Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a fun weekly meme, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Everyone is welcome to join in the fun.

Term is just about finish, and hope is in the air thanks to the possibility of the English lockdown slowly easing! I have about a month until my next term starts and, although I have a lab report to do over Easter, I also don’t have exams to revise for this year, so more time to read!

I have been reading through my shelves alphabetically, so I’m in the second half of the alphabet now.

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1. THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN, by Ava Reid

I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this debut, which is one of my most anticipated Summer releases. I have been keeping the ARC aside especially for this holiday period, as a reward once I submit the lab report. Some assignments need that little but extra motivation to finish!

This debut is inspired by Jewish and Hungarian folklore, exploring power, religious persecution, and identity. I have seen only wonderful things about it from other readers – including a romance that everyone has been squealing about. Apparently it’s the sort of book that demands being read in one day, so fingers crossed that happens to me too!

2. SPINNING SILVER, by Naomi Novik

SPINNING SILVER now can probably take the prize for book that’s been on my shelf the longest. I’ve heard great things about this book, but also some qualms about the central romance in either this book or her other fairytale retelling (I get them very muddled in my head).

A Rapunzel retelling (a fairytale that doesn’t get the same constant retelling treatment that some, like Beauty and the Beast, do), I think it’s finally time I read this book as it’s getting a bit silly now. Hopefully I really enjoy it – apparently it’s a very atmospheric book.

3. VELOCITY WEAPON, by Megan O’Keefe

In my drive to read more adult SFF this year, I’ve picked up a few adult sci-fi titles as that’s usually a genre I overlook in favour of YA fantasy. VELOCITY WEAPON is one such book, and it was mentioned to me as a sci-fi with a strong political thread, so naturally it went onto my list.

Two siblings, one a fighter and one a politician, find themselves separated by hundreds of years and must fight to put right what split them up. It’s quite a vague blurb, but I’m hopeful about my chances, and it’s from a publishing imprint (Orbit) that I usually really enjoy books from.

4. WAKENHYRST, by Michelle Paver

Like with SPINNING SILVER, WAKENHYRST (keep forgetting the n!) has been on my shelf a while – again, almost 2 years. I got it when I was trying to read more “general fiction”, and this was on the gothic end so was probably going to have some more fantastical elements.

Honestly? In the past two years, I have been slowly shifting away from the need to read more “general fiction”, because most of the pressure on me about that came from some people who don’t think SFF is “worth the same”, which is stupid and very snobbish. However, it’s on my shelf, so I might as well get around to reading it.

5. BLOOD AND SUGAR, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Another (and the final left to read) book bought two years ago to “broaden my reading horizons”, BLOOD AND SUGAR is a historical thriller. I used to love historical fiction, and I love YA thrillers, so this book seemed like a good combo of the two. It helps that is was also a well-promoted title around release so it was on my radar even though it’s not a genre I’d usually read.

I’d forgotten what it was about, but a quick gander on Goodreads implies it is a mystery set in the 1780s about an abolitionist who goes missing. I’m now quite excited to read it!

6. INFINITY SON, by Adam Silvera

One of my “Spring Cleaning” contemporary fantasy titles, INFINITY SON is set in New York about brothers caught up in a world of powers and mythical beasts. But only one has abilities, and it might tear them apart.

I haven’t been doing well with contemporary fantasy these past few years (it rarely feels like there is enough world building for the contemporary world, so I’m a little lost in cities I don’t know as it’s all just a featureless box and cultural references I don’t get). This first half of 2021, I am trying to finish up the contemporary fantasy on my shelves so I can decide whether I want to continue reading the sub-genre.

7. CALL DOWN THE HAWK, by Maggie Stiefvater

The start of a spin-off trilogy from The Dream Thieves quarter, CALL DOWN THE HAWK follows one of the characters, Ronan, and his brothers after the end of the original series. I don’t actually know any more about it than that!

I loved the original series way back when, but I now cannot remember it (other than being a bit disappointed by the ending). I probably will want to re-read the original series at that rate, so this will probably be one I read at the end of the holiday (once the assignment is done) as that will take some time to read all five books.

8. CHILDREN OF RUIN, by Adrian Tchaikovsky

CHILDREN OF TIME was one of the first adult sci-fis I remember reading, and I loved it. OK, the focus on spiders was a bit unsettling, but as a story about evolution and human frailty/dissent, it was stunning (not that I remember much!)

I was very excited to learn there was a sequel, and then just never got around to reading it, as it’s been a rocky few years for me and sci-fi. However, the last 12 months have been generally good for me and sci-fi, and I am determined to read more of it this year, so this duology is on my “I really must read this” list!

9. REBEL ROSE, by Emma Theriault

REBEL ROSE is the first in a new series by Disney (different authors for each book) that follows the Disney princesses after their “happily ever afters” of the film as they have to step into the limelight and actually rule. You know, the bit where “being nice and kind and pretty” (the requirements for the original disney princesses) isn’t actually much use.

I am expecting that “being nice” might work out for the princesses anyway, but I’m hoping to see a lot more political savvy from them in this series as they sound like they could potentially be YA political fantasies, which I am always here for. When I saw there was a UK edition (sold in a major supermarket on massive discount, lol), I was obviously going to pick it up.

10. CONCRETE ROSE, by Angie Thomas

CONCRETE ROSE is a prequel to the world best-selling THE HATE U GIVE (which I still haven’t gotten round to re-reading after saying I would last summer. As well as struggling with contemporary fantasy, I am also struggling with contemporary generally).

Set 19 years before THE HATE U GIVE, it follows Starr Carter’s father in the early 1990s. I’ll be honest, I was somewhat relieved at how thin the book is, as shorter contemporary tends to slip down easier for me! Hopefully reading this new entry in the world of Garden Heights will prompt me to pick up THE HATE U GIVE again.

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What books are you hoping to read this season?