Month: February 2023

TOP TEN TUESDAY: 2023 Debut Books I’m Looking Forward To

- Meg 7 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly discussion hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl (and formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish). This week’s topic is 2023 debuts I’m looking forward to! These come from a variety of different genres and audiences

She Is a Haunting, by Trang Thanh Tran — this has comps to Mexican Gothic, and that’s all I needed to know to put this on my radar!! This cover looks amazing, the story sounds sufficiently spooky for me, and I can’t wait to read how everything plays out. (February 28, 2023 / Bloomsbury YA)

Weyward, by Emilia Hart — a novel about three women connected throughout time that celebrates nature, female power, and breaking free. I’ve already seen several positive reviews from people I follow, and witchy stories definitely appeal to me. (March 7, 2023 / St. Martin’s Press)

Seven Faceless Saints, by M.K. Lobb — the premise of this reminds me a bit of Six of Crows with a holy war at its center. The cover looks amazing, and I’m always up for reading anything with a Six of Crows comp, especially if there’s a murder-mystery twist involved. (February 7, 2023 / Little, Brown Books)

Flowerheart, by Catherine Bakewell — the first time I saw this book mentioned, the ‘cottagecore’ descriptor was attached to it, and that alone made me interested in it. I love that this is a standalone, and the Margaret Rogerson and Tamora Pierce comps have gotten me more excited to read this. (March 14, 2023 / HarperTeen)

The Writing Retreat, by Julia Bartz — in this book, writers who attend a writing retreat are told they must complete an entire novel from scratch during the next month, and the author of the best one will receive a life-changing seven-figure publishing deal. This with an alleged haunting of the mansion itself seems like it’s exactly what I’d enjoy reading!! (February 21, 2023 / Atria/Emily Bestler)

Godkiller, by Hannah Kaner — the premise of this sounds interesting: a godkiller finds a god she cannot kill, the god of white lies, who is connected to a little noble girl on the run. It’s a quest novel, and I feel like I haven’t read one of those in a bit! (January 19, 2023 / Harper Voyager)

Spice Road, by Maiya Ibrahim — a YA fantasy series set in an Arabian-inspired land with secret spice magic and tea magic. I enjoy Arabian-inspired fantasy, and I hope I’ll enjoy this one too! (January 24, 2023 / Delacorte Press)

The Daughters of Izdihar, by Hadeer Elsbai — set in a world inspired by Egyptian history, two young women – a spoiled aristocrat and a poor bookshop worker – find they have more in common than initially expected, particularly in their struggle for the rights of women and their ability to fight for it with forbidden elemental magic. I love the duality of rich vs poor, magic, and bookshops!! (January 10, 2023 / Harper Voyager)

Sizzle Reel, by Carlyn Greenwald — a queer romcom that’s Booksmart meets The Devil Wears Prada??? I love stories set in Hollywood, no matter what decade, and a romcom with insider Hollywood vibes sounds like it’s going to be a perfect read for summer. (April 18, 2023 / Vintage)

On Earth as It Is on Television, by Emily Jane — I love the title of this so much!! It’s a first-contact story, and I want to read it based on the title and general concept alone. (June 13, 2023 / Hyperion Avenue)

What debuts are you looking forward to?

BOOKENDS: September, October, November, & December

- Meg

I am an irregular blogger, and I accept this about myself. Without further delay, here is what I read last four months of 2021! January’s wrap-up is in the works!

FINISHED READING

Each month is separated!

I read six books in September! This was the shortest reading month of the year, partially due to a start of a new semester at work that ate away at my brain space and being in a reading slump. My favorite of the month was The Hacienda, and my least favorite of the month was And Then There Were None. I think I may enjoy watching Agatha Christie adaptations more than reading them.

📚 bookshelf pick  |  📓 physical review copy  |  📱 digital review copy | ⌛️ library/borrowed | 💾 ebook | 🎧 audiobook  |  💞 reread
⌛️ Act of Service – Lillian Fishman
📚The Ghost Bride – Yangsze Choo
⌛️The Hacienda – Isabel Cañas
📚💞 Twenty-Five Books That Shaped America – Thomas C. Foster
📚 And Then There Were None – Agatha Christie
🎧💞 Lirael – Garth Nix, read by Tim Curry

 

I read eleven books in October, a lot of manga to try to catch up on my reading goal for the year! This was a solid reading month with no real duds for me!

📚 bookshelf pick  |  📓 physical review copy  |  📱 digital review copy | ⌛️ library/borrowed | 💾 ebook | 🎧 audiobook  |  💞 reread

📚 I’m Glad My Mom Died – Jennette McCurdy
⌛️ Small Favors – Erin A. Craig
📚 The Year of the Witching – Alexis Henderson
📱 Duke Gone Rogue – Christy Carlyle (Thank you, Avon!)
📱 Tsubaki-Chou Lonely Planet, vol 1 – Mika Yamamori (Thank you, Yen Press!)
📚 Foreigner – C.J. Cherryh
⌛️ The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World, vol 1 – Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, Reiko Sakurada
⌛️ The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World, vol 2 – Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, Reiko Sakurada
⌛️ Practical Magic – Alice Hoffman
📚 Nights With a Cat, vol 1 – KyuryuZ
📚 Nights With a Cat, vol 2 – KyuryuZ

 

I read thirteen books in November. A lot of them were novellas, but I still count them! I also enjoyed the experience of listening to all of the novellas in the Into Shadow collection.

📚 bookshelf pick  |  📓 physical review copy  |  📱 digital review copy | ⌛️ library/borrowed | 💾 ebook | 🎧 audiobook  |  💞 reread

📚 Joan of Arc: A Life Transfigured – Kathryn Harrison
📱 Happy Place – Emily Henry (thank you, Berkley!)
🎧 The Six Deaths of the Saint – Alix E. Harrow
📚 Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor – Xiran Jay Zhao
⌛️ The Savior’s Book Cafe Story in Another World – Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, Reiko Sakurada
🎧 The Garden – Tomi Adeymei
🎧 The Candles are Burning – Veronica G. Henry
🎧 Persephone – Lev Grossman
🎧 What the Dead Know – Nghi Vo
⌛️ Castles in Their Bones – Laura Sebastian
📚 No Longer Human – Osamu Dozai
🎧 Out of the Mirror, Darkness – Garth Nix
📱 Maeve Fly – C.J. Leede (thank you, Tor Nightfire!)

 

I read eight books in December! The Book of Gothel was a great fictional historical history of the Rapunzel fairy tale from the mother’s point of view. Undercover only made me want to read more by Tamsyn Muir and revisit The Locked Tomb series. I liked The Queen of the Tearling but I hadn’t realized when I started it that it’s set in the FUTURE, yet it feels very… traditional fantasy sort of thing. I’m interested to see where the rest of the trilogy goes.

📚 bookshelf pick  |  📓 physical review copy  |  📱 digital review copy | ⌛️ library/borrowed | 💾 ebook | 🎧 audiobook  |  💞 reread

⌛️ The Book of Gothel – Mary McMyne
🎧 Undercover – Tamsyn Muir
📚 Star Wars X-Wing: Rogue Squadron – Michael A. Stackpole
📱 Burning Roses – S.L. Huang (Thank you, tordotcom!)
⌛️ How to Keep House While Drowning – K.C. Davis
⌛️ The Thursday Murder Club – Richard Osman
📓 Egypt’s Golden Couple – John Darnell and Colleen Darnell (Thank you, St. Martin’s Press!)

 

CLOSING OUT

2022 was a weird reading year. I wasn’t motivated to read certain things I’d picked out for myself, for review and for myself, and I came to the conclusion that I’m going to be focusing less on chasing review copies and more about reading for myself and going back to what it was like when I started this blog. I was reading and posting stuff for me, not for obligation and internet points or whatever. I want to maintain the relationships I currently have with a few publishers and contacts, and I still will request things if they come through my inbox, and I’m able to get to them in a timely manner. I also have Edelweiss and Netgalley at my leisure. Posts will be likely infrequent and sporadic, with a few changes here and there in formatting and approach, but I think having less external pressure to have things submitted and put up and done will help with the pressure I put on myself, too.