This Top 5 series started back in October 2018 and it has grown really big! This is a series of books that all have a common theme. I post the schedule for the next month the last week of the prior month. You can talk about books you want to read or books you have read and all prompts are open for interpretation! Feel free to get as creative as you want with the prompts.
If you haven’t noticed I have been on a bit of a blogging hiatus. I have been having a hard time balancing my life and blogging lately and I just haven’t been posting. I’ve been pretty busy and then I got sick and had to get tested for COVID-19. Good news is that I don’t have COVID-19 and I’m going to try and get back to my regular posting schedule. My mental and physical health had to come first.
Upcoming Schedule!
September 12th, 2020 — Science Fiction Books
September 19th, 2020 — Award Winning Books
September 26th, 2020 — Guilty Pleasure Reads
October 3rd, 2020 — Intimidating Books
Rules!
- Share your top 5 books of the current topic– these can be books that you want to read, have read and loved, have read and hated, you can do it any way you want.
- Tag the original post (This one!)
- Tag 5 people — So that more people can join us!!
Science Fiction
Science fiction used to be my favorite genre, but I’ve gotten away from it in recent years. The thing that is so fascinating about science fiction is that the technology or developments in the books can feel possible. With as much technology as we have today it’s easy to imagine futures with wild advancements or space ships that travel to other planets. I tend to love reading science fiction where things go wrong, books that are on the edge of between sci-fi and dystopia. When I was looking up books for this week’s topic I found that there were so many sci-fi books that I was interested in and I really started questioning why I don’t read the genre as much as I used to!
Perfected by Kate Jarvik Birch
Perfection comes at a price.
As soon as the government passed legislation allowing humans to be genetically engineered and sold as pets, the rich and powerful rushed to own beautiful girls like Ella. Trained from birth to be graceful, demure, and above all, perfect, these “family companions” enter their masters’ homes prepared to live a life of idle luxury.
Ella is happy with her new role as playmate for a congressman’s bubbly young daughter, but she doesn’t expect Penn, the congressman’s handsome and rebellious son. He’s the only person who sees beyond the perfect exterior to the girl within. Falling for him goes against every rule she knows… and the freedom she finds with him is intoxicating.
But when Ella is kidnapped and thrust into the dark underworld lurking beneath her pampered life, she’s faced with an unthinkable choice. Because the only thing more dangerous than staying with Penn’s family is leaving… and if she’s unsuccessful, she’ll face a fate far worse than death.
For fans of Kiera Cass’ Selection series and Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series, Perfected is a chilling look at what it means to be human, and a stunning celebration of the power of love to set us free, wrapped in a glamorous—and dangerous—bow.
Genetically engineered humans is a topic I find incredibly interesting. The idea of humans sold as pets is extremely disturbing, but then I remember that slavery actually happened. I love books like this that shine a light on an issue indirectly and can’t wait to read it!
Illusive by Emily Lloyd-Jones
THEY ARE YOUNG.
THEY ARE CRIMINALS.
THEY ARE IMMUNE.
When the MK virus swept across the planet, a vaccine was created to stop the epidemic, but it came with some unexpected side effects. A small percentage of the population developed superhero-like powers, and Americans suffering from these so-called adverse effects were given an ultimatum: Serve the country or be declared a traitor.
Some people chose a third option: live a life of crime.
Seventeen-year-old Ciere Giba has the handy ability to change her appearance at will. She’s what’s known as an illusionist. She’s also a thief. After crossing a gang of mobsters, Ciere must team up with a group of fellow superpowered criminals on a job that most would have considered impossible: a hunt for the formula that gave them their abilities. It was supposedly destroyed years ago – but what if it wasn’t?
Government agents are hot on their trail, and the lines between good and bad, us and them, and freedom and entrapment are blurred as Ciere and the rest of her crew become embroiled in a deadly race that could cost them their lives.
I discovered this book when I was looking for sci-fi books for this post and the blurb caught my attention right away. I love books about criminals and morally grey characters, but this book also has a superhero spin, so that could be interesting. I’ve also found it interesting just how many books there are out there about pandemics or viruses that change the world, now that COVID-19 has hit I feel like as a reader I would have a new perspective with these kinds of books.
These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
It’s a night like any other on board the Icarus. Then, catastrophe strikes: the massive luxury spaceliner is yanked out of hyperspace and plummets into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive. And they seem to be alone.
Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a young war hero who learned long ago that girls like Lilac are more trouble than they’re worth. But with only each other to rely on, Lilac and Tarver must work together, making a tortuous journey across the eerie, deserted terrain to seek help.
Then, against all odds, Lilac and Tarver find a strange blessing in the tragedy that has thrown them into each other’s arms. Without the hope of a future together in their own world, they begin to wonder—would they be better off staying here forever?
Everything changes when they uncover the truth behind the chilling whispers that haunt their every step. Lilac and Tarver may find a way off this planet. But they won’t be the same people who landed on it.
The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.
I’ve owned a copy of this book for a couple years now, but for some reason I still haven’t read it. I don’t read a ton of novels with space settings, but I can’t help but be drawn to this book. Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner are now both big names, yet I still haven’t read books by either of them. This book has also gotten so many rave reviews from my Goodreads friends that I feel like it’s really time for me to check it out.
Uninvited by Sophie Jordan
When Davy Hamilton’s tests come back positive for Homicidal Tendency Syndrome (HTS)—aka the kill gene—she loses everything. Her boyfriend ditches her, her parents are scared of her, and she can forget about her bright future at Juilliard. Davy doesn’t feel any different, but genes don’t lie. One day she will kill someone.
Only Sean, a fellow HTS carrier, can relate to her new life. Davy wants to trust him; maybe he’s not as dangerous as he seems. Or maybe Davy is just as deadly.
The cover of this book caught my attention a while back, I think that it is super creative. But the blurb also sounds really interesting. This book will probably get me thinking about nature versus nurture. The reviews I’ve read claim that this book is a bit dark, rather unique and action packed. Count me in!
The Kingdom by Jess Rothenberg
Welcome to the Kingdom… where ‘Happily Ever After’ isn’t just a promise, but a rule.
Glimmering like a jewel behind its gateway, The Kingdom is an immersive fantasy theme park where guests soar on virtual dragons, castles loom like giants, and bioengineered species–formerly extinct–roam free.
Ana is one of seven Fantasists, beautiful “princesses” engineered to make dreams come true. When she meets park employee Owen, Ana begins to experience emotions beyond her programming including, for the first time… love.
But the fairytale becomes a nightmare when Ana is accused of murdering Owen, igniting the trial of the century. Through courtroom testimony, interviews, and Ana’s memories of Owen, emerges a tale of love, lies, and cruelty–and what it truly means to be human.
This book looks wild. The theme park sounds like the Disney World of the future and it seems like there is also a bit of mystery to the plot. It sounds like this book is really about the darkness behind the fantasy of the theme park and I’m totally intrigued by that idea.
Tagged! Join us this week or next!
Marta @ The Book Mermaid
Stefanie @ The Magic of Wor(l)ds
Stephanie @ Between The Folded Pages
Kaili @ Entertaingly Nerdy
Jennifer @ Moonlight Rendezvous
Check out other book blogger’s top 5!
Dini @ Dinipandareads — Top 5 Saturday: Science Fiction Books
Let’s Chat!
What are some of your favorite sci-fi books? What do you love about science fiction books? Have you read any of the book on my list? What did you think? Which book off of this list do you think I should read first? Make sure to comment below so we can chat about sci-fi books!
Devouring Books 
I’m glad to hear that you don’t have COVID but I do hope that you feel better soon! Your mental and physical health is always a priority 🙂 Take care of yourself ❤️
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Thank you love! I really needed to take a break from everything for a little bit. Sometimes it’s all overwhelming. But yes, I’m so happy that I didn’t get covid. Mentally I’m doing a lot better too, so YAY!
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So glad you are on the mend – and negative for covid. Please take care of yourself xx
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Thank you! Sometimes life just becomes too much. SO happy not to have gotten covid. I’d just like to make it out of this pandemic already!
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Illusive sounds so interesting! And… timely…
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LOL I knowww! There are so many books out there in the sci fi genre about viruses and pandemics and it’s just like… this is too real! But I think that gives me a whole new perspective now as a reader on those types of books.
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