Happy Tuesday, reader friends. We seem to be having a spate of difficult Top Ten Tuesday topics lately, and this week’s topic from That Artsy Reader Girl is no different: Books I Loved But Will Never Reread. The problem is, I love re-reading my favourite books. If I loved it, there’s no way I could definitively say, “but I won’t ever read it again.”
However…
There are some books that take more of an emotional toll on a person. And no matter how much I loved reading them at the time (and I do highly recommend all of these books), they’re not my go-to when I’m looking for a re-read, simply because I know the emotional toll they’re going to have on me. I wouldn’t say I will never read them again, though, because I never know when the mood will strike! And some of them are worth re-reading for the writing alone!
We know that Augustine of Hippo had 13 year relationship with a woman whose name has been lost to history. The writing is stunningly beautiful; the story utterly tragic.
Unfortunately, historical fiction writers aren’t able to change history. But they sure can make it a compelling story nonetheless. The history of the Welsh Princes of the 12th and 13th Centuries has its fair share of tragedy, but I couldn’t look away—for all 1,700 or so pages of the trilogy! And I was absolutely shattered by the end. 😭
The shattering effects of adultery. Need I say more?
Does this one need any introduction? Probably the most iconic work set in the French Revolution. I only have to read the last sentence to get the waterworks going, so imagine what I was like after having read the whole book?!
Set in the time of the Restoration, Lady Dona is trapped in a loveless marriage, craving romance and adventure. And she finds it along with her very own French pirate. But at what cost? Stunningly written, but the end in particular had me tied in knots.
A novella in length, but it sure packs enough emotion for a full-length novel. Tucker O’Shay has a fatal illness, but when he agrees to tutor sixteen-year-old Sarah Miller in algebra, it’s the beginning of a friendship that changes the way Sarah sees the world and a love that changes her life. Have plenty of tissues handy!
What if. . .you struggled with infertility but unknowingly befriended your husband’s pregnant mistress? What if. . .the woman you were seeing behind your wife’s back gets pregnant, threatening your job and marriage? What if. . .your boyfriend never told you he was married and you discover you’re pregnant?
Geesje de Jonge left the Netherlands in the mid-1800s as a sixteen-year-old to settle in the Michigan wilderness. My heart ached at her anguish, but rejoiced in her faith. And I’m super excited that there will be a sequel to this released at the end of the year!
Falling in love is easy. Being married? Totally different story. Brandi and Ethan aren’t just newly married; they’ve added a challenging foster child to the mix. It’s heartbreaking, and yet full of hope at the same time.
Fiction Aficionado 
I’ll add The Hidden side by Heidi chiaviolori (I’m sure I just butchered her last name)
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Lol! Yes, just slightly! 😂 Chiavaroli, I think. And it’s on my TBR. My ARC downloaded yesterday 😁
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“The Confessions of X” would definitely be on my “loved, but just can’t re-read”. I rave about it, but just thinking about it, breaks my heart. “Crossing Oceans” is another book that was a brilliant story, but I don’t need to read it again to remember it.
Great post!
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Thanks! I haven’t read ‘Crossing Oceans’, but the title rings a bell. I’ll have to look it up. 🙂
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I haven’t read Feathered Bone but Julie Cantrell’s Into the Free killed me. I’ll have to prepare to read another of hers. I loved Jen’s Evergreen. I have Joanne’s novella on my Kindle. I look forward to her writing. I’m looking up the Shadows of Hope. That one sounds intriguing. Thanks for a great post.
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I’ve got Into the Free on my Kindle, but I haven’t read it yet. I’ll be prepared now!
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“This Quiet Sky” is SO emotionally charged. So much sorry and sadness, yet somehow a beautiful story even amidst the dark themes. I know what you mean about not wanting to re-read certain books no matter how good they are. Sometimes we’re simply not in the mood for an emotionally complex story.
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Yes! It really can take a lot out of you. But I wouldn’t wish them unread.
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I haven’t read any of these but some sound interesting! Nice list.
Top Ten Tuesday
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Thanks 🙂
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I would add A Flight of Arrows by Lori Benton.
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Oh, yes! How could I have forgotten that one?!
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Tamera Alexander books are ones I love, but have a hard time re-reading. She puts so much detail into her stories, not to mention confronting social, political, even emotional issues which we still are dealing with today.
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I love Tamera’s books 🙂
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this is such a great list! Cathy West’s books are the same way – and Katie Ganshert’s lol. But i LOVE them!
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Yes! I have a feeling Cathy’s newest one will be the most emotionally exhausting yet. And I actually had Life After on my list until I remembered it’s going to be in next week’s list! I thought I’d save it 🙂
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haha!
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I’m humbled. But if it did half to you to read what it did to me to write, I suppose it fits. Seriously. I was SOOOOOOOOOOOO worn out during and after that book.
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When I think about how much longer it would have taken to write than it took me to read it…
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Delighted to be on your list! Emotional books are not always easy to read so you’ve honored us with your encouragement!
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