Top 5 Tuesday: 2022 Releases I Still Haven't Read

Today I've chosen to participate in Top 5 Tuesday, originally hosted by BionicBookworm, now hosted by MeeghanReads! 

This week's theme is: 2022 Releases I Still Haven't Read–But Want To!

There are... a lot of books I wanted to read this year that I haven't gotten to. I also usually make a bigger end of year post with books I wanted to read and didn't get to, but I figured I'd get a head start and highlight five books I've featured on Can't-Wait Wednesday posts from this past year that I'd still really like to read.

The Haunting of Las Lágrimas by W.M. Cleese

About:

"Argentina, winter 1913. 

Ursula Kelp, a young English gardener, travels to Buenos Aires to take up the role of head gardener at a long-abandoned estate in the Pampas. The current owner wishes to return to the estate with his family and restore the once-famous gardens to their former glory. 

Travelling deep into the Pampas, the vast grasslands of South America, Ursula arrives to warnings from the locals that the estate is haunted, cursed to bring tragedy to the founding family of Las Lágrimas. And soon Ursula believes that her loneliness is making her imagine things – the sound of footsteps outside her bedroom door, the touch of hands on her shoulders when there’s no one there. Most strangely of all, she keeps hearing the frenzied sound of a man chopping down trees in the nearby forest with an axe, when all her staff are in sight. 

As the strange occurrences intensify – with tragic consequences – Ursula questions if there’s truth in the rumours about the cursed estate. The family’s return is imminent – are they in danger? And the longer Ursula stays at the estate, the more she realises that she too is in mortal danger." Goodreads 

The School of Mirrors by Eva Stachniak

About:
"A scintillating, gorgeously written historical novel about a mother and a daughter in eighteenth-century France, beginning with decadence and palace intrigue at Versailles and ending in an explosive new era of revolution. 

During the reign of Louis XV, impoverished but lovely teenage girls from all over France are sent to a discreet villa in the town of Versailles. Overseen by the King’s favorite mistress, Madame de Pompadour, they will be trained as potential courtesans for the King. When the time is right, each girl is smuggled into the palace of Versailles, with its legendary Hall of Mirrors. There they meet a mysterious but splendidly dressed man who they’re told is merely a Polish count, a cousin of the Queen. Living an indulgent life of silk gowns, delicious meals, and soft beds, the students at this “school of mirrors” rarely ask questions, and when Louis tires of them, they are married off to minor aristocrats or allowed to retire to one of the more luxurious nunneries. 

Beautiful and canny Veronique arrives at the school of mirrors and quickly becomes a favorite of the King. But when she discovers her lover’s true identity, she is whisked away, sent to give birth to a daughter in secret, and then to marry a wealthy Breton merchant. There is no return to the School of Mirrors." Goodreads

All the Horses of Iceland by Sarah Tolmie

About:

"Everyone knows of the horses of Iceland, wild, and small, and free, but few have heard their story. Sarah Tolmie’s All the Horses of Iceland weaves their mystical origin into a saga for the modern age. Filled with the magic and darkened whispers of a people on the cusp of major cultural change, All the Horses of Iceland tells the tale of a Norse trader, his travels through Central Asia, and the ghostly magic that followed him home to the land of fire, stone, and ice. His search for riches will take him from Helmgard, through Khazaria, to the steppes of Mongolia, where he will barter for horses and return with much, much more. 

All the Horses of Iceland is a delve into the secret, imagined history of Iceland's unusual horses, brought to life by an expert storyteller." Goodreads

Hide by Kiersten White

About:
"The challenge: spend a week hiding in an abandoned amusement park and don't get caught. 

The prize: enough money to change everything. 

Even though everyone is desperate to win--to seize their dream futures or escape their haunting pasts--Mack feels sure that she can beat her competitors. All she has to do is hide, and she's an expert at that. 

It's the reason she's alive, and her family isn't. 

But as the people around her begin disappearing one by one, Mack realizes this competition is more sinister than even she imagined, and that together might be the only way to survive. 

Fourteen competitors. Seven days. Everywhere to hide, but nowhere to run. 

Come out, come out, wherever you are." Goodreads

Spear by Nicola Griffith

About:
"She left all she knew to find who she could be . . . 

She grows up in the wild wood, in a cave with her mother, but visions of a faraway lake drift to her on the spring breeze, scented with promise. And when she hears a traveler speak of Artos, king of Caer Leon, she decides her future lies at his court. So, brimming with magic and eager to test her strength, she breaks her covenant with her mother and sets out on her bony gelding for Caer Leon. 

With her stolen hunting spear and mended armour, she is an unlikely hero, not a chosen one, but one who forges her own bright path. Aflame with determination, she begins a journey of magic and mystery, love, lust and fights to death. On her adventures, she will steal the hearts of beautiful women, fight warriors and sorcerers, and make a place to call home. 

The legendary author of Hild returns with an unforgettable hero and a queer Arthurian masterpiece for the modern era. Nicola Griffith’s Spear is a spellbinding vision of the Camelot we've longed for, a Camelot that belongs to us all." Goodreads 

Have you read any of these books? What 2022 releases do you still want to read?

Fantasy + Horror Authors I Still Need to Read

 Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's theme is: Authors I Want to Read

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is all about authors we want to read, so I've opted to share some of the many fantasy series and horror books I still want to read from authors I've never read anything from before! I've split this list to share five fantasy authors/series and five horror novels/authors, and I'll be honest that this was a lot harder than I thought to keep it to only five books for each category because there are so many that I want to read, but I did my best. 

Fantasy:

 

  

Ryan Cahill (The Bound and the Broken): This series has really blown up in fantasy circles lately (or at least I'm certainly seeing it a lot) and it sounds fantastic! I've heard some really good things and it sounds like it has a lot of classic fantasy elements that I always tend to love, so I'm curious to see how it's written. 

Arkady Martine (Teixcalaan): I remember when the first book in this series came out and how much I wanted to read it (especially with that awesome cover)... and yet here we are? And I still haven't read it? You know how it is, there's no real explanation, but regardless of all that, I still really would like to check this series out and am really hoping to do soon! (Edit: I made this post ahead of time and I'm actually now reading this book as of 4/10!)

Mike Shackle (The Last War): Whenever I see these covers, I always think "I have to read that!" Something about that creepy mask-like face is just incredible enticing to me. I also love that the premise of this series seems to be in the aftermath of a war in which the enemy won, which is always a take I love to explore!

Christopher Ruocchio (Sun Eater): I haven't seen too much about the Sun Eater series around, but whenever I do see anything about it's usually immensely positive, which has really made me itch to check it out sometime. 

Ben Aaronovitch (Rivers of London): This series was never really on my radar (despite it's amazing covers!) because I don't tend to be attracted to detective-type stories, but lately I keep seeing it recommended and my interest has gotten very piqued. The amount of love and excitement for this series has me convinced that I officially need to check it out, so hopefully that will happen sometime soon. 

Horror:

    

Waubgeshig Rice: I received a copy of Rice's Moon of the Crusted Snow for Christmas and I'm so excited to read it! I'm honestly not sure if this is more thriller or horror, but I've seen it mentioned as horror quite a bit, so that's what I'm running with. I'm really interested in some of his others books, as well, and really hope I love his work as much as I'm hoping. 

Shawna Yang Ryan: The blurb describes this as "a lyrical imagining of what happens when a Chinese ghost story comes true," and I think that sounds incredible. It sounds like it'll be a pretty engaging read and it's been on my TBR for a little while.

Daryl Gregory: I've been seeing Gregory's name mentioned for years now and it's really past time I actually get around to picking up one of his books. I'm really interested in Revelator, but I'm open to reading any of his books. If you've read any Daryl Gregory, what books do you recommend??

Asa Nonami: This book's blurb throws out comparisons to Rebecca and Rosemary's Baby and I think that sounds pretty damn compelling! It doesn't have the highest ratings on Goodreads, but I feel like horror books are often pretty polarizing. Here's to hoping I enjoy this as much as I'm hoping to!

Richard W. Chambers: I see Richard Chambers' The King in Yellow mentioned occasionally here and there and every time I do I am so intrigued. As far as I can tell, it's a Victorian Gothic horror of ten short related stories about people who read a play called "The King in Yellow" and it sort of makes them go crazy? Or something? I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but that's exactly how I prefer to be when it comes to horror. 

Have you read any of these books? Who are some authors you want to read for the first time?

Top Ten Tuesday: Winter 2021 TBR (aka Winter ARCs I Need to Read)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's theme is: Winter 2021 TBR

I've talked about this more than a few times on my blog, but I don't really make TBRs because I'm too much of a mood reader. Because of that, I typical make these TBR posts to focus on some ARCs that I have for the winter/early spring in order to keep track of everything and highlight some of the books I hope to read this winter/start of 2022! I also like to read a lot of backlist books, so I'm sure those will be showing up as well. I've also probably forgotten something, but at least it's a start!

Kagen the Damned by Jonathan Maberry

The City of Dusk by Tara Sim

The Hacienda by Isabel Canas

The Way Spring Arrives and Other Stories edited by You Chen and Regina Kanyu Wang, ft. Xiu Xinyu, R.F. Kuang, Judy Yu Zhou, et al. 

Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

The Starless Crown by James Rollins

Road of Bones by Christopher Golden

Real Easy by Marie Rutkowski

Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long

Extasia by Claire Legrand

Wake the Bones by Elizabeth Kilcoyne

The Book of Living Secrets by Madeleine Roux

Midnight in Everwood by M.A. Kuzniar - Okay, so this wasn't an ARC sent to me, but it's one that I absolutely plan to read in December/early January for the holiday season! I mean, how perfectly seasonal does this book seem??

Are you looking forward to any of these books? What books are on your winter TBR?

Top Ten Tuesday: Summer TBR (aka NetGalley and Physical ARCs I need to read!)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is: Summer TBR 

Whenever these TBR topics come up on Top Ten Tuesday, I always say that I don't really create TBRs for myself, and that remains true! I'm far too much of a mood reader to create any sort of list to stick to. I do, however, have quite a never-ending stack of ARCs for books coming out this summer/fall that I need to get to, so I like to create these lists to get a list going of all of those to keep me on track and aware of what I need to read. These are a mix of books I've been approved for on NetGalley and physical ARCs that have been sent to me, so let's see what's on the reading menu! (This is also somehow not an exhaustive list because I know I have more ARCs lying around, but I figure we need to cap it somehow, right?)

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan (started, haven't finished)

The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling

Nothing but Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Shaw

The Ice Lion by Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Under the Whispering Door by T.J.Klune

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig (currently reading!)

The Women of Troy by Pat Barker

The Last House on Needless Street

A Radical Act of Free Magic by H.G. Parry

The Pariah by Anthony Ryan 

 

What books are you planning/hoping to read this summer?

 

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant to Read in 2020

 

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly book blog meme now hosted by Jana over at The Artsy Reader Girl!

This week's topic is: Books I Meant to Read in 2020

 

For this week's topic, I'm going to look at my TTT anticipated release lists for the first and second half of the year and see what books from that list I actually read. I don't have high hopes and I have no idea what books were even on those lists at this point, but let's check it out, anyway!

 

 

From my 2020 winter anticipated releases...

So, 7/13 is technically a fail, but you know what, I'm pretty pleased with getting through that many knowing how easily my mood and whim changes. Also, I'm not sure if Master Artificer should count considering its release got pushed back to May 2021 and I just an eARC from NetGalley a couple weeks ago. If you for any reason want a closer look at these and my reasons for reading or not reading them...

• The Obsidian Tower: I was so excited for this and pretty much read the ARC as soon as it showed up at my door. This was a no-brainer. I am forever indebted to Orbit for sending me so many brilliant books.
• The Shadow Saint: Another book from Orbit, plus I was so excited to read this sequel!
• The Golden Key: Honestly? I completely forgot this book existed, and I feel bad about that now. The reviews on Goodreads are very discouraging, though, which almost makes me more intrigued now?
• A Time of Courage: This was a super anticipated finale (and also from Orbit so I got it right away!) and I knew I'd be reading it.
• The Girl and the Stars: This was sent to me from the publisher and I was excited for new Mark Lawrence.
• The Unspoken Name: I also somehow received an ARC of this one and had heard a lot of hype about it!
• A Witch in Time: And once again, thanks, Orbit!
• Lady Hotspur: I still actively want to read this, I just haven't gotten around to it and my library doesn't have it. :(
• Seven Endless Forests: Just didn't get around to it, unfortunately.
• House of Dragons: I think I lost a little bit of interest in this, plus if I recall I think I saw some problems with Jessica Cluess on social media? I don't spend too much time there so I'm not sure the details, but I think I'd definitely look into that before picking this one up.
• A Peculiar Peril: This wasn't necessarily a super high priority book, so I think that's why I didn't get to it.
• Master Artificer: As I mentioned above, this release got pushed back and I didn't even have access to a copy until recently! So ha! I have an actual, legitimate excuse.
• The Devil and the Dark Water: I read this after many weeks on the library waiting list! 
  

 

And from my 2020 fall anticipated releases...

 Wow, this one's, uh, a little embarrassing, to be honest. 3/10 is not great. Let's find out why.

• Rhythm of War: The longest book on this list (1200 pages is no joke, friends) and I finished it at the beginning of this year! It took a while to come in from the library, also.
• The Left-Handed Booksellers of London: Okay, so technically I didn't even read this one and I"m a huge liar. But I did check it out from the library and when I read a few pages I just could not for the life of me focus or get interested in the story, so I opted to put it down. I did check it out, though!
• Piranesi: I've been on my library's waiting list since October and I'm still #22 in line I don't have to take responsibility for this one, right? I'm saying it's out of my hands. And I still have no idea when I'll actually get a chance to read it.
• The Constant Rabbit: I still really want to read this, but my library doesn't have it and I have been trying to save some money, so hopefully I'll someone get a chance soon!
• The Space Between Worlds: I feel bad about this one. I started it, was enjoying it, and then just.. stopped? Not sure what happened, I don't tend to do that much these days.
• The Death of Vivek Oji: My library doesn't have this one, either. 
• Beowulf: I have no excuses, I just haven't gotten to it.

Well, that's that! This is pretty much exactly why I never make TBRs because I'm way too moody of a reader, so at least I'm consistent at something, right? 

 

Have you read any of these books? What books did you mean to read in 2020, but didn't get around to for one reason or anther?

Top Ten Tuesday: TBR Update--Have I Been Reading the Books I've Said I Will?

This week's topic is:  Anniversary Freebie--Update an Old TTT!

It's the tenth anniversary of Top Ten Tuesday, today! Huge thanks and appreciate go out to The Broke and the Bookish who first started and hosted this wonderful weekly post. :)
I've only been participating for the past four years or so, but I've had a really fun time exploring new topics and ideas about aspects of books I might've never considered. Today is a freebie with the overall theme of picking a past TTT post and updating it. There are so many topics that I could pick to update, but I finally decided to go back and look through some old TBR-style posts and see which books I've actually read since posting about them. I've selected four posts with TBR posts to look through and I'm going to put a red 'X' over the covers of the ones I've read. The reason I don't usually make TBRs is because I'm a mood reader and don't tend to stick to them... so we'll see how much that holds true, haha. Fingers crossed this doesn't turn out to be too embarrassing! And do let me know if you've read any of these and what your thoughts are on them!

August 23rd, 2016--Books That Have Been on My Shelf for Far Too Long

Read: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

Unread: Hyperion by Dan Simmons, The Pelican Fables by Ian Grey, The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma, Codex by Lev Grossman

So, 2/6 isn't exactly promising, but I guess I can at least hold onto the fact that War and Peace was a pretty hefty tome to get through and I'm glad I actually read it (and mostly enjoyed it!). I still want to read all of the ones I haven't!

November 28th, 2017: My Ambitious Winter Reading Plans

Read: Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson, Child Thief by Brom, The Changeling by Victor Lavalle, Bird Box by Josh Malerman, The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie, Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski. 

Unread: This Darkness Mine by Mindy McGinnis, The Two of Swords by K.J. Parker, The Crown Tower by Michael J. Sullivan, Ilium by Dan Simmons, Malice by John Gwynne, The Goblins of Bellwater by Molly Ringle. 

I read 6/12, and I feel pretty good about 50%--honestly, it's a lot more than I expected! Dan Simmons once again goes unread--I'm not sure why I am so hesitant to actually pick up his work, but whenever I consider it I think I start to feel a bit intimidated by them. Maybe one day? Malice is one that I am still hoping to read semi-soon since I already own it, and The Crown Tower and This Darkness Mine are both high up on the list!

March 19th, 2019: Spring TBR

Read: Exhalation by Ted Chiang, The Grace Year by Kim Liggett, The Witch's Kind by Louisa Morgan, A Time of Blood by John Gwynne, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.J. Parker, The Unbound Empire by Melissa Caruso,  Little Darlings by Melanie Golding, The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley, Inspection by Josh Malerman, Westside by W.M. Akers,

Unread: Seven Blades in Black by Sam Sykes, A Wonderful Stroke of Luck by Ann Beattie, Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett, Finder by Suzanne Palmer,  Tangle's Game by Stewart Hotston

I read 10/15, which is even more surprising to me! I really enjoyed just about all of the books from this list that I read, and I'm still really interested in reading the ones I didn't. Miranda in  Milan is probably one I'm most interested in picking up.

December 17th, 2019: (Tentative) Winter TBR

Read: The Ranger of Marzanna by Jon Skovron, Legacy of Ash by Matthew Ward, Providence by Max Barry, The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood, The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, The Light of All That Falls by James Islington, Apocrypha by Catherynne M. Valente, The Book of Dreams by Catherynne M. Valente, Deeplight by Frances Hardinge, Above the Treeline by Gregory Manchess

Unread:  A Queen in Hiding by Sarah Kozloff, Apeirogon by Colum McCann, Or What You Will by Jo Walton, The Throne of the Five Winds by S.C. Emmett, In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick, Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

10/16! Technically it's less than the previous post, but I'm not complaining about having more than half of this selection. Above the Timberline is a particularly beautiful book that I highly recommend if you love gorgeous illustrations and a unique and incredible journey. I really liked all the books I read from this one save The Ranger of Marzanna, which I DNF'd.


Have you read any of these books? Do you want to read any? Any you'd recommend that I haven't read yet? Let me know!