Top Ten Tuesday #17

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. It was created because of a particular fondness towards lists. Each week, a new top ten question will be posted on the hosting blog for other blogs to join in with on their own blogs. All you need to do to join in is link back to the host somewhere on your post, and add your link to the linky list via the host.

This week's post is a really tough one, and I think I'm going to struggle to come up with ten books.
I think it's so difficult, mainly because I have now read the books - I know what they're about and how they made me feel etc, so it's harder to judge now, but I'll give it a good go!

This week's post is:

Top Ten Books that were Totally Deceiving

Firmin by Sam Savage: I wasn't really sure what to expect from Firmin, if I'm entirely honest, but I think I was kind of expecting it to be cute and have a slight sense of nostalgia, I suppose. I don't know why I expected this, with the protagonist being a rat, but it wasn't like that. It was moving, yes, but not cute. I think what it was really, was a very realistic and gritty read, despite being narrated by a literary rat.

The Radleys by Matt Haig: I think the point of the cover of this novel is that it looks deceptive. The family is supposed to have a normal appearance, so that they blend into a normal English society, but they are anything but normal. This novel definitely has a dark side - completely at odds with the cover.

Blueeyedboy by Joanne Harris: I expected to really enjoy this book, and I did, but it had an entirely different  atmosphere to the one I expected. Although, again, I feel this is kind of intentional. The boy on the front of the book looks so innocent, but the reality of the protagonist is anything but. It's a very intense and interesting read, and I wholeheartedly recommend it!

The Silver Linings Play Book by Matthew Quick: The cover to this one definitely doesn't match the story. If I'm honest, I can't really remember what my initial impression of this novel was from reading the synopsis and seeing the cover, but I know it was entirely different from what the book turned out to be. It was still a good read, but I didn't enjoy it as much as I'd anticipated. I think, to be honest, it's more of a man's read - having a lot to do with sport in it, and with the main character being very male etc. Still good though. I heard it's being made into a film too (what book isn't, really?!), so that will be interesting to see!

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver: I mention this one all the time, I realise, but it's definitely another deceptive read. I'm actually thinking that this book should have been number one... but the books aren't really in order this week anyway. I had a tough time choosing them.
Anyway, I've mentioned before that when I read the synopsis to this book, my heart sank. I thought it sounded dreadful, boring and dull, but it wasn't. It's one of the most moving and poignant books I've ever read, and it's in my top three favourites of all time! Love love love this book!

The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney: This was another book club read, like The Poisonwood Bible was, and when I saw the cover, I was really happy - a book about Wolves?! YES! But it turned out not to be about wolves at all really ... but it was still a great read! Make sure you have a pen and paper ready though - there are a gazillion characters!

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny: The cover of this novel looks really dark, chilling and atmospheric, wouldn't you agree? The book itself though, doesn't communicate this atmosphere - yes it's a crime novel, and yes there's a murder (as there are in most crime novels, generally), but I still didn't get that feeling from it.  It's set in a quaint, little Canadian village (the name of which has leaked out of my brain...), so it has a nice, small town feel to it, most of the way through.
I loved it though - a definite recommendation, and I don't know why it's not been featured on Friday Recommends yet...

Night Road by Kristin Hannah: This is the UK cover, and to me, the person on the front looks like a small child - and small children, to me, equal innocence and playfulness (most of the time), but this book deals with very adult issues, and is a difficult read, for the most part - emotionally, not because it uses difficult language or anything like that - the style is actually very fluent - it's just a devastating book in general.
The cover doesn't communicate this to me at all.

Touch by Jus Accardo: I've put this one on the list simply because the guy on the front is supposed to be Kale, and I adore Kale. He isn't a tough-guy character like the guy on the front of the book though - once you get to know him, despite his dangerous abilities, he's a very sweet, gentle and compassionate person. I just couldn't see him pulling that facial expression! I'm currently reading Untouched, the short story between Touch and Toxic, by the way, and it's incredible so far!
Kale love!

Blue Sky Days by Marie Landry: This is another that looks like a lovely, light and sunny read - and it is for a decent percentage of it - but it does take a rather upsetting turn, which also takes up a huge chunk of the book, and then the cover just simply doesn't fit. I'm not entirely sure why the cover doesn't feel as though it completely fits with the story. I do like the cover though, and the book.
You can see my review for this, and Touch, in the review catalogue :)

Let me know what you thought of this week's Top Ten. Which books would you add to the list?