Top 5 Wednesday | Favorite Underrated Books

~ Azia

The last Top 5 Wednesday of January 2017, my friends!

Top 5 Wednesday is a weekly book meme that was started by Ginger Reads Lainey and is now being looked after by Thoughts on Tomes. The topics can be found on Goodreads.

This week’s topic: Favorite Underrated Books

According to Goodreads: Give some love to those books that aren’t as widely talked about. Those hidden gems. Those books that maybe used to be popular but people have forgotten about and they still deserve some love.

I’ve got quite a few of these on my list! These aren’t necessarily my top five, as I can’t really choose, but they’re definitely some of my top picks.

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Sword of Shannara | Terry Brooks

On my mother’s recommendation, I began reading the Shannara books in high school as a substitute to The Lord of the Rings. I quickly fell in love with Brooks’s world and characters. The Elfstones of Shannara is obviously the most popular of the original trilogy (it’s my favorite as well), but The Sword of Shannara is the gateway book to the Shannara series. It’s a wonderfully exciting book with lovable characters, and I think it deserves some love if not more than that of its successors.

Scorpio Races

The Scorpio Races | Maggie Steifvater

The Raven Cycle series is Stiefvater’s most popular books and they are currently a relevant topic in the bookish community. I read The Raven Boys and wasn’t immediately blown away by it, and so I haven’t read the rest of the books just yet. In my honest opinion, though, The Scorpio Races is Steifvater’s best work in terms of character development and plot execution. Every aspect of this book is purposeful and thoughtfully done. I love this book and I really want others to notice its brilliance and to fall in love with it, too!

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Glimmerglass | Jenna Black

I read this series back in my faerie phase in high school. I was reading faerie themed books left and right and I eventually stumbled across Glimmerglass on my e-reader. It got pretty high ratings and so I gave it a chance. I’m insanely happy that I did because it’s become one of my favorite faerie themed books. It’s got drama, romance, action, humor, and some really great characters. Needless to say, I highly recommend this one to those who haven’t read the series!

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Pendragon | D.J. MacHale

I read this series as a substitute to Harry Potter and though it probably doesn’t match up to that mega series, it still does all right on it’s own. D.J. MacHale does wonderfully in creating multiple universes and dimensions, and his protagonist, Bobby Pendragon, is so lovable, you’ll want to read every last book to follow him unto the end of his adventures.

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Persuasion | Jane Austen

I feel that if Pride and Prejudice hadn’t been published, Persuasion would be the book that everybody couldn’t stop talking about. Or maybe I’m just biased. Persuasion is my second favorite book from Austen (P&P being the first, of course), and I mostly love it for the sophisticated story line and well-developed characters. In all honesty, I believe it is superbly written and is much more mature than Pride and Prejudice.

Honorable Mentions

 

Eon | Alison Goodman || The Paladin Prophecy | Mark Frost || Artemis Fowl | Eoin Colfer || Tithe | Holly Black || The Iron King | Julie Kagawa || Half Bad | Sally Green

30 thoughts on “Top 5 Wednesday | Favorite Underrated Books”

  1. Great picks for this week Azia, I haven’t read any of these myself (other than Half Bad obviously) so from my point of view they definitely count as underrated books! I do have The Scorpio Races on my to-read list though. I haven’t seen many, if any, reviews for it but I loved Maggie Steifvater’s Raven Cycle series so I need to get around to the rest of her books one day soon. The Iron King is another book still on my to-read list, which has been on there ages as well, so hopefully I’ll be able to get around to it soon ad hopefully I’ll enjoy them both as much as you did! 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Beth! 😊 And out of all the ones on the list, The Scorpio Races is my definite favorite. I highly recommend you bump that one up on your list (*hint, hint*). And the Iron Fey books remain to be my favorite YA fae series. I thought they were really good, but that was when I was younger. I’ll have to reread them to make sure that the series is as good as I think it is LOL. I hope you can get to them soon! I’d love to hear your thoughts on them 😀

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      1. That’s all right! 😀 Don’t worry, that hint has been received and I will make a definite effort to get around to it soon, if not February then definitely March!
        Well either way that’s high praise, hopefully you’ll find you enjoy them just as much when to re-read them as well. And hopefully I’ll enjoy them as much too, of course I’ll let you know when I start and finish them all! 😀 ❤

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    1. Yay! I’m so glad you loved that book, too 😀 Sadly, I never got around to reading Eona, but it’s on my list! I’ll have to read it soon if you think it’s possibly better than the first 🙂

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    1. The books are phenomenal, especially the original trilogy (Sword of Shannara, Elfstones of Shannara, and Wishsong of Shannara). The TV show is based off the Elfstones, but I think the first book was pretty amazing, too. I still have to finish the first season! I think the cinematography is great 🙂

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      1. Yup, I really liked it. Can’t wait for season 2 (if they’re doing it, because I haven’t heard a thing about it :/ )
        Thanks for pointing out the order of the books – once I saw the second book and thought it was the first, I don’t even think we have the translated version of the first book here xD

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      2. I haven’t heard anything either. There’s speculation the second season will be released in the summer. Hope it does come back though. I’m curious to see if they jumped ahead to the events of Wishsong.
        No problem! The order can get a little confusing, especially considering how many books there are in the entire series so far. And that’s too bad! I hope they get on that soon. It’s such an enjoyable book! I hope you get around to it one day 🙂

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      3. I think they only translated the second book because of the tv show. And right now I’m satisfied with the tv show, so I don’t think I’ll read the books in the next few years – I feel the same with Game of Thrones and Outlander, right now I’m currently watching the tv shows, so I’m not really interested in the books, but I’ll maybe read them in the future :/
        Thanks, tho 🙂

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      4. I guess that makes sense. And I love Outlander! I don’t feel the need to read the books for them just yet, either. Same for GoT! Hope you’re enjoying those shows so far! 🙂

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  4. I’ve only read The Scorpio Races and The Iron King and I completely agree that they’re so underrated! Especially The Iron King. I think I’ve only come across a handful, if that, of people who have read the series. Which is a shame since the series is so great and I wish it got more recognition. Great picks, Azia!! 😁

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    1. It makes me so sad that not many people have read Scorpio Races or Iron Fey. They’re such great books 😀 Hopefully, if we keep mentioning them, someone will pick them up LOL. Thanks, Melissa! 😊

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    1. I personally think it’s a great book but not comparable to the Raven Boys because the plot is so different. But I think it had great characters and strong writing. I haven’t finished the Raven Cycle just yet but the 1st book didn’t blow me away. I thought the plot was a little strange too haha. I plan to finish the series though 🙂

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      2. Yas! And hh my goodness, I LOVE Wicked Lovely. Such a great series. Haven’t stopped loving the fae ever since I read that series and Julie Kagawa’s Iron Fey!

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