Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books of 2018

Merry Christmas, everyone! I haven't done a Top Ten Tuesday in forever (*checks blog* actually, since March 2016, but who's counting?) so it is long overdue for me to participate in this meme again!

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is books we are most looking forward to in 2018. Without further ado...

1.) The Bone Season #4 by Samantha Shannon — yes, the book I'm most looking forward to (hopefully) coming out in 2018 does not even have a title! (Makes me worried it won't actually be pubbing in 2018, but... *crosses fingers*). I am totally ON BOARD with this series and ship Warden/Paige hard. I want to know what happens to them next!!

2.) The Comfort Zone by Sally Thorne — I really enjoyed the reading experience I had with The Hating Game (even if I had some concerns about elements within the story itself), and I'm hoping that The Comfort Zone will be just as unputdownable.

3.) Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik — Um, YES, SIGN ME UP. I was a big fan of Uprooted and I am so here for more fairytale retellings (or at least, fairytale-inspired stories) from this author. In this case, it's a Rumplestiltskin retelling (not my favourite fairytale, but I'm interested to see what she does with it). Plus, that cover matches my Uprooted cover! *pictures them happily sharing shelf space together*

4.)  Beast: A Tale of Love and Revenge by Lisa Jensen — guys, here begins my slew of anticipated 2018 Beauty & the Beast retellings. I can't resist! This one sounds like it's told from the point of view of a servant girl, Lucie, at the chevalier's estate, who realizes that the "curse" has turned the chevalier into a completely different individual -- one far more compassionate and kind than he was as a human. She hopes he has forever replaced the cruel chevalier, but then a beauty arrives who could break the spell... I love the premise of this, that it's told from the perspective of someone who doesn't want the "curse" broken. Sounds like it'll be a very different sort of retelling!

 

5.) The Beast's Heart by Leife Shallcross — this BatB retelling is from the perspective of the Beast. Yes, I'll take that please and thank you. (Also, that cover!)

 

6.)  Stolen Enchantress by Amber Argyle — this one's not a straight-up BatB retelling, but instead the tagline reads "The Pied Piper meets Beauty and the Beast." Colour me intrigued.

6.) Ink, Iron, and Glass by Gwendolyn Clare — okay, taking a little break from fairytales here. This is about a "scriptologist" who can write worlds into being, and when her mother is abducted, she travels to the real world to find her and eventually ends up in an alternative 19th-century Italy. I find the synopsis a little confusing, but the premise is fascinating and I am up for alternative 19th-century Italy.

7.) Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce — it's been far too long since I read a book by Tamora Pierce! This latest of hers is going to delve into Numair's early years at university (before the Immortals series takes place). It'll be interesting to see how Numair became the man he is in the Immortals series.

8.) Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart — Sister story? Check. Sisters must reverse roles? Check. Treachery in the palace? Check. Young women doing their darnedest to stand up for themselves and get things done in a world where they have no rights? Check. This has some of my favourite elements in a fantasy!

 

9.) The Queen's Rising by Rebecca Ross — Set in a fantasy world in which everyone has a talent for one of five "passions" (art, music, dramatics, wit, and knowledge) and is chosen by a patron. Brienna has trouble discovering which area she excels in, and the patronage she is eventually offered turns out to be for the purpose of overthrowing the king and putting the rightful queen in his place. (Now, I'm hoping this is not so obvious a plotline as that Brienna discovers she is the long-lost queen, because that's been done a hundred and one times before...)

Also, take a gander at that cover. Isn't it just gorgeous?!

10.) Onyx and Ivory by Mindee Arnett — this involves an imperial courier service, deadly flightless dragons, a girl who has wild magic, and civil war. Yup, I'm in.

What are your most anticipated reads of 2018?

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR (+ A Poll!)

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is books on our spring TBR list.

So guess what? I am on spring break right now, which means I will actually have some time for reading! Hopefully I'll get to some of the books on this list — in fact, I've created a poll at the end for you guys to vote for your top book from this list that you recommend I read...because there are a lot of books and sadly I'm not going to get to all of them over the break.

1.) Deathsworn by Leah Cypess

2.) Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

3.) Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

4.) The Distant Hours by Kate Morton

5.) All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

6.) Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (I read & enjoyed the first in the series)

7.) Outpost by Ann Aguirre (ditto)

8.) A Corner of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

9.) Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama

10.) The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

 These are literally waiting on my shelves to be picked up...which should I crack open first? Vote! (Try to just pick ONE, but if you really can't decide, you can pick your top two :P)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Recently Added To My TBR List

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is books we recently added to our TBR list. It's an easy one this week! 

The 10 most recent books I added to my to-read Goodreads shelf, from most to least recent:

1.) Caraval by Stephanie Garber — no cover, but here's part of the blurb (from Goodreads): 

"An original world. A legendary competition. A mesmerizing romance. An unbreakable bond between two sisters.

Welcome to Caraval—the spell-casting first book in a fantasy series that’s perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles series and The Night Circus.

Before you enter the world of Caraval, you must remember that it’s all a game . . ."

2.) The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass — this one sounds like a creepy YA psychological thriller, involving some sort of cult-like family?

3.) Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler — this is an adult contemporary retelling of The Taming of the Shrew, which I discovered in a WoW post at Through Raspberry-Coloured Glasses.

 

4.) An Inheritance of Ashes by Leah Bobet – I added this one because I read Cecelia's awesome review and it convinced me!

5.) The Sweet, Terrible, Glorious Year I Truly, Completely, Lost It by Lisa Shanahan — I actually have a copy of this one (which I still need to read), but somehow it hadn't gotten added to my Goodreads until the other day.

6.) Beside Myself by Ann Morgan — another psychological thriller, but this one's adult. Plus it involves twins, which are one of the bookish elements that float my boat. 

7.) The Midnight Spy by Kiki Hamilton — I read The Faerie Ring a few years ago, but although I enjoyed it for the most part, I haven't continued with the series. (I would like to check out the next book at some point.) This is the first book in a new series, which looks to be a fantasy set in another world.

8.) Replica by Lauren Oliver — No cover yet, but here's the Goodreads blurb: "Replica, the first of the two books, tells the story of Lyra, known by the number 24, a replica – human model – who was born, raised, and observed in a clandestine research facility called the Haven Institute. When Lyra escapes from Haven and meets Gemma, a stranger on a quest of her own, earth-shattering secrets are revealed."

9.) The Night Parade by Kathryn Tanquary — I don't tend to read much MG, but this one caught my eye because it's a fantasy set in Japan. And I couldn't really say no to that, could I?

10.)  Life After Life by Kate Atkinson — this is an adult novel involving reincarnation of the protagonist. It seems to get very mixed reactions, so if/when I read it, we'll see which side I fall on.

Top Ten Tuesday: Characters I Just Didn't Click With

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is characters that we just didn't click with. I always kinda enjoy ranting about characters I didn't like, so I thought I'd join in this Top Ten Tuesday.

Plus, I just realized I haven't participated in a Top Ten Tuesday post since August 2014... how is that possible??! (Answer: the busy, stressful life of a grad student... but hey, that's over now! I'm done my program. Hopefully that means I can devote a little more time now to blogging.)

Anyway, without further ado (and in no particular order), here are the top ten twelve characters I didn't click with:

*Links are to my reviews of the books, so you can read in more detail about why a character didn't work for me. 

1.) Anna from A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton— specifically, the character Anna becomes once she falls in insta-love with Seth. I liked Anna to begin with, but am no fan of insta-love and what it does to characters I had initially liked well enough.

 2.) Dora from Secret Letters by Leah Scheier — she's annoyingly overconfident in her sleuthing abilities (without any reason that she should be, because actually, she kinda sucks at sleuthing) and sometimes when reading it I'd just be sitting there cringing and going, "No, Dora!!!" in my head.

3.) Victor and Eli from Vicious by V. E. Schwab— I think I'm one of the only people who didn't rave about Vicious. Sorry, but I just found the characters so dislikeable! I know that was the point, but partway through the book I was just hoping really hard for both of these guys to die at the end.

4.) Lucy from Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley — this one is perhaps less a case of "not clicking" and more a case of a character being kinda boring and flat. Lucy was a pretty relatable character, but I just didn't really care about what happened to her.

5.) Sage from The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult — I really disliked Sage in the first part of this book. I'm not sure if that's what the author intended, but Sage was involved in an adulterous relationship and that will often turn me off a character. She did redeem herself somewhat towards the end, but overall I'm just not the biggest fan.

6.) London from Forgotten by Cat Patrick — I had issues with pretty much everything about this book, but the characterization was definitely one of them. London is a very flat, forgettable sort of character (I guess the book is aptly titled.) As I wrote in my review, "I'm not sure I could name one activity London enjoys doing in her spare time if I had to (I'm not counting hanging out with her friend or boyfriend)."

7.) Sandinista from The Sharp Time by Mary O'Connell — unlike some of the others on this list, it wasn't that Sandinista was so flat and boring that I couldn't click with her. It was the opposite problem — she was so "edgy" and cynical that I had trouble relating to her.

8.) Jacinda from Firelight by Sophie Jordan — she was one of these wishy-washy characters that keeps flip-flopping around, changing her mind every other page. And she loves to bring the angst.

9.) Sunshine from Sunshine by Robin McKinley — she was too sarcastic and jaded even for me, and I can appreciate sarcasm. Worse, she was self-absorbed and whiny, and the stream-of-consciousness writing style made following along with her thought processes even more tedious.

10.) Libby from Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink by Stephanie Kate Strohm — I liked some aspects of Libby's character, but she was so dense when it came to the two guys in her life. It was so obvious to the reader (in part, because this book relies heavily on tropes/stereotypes and is very predictable) which was the "good" guy and which was just a player. But Libby just blindly ignored what was staring her right in the face.

11.) Celaena from Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas — I know this series has a huge fanbase, but at least in the first book, Celaena and I weren't always on the same page. She comes off as sorta full of herself to start with, and pretty judgmental at times of others. We're told she's Adarlan's greatest assassin, but we really don't see it. Plus, she basically leads on two guys at the same time, and I always lose respect for characters who do that.

 
Did you have trouble connecting with any of these characters?

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I'm Sitting on the Fence About

The Top Ten Tuesday meme is hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. This week's topic is the books we aren't sure we want to read. I have a whole ton of books that would go on this list, so these are not really my *top* ten, but just ten that I picked. I'd love your opinion on whether or not they're worth my time and/or money!

Five books I have not read and do not own:

1.) Prized by Caragh M. O'Brien (and the third book, Promised) — I read and enjoyed Birthmarked, but having seen some negative things about the next two books in the series, I'm in a bit of a quandary. Should I continue on with the trilogy? Or should I cut my losses and stop while I'm ahead? Tell me! In fact, please vote in my "Get It... or Forget It?" poll to let me know what you think! (No one has voted so far, so your votes are greatly appreciated :) )

2.) Ready Player One by Ernest Cline — This is a case of "it's outside my comfort zone, but the book has been getting rave reviews." I probably won't get many of the '80s references, and I have never been into video games. Just generally, I'm not big on sci-fi (apart from dystopian and time travel). Is it still worth reading?

 

3.) Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder — this is one that I did a "Get It... or Forget It?" poll about earlier, and the result was a 50/50 split (which doesn't really help me, lol). Let me know if you think I should give this series a try!

4.) Banner of the Damned by Sherwood Smith — Crown Duel was one of my favourite books when I was younger. Has anyone read this newer book of hers, and if so, can you tell me whether or not it has a Crown Duel sort of feel?

5.) Allegiant by Veronica Roth — this is less a matter of if I'll read it, and more a matter of when, just because I'd like to know what happens and why everyone had such extreme reactions to this final book! I am apprehensive, though, given what I've heard about it, and so I think I'll probably get it out from the library rather than buy it. I know a lot of people were upset about the ending, but I haven't read any major spoilers, so please DO NOT SPOIL me :)

Five books I have on my shelves but haven't read yet:

1.) False Covenant by Ari Marmell (and the third book, Lost Covenant) — I felt mixed about the first book in this series, Thief's Covenant. Can anyone comment on whether the series improves as it goes on?

2.) Changeling by Philippa Gregory — I started reading this one but didn't get very far into it, as I just wasn't liking the writing style. Should I give it another chance? Or are my instincts bang on the money?

3.) Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins — I've read mostly good things about this series, but the cover just screams "typical YA paranormal romance." Who's read this book/series, and what did you think of it?

4.) The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze — I like the sound of the premise, but from the overwhelming number of negative reviews it seems like the execution is not on par with its potential. Would you agree?

 

5.) Illuminate (and Infatuate) by Aimee Agresti — Illuminate is intimidatingly chunky. I read a few pages, but it wasn't grabbing me at the time and so I put it down. Is this book/series worth devoting a good chunk of time to reading?