Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR

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

It is time to look ahead to the books I want to read in the coming months. For me, the goal is to get my NetGalley TBR down as much as humanly possible, so I’m going to focus on books that are already out that I haven’t read yet.

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1. HEART OF THE SUN WARRIOR, by Sue Lynn Tan

HEART OF THE SUN WARRIOR, duology finale to DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GOODESS, was my most anticipated release of November. Between NaNo (write 50k in a month, which really slowed by reading!) and trying to keep on top of other books that had already released, I simply didn’t get around to it.

However, it is very high up my current TBR, so I should get to it this month, and certainly by the end of the three months that come under the umbrella of winter.

2. TOGETHER WE BURN, by Isabel Ibañez

I really enjoyed Isabel Ibañez’s debut companion duology (WOVEN IN MOONLIGHT and WRITTEN IN STARLIGHT) and I was very pleased to find out that there’d be a UK edition of her next book, TOGETHER WE BURN (cheaper for one!)

This is a standalone without a companion, a book of dragons and flamenco dancers. (I think the UK cover shows this better than the US cover, though I’m not particularly fond of either!) This should be a shorter read compared to some of the others on this list, which might be a nice contrast or pick me up!

3. FOUL LADY FORTUNE, by Chloe Gong

FOUL LADY FORTUNE is the start of a new duology set in the same world as Chloe Gong’s THESE VIOLENT DELIGHTS duology. It is apparently a very loose As You Like It retelling (which, it has to be said, is one of my least favourite Shakespeare plays, so here’s hoping this book makes me appreciate the play more!)

It is set several years on from the previous series, about one of the side characters who is now a spy and (I believe) cannot die. I do like spy novels, and the historical setting is a bonus too.

4. STRIKE THE ZITHER, by Joan He

I really enjoyed Joan He’s debut, DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE (a fantasy), but not so much her second book, THE ONES WE’RE MEANT TO FIND (a sci-fi/dystopia). However, I’m hoping that this return to fantasy and the start of a duology runs more to my taste.

STRIKE THE ZITHER is a retelling of a Chinese epic, about a girl who has become a chief strategist to a major warlordess, but loyalties are suspect and it’s hard to know who to trust in a country at war.

5. THE DROWNED CITY, by K. J. Maitland

I actually have eARCs of two books in this series, the first book (THE DROWNED CITY) and the second (TRAITOR IN THE ICE.) My goal this winter is just to get through the first one (but I’d really like it if I like it so much that I immediately gobble down the second book!)

These are Stuart murder mysteries, set around the turmoil and suspected loyalties in the wake of the Gunpowder plot. It’s combining two things I love – real historical events and mysteries – so I have high hopes for this entry on the list!

6. THE ROYAL GAME, by Anne O’Brian

THE ROYAL GAME is a historical from a writer I read a fair bit by when I was younger and much preferring historical to fantasy (and then I discovered YA and it all changed!) It should be fun to come back to an author I haven’t touched in a while, and back to my reading “roots.”

THE ROYAL GAME is set during the Wars of the Roses, the first in a series (I believe) about the Paston family, who climbed the ranks from no one to nobility, and then stayed there with lots of marriages etc. I hadn’t heard about the family before that, but that’s half the fun of historicals!

7. FEAR GROUND, by Jennifer Killick

FEAR GROUND is the first book on this list that I’m not entirely sure if I’m going to get around to this winter, purely because I have a lot of upcoming eARCs of Middle Grade that I would like to try and get reviewed on time. This one may, therefore, get pushed aside in favour of trying to keep atop of those other reviews!

FEAR GROUND is the sequel to DREAD WOOD, a MG horror from the “queen of horror.” I have read three books by Jennifer Killick this year and I think that moniker is deserved – her books are very creepy (and also being MG they are the right side of creepy but not so graphic I feel sick, which is perfect for me.)

8. A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON, by Judy I. Lin

If we’re being completely honest, A MAGIC STEEPED IN POISON is a book that caught my eye because of the cover. It’s just so pretty – I love the way the other colours seem to melt into the pink and the fish and flowers around her with a smoky feel are so interesting.

This is the start of a YA fantasy duology that has an “accelerated release” meaning the second book will be out soon (I think.) So that’s my deadline to read this one – before the publication of book 2 so I can read that immediately if the inside is as great as the cover!

9. DARK AND SHALLOW LIES, by Ginny Meyers Sain

These next two are the books I’m not sure I’ll get around to. I’d like to very much, but I have audiobook arcs for these, and I go through phases of being able to listen to audiobooks and not. Most of 2022 has been thumbs up for listening, but since about September, I just haven’t.

I honestly can’t remember what this book is about. It came out so long ago, and a I remember seeing it a lot, but my mind has gone blank on it! I think it’s a YA thriller about teens with secrets and probably someone gets murdered? Hopefully I start being able to listen again soon and can find out!

10. ELEKTRA, by Jennifer Saint

ELEKTRA is the second book by Jennifer Saint (debut was ARIADNE and her third book, ATALANTA, is out soon.) It’s a Greek myth retelling (following the very much in-vogue trend for these right now)

My knowledge is not the best, not compared to some of my friends, so I’m not entirely sure who the eponymous Elektra is (I’m sure the book will tell me!) I am also curious to see if this is a book about more than one narrator even though it’s named after only one of them (like the last was.)

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What are you hoping to read this winter?