Top Ten Books I Loved but Never Reviewed

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.

This is my first time participating in Top Ten Tuesday. I usually either remember too late and do not have time to do the post, or I cannot compile a long enough list.

However, I cannot resist today’s topic. I am even going to cheat and include trilogies/series. I did not review most of the books I mention because I read them before I started blogging. I am planning on rereading some of these books and review them, as they are among my favourite books.

1. The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien: Everybody who reads my blog knows how much I LOVE the LOTR. I write some reflections on it every month as I‘m participating in the LOTR Read-Along, but I have never written an actual review. I simply can’t. There is too much too say and I love this book so much I just cannot put my feelings about it into words. Especially not in short. 

2. The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien: I read it a couple of times. The complexity of the history and the world Tolkien created is overwhelming. I just cannot get around reviewing it. 

3. Eucalyptus by Murray Bail: Australia. Lots of eucalyptus trees. A love story. The first time I read it the ending virtually swept me off my feet, and then I turned it around and started reading it again immediately. 

4. The Clan of the Cave Bear by Jean M. Auel: The first book in Earth Children series is amazing, I could in a way identify with Ayla, the main character, being the odd person among “her” people, and I really admired her ability to cope and survive. 

5. His Dark Materials trilogy by Philipp Pullman: It is a fascinating world and it made me think about many religious issues. Brilliant. 

6. The Blue Bicycle by Regine Deforges: This was introduced to me by a friend of mine when I was around fifteen. It is not an age I would personally recommend this book to be read at, but I was always reading ahead of what was supposed to be appropriate for my age. I am glad I first read this book when I did (I have reread it since and the sequels), though it contains violence and sex, I was mature enough to handle it, though. It was the first WW II novel I read and it opened to me a whole new perspective on the WW II issues. I still think it, together with other books in Blue Bicycle series, is one of the best WW II novels ever written. 

7. The Devil on Horseback by Victoria Holt: This combination of romance and the French Revolution is my favourite of Victoria Holt’s novels, and I read a lot of them.  

8. Circle trilogy (Morrigan’s Cross, Dance of the Gods, Valley of Silence) by Nora Roberts: My favourite of Nora Robert’s trilogies so far. Vampires (with one exception) are the bad guys (no, really?). There is an epic battle between humans and vampires, plus you have gods, witches, dragons, magic, a fantasy world, time-travel, and love. Must read if you like fantasy genre. 

9. The Wolf and the Dove by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss: A historical romance taking place in the eleventh century England. Again, I cannot put the feelings into words – the plot and the characters are fabulous.  

10. The Book of Love (Magdalene Line Trilogy #2) by Kathleen McGowan: I grabbed it accidentally, having no idea it is a part of a trilogy until I was about 30 pages in, but it can be read as a stand-alone. I love it for Matilda of Tuscany, one of the main protagonists, who is an extraordinary female character. I actually wrote a review and lost it due to my computer crashing.