Let's Talk: Underrated Books on the Market

Let's Talk is a weekly feature here at i swim for oceans. I think it's important that we all have our say, and there's something to be said for raising our voices. Simply put, here on the little old blog, I like to host some of my very own discussion posts because, well, I like to converse with you all.

And so, Let's Talk will feature questions or prompts, which I will answer, too. Love it or hate it, weigh in or don't, it's my hope that Let's Talk will at least get you thinking...and maybe even get you discussing with the rest of us!

What underrated books have you read that you wish more bloggers would highlight and review?

There are so many books on the market - in all genres - that it's an impossibility to even think about reading them all, but let's be honest. We've all read some of those books that absolutely blow us away, yet nobody else seems to read or review them. Why is this? I'll never really know, but the great thing about book blogging is that we have the chance to share some of our favourites with others and recommend what we think they might just be missing. Here's your chance, people! Tell me what I'm missing out on!

I don't read too many books from the male perspective simply because, well, I'm a girl. I find it pretty difficult to get in a guy's shoes unless the author manages to breach that divide and make the male MC's voice and characterization truly transparent and accessible to the female audience. E.C. Myers totally blew me away with this book for multiple reasons. First of all, the concept is both engaging and unnerving. A magic coin? Unforeseeable consequences? Losing yourself to an inanimate object? Yeah, Fair Coin has all of that and so much more. Above all else though, this book is adventurous and fun, taking a new twist on sci-fi and fantasy and becoming a pretty amazing setup to a new series. I find it pretty hard to get invested in series with the amount of books I read and review these days, but let me tell you...this is worth the investment. 

You guys have probably all heard me rave about Raw Blue by Kirsty Eagar because - and let's be real here for a second - that book is pretty much perfection in terms of contemporary fiction. It seems as thought Night Beach has taken the back seat to her more famous title though and, while I get it, it's saddening. The great thing about this book is that the author isn't afraid to try (and do) something new that her readers don't know her for. It takes a risk, and it's certainly an eerie and off-kilter book. Best of all though, the characters of the book bare their souls - both dark and light - in this book, and it makes the prose haunting, terrifying and utterly captivating. No, it's not a contemporary read. And no, you probably won't find any great hidden meaning in this book, but you will find excellent characterization, a twisting plot and a story that will keep you guessing. 

I waited forever to read this book, and I actually wonder if others did so, as well, simply because they don't think it will stand out from the rest of their TBR pile. Let me tell you though...it's worth the read. It's not a terribly long book, but it's riveting from start to finish. It takes true skill for an author to manage to successfully set up a book with a tiny cast of survivors characters with limited means, a fairly limited setting and their own mortality looming over their heads. The Raft does this flawlessly though. There is such a tangible tension in this book that I wasn't even sure I'd make it to the end - simply because it was that gripping. There is drama, yes, but even more so, there is an extreme struggle for survival that demands to be heard - and felt. This book is one of my absolute favourite reads of 2013, and I think more bloggers need to give it a go because, trust me, you'll be blown away.

Obviously, there are a ton more books out there I wish more bloggers would read and review, but these are definitely my top three. What books do you think are underrated...or under-reviewed....give me something new to try!