I’m so grateful to have survived this winter (it was a rough one) and my first in a new city that actually experiences winter. With a new season, it’s time to review the TBR again and make lists that I won’t likely accomplish. lol Except I’m doing something a little different this time and not picking a single review book as a “goal”. They’re already the goal after all. I always try to focus on review books because, yes, they’re important and I love being given the opportunity to read them early, however, I’m trying to go easier on myself these days and am trying not to give myself such a hard time when I don’t get to all of them in time. I’ve also read about half a dozen 3-star books in the last few weeks so I’m really just looking to pick up more books that I’m excited to and not just because I full obligated to. Here are a few that I hope give me some bookish joy.

Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts #1) by Stacia Kane
The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) by Holly Black
Vicious (Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl

Phoenix Unbound (Fallen Empire #1) by Grace Draven
Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren
Blue World by Robert R. McCammon
Six Stories (Six Stories #1) by Matt Wesolowski
The Anomaly (The Anomaly Files #1) by Michael Rutger

What are on your Spring TBRs?

Stories can take us on the most wondrous adventures. I love a good fantasy world, but I especially love a story that tells me of a place that I could possibly visit someday. These 10 stories are set in a few locations I wouldn’t mind seeing with my own eyes.

Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor | Prague

The Bungalow by Sarah Jio | Bora Bora

Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light by Amy Thomas | Paris

One Day in December by Josie SIlver | Thailand

Still Me by Jojo Moyes | New York City

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon | Scotland

Burial Rites by Hannah Kent | Iceland

Timeless by Gail Carriger | Egypt

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan | Greece

Today’s topic was essentially Underrated Gems and I’ve done almost too many of those that I seem to have run out.

Underrated Gems
Underrated Gems Pt. 2
Underrated Gems Pt. 3
Underrated Gems Pt. 4

Instead, I’m focusing on a handful of underrated books on my TBR that I’m hoping end up being an as of yet undiscovered gem.

The House of War and Witness by Mike Carey, Linda Carey, Louise Carey | 147 ratings
A Tree Born Crooked by Steph Post | 172 ratings
Zazen by Vanessa Veselka | 236 ratings
In the Valley of the Sun by Andy Davidson | 308 ratings
Love and Other Wounds: Stories by Jordan Harper | 362 ratings

Bluegrass: A True Story of Murder in Kentucky by William Van Meter | 370 ratings
The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley: A Novel by Jeremy Massey | 1,099 ratings
Donnybrook by Frank Bill | 1,249 ratings
Six Stories (Six Stories #1) by Matt Wesolowski | 1,791 ratings
Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way through Great Books by Cara Nicoletti | 1,831 ratings

I have difficulty sometimes when books are overly hyped. People read them and love them, then shout from the rooftops about how wonderful they are. This automatically makes me nervous because I fully expect the book to have the opposite effect because I’m contrary like that. These ten 2019 releases are ones I’m nervous about diving in, but hope they end up being worth all that hype.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing | Expected publication: March 26th 2019 by Berkley Books
Daisy Jones & the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid | Expected publication: March 5th 2019 by Ballantine Books
Little Darlings by Melanie Golding | Expected publication: April 30th 2019 by Crooked Lane Books
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey | Expected publication: June 4th 2019 by Tor Books
The Lost Man by Jane Harper | Expected publication: February 5th 2019 by Flatiron Books

With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo | Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by HarperTeen
The Gutter Prayer (The Black Iron Legacy #1) by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan | Published January 22nd 2019 by Orbit
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern | Expected publication: November 5th 2019 by Doubleday Books 
The Beautiful (The Beautiful #1) by Renée Ahdieh | Expected publication: October 8th 2019 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver | Expected publication: December 26th 2019 by Penguin

What books are you nervous about picking up in 2019?

For some reason, I tend to add books completely randomly to my TBR. Sometimes I don’t even read blurbs. (Weird, I know.) I’m a total book cover judger and quick glancer of friends reviews to ascertain whether it’s worth being added. I spend vast quantities of time going back through my TBR to do “book purges” which is such a time waster. This year I’ve made it a point to try to be more conscious of what I’m putting on my shelves and so far it’s going pretty well. These are 10 that have made the cut in recent TBR additions.

Added these after reading the article: 8 Modern Classics of Rural Noir

American Salvage by Bonnie Jo Campbell
The Motel Life by Willy Vlautin

Added these due to my current obsession with Columbia (courtesy of Narcos). 2 Fiction, 1 Non:

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
There Are No Dead Here: A Story of Murder and Denial in Colombia by Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno

Added these because I’m late to the Hello, Sunshine party:

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

Added these because Anthony Bourdain said to:

Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris by A.J. Liebling
The Friends of Eddie Coyle by George V. Higgins

What books have you added to your TBR recently?

There are far too many amazing books being published every year to not miss out on reading a few (hundred lol). My list goes well beyond ten missed books but I’m hoping a few of these end up being well worth the wait.

The Lost Queen (The Lost Queen Trilogy #1) by Signe Pike
Trail of Lightning (The Sixth World #1) by Rebecca Roanhorse
The Kiss Quotient (The Kiss Quotient #1) by Helen Hoang
Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F. Kuang

A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe (The Salvagers #1) by Alex White
Kingdom of Ash (Throne of Glass #7) by Sarah J. Maas
Walk in the Fire (Judah Cannon #2) by Steph Post
The Anomaly (The Anomaly Files #1) by Michael Rutger
Phoenix Unbound (Fallen Empire #1) by Grace Draven

Going over the end of year book results is always a ton of fun to look back and remember all those books I already managed to forget I read. (I have a terrible memory). I especially love going back over and realizing this was only the first year that I read some authors and how I could have possibly waited as long as I did for some. These are my favorite new to me authors and the books of theirs I read in 2018.

What new authors you read in 2018 are new favorites?

Starting a new year, already, and yet I’m still pretending like I’ve got time to work on my 2018 piles. lol

These are the 2019 books for the first half of the year I’m most excited to see out in the world.

Suspicious Minds (Stranger Things #1) by Gwenda Bond | Expected publication: February 5th 2019 by Del Rey Books
The Test by Sylvain Neuvel | Expected publication: February 12th 2019 by Tor.com
Motherland by Lauren Beukes | Expected publication: April 1st 2019 by Mulholland Books
Alien: Echo: An Original Young Adult Novel of the Alien Universe by Mira Grant | Expected publication: April 9th 2019 by Imprint
Westside: A Novel by W.M. Akers | Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by Harper Voyager

Middlegame by Seanan McGuire | Expected publication: May 7th 2019 by Tor.com
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren | Expected publication: May 14th 2019 by Gallery Books
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey | Expected publication: June 4th 2019 by Tor Books
The Grand Dark by Richard Kadrey | Expected publication: June 11th 2019 by Harper Voyager
The Poison Thread by Laura Purcell | Expected publication: June 18th 2019 by Penguin Books

It’s not even 2019 yet and I’ve already found myself buried in 2019 review books. There are worse problems to have, I know. While trying to make a schedule to stay on top of publication dates and to try to find a happy medium when it comes to balancing my backlist, I’ve come up with this list of ten for my Winter TBR. Meaning my TBR for the entire season, so in theory, I should be able to accomplish this. Stay tuned. 😉

Review Books

Miraculum by Steph Post | Expected publication: January 22nd 2019 by Polis Books
Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik | Expected publication: February 5th 2019 by Harper Voyager
The Lost Man by Jane Harper | Expected publication: February 5th 2019 by Flatiron Books
The Huntress by Kate Quinn | Expected publication: February 26th 2019 by William Morrow Paperbacks
A Friend is a Gift You Give Yourself: A Novel by William Boyle | Expected publication: March 5th 2019 by Pegasus Books

Backlist Books

Like Lions (Bull Mountain #2) by Brian Panowich
The Hammer of Thor (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard #2) by Rick Riordan
Dating You / Hating You by Christina Lauren
Everything Changes by Jonathan Tropper
Before the Devil Breaks You (The Diviners #3) by Libba Bray

Today is a freebie post so I’m writing about backlist books (original post from November 6th) that I want to prioritize. Most people, when they find an author they love they’ll run through everything else they’ve written. I am not one of those people. I’ll read something I love, add everything else they’ve written to my TBR, and then promptly forget about them. The hazards of being a book reviewer, I have a tendency to focus on newer books and let my backlist TBR fall by the wayside. At least it comes up in a Tuesday topic and reminds me of all the books I have yet to read…

Here are ten backlist books that I’d love to get around to sooner rather than later.

Donna Tartt | Read: The Secret History, TBR: The Goldfinch
John Fowles | Read: The Collector, TBR: The Magus
Jonathan Stroud | Read: The Screaming Staircase, TBR: The Amulet of Samarkand
Jordan Harper | Read: She Rides Shotgun, TBR:  Love and Other Wounds: Stories
Rachel Bach/Aaron | Read: Fortune’s Pawn, TBR: The Spirit Thief

Robert Jackson Bennett | Read: Foundryside, TBR: City of Stairs
Ruth Reichl | Read: Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table, TBR: Garlic and Sapphires
Sarah Pinborough | Read: Mayhem, TBR: A Matter of Blood
Sarah Waters | Read: Affinity, TBR: Fingersmith
Steph Post | Read: Lightwood, TBR: A Tree Born Crooked