Occasionally I start getting a little bit too into buying new books instead of reading something from the endless to-be-read pile on my shelf. When that happens, it’s a great time for me to go through my books and remind myself of why I bought them in the first place. So, here are 8 books on my TBR that I’m looking forward to reading.
The Stolen Heir by Holly Black
Having read The Cruel Prince series a couple of years ago, I’ve been raving about Holly Black to anyone that would listen. So, it’s no surprise that in true me fashion, I’ve had The Stolen Heir since its release and have been too scared to be disappointed to read it. The tagline for this book is ‘A runaway queen. A reluctant prince. And a quest that may destroy them both.’ That is all I need to know to be incredibly excited about the drama that could occur in this book.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Ninth House is an urban fantasy set at Yale University. The twenty-year-old Galaxy ‘Alex’ Stern is offered the chance to attend and encouraged by mysterious benefactors to keep an eye on Yale’s elite secret societies which seem to be engaging in occult activities. Obviously, this sounds like an incredible mystery-packed fantasy, which I’m on board with.
I am ashamed to say that Leigh Bardugo’s The Six of Crows is one of my favourite duologies in existence and I’ve yet to pick up Ninth House. To make that even stranger, I own Hell Bent, despite not having read Ninth House, and I’m looking forward to reading that too, maybe. I guess I’ll have to read Ninth House to confirm that.
The Atlas Paradox by Olivie Blake
I loved The Atlas Six when I read it. Dark academia is such an incredible aesthetic and Olivie Blake captured it well, blending it perfectly with fantasy elements. Plus, it had a cliffhanger, and I would very much like to know what happened, which I could if I just picked up The Atlas Paradox. So why, you ask, have I not read the second book in the series? Clearly, this is a trend for me. I buy or receive a book I want to read and wait for the perfect conditions—that do not exist—to read it. Rather than continue waiting, I’m choosing to remind myself of why I wanted to read it in the first place with this list. So hopefully it appears in a monthly reading wrap-up by the end of the year.
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
Most reviews of this book say it lacks a clear plot, but I don’t mind when a book is just a series of scenes strung together if they have the right vibe, so I’m still looking forward to it. Plus, that seems to be Sally Rooney’s thing. I’ve also heard a lot of people say that Beautiful World, Where Are You is a hopeful book, which I think I could use in the latter half of this year. Sometimes putting off books until you feel like it’s the right time is necessary, and that’s exactly how I felt about this one.
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
In this case, the genre (fantasy), the cover and the tagline—A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens—were enough to get me interested in reading in the first place, and to encourage me to read it all over again as I sat down to write this.
This is another book that’s been sitting on my shelves for years. The only thing that’s been stopping me from reading The Priory of the Orange Tree is how intimidated I am by its length. I already take forever to read books, and I worry that if I pick this one up with its hundreds of pages and tiny text, I’ll never finish it. However, I asked a friend to pick my TBR for August, and they picked this, so I have a little push to read it. Plus, I want to read A Day of Fallen Night, which is a companion novel in The Roots of Chaos series.
Iron Widow by Xihran Jay Zhao
Iron Widow is about Zeitan, an 18-year-old pilot who survives a ride in a giant transforming robot that she wasn’t expected to and kills the man responsible for her sister’s death in doing so. To keep her in check, she’s paired with Li Shimin, one of the most powerful and controversial pilots and the story follows her as she tries to discover a way to prevent more girls from dying during the piloting process.
I’ve wanted to read this book since it came out in 2021 and I heard more about it. Thanks to stumbling across many reviews, I already know this book has queer representation and a polyamorous relationship to offer, so I’m excited to pick it up and see how Xihran Jay Zhao approached those elements. And let’s not forget the giant transforming robots, I’m very intrigued by those too.
Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder
This is a novel about a mother who essentially becomes a monster at night. It’s been described as bizarre. Need I say more?
Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Carrie Soto is Back is the one book I had set very specific conditions for reading. I’ve been writing something that includes tennis for the past year or so, and I thought it would be interesting to read this once I was done as an illustration of how a published author writes about tennis. I’m approaching the end of my novel, so I’m close to being able to read this. It’s about a thirty-seven-year-old retired tennis pro who decides to make a comeback when another woman takes her twenty grand slam record. With a dramatic plot like that, it will be great for research and entertainment.
Having gone through the process of writing this, I’ve reignited the excitement I had to read all these books when I first got them, so if you ever need a push to read the books you already have, why not give yourself a little refresher on what they’re all about?
Have you read any of these books?
Read 'N Riot 