More books for the tbr??
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme where every Tuesday we look at a particular topic for discussion and use various (or more to the point ten) bookish examples to demonstrate that particular topic. Top Ten Tuesday (created and hosted by The Broke and Bookish) is now being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl and future week’s topics can be found here. This week’s topic is:
Upcoming Releases I’m On the Fence About
Well, I’m not on the fence about these books but I am trying to be good at the moment in terms of review requests, simply because I’d like to catch up and improve my feedback, and quite a few of these are due to be published this month so I already know there’s no way I could fit them in at the moment. Here are five books that I’m keeping in mind in case I suddenly discover the secret of time travel or, to put it another way, here are some more books for my tbr – because I’m not really fooling anyone – I want all the books:
Heartwood Box by Ann Aguirre
A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author.
In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She’ll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won’t be exciting, but she’ll cope, right?Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don’t talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried…
The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey
From the bestselling author of the Sandman Slim series, a lush, dark, stand-alone fantasy built off the insurgent tradition of China Mieville and M. John Harrison—a subversive tale that immerses us in a world where the extremes of bleakness and beauty exist together in dangerous harmony in a city on the edge of civility and chaos.
The Great War is over. The city of Lower Proszawa celebrates the peace with a decadence and carefree spirit as intense as the war’s horrifying despair. But this newfound hedonism—drugs and sex and endless parties—distracts from strange realities of everyday life: Intelligent automata taking jobs. Genetically engineered creatures that serve as pets and beasts of war. A theater where gruesome murders happen twice a day. And a new plague that even the ceaseless euphoria can’t mask.
Unlike others who live strictly for fun, Largo is an addict with ambitions. A bike messenger who grew up in the slums, he knows the city’s streets and its secrets intimately. His life seems set. He has a beautiful girlfriend, drugs, a chance at a promotion—and maybe, an opportunity for complete transformation: a contact among the elite who will set him on the course to lift himself up out of the streets.
But dreams can be a dangerous thing in a city whose mood is turning dark and inward. Others have a vision of life very different from Largo’s, and they will use any methods to secure control. And in behind it all, beyond the frivolity and chaos, the threat of new war always looms.
Dark Shores (Dark Shores #1) by Danielle L. Jensen
Piracy, blackmail, and meddling gods meet in Dark Shores, a thrilling first novel in a fast-paced new YA fantasy series by Danielle L. Jensen.
A PIRATE WITH A WILL OF IRON
Teriana is the second mate of the Quincense, a ship beholden to the Goddess of the Seas. Her people are born of the waves, and they alone know how to cross the impassable oceans between East and West.
A SOLDIER WITH A SECRET
Marcus is the commander of the Thirty-Seventh, the notorious legion that has led the Celendor Empire to conquer the entire East. The legion is his only family, and even they don’t know the secret he’s been hiding since childhood.
A DANGEROUS QUEST
When a power-hungry ruler captures Teriana’s crew and threatens to reveal Marcus’s secret unless they help him conquer the unknown West, the two are forced into an unlikely–and unwilling– alliance. They unite for the sake of their families, but both must decide how far they are willing to go, and how much they are willing to sacrifice.
The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo
A sweeping historical novel about a dancehall girl and an orphan boy whose fates entangle over an old Chinese superstition about men who turn into tigers.
When 11-year-old Ren’s master dies, he makes one last request of his Chinese houseboy: that Ren find his severed finger, lost years ago in an accident, and reunite it with his body. Ren has 49 days, or else his master’s soul will roam the earth, unable to rest in peace.
Ji Lin always wanted to be a doctor, but as a girl in 1930s Malaysia, apprentice dressmaker is a more suitable occupation. Secretly, though, Ji Lin also moonlights as a dancehall girl to help pay off her beloved mother’s Mahjong debts. One night, Ji Lin’s dance partner leaves her with a gruesome souvenir: a severed finger. Convinced the finger is bad luck, Ji Lin enlists the help of her erstwhile stepbrother to return it to its rightful owner.
As the 49 days tick down, and a prowling tiger wreaks havoc on the town, Ji Lin and Ren’s lives intertwine in ways they could never have imagined. Propulsive and lushly written, The Night Tiger explores colonialism and independence, ancient superstition and modern ambition, sibling rivalry and first love. Braided through with Chinese folklore and a tantalizing mystery, this novel is a page-turner of the highest order.
A Pinch of Magic (A Pinch of Magic #1) by Michelle Harrison
‘A SPELL-BINDING STORY, STEEPED IN MAGIC. I ADORED IT’ – Abi Elphinstone, author of Sky Song
Three sisters trapped by an ancient curse.
Three magical objects with the power to change their fate.
Will they be enough to break the curse?
Or will they lead the sisters even deeper into danger? …
The enchanting new story from Michelle Harrison, author of the bestselling THIRTEEN TREASURES trilogy
I’ve never read anything by Ann Aguire, but I want to read the Razorland series, I think that’s what its called. I have the last book in the series and am hoping to come across book 1 and 2 when I’m off the buying ban.
Oh, I’ll probably add Dark Shores and The Night Tiger to my to-read list too! I quite enjoyed Danielle L. Jensen’s previous trilogy, although it’s been years since I read that one. I’m excited to see what she does next 🙂
A Pinch of Magic has such a lovely cover and I’ve not seen it before. I am curious about The Night Tiger and also about the Kadrey and Aguirre books. So I guess you could say I’m hoping to try most of your list eventually.
Haha – yeah, me too.
Lynn 😀
I’m really curious about Dark Shores, since I’ve enjoyed this author in the past. But it seems almost impossible to get a review copy, so I probably won’t get to it either.
Yeah, I’m curious about it too = pirates 😀
The Grand Dark sounds like a very intriguing story, and one I will keep on my radar, while I’m beyond curious about the new Aguirre book, since it sounds a little different from her other works I read, and the touch of supernatural that peeks from your synopsis makes it difficult for me to ignore it… 😉
Yeah, I think that might be one of the books that moves from the ‘maybe’ to the ‘must’ pile.
Lynn 😀
I think I might add Heartwood Box to my TBR!! 😀
These TTT books are a nightmare for the TBRs!
Lynn 😀
I’m so looking forward to The Night Tiger because I loved The Ghost Bride so much. I didn’t know Danielle Jensen had a new series coming out, I still have to finish the other one I started of hers haha. So many books, so little time!
The Songbird trilogy ended on a bit of a flat note for me – but I’d still like to try her next series. I also enjoyed The Ghost Bride but at the moment there’s no way I can fit The Night Tiger in but I do so love the look of it.
Lynn 😀
Yeah I know what you mean. I really need to buckle down and also stop adding new books to my list until I catch up a bit lol.
And, I really need to finish some series – I’m so bad. I’m becoming the Queen of reading the first book in the series and going no further.
Lynn 😀
Yes, me too! This is why finishing some series is always one of my reading goals 😂😂
It’s a maybe for me on Heartwood Box as well, after her last YA suspense disappointed me. And lol Danielle L. Jensen…I loved her Stolen Songbird trilogy up until the final chapter of the last book which pissed me off so bad I don’t know if I can bring myself to pick up another one of her books again.
Yep, me to with the Stolen Songbird trilogy.
Lynn 😀
The Grand Dark is one that I’ve had my eye on but can’t decide if I want to make time to read it yet. I think I’ll wait to read some reviews and maybe pick it up in audio.
That sounds like a good plan 😀
Oohh, they sound so good! The Grand Dark may not be my thing, but I might enjoy the others, especially the last two.
Yeah, these are books that I’m still not really decided about but then again they’re on my mind still. So we’ll see I guess.
Lynn 😀
Lynn, I can see why you’re so tempted: these sound great! I particularly like the sound of Dark Shores, The Night Tiger and A Pinch of Magic. 😀
I really like the sound of The Night Tiger and hope I get a chance to pick up a copy at some point and more importantly – fit it in.
Lynn 😀