Top Ten Tuesday: A Winter TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by  The Broke and the Bookish.

My planned TBRs always end up becoming such a mess because I get too ambitious or sidetracked and end up not reading the books I planned on reading. That being said I’m still going to try and have a TBR for the winter here and HOPEFULLY I will read at least a few of these. I really am terrible.

Also some of these will be included in an upcoming Book Haul I’m going to be doing I didn’t want to spoil ALL of the books I received and bought! I have a TON of ARCs that I’ll have to be reading here this winter as well but as I said I’m not going to spoil all of them!

These are in no particular order.

10.) Dear Martin by Nic Stone

I JUST got this from the library so I’m going to be reading it right away here, I’m super excited to finally be reading this book! I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about it so I’m expecting to love it.

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9.) There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins

Another library book I’m going to finish here quickly. I’ve heard a lot of mixed things about this book so I decided to just read it myself and see what I think although I’ll go in with lower expectations.

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8.) Final Girls by Riley Sager

Once again another horror/thriller that I’ve heard mixed things about and yet again I wanted to read it myself and see what I think of it. I just really love the idea of the “final girl” trope being used in a book!

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7.) Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor

I know, I know. I have been adding this to my TBRs FOREVER and I still haven’t read it! Once I battle through all of the ARCs I have to read I WILL READ THIS BOOK! I stare at it every time I pass my bookshelf!

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6.) Because You Love To Hate Me

Another book I “had to have right away” and still haven’t read but I really do want to get to it sooner rather than later! It’s a collection of short stories so I feel that it will be a quicker read.

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5.) A Torch Against The Night by Sabaa Tahir

After reading the perfection that is “An Ember in the Ashes” I seriously need to get on to reading the sequel! I’m ready to be emotionally wrecked again, bring it on.

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4.) City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

I’ve had this book on my TBR for a while but since it released this month I’ve seen TONS of great reviews so I’m even more excited to read it. I love fantasy but a fantasy set in Egypt is right up my alley.

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3.) Between the Blade and the Heart by Amanda Hocking

I’m SUPER excited to be reading this ARC and I’m going to be a part of my first blog tour with it as well so be on the look out for my review this coming month!

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2.) A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole

Another ARC I’m excited to read here soon, it’s a YA sci-fi and it has one gorgeous cover.

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1.) The Fire Queen by Emily R. King

I received an ARC of the first book in this trilogy and actually really enjoyed it! I also recently received an ARC of the last book in the trilogy as well and have a copy of the sequel on its way so I will be reading both of these here this winter but especially the second book.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

What’s on your winter TBR?

Let me know in the comments!

My Votes Are In! 2017 Goodreads Choice Awards

100% credit for this post idea goes to the wonderful Melanie @ Mel To The Any so be sure to go check out her post as well as her amazing blog!

This post is pretty straight forward in that I’ll just be sort of discussing my votes in the Goodreads Choice Awards. If you haven’t gone and voted already be sure to go check it out, voting ends November 27th and the winners are announced December 5th!

I will only be discussing the categories I actually submitted a vote in, there are PLENTY of categories with nominees that are on my TBR but since I haven’t read them I didn’t feel it was very fair for me to vote for them (with one exception I will discuss below).

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Best Horror

My Vote: Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

I will probably always and forever vote for Christina Henry’s horror books because they’re so well done and well written and just everything in general is fantastic about them. This is a retelling of Peter Pan from the POV of a young James Hook and serves as an origin story for the classic villain. I loved how Henry put such a unique, dark and twisted spin on the original tale it was so well done and utter perfection in my opinion.

You can read my full review of “Lost Boy” here, if you’re interested!

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Best Young Adult Fiction

My Vote: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

There were actually a few I wanted to vote for in this category but “The Hate U Give” is such an important, powerful, and well written story I couldn’t stand the idea of NOT voting for it! This book is perfection, PERFECTION! It deserves to win every award and if you haven’t read this book already I highly, highly urge you to do so because it’s game-changing and powerful.

You can read my full review of “The Hate U Give” here, if you’re interested!

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Best Debut Goodreads Author

My Vote: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

As I said, SHE DESERVES EVERY AWARD! When I was reading “The Hate U Give” I was blown away by her writing, it didn’t feel like I was reading a debut at all but more like the billionth book of a seasoned pro. I am very confident this book will win in both these categories!

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Best Young Adult Fantasy/Science Fiction

My Vote: Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor

So as I mentioned I usually don’t vote for books I haven’t actually read BUT I decided I need to make an exception and here’s why:

I love Laini Taylor’s books and I’m 100% confident I will love “Strange The Dreamer”. But another reason I wanted to vote for this book (besides the fact that I will love it when I do get around to reading it) is that I’m really tired of Sarah J. Maas’s books winning every year JUST because they’re Sarah J. Maas’s books. I’m sure her books are good but I’d like to see A DIFFERENT book and author win for once and so I wanted to help boost Laini Taylor because she deserves it.

Have you read any of these books as well? What did you think?

Did you vote for any of these books in the Goodreads Choice Awards?

What books did you vote for?

Let me know in the comments!

Books I’d Like to Finish Before the End of the Year

So of course I’m going to be pretty busy this month and next month with ARCs but by the time November and December roll around what will I be reading? It’s been a bit of a chore with certain posts to not discuss my planned October TBR, why is it so secret? Just for fun! I have quite a few spooky books set up for October. However, there are a couple books I would for sure like to squeeze in before the year ends that aren’t going to be a part of my Halloween TBR for October. Here are just a few of them!

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Little Monsters by Kara Thomas

I just purchased this book and would LOVE to dive into it soon since it promises to be pretty dark and full of some serious plot twists. If it’s anything like Thomas’s other book “The Darkest Corners” then it’s sure to not disappoint!

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The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

I’m actually ashamed that I haven’t read any of his books yet since I’m an avid fantasy reader! Plus on top of that EVERYONE keeps telling me I must read this series and I know they’re right. I’m really hoping I can manage to make some room for it before the year is up.

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Because You Love To Hate Me Edited by Ameriie

I’m sad I couldn’t fit this in any sooner but the ARCs got the best of me! This should be a fairly quick read since it’s an anthology by some fantastic authors and all about villains. Can’t wait to get to it!

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Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

I’m all for anything that seems “Alice in Wonderland” inspired and I also have been meaning to give Tahereh Mafi a try. I just got a copy of this book and hoping I can test it out soon, especially with that gorgeous cover!

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I know, I know how can I NOT have read the Heroes of Olympus series yet? I read and adored and loved the Percy Jackson series but just haven’t gotten to this one yet. Fortunately I got a fantastic deal on a box set so now I have no excuse to not just dive into this series finally!

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A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

I have zero excuses on this one, especially now that the trilogy is complete! I’m hoping I can finally get started on the sequel to the fantastic “A Darker Shade of Magic” because Schwab is Queen!

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The Queen of Blood by Sarah Beth Durst

This book is a little bit more under the radar but I thought it sounded interesting and I have heard good things about it. I’m all for interesting magic systems!

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Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

I’ve been meaning to read this ALL YEAR and still haven’t gotten to it yet! So I’m hoping I can finally read it especially since I adore Laini Taylor’s writing to bits and pieces.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

Do you have any of these on your TBR as well?

Have you read any other books by these authors?

What books are you trying to squeeze in before the end of the year?

Let me know in the comments!

Prettiest Covers On My TBR

Hello my fellow book lovers!

I could honestly do nothing but posts about book covers, I love book covers! So today I’m going to share with you guys the prettiest covers of books I still have on my TBR! I do own physical copies of most of these books with the exception of two, so it’s worse because their pretty covers stare at me accusingly wondering why I haven’t read them yet….

Anywho! There are also a TON of beautiful covers for books I’ve read, because I’m more likely to read the book sooner if the cover is pretty and shiny. Why? I suspect I may be part Niffler…..

But I will be doing up another post in the future mentioning my favorite pretty covers for books I’ve read! Also probably another post about pretty covers on my TBR as well because there definitely are a ton more!

Enjoy!

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

I’m not 100% sure if I’ll truly enjoy this book or not since it sort of has mixed reviews even though it’s such a hyped book! Although I have to say I’m willing to risk it for that gorgeously, dark looking cover!

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Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith

I remember seeing this before it was released in 2015 and HAD to have it because it’s got “Inception” vibes and this beautiful cover! Of course I still haven’t read it though because I’m a terrible person……But anyways it’s about espionage inside of dreams so it sounds awesome!

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Flame in the Mist by Renee Ahdieh

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! I love how the black contrasts the orange and purple and makes them pop so much more, plus that peacock is so pretty! I also really like how there are throwing stars mixed in with the flowers it just makes it a little bit more badass.

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Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

I pretty much love ALL of Rosamund Hodge’s covers because they’re always this gorgeous! I think the way the stairs wind into the rose petals is really unique and the font is also really pretty as well. I didn’t really enjoy reading “Crimson Bound” her other book but I’m hoping maybe I’ll like this one better.

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After The Woods by Kim Savage

A huge part of why I ended up buying this book was because of the cover, I mean it’s just so beautiful and I love all the shades of green. It’s a mystery thriller and the premise sounds a lot darker than the cover would make you think!

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Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto

Probably one of my favorite covers ever! I really love birch trees so that’s probably a big part of it but I also love the way the cover looks like it’s burning away. Very unique and very pretty! I have heard this book is quite the blend of genres too with some fantasy, paranormal creatures, western, and steampunk!

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The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

I really love the starry smoke (if that even makes sense?) that’s on here as well as the gorgeous orange sunset! I’ve also heard that the writing is very beautiful as well so really I think I could say judge this book by its cover.

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Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor 

This is the UK cover even though the US one is pretty as well, I really love the blue and the sort of constellation looking patterns on it as well. Plus the back has some pretty galaxy patterns! I’m not a big fan of moths at all but the cover is so pretty that I can easily look past it.

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Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios

It probably might sound a little weird to say that I find the dead flowers pretty? I think it’s really neat looking with them popping out of the frame and I think it fits the title really well since it’s all about a bad romance, hence the dead flowers.

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Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

I love, love, love the pink hair on this cover! I don’t know why but something about pink hair to me is just gorgeous and awesome. I also like how it weaves through the font too it just adds a little more to the cover. I’m currently reading and loving this book too by the way!

Do you think any of these covers are gorgeous as well? 

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? 

What are some of your favorite covers on your TBR?

Let me know in the comments!

Books I Just HAD To Have…..& Still Haven’t Read

The other day I was looking at my bookshelves and noticing all of the books I’ve bought under the delusion that I could NOT wait and HAD to have them right away……and then still haven’t read them.

This makes me wonder sometimes if I’m actually nuts or not because why do I torture myself like this? Plus everyone always tells me “hey remember when you bought all those books and still haven’t read them? You don’t need more until you read those.” which they’re sort of right….

So I thought that it would be a great idea to share what a horrible reader/book hoarder I am with you all!

Basically this is me:

And then after not reading any of them:

I’ll be putting these in order of how long I’ve actually had these sitting around my house starting with the newest additions!

When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon

Of course with all of the hype that was surrounding this book before and after it’s May release date I had to get my hands on it! Most of the time I don’t give into the hype, or at least I like to think so, I just thought everything about this book sounded wonderful: diverse characters and culture, a cute cover, and non-stop glowing reviews!

Then obviously I couldn’t wait to get a copy and then it arrived and now it’s just sitting all lonely on my shelf because I’m a terrible person…….

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Bad Romance by Heather Demetrios

I actually ordered this with “When Dimple Met Rishi” because once again I could not wait and just haaaad to have a copy right away! The cover is absolutely gorgeous and I’ve seen great reviews for it, plus I think it will be interesting to read about a dysfunctional relationship in a YA setting. I know that makes me sound weird but it’s nice to see unique books and books bringing attention to abuse like this (because it happens).

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Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

If I was going to rate all of these books by which book I was literally dying to have “Strange the Dreamer” would be #1 because I seriously acted like I was going to die without this book in my life. I even went to the trouble of ordering a UK edition as well because I HAD TO HAVE THIS BOOK AND LAINI TAYLOR IS LIFE!

And guess where the book is sitting? On my shelf. Unread.

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The Valiant by Lesley Livingston

I was super pumped for this book before it came out and then with all of the great reviews afterwards I was even more excited for it. Female gladiator! That’s all I want in my books so when I was in the bookstore and saw it I decided to splurge and buy it right then and there because I NEEDED IT. Now it’s been sitting on my shelf for a few months……

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Empress of a Thousand Skies by Rhoda Belleza

I bought this book along with my spontanous purchase of “The Valiant” as well. You can see where this got me.

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Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman

When I saw this book come out at first I was like: Norse Mythology?! Told by Neil Gaiman?! I MUST HAVE THIS BOOK IMMEDIATELY! So I kind of started it and then slowly it worked its way back onto my shelf where it is still sitting waiting to be finished.

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The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Everyone, everyone, everyone recommends reading this series and I saw the box set on sale on Book Outlet for about $12.00 so of course I was all “Hell yeah!” and bought it right away. Soooooooooo it’s all sitting on my shelf still unread where it will probably remain for a while.

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Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter

This was a spontaneous buy I got with birthday money last year and I decided to use that money for this book because once again…..I couldn’t resist. It’s even a shorter book and I STILL haven’t gotten to it!

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Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

I asked for this one for my birthday last year because I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted it and so then I actually received it for my birthday…….and haven’t read it yet.

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The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski

After reading the first book “The Winner’s Curse” I was blown away by how much I enjoyed it after how much I was expecting not to enjoy it. So then after devouring the sequel as well I NEEDED to read the last book that was just released last year! And guess who still hasn’t finished that trilogy even after buying the last book? Me.

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The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

This book was super, duper hyped last year and because of that plus the pretty cover and promise of unique mythology I was 100% sold. I saw it when I happened to visit a Barnes & Noble and instantly bought it and now it’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year still unread.

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Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

This one hasn’t been a new release for a while but I found while reading a bunch of glowing reviews for it and having it recommended a ton. So I found it on Book Outlet and bought it straight away because I love twisted thrillers! I started reading it…..and then set it aside for some reason…..and it’s been sitting there waiting for me to return to it eventually.

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

This book is the one I’ve had the longest on this list because back many, many years ago when I was binge reading the Percy Jackson series and finished it and was DYING for more! So I found the Heroes of Olympus series and bought the first book straight away…….it has been sitting on my old Nook Color for ages and honestly it probably won’t get read because I want physical copies now….awkward.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them?

Do you have any of these on your TBR as well?

Did you buy any of these right away and haven’t read them yet either?

Do you buy books and let them sit for a long time?

What are some books you HAD to have and haven’t read yet?

Let me know in the comments!