Underrated Books and Authors

I'm so excited to kick off this fun week of underrated books and authors with one of my most favorite book blogger friends Kimberly from Caffeinated Book Reviews. If you haven't checked out her site please do. She offers a wide range of reviews and fun posts every week, there truly is something for everyone and she even has a weekly meme called Nona's Corner where she shares the adorable books she has been reading her grandkids, truly so much cute to see and discover new and fun illustrations and stories for little ones. 

When I asked Kim what books she would want to post about she came up with a fantastic selection, many have been favorites of mine as well so I cant wait to introduce you to them and can't recommend them enough! Thanks so much Kim!

Ali asked me to spotlight books I loved that haven’t gotten the popularity they deserve. I tried to pick titles I have read with less than 1,000 reviews on Goodreads. I hope you decide to try one or all of them.

The Lost Imperials series is a young adult, science fiction. Time traveling steampunk series that is action-packed and will feed your inner “Doctor Who” nerd. Written by Sherry D. Ficklin and Tyler Jolley this series was a blast from beginning to end. 

Book Description:

Welcome to the war.

The Tesla Institute is a premier academy that trains young time travelers called Rifters. Created by Nicola Tesla, the Institute seeks special individuals who can help preserve the time stream against those who try to alter it.

The Hollows is a rogue band of Rifters who tear through time with little care for the consequences. Armed with their own group of lost teens--their only desire to find Tesla and put an end to his corruption of the time stream.

Torn between them are Lex and Ember, two Rifters with no memories of their life before joining the time war.

When Lex’s girlfriend dies during a mission, the only way he can save her is to retrieve the Dox, a piece of tech which allows Rifters to re-enter their own timeline without collapsing the time stream. But the Dox is hidden deep within the Telsa Institute, which means Lex must go into the enemy camp. It’s there he meets Ember, and the past that was stolen from them both comes flooding back.

Now armed with the truth of who they are, Lex and Ember must work together to save the future before the battle for time destroys them both…again.

*Amazon*B&N*

My review: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2013/11/extracted-sherry-d-ficklin-tyler-jolley.html

Next Up: The Light duology by Aleatha Romig is one that I listened to on audio. Narrated by Kevin T. Collins, Erin deWard and Noah Michael Levine, Romig quickly pulled me into the world of a cult and captivated me from the romance to the mystery. 

Book Description:

Sara Adams awakes blind, unable to remember the most basic details of her life, but her darkness seems a blessing when she discovers the terrors of The Light.

Stella Montgomery investigates the news from the mean streets of Detroit, where she’s noticed a disturbing trend: young women are vanishing. When her best friend disappears, Stella digs for answers—despite warnings from her police detective boyfriend—following a twisted trail that leads her through the city’s most dangerous and forsaken precincts. There she uncovers something more sinister than she could have imagined: a shadowy organization known as The Light, led by the enigmatic Father Gabriel.

As Sara struggles to understand her place in the strange world she’s awakened to—an oppressive cult demanding unquestioning obedience—and her feelings for Jacob, the husband she can’t recall and whose harsh and tender attentions confuse and beguile her, Stella risks all to discover the truth. But enlightenment always comes with a price.…

*Amazon*B&N*

My review: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2016/07/light-light-1-aleatha-romig.html

Tiffany Reisz well known for her Original Sinners romances series recently wrote two novels The Bourbon Thief and The Night Mark. Both blew me away! The first Bourbon Thief shares a dark, twisted mystery with betrayal, revenge and family scandal. The second novel, The Night Mark is a time-traveling romance set in 1921. Her writing is exquisite and she quickly pulls you into these well-paced, captivating tales that stay with you, long after you have closed the books. Her stories feel plausible and well researched.  I listened to both and hope she produces more. 

Book Description:

She has nothing to live for in the present, but finds there's something worth dying for in the past…

From Tiffany Reisz, the international bestselling storyteller behind The Bourbon Thief and The Original Sinners series, comes an enthralling new novel about a woman swept away by the tides who awakens to find herself in 1921, reunited with the husband she's been mourning for four years. Fans of Kate Morton and Diana Gabaldon will fall in love with the mystery, romance and beauty of an isolated South Carolina lighthouse, where a power greater than love works its magic.

*Amazon*B&N*

My review: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2017/04/the-night-mark-by-tiffany-reisz.html

Book Description:

When Cooper McQueen wakes up from a night with a beautiful stranger, it's to discover he's been robbed. The only item stolen—a million-dollar bottle of bourbon. The thief, a mysterious woman named Paris, claims the bottle is rightfully hers. After all, the label itself says it's property of the Maddox family who owned and operated Red Thread Bourbon distillery since the last days of the Civil War until the company went out of business for reasons no one knows… No one except Paris. 

In the small hours of a Louisville morning, Paris unspools the lurid tale of Tamara Maddox, heiress to the distillery that became an empire. But the family tree is rooted in tainted soil and has borne rotten fruit. Theirs is a legacy of wealth and power, but also of lies, secrets and sins of omission. The Maddoxes have bourbon in their blood—and blood in their bourbon. Why Paris wants the bottle of Red Thread remains a secret until the truth of her identity is at last revealed, and the century-old vengeance Tamara vowed against her family can finally be completed. 

*Amazon*B&N*

My review: https://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2016/06/bourbon-thief-tiffany-reisz.html

The Immortal Guardian series by Dianne Duvall shares a world of vampires, immortals and humans. Each book contains a romance and there is an overall series arc of good verse evil. Filled with humor, suspense, action and team comradery I devour each book as they are released. 

Book Description:

In this dazzling, sensual novel, Dianne Duvall beckons readers into a world of vampires, immortals, and humans with extraordinary gifts…where passion can last forever, if you’re willing to pay the price…

Once, Sarah Bingham’s biggest challenge was making her students pay attention in class. Now, after rescuing a wounded stranger, she’s landed in the middle of a battle between corrupt vampires and powerful immortals who also need blood to survive. Roland Warbrook is the most compelling man Sarah has ever laid hands on. But his desire for her is mingled with a hunger he can barely control…

In his nine centuries of immortal existence, no woman has tempted Roland as much as Sarah. But asking her to love him is impossible—when it means forfeiting the world she’s always known, and the life he would do anything to protect... 

*Amazon*B&N*

Thank you so much Kimberly for being here today and sharing some of your most favorite series and authors with us! I can't tell you how excited I am to try the ones I haven't read yet either. 

Tomorrow I will have two more great bloggers on here with their choices as well so do come back and check out all the great books and maybe pick up one of two and add them to your pile as well.