Top Ten Tuesday #378

Hi all! I hope you’ve all had a good week since I last did one of these, and that all of my U.K. readers made it through our heatwave without melting! I’ve got an exciting week coming up, my mum, one of her friends and I are going to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this Friday, we’re going to watch the Gymnastics, the Men’s Team Final, which should be really fun, we went to the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 (we saw the Athletics that time) and that was great, so I’m really looking forward to this. My sister is also coming over from Australia for the first time in FOUR YEARS, and I’ve not seen her since she left, so I’m super excited that she and her partner are going to be staying with us for a few weeks!

Anyway, it’s Tuesday, so that means another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. I’m feeling very judged by this week’s topic as we’re talking about Books From Our Seasonal TBR Lists We Still Haven’t Read. This topic was suggested by Dedra at A Book Wanderer, so thanks Dedra! I always have the best of intentions when I make my TBR lists, and I genuinely do want to read everything I put on there…..but then shiny new books catch my attention and the TBR list goes bye! These are the ones I’ve not read from the lists yet, that I do still really want to read:

1. The Silence of The Girls-Pat Barker (appeared on Winter 2021-22 TBR and Spring 2022 TBR)

Honestly I’ve kind of gone off this one after my friend told me it was quite similar to The Song of Achilles which I didn’t really enjoy that much. However, I have heard good things about it and I did buy it, so I’m willing to give it a chance, it’s just slid slightly further down my TBR than it was when I originally bought it.

2. Ace of Spades-Faridah Abike-Iyimide (appeared on Summer & Autumn 2021 TBRs and Spring 2022 TBR)

Yes, I know, I know, three TBR appearances and still not having read the book is BAD. I am really excited for this one and I do keep meaning to read it because I’ve heard such good things but I’ve been in such a rut with physical books over the past couple of years that I haven’t read nearly as much of my physical TBR as I intended to. I’d love to say this is one I’ll get to before the end of the year, but it’s seeming very likely it probably won’t be until 2023.

3. The Fair Botanists-Sara Sheridan (appeared on Summer & Autumn 2021 TBRs, and Spring 2022 TBR)

Another one with three TBR appearances and still not read! I think the format is the problem for this one, I’ve just not had the concentration for e-books recently, and it was one I requested from Netgalley and then downloaded on my Kindle app, so I think I’m going to try it on audiobook and see if that works better for me as it’s one I do really want to read, I think the format is just hurting me here.

4. Where Dreams Descend-Janella Angeles (appeared Autumn 2020 TBR, Winter 2020-21 TBR & Spring and Summer 2021 TBRs)

I really want to love this one because it just sounds so up my street (the author used Moulin Rouge as a comp title and that’s my favourite movie of all time, and the little bit I have read of it has the main character descending from the ceiling on a chandelier, very reminiscent of Satine’s first entrance in the film) but I just wasn’t feeling it when I picked it up to read in Spring of last year and I still haven’t really got back in my groove with physical books yet so it’s one that I’m planning on coming back to when I’m feeling more in the mood for my physical books. I feel like appearing on four separate TBR lists and still not reading a book has to be some kind of record!

5. These Violent Delights-Chloe Gong (appeared on Autumn 2020 & Winter 2020-21 TBR)

I started These Violent Delights at the end of 2020 but I ran out of time before the Netgalley copy expired, so I only read the first chapter, maybe the first two. Anyway, I’ve heard such good things about this book and it’s sequel that I do still really want to read it especially as I couldn’t really give it much of a chance the first time around. When I will read it is a different question, but it’s definitely an option on my never ending TBR!

6. Scarlet-AC Gaughen (appeared on Spring and Summer 2021 TBRs)

I’ve had this book for ages but somehow just never seem to get around to reading it, even though a Robin Hood story with a gender-swapped Will Scarlett sounds right up my street. I didn’t have much luck with Sherwood, the last gender-swapped Robin Hood retelling I tried (with Marian fulfulling the Robin Hood character there) but I’m hoping I will do better with this one.

7. The Last Magician-Lisa Maxwell (appeared on Summer 2021 TBR)

I thought this had been on more than one of my TBR lists, but it turns out it’s only been on the one! I really do want to read this one as historical fantasy is something I’ve been really enjoying in the past few years, but it’s a bit of a chonker and I’m not really feeling chunky books at the moment! Hopefully soon as I have a lot of very chunky books waiting for me on my shelves (being a fantasy reader not in the mood for chunky books is quite difficult!).

8. Liberte-Gita Trelease (appeared on Spring 2022 TBR)

I loved Enchantee when I read it back at the beginning of 2019 so you’d think I’d be all over the sequel right? Right? WRONG. I have tried starting this one but it’s not available on audio, I’m not enjoying the e-book (the format, not the story) and I have so many books piling up on my physical TBR, even if I bought a copy, it would be years till I got to it. I’ve also forgotten basically everything from Enchantee because it’s been so long since I read it. I will probably get to this one eventually, but it’s fallen down the priority list.

9. City of Spells-Alexandra Christo (appeared on Spring 2021 TBR)

I really enjoyed Into The Crooked Place, and I pre-ordered City of Spells so I had it as soon as it was out, but I’ve still not read it. In my defence on this one, I’ve lent it to my friend Hannah as she liked the first book too and I knew I wasn’t going to read it for a while, so I don’t actually have it at the moment (and even if I did, it would just be sitting on my shelf!).

10. Mina and The Undead-Amy McCaw (appeared on Spring 2021 TBR)

Vampires aren’t usually my thing, but as Amy was my secret sister pen pal when we both did the #otspsecretsister project, I really want to read this one and support her. This definitely feels like one that I should read in the autumn though, so I think I’m going to save it till then.

So there we go, those are ten books from my previous seasonal TBR lists that I still haven’t read yet, though I could have included way more than these! It was quite funny looking back through my old seasonal TBR posts and seeing how many books appeared two or more times before they finally dropped off the lists because I’d actually read them at last. Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Are any of them also on your TBR? Do you do well on your seasonal TBRs or are you notorious for going off list? Let me know in the comments!

I’ll be back next week with another Top Ten Tuesday, but I’m going completely off-piste with this one as the actual topic, Books Set In A Place I’d Love To Visit, is one I’ve done a few times before. Instead, I’m veering away from books altogether and talking about my Top Ten Favourite Gilmore Girls Episodes as I’m doing another rewatch at the moment and felt like it was the right time to finally do an official list of my favourites!