I’ve recently seen this post over @Kristin Kraves Books, where she highlighted some books that had less than 5,000 ratings on Goodreads, but which she enjoyed a whole lot. I loved that idea so much and was surprised by how few ratings there were on some of my favorite reads from the past months, which is why I compiled my own list of seriously underrated books! I hope you enjoy it and maybe feel compelled to pick one of them up!
Any Place But Here – 28 ratings
To be fair, this book released less than two weeks ago, but I haven’t really heard of anyone who wanted to pick it up yet. Despite me finding some flaws in the story here and there, I really enjoyed it and want to give you a mini-insight on what to expect from this read:
- photography nerds
- strained family dynamic
- changing relationships/friendships
- exploration of sexuality
- growing up and growing apart
Read my full review here!
The Summer of Broken Rules – 121 ratings
I have the absolute warmest memory of The Summer of Broken Rules and almost wish I could read it anew all over again. Like the previous pick, it’s also only been out in the world for about two weeks, so I expect the ratings to go up, but I still wanted to showcase it early on. I’m going to keep the bullet-point format going for what these books are about, so here are some short teasers:
- big warm family vibes
- feeling like you’re on a vacation
- loss of a loved one
- grief vs. joy
- instant adorably hilarious love connection
Read my full review here!
Soulswift – 627 ratings
This book took my heart by storm and I cannot fathom how there aren’t more people out there who have read it. A lot of the time, due to Fantasy worlds being quite complex, stories like Soulswift tend to be part of a series, but it’s actually a wonderful standalone.
- enemies to lovers
- period talk in Fantasy world
- exploration of faith
- universe in balance
- ending WILL make you cry
- I’m still in pain
Read my full review here!
This Is Not A Ghost Story – 742 ratings
As you all know, I went on a bit of ghost-centric reading binge last year, where almost all books I dealt with had some shape or form of ghosts in them for months. I still don’t think this was intentional, but here we are.
- unique narrator
- slightly creepy
- controversial ending
Read my full review here!
Hana Khan Carries On – 904 ratings
Hana Khan Carries On has been in the world for a month now and I just want to more people to enjoy it. I had such a great time while reading, because Hana is just a fantastic narrator, even when I disagreed on certain things the characters did.
- South East Asian Muslim MC
- Toronto based
- podcast and radio love
- enemies to lovers
- “You’ve Got Mail” vibes
- finding your voice!!
- importance of community
Read my full review here!
Lock & Mori – 2,746 ratings
Lock & Mori is the first book in a trilogy, which showcases a teen version of Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty (a female incarnation in this version) and how they met and became “enemies”. All of it is told from Mori’s POV, which was what originally enticed me to pick it up.
- AU Sherlock/Moriarty
- meet the genius while he was still an awkward teen
- nurture vs. nature
- abusive homelife
- could be a CW TV show
Read my full review here!
Charming as a Verb – 2,965 ratings
I just love Ben Philippe’s books. And I want him to succeed so bad, because that means I get more books! It’s really simple math right here, but he became an auto-buy-author for me the second I first read one of his books.
- Black Haitian own voices rep
- realistic struggle with college applications and senior year
- meet cute that starts with blackmail
- great NYC setting and Montreal mention
- funny banter
Read my full review here!
The Light Between Worlds – 3,140 ratings
When I first read The Light Between Worlds, it destroyed me! It’s not the first book dealing with children who go into a magical land and then have to deal with reality as grown ups, but it hit me really hard. I’m sure I cried through 100 pages straight.
- mental health issues/suicidal ideation
- leaving part of yourself in another place/world
- bond between siblings
- formidable love interests
Read my full review here!
The Epic Crush of Genie Lo – 3,220 ratings
Back in the day I saw everyone talk about The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, but the ratings now do not reflect that at all. I really thought it would have much more, but here we are with it deserving double, triple and whatnot in reality.
- action, romance, comedy
- HILARIOUS
- Chinese folktales and mythology
- balancing school and superpowers
Read my full review here!
Echo North – 3,539 ratings
Echo North is one of those quietly beautiful magical books. It won’t destroy you, but it will leave you whimsical for mirrors that can take you to other worlds and wolves to fall in love with. It borrowed quite a bit from existing fairy tales, but made it completely its own thing.
- lush setting
- fairy tale vibes
- fated love
- just-roll-with-it magic
Read my full review here!
Life and Other Disasters 