Memes

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?

TOP TEN TUESDAY: 10 Books on My Fall 2022 TBR

- Meg Leave a comment

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly discussion hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl (and formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish), and this week’s topic is “Typographical Covers” but I wanted to revisit the previous week’s topic of ‘Books on Your Fall TBR!’ I’ve not really focused on TBRs in the last year or so, but sometimes setting aside a few books I want to focus on has actually led me to focus on them, so I’m swinging back to trying these out again. Maybe seasonally instead of monthly work better for me as I tend to be a mood reader and a library due date-driven reader!!

  • Slaying the Dragon: A Secret History of Dungeons & Dragons, by Ben Riggs – A history of one of the most popular TTRPG! I don’t know much about the history of it, and this is a perfect-looking length of a general introduction!
  • Babel: An Arcane History, by R.F. Kuang – Fantasy dark academia is perfect for this time of year, and I can’t wait to dive into this. I’ve heard so many great things about it already!
  • The Year of the Witching, by Alexis Henderson – I’ve just started reading this after having it on numerous TBRs since it came out, and it’s just what I’ve been needing! I can definitely see this being for someone who enjoyed the movie The VVitch.
  • Long Live the Pumpkin Queen, by Shea Ernshaw – I’m curious about a YA novel about Sally after she marries Jack, and I couldn’t resist getting a copy of the BN exclusive edition because the cover is so much more appealing to me!!
  • For the Wolf, by Hannah Whitten – This is another one that has been on several TBRs since I picked it up, and something about the cover and the fall season makes me want to read fairy tale reimaginings.
  • The Dead Romantics, by Ashley Poston – Everything about this screams spooky season, and I’m interested in seeing how a romance works between a ghostwriter and a ghost.
  • Dead Astronauts, by Jeff VanderMeer – This is another one that’s been on so many TBRs over the last two years, and I keep staring at it, partially wanting to savor VanderMeer’s stuff forever and partially because sometimes his work intimidates me and I know it’s a whole to-do for me when I do read his work.
  • The Night Ocean, by Paul La Farge – A book about Lovecraft and his circle that seems perfect for fall (and has also been on so many TBRs). This is the season of knocking out my backlist!!!
  • The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror , by Robert Louis Stevenson – I read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde probably about twenty years ago (ack) when I was fourteen/fifteen, and I never revisited it!
  • Silent in the Grave, by Deanna Raybourn – I’ve enjoyed her Veronica Speedwell series, and I found the first two of the Lady Julia Grey series at a used bookstore a few years back, so I’m curious and excited to read her earlier series!

What is on your fall TBR this year? What types of books do you like to read seasonally?

TOP TEN TUESDAY: Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To

- Meg 4 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly discussion hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl (and formerly hosted by The Broke and the Bookish), and this week’s topic is “Bookish Merchandise I’d Love to Own” but I am not really a bookish merch person any longer, so I will use last week’s prompt that I missed which is “Authors I Haven’t Read, But Want To”! I’m sure there are others that I’m forgetting about, but in a glance at my to-read list and things I can remember off the top of my head, here are ten authors/books I’m looking forward to that I haven’t read yet. Some of these have been on my TBR for a while, and some of these are new-to-me!

  • Tasha Suri – Ever since Empire of Sand was released, I’ve had her work on my TBR/radar, and after The Jasmine Throne‘s release last year and her upcoming Wuthering Heights retelling, I want to read everything of hers sooner rather than later!
  • Alexis Henderson – When The Year of the Witching came out in 2020, I needed it and I bought it and I still haven’t read it. With her second book coming out later this year, it’s definitely time to dive into her work.
  • June Hur – The Red Palace is a historical mystery set in 1758 Korea and looks absolutely amazing to me. I’ve had my eye on her previous books too, but everything about her most recent release has spoken to me!
  • Fonda Lee – I am one of those people who usually puts off starting a series until all of them are announced or out, and now that all of the Green Bone saga is out, I need to stop procrastinating on reading it!!
  • Naomi Novik – I don’t know why I haven’t read anything of Novik’s yet, but I have Uprooted, A Deadly Education, and His Majesty’s Dragon on my shelves to read!!
  • Tade Thompson – I’ve heard such good things about The Wormwood Trilogy (Rosewater, The Rosewater Insurrection, and The Rosewater Redemption), and his books have been on my shelf forever! .
  • Seth Dickinson – The Traitor Baru Cormorant has come up a lot of my friends’ socials and blogs with nothing but praise, and something about it keeps calling to me!
  • Ottessa Moshfegh – I checked one of her books out from the library years ago but didn’t get around to it because of due dates, and I’ve been wanting to actually read her work because it’s been everywhere!
  • Jessie Mihalik – Her Consortium Rebellion trilogy caught my attention awhile back, and the first book of her new series looks interesting to me too! It’s sci-fi romance, and it’s gotten a lot of love on my friends’ socials lately too!
  • Sally Thorne – I’ve been meaning to read The Hating Game for a while (and I even own it!!) but when I found out about her historical rom-com about Victor Frankenstein’s younger sister, my interest has only increased!!!

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: New/Upcoming Fantasy Releases

- Meg Leave a comment

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine (though it seems as though it’s been a while since she updated that particular blog, so if you know of the current host, if there is one, please let me know) that highlights upcoming releases that we’re impatiently waiting for. This week I’m featuring upcoming/newly released Adult Fantasy titles I’m excited to read!  As usual, pub dates change without warning, so keep that in mind!

The Book of Gothel, by Mary McMyne – I don’t know what it is a bout fairytale retellings and specifically Rapunzel retellings, but as soon as this came on my radar, I added it to my ‘keep an eye on this’ list because I’m supremely interested in the story being told from the mother’s point of view. The last Rapunzel retelling I recall having the mother’s point of view in it is Donna Jo Napoli’s Zel, and it added a level to the story that I hadn’t considered before then. (July 26, 2022)

The Oleander Sword, by Tasha Suri – This is the follow up to The Jasmine Throne (which I haven’t read yet), but that doesn’t stop me from adding it to my TBR because I definitely am in the mood for some chonky fantasy, and Orbit has been releasing a lot of amazing looking books lately! (August 16, 2022)

The Cage of Dark Hours, by Marina Lostetter – I read the first book last summer and really enjoyed it, and I usually don’t start series until at least one of the other books are announced/released, but this was an exception! I loved the world-building, loved the intrigue, and I can’t wait to see where the story goes next. (February 14, 2023)

The Bone Orchard, by Sara A. Mueller – This looks creepy and fantastic, with necromancy and witches and madams. I’ve been in the mood for deliberately weird/creepy fantasy, and this feels like it’ll be just what I want. (March 22, 2022)

The City of Dusk, by Tara Sim – Another book with bone and shadow magic, with four houses and gods for each, necromancy and intrigue. I’ve been meaning to read Sim’s work, and this seems like a great start! It’s been getting some decent reviews from what I’ve seen, and again, I’m ready for some hefty fantasy reads this spring/summer.  (March 22, 2022)

Are any of these on your TBR? What upcoming fantasy titles are you excited to read?

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: New/Upcoming YA Fantasy Releases

- Meg Leave a comment

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme originally hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine (though it seems as though it’s been a while since she updated that particular blog, so if you know of the current host, if there is one, please let me know) that highlights upcoming releases that we’re impatiently waiting for. This week I’m featuring upcoming/newly released YA Fantasy titles I’m excited to read!  As usual, pub dates change without warning, so keep that in mind!

Bright Ruined Things, by Samantha Cohoe – Apparently a retelling of Shakespeare’s The Tempest set on an island with Mae, a young woman living on the charity of the wealthy Prosper family. The Prosper family controls the magic on the island and the spirits inhabiting it. It sounds dark and magical and like my usual foray into YA fantasy. Plus, that cover is giving me Art Deco vibes, and I’m here for it. (February 15, 2022)

A Thousand Steps Into Night, by Traci Chee – A Japanese-influenced fantasy brimming with demons, adventure, and plans gone awry. The full description of this book sounds like Inuyasha?? This cover is gorgeous, as well. (March 1, 2022)

A Forgery of Roses, by Jessica S. Olson – This is a murder mystery gothic fantasy that sounds like it has The Picture of Dorian Gray vibes?? The main character is an artist whose paintings can alter real life, including possibly raising the dead?? Everything about this sounds amazing. (March 29, 2022)

A Far Wilder Magic, by Allison Saft – Give me any kind of fantasy involving alchemy and alchemists. I meant to read Saft’s first novel last year, but I never got around to it, but I think if I enjoy this, I’ll have to pick that one up too. This one seems like a more quiet slowburn kind of fantasy romance, and I think I’ll enjoy it. (March 8, 2022)

A Magic Steeped in Poison, by Judy I. Lin – This is about the magical art of tea-making, and Ning has inadvertently brewed the poison tea that killed her mother. Ning travels to the imperial city to compete in a tea-making competition to win a favor from the princess that might save her sister’s life. This gives me a little bit of The Bone Witch vibes for some reason, but tea-making competitions??? I need it. (March 29, 2022)

Are any of these on your TBR? What romances are you excited to read?