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Tuesday, May 03, 2022

Top Ten Tuesday: In a Word


Back in February, I twisted a Top Ten Tuesday topic to create a list of one-word reviews. Several of you suggested I submit the idea to Jana, which explains today's prompt: One-Word Reviews For The Last Ten Books I Read. I'm a very wordy reviewer, so this will be a good exercise in brevity! I also tend to use the same book-describing adjectives over and over, so I'm going to do what I did with my last list and outlaw the words I tend to use most in my reviews: engrossing, fascinating, compelling, heart-warming, enjoyable, tense, fun, depressing, entertaining, and taut (my husband always laughs at me when I use the phrase "taut psychological thriller"). I might need to break out my thesaurus. We'll see.

I'd love to read your one-word reviews, so don't forget to make your own TTT list today. You can find all the info on this fun meme over at That Artsy Reader Girl.

One-Word Reviews For The Last Ten Books I Read


10. The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon:

Twisty


9. The Curse of the Pharaohs by Elizabeth Peters:

Delightful


8. Murder at Beechwood by Alyssa Maxwell:

Diverting


7. The Mothers by Genevieve Gannon:

Slllooowwww


6. The Dead Cat Bounce by Sarah Graves:

Appealing


5. Two Girls Down by Louise Luna:

Nauseating


4. The Dark Intercept by Julia Keller:

Underwhelming


3. The Woman in the Library by Sulari Gentill (available June 7, 2022):

Clever


2. Strong Like the Sea by Wendy S. Swore:

Empowering


1. These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall (available August 9, 2022):

Disappointing

How did I do? Not too bad, eh? Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Which words would you use to describe your last ten reads? I would truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!

69 comments:

  1. I love this prompt!! Tho it was super hard haha :) "Nauseating" sounds like it would be tough to read, I will stay clear of that one! But The Curse of the Pharaohs sounds cool!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This prompt is harder than it seems, huh? Brevity is just not my strong suit!

      To be fair, TWO GIRLS DOWN isn't ENTIRELY nauseating, but the Big Reveal certainly is. At times, this book made me feel physically ill, so yeah...THE CURSE OF THE PHARAOHS is the second book in a really fun series. I recommend it.

      Thanks for popping in!

      Delete
  2. Now you got me curious about these books!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joy!! I'm so glad you commented. I've missed you. It's been too long since I've visited your blog, so thanks for the reminder :)

      If you do read any of these books, be sure to let me know what you think. It's always fun to compare notes.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting!

      Delete
  3. I have read none of these. Great reviews, Susan. 😊 I didn't do as well as you did.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You did great! Describing a book in one word is really tough. Brevity is definitely not my strong suit, ha ha.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Carla!

      Delete
  4. I knew it was you we'd have to "thank" for this. LOL. I always find it heard to keep anything short. But I managed.

    Here is my TTT this week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha. Sorry! I'm the same way - always wordy. This was a good exercise for me, but it wasn't easy!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marianne!

      Delete
  5. I have not read any of these. I loved this topic idea though!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed the topic! I've loved reading everyone's responses to it.

      Thanks for stopping in, Hannah!

      Delete
  6. I love that you chose this one, Susan, but dang, it turned out to be difficult, as you say, to distill a read down into one word. Nonetheless, fun!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? It's a lot harder than it sounds!

      Thanks for coming by and commenting. Your comment is anonymous, so I don't know if I visited you back or not. If not, let me know and I will.

      Delete
  7. Clever books are so much fun to read!

    My post: https://lydiaschoch.com/top-ten-tuesday-one-word-reviews-for-the-last-ten-books-i-read/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I especially love clever mysteries! They're the best.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lydia!

      Delete
  8. Slowwww and nauseating are two words that make me want to run far, far away from a book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha. Right? The hard part about one-word reviews is not being able to explain. "Slllooowww" and "nauseating" don't describe every part of the book, but they're the adjectives that came most readily to mind when I thought of these particular titles.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deanna!

      Delete
  9. Oh dear, I have The Mothers on my TBR

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Uh oh! The premise is super interesting, so I expected the book to have a lot more action and development. For me, though, it was mostly just boring. I hope you like it better than I did.

      Thanks for popping by, Louise!

      Delete
  10. I will admit this one was deceptive -- oh, I should be able to do this easily, I think. And then it took a bit of creativity. I loved it.

    https://nashvillebookworm.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/top-ten-tuesday-one-word-reviews/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha. I know! Describing a book in one word is a lot tougher than it seems. I mostly went with the first word that popped into my head for each title, but I did change some of them when a better word occurred to me. It's funny how sometimes one word says everything and sometimes it just isn't enough!

      Thanks for stopping in, Michael!

      Delete
  11. Good work--not sure about the title Dead Cat Bounce though! lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So, it's actually a stock market term that refers to a temporary bounce back in the price of shares after a fall. The book's main character is a former NYC money guru. It's a strange term, but it does make for an eye-catching title, doesn't it?

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  12. Guess I'll be skipping THE MOTHERS. Ha! I thought this was a fun activity though I had a hard time limiting myself to just one word (and sort of failed at it a few times.) One Word Reviews

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The sad thing is, THE MOTHERS actually has a super intriguing premise. That's the reason I picked it up. Unfortunately, the book's execution was just very lackluster. I found the story really slow and boring, although I did finish it. I hope you like it better than I did if you end up reading it.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Anne!

      Delete
  13. I haven't read these particular books, but I have read others by Elizabeth Peters and I agree with the "delightful" review. I'm admittedly amused/concerned by the description of The Dead Cat Bounce as "Appealing" though... that word does not really fit the out-of-context title... ;-)

    My TTT: https://bookwyrmknits.com/2022/05/03/top-ten-tuesday-one-word-reviews/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Peters' books are super fun, aren't they? The Amelia Peabody series just makes me laugh. I'm especially enjoying listening to them on audio.

      I explained what a "dead cat bounce" is in a comment above. I'd never heard of it before and, I agree, it's a weird term. Definitely makes for a memorable title, though!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!

      Delete
  14. Oh, look, you to found Two Girls Down a crap read. This really was bad. And I won't be reading Julie Keller again either.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I mean, I didn't hate everything about it, but on the whole, it wasn't a great read for me. I kept asking myself, "Why am I still reading this?" Then, the Big Reveal just turned my stomach. Ugh.

      Yeah, I'm not going to continue with THE DARK INTERCEPT series. I do, however, really like Keller's Bell Elkins mystery series. Have you read that one?

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Alex!

      Delete
  15. Nice review. I can just imagine a book that was described as Nauseating

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I mean, every page wasn't nauseating, but just the whole idea of what was going on in the story...ick, ick, ick. I should have known to avoid abduction books...

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Wendy!

      Delete
  16. It was fun to see that this week's prompt came from you! I feel like I need to crack that thesaurus, too, since I tend to fall back on the same descriptions in reviews. I love seeing delightful and empowering. But nauseating... oh my.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, I definitely have my favorite adjectives and use them over and over and over. I need some new ones, so this topic has been very helpful!

      I'm still not sure why I didn't just DNF TWO GIRLS DOWN. I should have.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Tanya!

      Delete
  17. Thank you for submitting this prompt. I really enjoyed this week, and it was a bit quicker than usual which benefited me because I've been submerged in revision for exams and assessments so I could get it done faster and stay on top of everything!

    Zoë x

    My TTT: https://zbestbooks.blogspot.com/2022/05/top-ten-tuesday-one-word-reviews-for.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, good! I'm glad the topic worked so well for you this week. My week's been super busy with stuff for our house remodel, so it worked really well for me, too. Sometimes it's nice to just have an easy topic - although this one wasn't actually as easy as it seemed!

      Thanks for popping in, Zoe, and best of luck with your exams and assessments!

      Delete
  18. This was such a fun prompt, so thanks for the suggestion! Haha, Slllooowwww definitely says it all :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad everyone has enjoyed the prompt so much! I'm happy I submitted it because it has been super fun to read everyone's responses this week.

      Yeah, I could also have used "disappointed" for THE MOTHERS because it has such an intriguing premise that I really thought it was going to be a tense, engrossing read and it just...wasn't. Bummer.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lindsey!

      Delete
  19. Great word choices today! I'm so glad you submitted your prompt to Jana. It was so fun and I'm enjoying reading everyone else's words too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree! It has been really fun to read everyone's posts this week. It's amazing to see the variety of words people chose and how much can be conveyed in just one little word!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jenni!

      Delete
  20. That was so much harder than I thought it was going to be, but so much fun so thank you for the prompt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right? It's harder than it seems. I agree, though, it's kind of a fun exercise!

      Thanks for popping in, Cassie!

      Delete
  21. Ooh...diverting! That's a good one. I'm going to have to remember that one. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm pretty sure I found that one in the thesaurus when I was looking up alternatives to "entertaining," which is a word I use CONSTANTLY in my reviews. It's nice to change it up every once in a while :)

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lark!

      Delete
  22. It was definitely a tricky one you came up with, but ended up being quite interesting to do!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2022/05/03/top-ten-tuesday-366/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha. It was, wasn't it? I'm glad everyone is having so much fun with the prompt!

      Thanks for stopping in, Jo!

      Delete
  23. You did great, I like you word choices. I like underwhelming.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "Underwhelming" is one I actually use a lot, but it's just SOOO apt sometimes! LOL.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cindy!

      Delete
  24. Congrats, on your topic being chosen!! It was a lot of fun and I might make a "a review" post of one words.. hahaha! Nauseating is one that sounds like it would be hard to read. I'm glad you did have an empowering one though!! <3

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was thinking the same thing. Doing a bunch of one-word reviews would be a quick (but not necessarily easy) way to catch up on all the to-be-written reviews I have stacking up. It's hard for a wordy reviewer like me, though!

      Yes, TWO GIRLS DOWN is a hard read in many ways. I should have DNF'd it. And I do like empowering reads. I find that a lot of MG books could be described that way.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leslie!

      Delete
  25. I kept finding myself thinking of a word to DESCRIBE the book not review it! But, I persevered. I just got an ARC for Woman in the Library so will be reading it soon. I like underwhelming...wish I'd thought of it! Thanks for the visit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, hey, the nice thing about TTT is you can twist a topic in any way you choose!

      I hope you like THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY. It's different than I thought it would be. I was expecting more of a locked-room mystery. Still, I found it to be clever and fun. I need to read more of the author's books.

      Thanks for popping in, Terrie!

      Delete
  26. I haven't heard of any of these books but, I'm curious to read them.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy the ones you choose to read. Definitely come back and let me know what you think of them!

      Thanks for stopping by, Marianna!

      Delete
  27. I think I need to look for Woman in the Library. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on these. It helps me decide quickly on some books I've been thinking about.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY is a good one. Like I said above, it wasn't exactly what I was expecting, but it was clever and fun. It also has kind of a unique format, which made it even more interesting. I hope you enjoy it!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deb!

      Delete
  28. Good word choices. I am enjoying seeing how people sum up a book in one word.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am, too! I had no idea when I submitted this prompt that it would be such a fun one for everyone. I'm glad no one's cursing my name this week. Ha ha.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Helen!

      Delete
  29. Ohhh, your chosen words are GREAT! I especially liked "nauseating" and "diverting". Love it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! It's tough coming up with new descriptors instead of just relying on the same ole same ole ones I always use. Thank goodness for thesaurus.com. Ha ha.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Christine!

      Delete
  30. Underwhelming is such a great choice.

    And I am intrigued by The Children on the Hill. I hope to get to it soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, I seem to read a lot of underwhelming books :(

      Jennifer McMahon can always be relied on for fun, creepy reads. THE CHILDREN ON THE HILL isn't my favorite of hers, but it's still a compelling read. I hope you enjoy it.

      Thanks for popping by, Michael!

      Delete
  31. I'm so glad you suggested this prompt. I have to say, it was harder to do than I thought it would be. I kept wanting to put entire sentences! You've got some great word choices, my favorite is "nauseating".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Even a one-sentence review would be tough for me! I'm just a long-winded writer, apparently. Ha ha.

      Thanks for stopping by, Sara!

      Delete
  32. Thank you for this challenging prompt!! I recall seeing your first one-word reviews post here and marveled at that.. Love your chosen one-words!! And I have been eyeing 'The Women in the Library', now I want to read it. My TTT is here

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, it's not as easy as it seems! I keep wanting to explain my answers instead of just letting them speak for themselves. Ha ha.

      THE WOMAN IN THE LIBRARY is a fun one. I hope you enjoy it!

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting!

      Delete
  33. I haven't read any of these, but a book described as "delightful" is one that I would like to know more about

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same! I'm always drawn to books that are described as "delightful." I need to read more of them since I also seem to be drawn to dark, depressing reads. LOL.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!

      Delete
  34. What a great hook for Strong Like the Sea. And honestly, "slow" is kind of what I suspected about The Mothers when I read its synopsis, so I guess I'll be avoiding that one. I guess sometimes one word is really all it takes!

    Conversely: I definitely feel leery about Two Girls Down from that one-word descriptor, but curiosity compelled and upon reading your full review, I might actually check that one out. I've braved Val McDermid for a good partnership and I will do it again. Good to know what I'm getting myself into, though.

    It was really fun to read through this kind of post again. :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Really? The central conflict in THE MOTHERS is a fraught, emotional one so I thought the plot would be more intense. I was disappointed that it turned out to be so boring.

      Gritty mystery/thrillers don't always bother me, but my discomfort/distaste with kidnapping/hostage plots has definitely been growing. I need to avoid them because I feel like I just can't handle them anymore. I'm getting very sensitive in my old age! LOL.

      Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, RS!

      Delete
  35. LOVE your one word reviews! Sometimes one word says it all!

    ReplyDelete

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End of Story by A.J. Finn

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