Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2019

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019.” Soooo many. I was able to make an only ten-book list, but I’m sure as we get closer to the second half of the year, there is going to be plenty of other books I’m going to get excited for. How am I going to be able to buy all of these?!?!?! Covers/Titles are linked to Goodreads.

1. Ghost Squad by Claribel Ortega – Claribel was one of the first authors to throw support behind the Latinx Book Club. She’s such a cornerstone in the community. I’m also a fan of her podcast Write or Die. Her debut is coming out this fall and I am so stoked for it. Isn’t the cover so charming? Note that the release date on this changed after I made this post (now scheduled for 2020).

2. Queen of Nothing by Holly Black – So I guess we are getting the third book in the Folk of the Air series sooner rather than later. I’m not exactly sure how I feel about this but it’s coming and I better prepare myself emotionally.

3. Children of Virtue and Vengeance by Tomi Adeyemi – I might need to do a reread of the first, but oh my gosh, my heart just about stopped when I saw the cover for this one.

4. Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri – I loved Empire of Sand so much. It’s definitely in my top 10 Favorite Adult Fantasy list that exists somewhere in my head. This is a companion novel and I could not be more excited.

5. The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh – Ahdieh’s is blessing us with a vampire novel this year and I am smiling wider than I ever thought I’d smile for a vampire novel. Give it to me now.

6. Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo – The day has come (or is nearly here) where Bardugo is going to give us a novel not set in the Grishaverse. I’m so excited to see what she does with this book. I’m here some very dark things about it which makes me very excited.

7. Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – Easily my most anticipated Adult fiction novel of the year, Silvia Moreno-Garcia impresses me with everything she writes. I have an eARC of this one and I am so excited to read it this summer, which I better do soon since the release date was moved up to July. I read it, it’s fantastic. Of course.

8. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco – Rin Chupeco is an author I feel like I’ve neglected (I will finish The Bone Witch trilogy, I will!), but I am determined not to let this one pass me by.

9. Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud – My list is very fantasy-centered so making sure I include at least one contemporary. I’m not really into royalty-based books unless it’s in a fantasy setting, but this one sounds so darn cute, straight out of a Hallmark movie, and a black girl gets to be front and center. I am ready.

10. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin – Yes, we are back to fantasy because I keep saying this one sounds good and then I see something else about it that gets me really excited (the cover, the enemies to lovers trope) and I squeal a little.

Are these on your TBR? Which are you adding? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

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Top Ten Tuesday: A Few Random Bookish Opinions

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Unpopular Bookish Opinions.” I honestly have to be in the mood to share some of my unpopular opinions. I don’t think I have a ton, because I’m usually of the opinion that we all should like/do what we want bookish wise and not pass judgement on others for doing things differently than ourselves. But I have shared some less-than-polite opinions in Kernels of Nonsense: In Which I Tell You How I Really Feel…For this week’s topic, I’ve come up with a few opinions and stray thoughts I’ve had that I’ve not really shared with anyone.

1. I kind of hate book trailers – They mostly make me cringe. Some of them are so bad and make me not want to read a book. And I know people work hard on them and the budget must be really tight, but I just can’t take most of them seriously. I think I’ve enjoyed a totally of two book trailers and every other one I’ve watched makes me wish they were never invented.

2. Publishers & ARCs – I’m always side eyeing publishers when 100 ARCs are being reserved for giveaways on Goodreads (sometimes more than once!) when they could be sending them to bloggers who share a book’s marginalization. Like, you have 200 ARCs to give away to random readers, but you can’t give out twenty or fifty of these to bloggers who can then write #OwnVoices reviews?

3. Coupons and B&N – I really wish I could use coupons on B&N preorders. I’d buy so much more from them. Instead I have to wait for a book’s release and by then some of the coupons I’ve been sent have expired and it’s just easier to buy from Amazon. I just want to give you my money, why won’t you let me?

4. I’m bitter when new editions are released – New editions like box sets make me glare at publishers because are you kidding me? I was a fan from the beginning, spent money every year on a new book in the series and now you want me to spend even more on these limited/special/new editions?! I can’t!

5. The Grisha Trilogy – *heavy sigh* There’s a good chance I will never finish the Grisha Trilogy and that’s in part because of my fellow bloggers. I love you all, but hearing about the Mal vs. Darkling discourse leaves me tired and I haven’t even read these books yet. I kind of don’t want to get sucked in after witnessing the discourse.

Do you share any of my opinions? Has a fandom every turned you off from reading or watching something? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite Fantasy Novels

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Books From My Favorite Genre.” Even though we are concentrating on only one genre, this was an incredibly hard list to put together. I love fantasy and could probably make this a twenty book list, but for your sake, I resisted. Honestly, on a different day, this might look like a completely different list, I have so many favorites. That being said, I’m actually really surprised that half of these are adult fantasy. I always think I’m more drawn to YA fantasy, but I guess it’s both. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

1. A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi – Do flawless books exist? Because it is my humble opinion that A Crown of Wishes excels when it comes to world building and characterization. Chokshi’s writing is compelling, her setting enchanting, and the romance is irresistible. Yes, I’d call this one one of the few books I’d refer to as flawless.

2. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhouse – I read this book twice in the last six months, bought myself a copy of this one before I finished my library copy, and devoured the sequel like it was water and I was a parched woman in the desert. If you like unlikable heroines, breathtaking action scenes, and unique world building, what are you waiting for?

3. Windwitch/Bloodwitch by Susan Dennard – I can’t quite decide if the second or third book in the Witchlands series is my favorite, but I can tell you why. I am fully invested in the character development of the Bloodwitch Aeduan. He goes from hunting our two lead characters to allying with one of them. Iseult is also a favorite and I love every interaction between the two of them.

4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bargudo – Perhaps my favorite cast ever, the Six of Crows crew is only part of the reason this one is so beloved. Bardugo’s writing is so good in this one and even if you haven’t read the Grisha Trilogy, the world building can stand on its own.

5. Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho – One of my sweet spots reading wise is historical fantasy. I love this combination so much and love that there are so many possibilities. Unfortunately, we don’t get a ton of PoC leads in this genre. Sorcerer of the Crown enchants with its magical system and never shies away from addressing racism and sexism while allowing its two PoC leads to be themselves and flourish.

6. Serphina by Rachel Hartman – My top dragon novel will probably always be Rachel Hartman’s debut. It’s been years since I picked this one up but Seraphina seems etched into my very soul. If you are in the mood for complex characters, political intrigue, and writing that simply soars, this is the one to pick up.

7. The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I told you historical fantasy is my wheelhouse. I loved how subtle the magic was in this one. It’s such an enchanting book that I didn’t need magic flying everywhere, its focus was one three characters and Moreno-Garcia developed such strong depictions, even the villain of the story had me mesmerized.

8. Grave Mercy by Robin LaFevers – When I made this list, I wanted to make sure I included some titles from the past that had a big impact on me and not just ones I’ve been gaga for over the last couple of years. Grave Mercy is probably responsible for my love of assassins, the hate to love trope, and of course historical fantasy. I keep screaming this but this one has assassin nuns who serve the God of Death!!!

9. Uprooted by Naomi Novik – Can you describe a magical system as sensual? I’m going to call it sensual. The writing and world-building in Uprooted is top notch, but I live for the chemistry between Agnieszka and the Dragon. The antagonistic is also amazing.

10. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab – How could I make a list like this and not mention the Shades of Magic series? I love Schwab’s writing and how dark and yet enchanting this particular universe feels. I will never be over how utterly fantastic this series is.

Are you a fan of any of these? Do you have any favorite fantasy novels I didn’t mention here? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books From the Last Five Years

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Favorite Books Released In the Last Ten Years.” This might be my favorite topic so far this year. Unfortunately my memory isn’t the best, so I ended up only doing the last five years instead of ten. Luckily for me, the End of the Year Book Survey always asks me to name my favorite read, so making this list was as simple as looking back at those posts. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

2015: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo – I can’t believe I’ve never done a reread of this one. Despite this Six of Crows remains one of my favorite books ever with probably my favorite ensemble ever.

2016: Wolf By Wolf by Ryan Graudin – Yael is one of those characters that leaps off the page and burrows her way into your heart. She and this book will always be a favorite of mine.

2017: A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi – I listed several favorites in 2017 (The Hate U Give and Wild Beauty), but looking back, it was definitely A Crown of Wishes. If I had to choose five books that perfectly captured what I love in a story, this one would be at the top of my list. It is almost flawless.

2018: Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhouse – This would also be on the aforementioned list. I cannot rightly express just how amazing I think this little novel is and the sequel was so close to making my favorite 2019 read so far.

2019: Don’t Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno – We are almost halfway through the year and if I had to choose a favorite now it would have to be Don’t Date Rosa Santos. This book felt like a love letter, a goodbye letter, and a letter of healing. Don’t be surprised if you see this one a lot on my End of the Year Book Survey post come December.

Are any of these your favorites too? What’s your favorite read so far this year? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit.