Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

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

This week is all about the Spring TBR, the books we want to read in the next three months. I have not had a great track record of completing these, so this Spring’s TBR is made from the books on the last Summer, Autumn, and Winter TBRs that I haven’t yet read (I seem to have finally completed last Spring’s!) It is also nice and handy that this is exactly ten books!

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1. MICHAEL THE AMAZING MIND-READING SAUSAGE DOG, by Terrie Chilvers

MICHAEL AND THE AMAZING MIND-READING SAUSAGE DOG was one was on both the winter and autumn TBRs, and has fallen into the hole of “just hanging around without a purpose to drive it to be read” – not unlike MAYA AND THE LORD OF SHADOWS that languished for over a year…

Unfortunately for this book, as was an issue with MAYA, Middle Grade books are the one that I feel the most backlogged with. I do try to keep them for Mondays, but that’s only one in seven days (and then there’s an average of two a year taken up by round-ups). I’ve been toying with more MG posts, but haven’t made up my mind on that yet.

2. INQUISITOR; RISE OF THE RED BLADE, by Delilah S. Dawson

The problem with books lingering on TBRs for a while is that the prospect of reading them starts to become a bit daunting. There’s the “why haven’t I read this already?” combined with “but if I read that older book I’ll get behind on all these new releases” and it quickly becomes easier not to read them.

That is certainly what’s happening with INQUISITOR and some of the following three entries that were on both the autumn and winter TBRs. It’s something I’m going to have to face head on because it will only get harder with time, so just picking them up and ignoring that voice is the way to do it.

3. IN AN ORCHARD GROWN FROM ASH, by Rory Power

I previously said in the winter TBR that I was putting IN AN ORCHARD GROWN FROM ASH off because it was so chonky – as was the the previous book, IN A GARDEN BURNING GOLD, and I wanted to re-read the first book before diving into this one.

Showing how things change, that’s now something making me want to pick it up – I’m in the mood for something I can sink my teeth into for a while. Hopefully that feeling continues (TBRs make me realise just how much mood affects what I want to pick up – I would not have previously called myself a mood reader!)

 4. THE SHADOW CABINET, by Juno Dawson

Like the above, THE SHADOW CABINET will require a re-read of the previous book (HER MAJESTY’S ROYAL COVEN). Unlike the above, this book is not the series finale – it is the second book in a trilogy and the series finale has been pushed back by the publication of a prequel book.

While that does make me feel less inclined to pick the book up now (why not wait until it’s all out?) but I would like to read this one – it is just sitting on the pile, and I could get halfway in the series, then wait for it to finish before reading the remaining books.

5. THE PHOENIX KING, by Aparna Verma

I was surprised, when going through previous TBRs to find the books for this one, to find that THE PHOEIX KING had been on two TBRs (winter and autumn) rather than just one. I thought it hadn’t been hanging around unloved for quite that long. Oops! (Now I think about it, that was a bit silly as it is part of the “Desi Trilogy”, three Indian-inspired adult fantasy debuts that came out summer 2023).

While this is a series starter, the next book has yet to have a publication date set, so I bizarrely don’t feel like “if I read it now then I’ll need to re-read it soon for the sequel.” (I wish there was a more consistent logic to my reading approach to series!)

6. ABANDON, by Blake Crouch

ABANDON has only been on the TBR since the winter one, but I suspect it’s been in the house for longer than that. I am starting to get tempted to leave this one until later in the year, to read and post for December (which is the month I try to fill with wintry posts – it’s the “fun” winter month, unlike the grey bleakness of January and February.)

But I acknowledge that is probably me putting it off so it’s not my problem right now. I can read it and schedule it for December if I really want it to go live then (and I’ve already done that with another post.)

7. THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM, by Michael Ward

Of all the books on this list, THE DARKNESS BEFORE THEM is the book I am most ambivalent about. It’s not the sequel to a book I very much enjoyed or a standalone by an author I’ve not read before but have heard a lot about. This book is instead by an author whose previous series looked perfect for me on paper but I didn’t end up enjoying.

I like to give myself a second chance to enjoy an author’s work as mood is so important to enjoyment, and an off day is not something that can easily be anticipated. That is this book, but it doesn’t quite have that drive to read as other titles.

8. THIS CURSED CROWN, by Alexandra Overy

For some reason, in the summer, while beginning to struggle to keep atop the review pile as I engaged upon what would end up being a frantic and yet long slog to get my end of PhD year 1 report in, I decided to shove a bunch of non-review copies on the tbr. Because that was really going to help matters.

This and the following books are sequels or series starters that I really want to read and hoped this would finally mean I did because it was getting a bit silly. I was on the street team for THIS CURSED CROWN (sequel to THESE FEATHERED FLAMES) for goodness sake.

9. DAUGHTERS OF THE DAWN, by Sarena and Sasha Nanua

Like the above, DAUGHTERS OF THE DAWN is a YA fantasy duology finale. The first book, SISTERS OF THE SNAKE, came out in 2021 (I did a slight double take at that figure when I looked it up, though I read it in 2022. It makes me more determined to finish the series now!)

This duology is written by twins about twin sisters separated at birth and raised in quite different lives, a fun Indian-inspired Prince and the Pauper tale. Hopefully soon I get to finish it off and find out what happens to the sisters.

10. REALM BREAKER, by Victoria Averyard

Another 2021 title on this list, REALM BREAKER is the start of a new series by the author of RED QUEEN. I thoroughly enjoyed the RED QUEEN series so I’m not sure why I haven’t read this series yet. It’s an epic fantasy with a chosen one – and I love epic fantasy stories having grown up on them.

Even more ridiculously, both the second and final books of this trilogy are not out (the finale published the week of writing this.) At least this means I can binge the entire series should this book draw me in!

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What books are you hoping to read this Spring? Do you find it hard to read the books you intend to?