
Review: Love and Other Theories@TRD
Alyssa says
I loved Dahlia Adler’s Last Will and Testament! Have you read it? I’m gonna add Behind The Scenes on my TBR right away. 🙂
Ginger @ GReads! says
There Will Come a Time has been on my TBR all year, it seems like. For whatever reason, I never go to it. But it WILL be one of the first I read in 2015! Glad to see it being mentioned here by you. I feel like I’ve been shouting this book from every rooftop on the Internet this year but, Breakfast Served Anytime by Sarah Combs was one of my favorite reads of the year, yet it hardly got any mention. I adore this woman SO much and want to see her talents read by all. Definitely give it a go if you haven’t yet.
La La in the Library says
I was stoked for Illusions of Fate because I loved White’s previous writing, but I saw way too many meh reviews. Maybe they were just being cranky and I should put it back on my tbr.
Dahlia Adler says
Thanks so much for the BtS shoutout, Jamie! I *love* this idea, and am totally gonna try to sneak one of these posts on my blog today. A MAD, WICKED FOLLY is high on my list of “Books I Bought and Should’ve Read in 2014 But Didn’t So I’ll Read It in 2015,” and I absolutely loved LIFE BY COMMITTEE, LIES WE TELL OURSELVES, and WISH YOU WERE ITALIAN – those will totally be on my post as well! I also definitely meant to read THERE WILL COME A TIME and accidentally bought the wrong Carrie Arcos book, so I’m just gonna read that one first. Whoops!
Valeria @ A Touch of Book Madness says
I’m really looking forward to a Mad Wicked Folly, but I’m waiting for the new cover to be out which I think will be around June 2015. I think the current cover has a more contemporary feel so it is a bit confusing. The new one is gorgeous, and has a more historical fiction feel. I also recently got Behind the Scenes and am planning to read it, hopefully in 2015. I also heard Dahlia’s new novel “Last Will and Testament” is really good. So I hope to be able to grab it next year as well.
Katherine says
Great list! I haven’t read any of these, but most of them are on my TBR list for 2015. Life By Committee is sitting on my shelf because of your review actually! Lies We Tell Ourselves and Brazen are also high up on my pile.
Emily says
Well this post was perfectly timed since I’m am just getting ready to head off to the library and to spend some Christmas money. I have actually had Brazen on my list for awhile but I can’t seem to find it in my library, which is RIDICULOUS I think. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough. Other than that, I have not read any (or heard of quite a few of these until you started talking about them) so I’ll definitely be looking to see if I can add these to my stack (because I already have 3 books on hold right now…). I’m getting super excited to head out to the library now. Thank goodness I have today off! One of the books I read this year that I’ve seen very little talk of (though I could have been just not paying attention) is Conquest by John Connolly and Jennifer Ridyard. It’s the start of a new series. A little sci-fi/fantasy that really surprised me. I am honestly not normally that into books about aliens, but this was something else. There was so much going on and it kind of fit into everything that I typically love about a book. It was pretty good. Took me about 40 pages to get into but didn’t regret it (though, this was something my husband had to MAKE me read…I’m a little embarrassed about that).
Stormy says
I totally agree with you on Life by Committee! Definitely underrated. I also loved Lies We Tell Ourselves–SO GOOD, one of my favorite YA historical books now. I’ve seen Like No Other around just a tiny bit & I have it on request at the library–it sounds really great!
I had planned to make a similar post about books I thought were underrated & underread in 2014, but my top one is probably The Gospel of Winter by Brendan Kiely. It was a very emotional book, sort of in the vein of books like Laurie Halse Anderson’s, and I’m so stunned it didn’t get more traction this year.
Rachael @ Rachael Turns Pages says
I have not read any of these, but Wish you were Italian looks interesting. I may read that one in 2015.
Samantha says
I really want to give Girl Defective a go, but I can’t find it on the Kindle store! Looks like I’m going to have to find a physical copy for myself. I’ve also heard nothing but amazing things about I Wish You Were Italian.
Ashley Norris says
I LOVED Life by Committee! I was surprised that it wasn’t talked about more as well.
Have you read Corey Ann Haydu’s OCD Love Story? It’s sounds interesting. I’m curious how it compared to Life by Committee.
Ashley
Sally says
I got Lies We Tell Ourselves for Christmas and I can’t wait to read it!! Definitely adding a bunch of these other ones to my list too.
Morgan @ Gone with the Words says
I really enjoyed A Mad Wicked Folly! It had so much going for it and felt really different from a lot of the YA historical fiction out there. Illusions of Fate is one of my January priorities! I’ve heard it’s really cute and I love magic and banter. And Brazen! I really loved Gilt and Tarnish, need to complete the trilogy. I love Katherine Longshore’s writing and how she creates vibrant characters out of historical figures we all know/can be weary of. I remember your Wildlife review now that I see it mentioned again! Will have to look into that 🙂 Love the post.
Michelle says
I wasn’t a huge fan of Life By Committee but I do agree it makes some great points about society that are discussion-worthy. I definitely agree with you on Lies We Tell Ourselves. There is SO much to discuss in that one.
Taylor Lynn says
Ooh, great list! I actually did read (and really enjoyed!) Wildlife, and I can’t wait to read Six Impossible Things because I’ve wanted to read it for probably at least a year now. I also just went to Barnes & Noble TODAY with my grampa, as we both had Christmas gift cards to spend, and picked up a copy of Lies We Tell Ourselves, and I’m looking forward to it–I’ve heard so many good things. 🙂
As for me, some of the books I read in 2014 that should get more attention were And We Stay by Jenny Hubbard (beautiful, beautiful contemporary read, and if you gravitate toward books about grief check this one out), Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan, The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block, and Jepp, Who Defied the Stars by Katherine Marsh. There were a few more, but this comment is long enough already! 😉
Kayla @ The Thousand Lives says
A huge YES to There Will Come a Time! I nearly didn’t read it either, but after ONE rave review I just had to run out and buy it. And now I’ve been shoving it at everyone who will listen 😛
I’ve read Haydu’s OCD Love Story, and adored it, so I really should read Life By Committee. I think I’ll wait till it’s in paperback, but it’s definitely on my wishlist!
Emma @ Miss Print says
Yes, yes, 1000x yes for Illusions of Fate. I have Life by Committee and There Will Come a Time on my To Read shelves so hopefully I’ll be able to give them some attention in 2015!
Ashley says
I almost bought Lies We Tell Ourselves the other day. It sounds like a fascinating novel that I will absolutely be reading sometime soon.
Emma says
Like No Other! I 100% agree. It’s totally in my top 5 favorite contemporary novels of 2014 and I’m so sad that more people aren’t talking about it.
Christina @ BookTasty says
Oh I completely agree about A Mad Wicked Folly! I listened to the audiobook and was completely engrossed from the start! It was so well written and I had to go investigate more about suffragettes in the UK after reading it!
Meghann @ Becoming Books says
I agree about Life by Committee and Girl Defective, both were good reads that deserve more attention. My underrated picks are When I Was The Greatest by Jason Reynolds and Madam Tussaud’s Apprentice by Kathleen Benner Duble. Great post!
Lisa @ Bookish Broads says
I haven’t read Wish You Were Italian yet, but man oh man is Kristin Rae adorable!
Kristin Rae says
Oh my goodness, you just made my day! Thank you, sweets! 🙂
Irish says
Glad to see Behind the Scenes on this list as I’ve been thinking of reading it. I read Not in the Script in 2014 and have been looking for read-alikes and I think this one will fit the bill nicely!
Laura Plus Books says
The only one out of these that I’ve really heard of at all is A Mad, Wicked Folly. Luckily, I’ve been seeing all positive things! Although this means it’s time to add the rest of them to my TBR. 🙂
Jamie says
It is soooo good!!! And yes, get those on your TBR!! 🙂
Kristin Rae says
Adding some of these to my list! Thank you so much for yet ANOTHER shout out to my little book–you’re the best!