Hi friends! It’s Tuesday, so that means another list of ten books but – I’m kidding no one at this point – there will be more than ten. Today’s theme involves the books we’ve loved that have under 2000 ratings on Goodreads.
I must confess that when I saw this topic I chuckled to myself. Nearly ALL the books I’ve loved are under 2000 ratings on Goodreads LOL. In fact, it might have been easier for me to do a post of the books I’ve loved OVER 2000 ratings đ
But I perused my “read” list and decided to narrow the focus for today’s post to “books I’ve loved that have way less than 50 ratings on Goodreads”. If it’s getting close to 50, I didn’t include it … because that would not fit the definition of “way less” lol.
Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations
by V. Joy Palmer
Ratings: 5 // Avg Rating: 4.8
Oh my goodness, yâall! I love this authorâs style!
Izze, the main character, narrates the majority of the story (with occasional switches to third person for Milesâ POV) and a la Gilmore Girls she often talks right to the reader. Sheâs quirky and witty and I would so want to be friends with her if she werenât a figment of Joy Palmerâs imagination!
Letters from Santa
by Becca Whitham
Ratings: 7 // Avg Rating: 4.43
Besides the sweet romance and everything I mentioned above, it is Becca Whithamâs stellar writing voice that makes Letters From Santa stand out from the Christmas novella masses. Her turn of a phrase here and a smart aside there create a truly enjoyable reading experience. From the humorous to the poetic, Becca Whitham crafts Alex and Violetâs story with grace and warmth and lots of heart.
The Girl He Used to Love
by Amy Vastine
Ratings: 11 // Avg Rating: 4.64
Wry humor and southern sass keep the book light in spite of its deep emotions, and the romance is deliciously done. Family and friendships play as important a role in the story as Faith & Deanâs relationship, creating a well-rounded novel thatâs a perfect choice to read on your summer vacation!
When I Found You
by Kate James
Ratings: 13 // Avg Rating: 4.92
When I Found You is my favorite of the three books so far in this series â and Iâve loved them all! Kate James does a fantastic job writing tension â romantic, emotional, and suspenseful. When I Found You pulses with all three but is never overpowered by any. Just the right amount at just the right time.
The Sweetest Rain
by Myra Johnson
Ratings: 24 // Avg Rating: 4.29
The Sweetest Rain sings with characters who became my friends and family as I read, their personalities almost tangible. I am happy to note that this is the first in a series because I am nowhere close to being done with the Linwoods or the Heaths! Hints of future story lines wafted through particular scenes with Bryonyâs sisters, but even just these small morsels have me anxious for more.
Always With You
by Elaine Stock
Ratings: 24 // Avg Rating: 4.5
Elaine Stockâs debut novel Always With You grips readersâ attention from the first chapter and holds them captive until the last word. Isabelle is one of those characters who immediately engages your heart, and you will be emotionally invested in her story as it plays out from page to page.
Breaking Free
by Jennifer Slattery
Ratings: 29 // Avg Rating: 4.31
Breaking Free will seize you by the heart and refuse to let go. Author Jennifer Slattery handles the themes of addiction and marriage – and how the two concepts struggle to coexist – with realism and emotion but offers grace and hope for readers who might find it hitting close to home. Her smooth writing voice immediately engages, and the threads of suspense hovering at the edges of the plot make the book difficult to put down until the end.
More Than a Promise
by Ruth Logan Herne
Ratings: 31 // Avg Rating: 4.55
Delightful, warm, and charming, More Than a Promise is more than a love story. Or rather, itâs more than a story about two people falling in love. Itâs a story of hope and faith, of humor and family, of blending lives, of second chances, and most of all itâs a story that points to the Author of all love stories and how Heâs head over heels for us. You will instantly relate to these characters â whether married or not, single parent or multi-parent, or even just a âcool auntâ like me.
Saving the Marquise’s Granddaughter
by Carrie Fancett Pagels
Ratings: 30 // Avg Rating: 4.77
Saving the Marquiseâs Granddaughter had me on the edge of my seat almost from word one, and Iâm not sure I relaxed until I reached the authorâs notes at the end. Twists and turns, danger, intrigue, romance, faith, history â Carrie Fancett Pagels has seamlessly woven a little bit of everything into this fascinating story.
Refuge of the Heart
by Ruth Logan Herne
Ratings: 32 // Avg Rating: 4.88
Refuge of the Heart is a romance but itâs so much more. (And oh, the romance is so incredibly sweet and tender. The way Mitch deliberately pursues Lena and his unabashed affection for Anna⌠simply swoonable!) It is a story that will reach into your heart and squeeze until you feel you canât breathe from the emotion. It is a story filled with warmth and humor and smiles in spite of the heaviness of loss that both Lena and Mitch have known. It is a story that will open your eyes to the world around you â including the world at your backdoor. It is a story of hope, of redemption, of courage, of survival.
The Sound of Silver
by Rachelle Rea Cobb
Ratings: 35 // Avg Rating: 4.37
The Sound of Silver begins right where The Sound of Diamonds finished, even backing up just a bit to refresh our memories. The level of intensity does not fade between the two books, even though Silver focuses far less on action than did Diamonds. In fact I think the emotion in Silver makes it even more intense in some ways than its predecessor; I remained just as much on the edge of my seat in book 2, albeit for different reasons. Rachelle Rea certainly knows how to capture her characters’ innermost desires and fears, sorrows and joys.
Ok… now it’s your turn. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to track down at least one of these books, READ IT and then RATE/REVIEW it on Goodreads & Amazon. Easy peasy. (You don’t need to write a long review … simply “I liked it” or “I didn’t like it” works too.)
Love Lacenand Minor Alterations looks SO good. May have to splurge on that soon!
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Thanks for the list of suggestions! “Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations” is already on my TBR list and I’ll add some others from this list as well.
Yay!!
Thanks, Carrie, for being a champion of Christian Fiction. Bless your caring heart.
thank YOU, Elaine!
Great list, Carrie! I’m with you. It would have been easier to list those I read with 2000+. I focused on award winners that have not received the recognition they deserve.
Oh that’s an excellent idea, Beckie!
Great idea Carrie! I’ll do what I can to help.
Thanks, Emilee!!
Great list! The number of reviews doesn’t necessarily correlated to quality! I have three Franciscan Media-published books waiting on my Kindle. I keep thinking I’m going to read them next and then some review read or beta read falls in my lap. I WILL get to them this summer!
So true! Often it just correlates to limited marketing
Some wonderful suggestions here. I hope to read Carrie Fancett Pagel’s book in the next couple of weeks, I have a copy. I read my first Ruth Logan Hearne book this year, so I will definitely put those two on my list. Really liked Rachelle Rea Cobb’s first book and I keep seeing Myra Johnson’s name popping up. The others are new to me.
so many books, so little time đ
Less than 50 ratings…wow you’ve put a spin on this. Love it đ I don’t have enough underrated books read to make my own list so I did my own topic hahah. Happy reading! http://www.curious-daisy.com/uncategorized/ten-books-you-should-read-asap-book-recommendations/
thanks! I will go check yours out too! đ
Oh this was a good idea! I have a few of these on my list for Tue immediate future. So I will definitely be rating them soon!
yay!! đ
Love and Lace… sounds so cute! I’m going to have to write that title down!
it is REALLY cute!
Just bought Love, Lace, and Minor Alterations. đ
Awesome!!! That makes me happy đ
50 ratings? Wow. I love what you did with this topic, and very nice format on this post. đ
thanks, Rachel! đ
Great list! I like that you went for books with fewer than 50 ratings. I was surprised at how few ratings some of my favorite books had! Here is my TTT
it IS surprising, isn’t it?
As always, your TTT is great for my TBR. Or is it bad because they always make me want to stop everything I’m doing and read these books đ Especially excited about The Sweetest Rain.
Also I finished TCM by Dawn. ALL THE FEELINGS!! đ
YEEEEESSSSS!!!! đ
Joy, Elaine, and Jennifer’s books are nearing the top of my tbr! Read, climb, read! Review, review, review! đ Amazon must have dropped some of Ruthy’s reviews on More Than a Promise, now it’s 28 đ Great book!
I listed the # of Goodreads reviews, not Amazon so hopefully they didn’t drop any. They can be so odd about that sometimes though. And yes – read, climb, read, review, review, review. That should be the book blogger’s cheer LOL.
I like it that you included both the number of ratings and the average rating. Thank you for your list!
thanks, Deb!
Thank you for featuring Silver, Carrie! Such a fun post–and some of these titles I haven’t seen around before! It’s always exciting coming across new book friends. đ
That’s my fave thing to do – introducing people to new book friends!!! đ
Thats funny most of the books you love aren’t as well known. Hopefully this post will bring more interest to them.
I hope so too! đ
It’s really sad when one of your favorite books doesn’t get the recognition it deserves! I wish that all books I love got a lot of recognition, but there are just so many books! Nice list! đ
Thanks, Anna!
Rachelle’s novels are charming and well written. Already I’m curious to discover what she has planned next. đ
Great list – and I love the added “twist” you made to your topic this week. As always, thanks for visiting Finding Wonderland. đ
Thanks, Rissi!
That is an impressively low bar for ratings! I thought I was doing well with keeping mine under 600!
lol!
As per always, you have a great list! I saw two or three that would have caught my eye at the store or library. And though I know we aren’t supposed to judge a book by its cover, I’ll admit if it doesn’t grab me, I’m less likely to check it out.
Thanks for stopping by!
I’m the same way!
WOw. I really wish I read more books that weren’t super popular. I could only find a few books I have read and liked under 2000 reviews, much less 50. Good for you!
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