Top Ten Tuesday- Top Ten Books I Meant To Get To In 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme/feature hosted here at The Broke and the Bookish. The topic this week is Top Ten Books I Meant To Get To In 2017. I sure do have plenty of those for a list, but I narrowed it down to ten and hopefully I will get to them all this year! 

*Click on the covers to view on Goodreads.*

1. Beautiful Broken Girls 

2. Throne of Fire

3. The Hammer of Thor

4. Harry Potter and The Cursed Child 

5. Strange the Dreamer 

6. The Crown's Fate 

7. Inside the Victorian Home 

8. The Guest Room

9. The Shadow of the Wind 

10. The Dark Lake 

Here's a picture with some of the books on my list and a few of the other books (including re-reads) that I want to get to ASAP. Also, I may have bought a few books that are now on the top of my TBR list too.

Anyway, I'll do a book haul post later in the week or next week and I think at that time I'll make a complete TBR list that I will do my best not to deviate from. I need help and an intervention obviously! LOL!

That's it for my Top Ten Books I Meant To Get To In 2017! What is on the top of your list that you didn't get to in 2017? Also, do you have plans to get to them ASAP or just whenever you get around to it? Oh, and does anyone have any good tips to help stick to a TBR? 

MINI REVIEWS!! The Birds & Other Stories By: Daphne Du Maurier & Feel Me Break By: Tara R.

Sorry, no memes this week! 

My overall rating for The Birds & Other Stories is 4 stars, but since it is a collection of stories I decided to also rate the stories individually. 

The Birds

5 Stars

I LOVED this one. I grew up watching the Alfred Hitchcock movie for The Birds, but I never knew it was a story first until a few years ago. Since then I've been meaning to read it and I finally got around to it! As much as I loved it I can't say it's better than the movie. I really enjoyed the movie and story equally. 

#BirdsScareMe

Monte Verita

2 Stars

This one was a little bit meh for me. It was kind of slow and just an okay story. It wasn't bad, but not great either. It was also very long so it did drag on and on. 

#OnAndOnAndOn

The Apple Tree

4.5 Stars

I originally was going to give this one 4 stars without the other half star, but after some time went by I kept thinking about it. This a story that is good while reading it, but ends up great because it stays in your mind.

#StillThinkingAboutIt

The Little Photographer 

3 Stars

This one was like Monte Verita for me. It wasn't bad, but not terrific either. I did like it better than Monte Verita, but it wasn't as long either. 

#JustOkay

Kiss Me Again, Stranger

4 Stars

How could I not like this one? The line, "Kiss Me Again, Stranger" alone is just magnificent. 

#LoveThatLine

The Old Man

4 Stars

This story started off a little blah, but then I did like the ending. Even though it was pretty odd. It was a bit out of nowhere and it reminded me of The Lottery by Shirley Jackson. Which I LOVE, so I ended up really enjoying this one. 

#ThatEndingGotMeLikeWHAT?!

Overall The Birds & Other Stories is a pretty great set of gothic stories. The Birds is my favorite story in the book of course, but there are other good ones too that make this worth a read. As always with collections of stories there are always a few that you just don't care for as much as others. 

#ILoveGothicStories

I recommend The Birds & Other Stories for fans of Shirley Jackson, Poe, and Daphne Du Maurier's Rebecca. This is a perfect book for fans of gothic reads.

#HellYesIRecommendIt

Thank you to the author for providing an ebook copy of Feel Me Break in exchange for an honest review! 

As you all may know by now I am not really a novella reader. However the summary of Feel Me Break really stood out to me and so I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed it. There is a whole lot of emotions packed into this novella! 

#EMOTIONAL

The author did let me know that this is a prequel novella (with cliffhanger) and that there will be a full length novel coming out. I am so HAPPY that there will be a full length novel because after reading this I really need it. My favorite thing about this novella is Chloe and Nick's characters. Gosh, they just had such good chemistry and I like both of them. Also, the writing is just beautiful and drew me in from page one. Which let's face it is a must for such a short read!

#BeauifulWritingAndGreatChemistry

Overall Feel Me Break is a fantastic novella. I can't wait for the full length novel, Watch Me Rise. I need to know what happens to Chloe and Nick! I feel like it left off right as it was getting to all of the really GOOD stuff. Feel Me Break certainly left me wanting more that's for sure. 

#TheEndingOMGTheEnding

I recommend Feel Me Break for all New Adult fans. This is such a fast read and it's only $0.99 on Amazon right now! If you love New Adult books then I say why not try this one before Watch Me Rise comes out.

#CallingAllNewAdultReaders!

View on Amazon

Of Mice and Men By: John Steinbeck Mini Review

I don't really know what I could say about this book that hasn't already been said. I think this is one that a lot of people read while in high school. I didn't read it in high school like a lot of other classics because my sophomore year I stopped going to public high school and did home school. I ended up graduating a year early and that was great, but I sure did miss out on some classics I would have loved to read at school. Like this one!

Of Mice and Men is a great classic book. It's super short, the writing is superb, and the story is emotional. There is something about Steinbeck's writing that just really made this story. This book could have easily been a throw away novel, a piece of garbage, but the words chosen just really make this book for me. Another thing I enjoyed is the connection I had with Lennie and George. Now I'm not saying I LIKED them, but I FELT for them and sometimes that is more important. I really did feel bad for both Lennie and George.

Overall I really liked Of Mice and Men. There is so much impact in such a short story and I love books like that. My husband has been telling me for years to read this one and I just never have. I'm glad I finally did and thanks to my local library sale last year I got this book for like $0.50!

I recommend Of Mice and Men for anyone looking for a short read, anyone willing to give a classic a try, and for fans of Flowers for Algernon.

The Collected Poems By: Sylvia Plath Mini Review

I really enjoyed reading Sylvia Plath's poetry. Ever since I read The Bell Jar (and then googled Sylvia and learned more about her) I have been fascinated by her life and her work. I also loved her book of unabridged journals. So when I saw there was a book of her poetry I just had to buy it and read it.

Sylvia Plath's writing is just so addicting. Everything flows beautifully and I just loved so many of these poems. I had such a great time reading this book while I was out relaxing in a cabin in the woods. I still wish I was there on vacation reading this book of poetry.

These poems are just so emotional and honest. They speak to me as a woman. There is just something about Sylvia Plath's writing that I connect with at the very core of myself. I'm sure some psychiatrist would have a field day with that, but there it is. 

Overall I thought The Collected Poems of Sylvia Plath was a great book of poetry that I would recommend to all Sylvia Plath fans, even if you aren't a poetry fan.