Top Ten Tuesday Archives - Page 5 of 12 - Brooke's Reviews and Sweeps

Books I Couldn’t Put Down

By Brookelorren on February 18, 2020February 17, 202020 Comments

Hello again, and welcome to Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s topic is supposed to be “The Last Ten Books That Gave Me a Book Hangover.” I don’t know if I get them? So I’m going to go with some of the most recent books I couldn’t put down. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Let’s get started!

Thousands is the fourth book in the Dollar series by Pepper Winters. I don’t know what it is about these books, but they’re really difficult to put down. A warning though, they are definitely not for kids.

Every Stolen Breath by Kimberly Gabriel was another book I had difficulty putting down. I just had to know what was going to happen next!

That Night by Amy Giles is the story of some teens that survive a mass shooting. The characters and story kept me interested and I didn’t want to put the book down!

I waited until 10 PM on September 30th to read Marie Lu’s Rebel and stayed up all night reading it. Fortunately, I had planned to do that and didn’t need to go anywhere the next day.

Naughts & Crosses is another book which had characters and a story that I became invested in. I had to find out what happened to this forbidden couple.

2019 was the year when I read two really good books with the same title. I enjoyed Beverly Jenkins’ Rebel as well.

When Dimple Met Rishi was adorable and I flew through this book, finishing it well before I had planned. Now I get to be on Sandhya Menon’s street team, and I get to go to her Of Curses and Kisses launch party tonight (assuming the snow isn’t too bad).

Sky Without Stars is another book I couldn’t put down. I can’t wait until the second book in this duology comes out, at the end of next month. Jessica Brody is going to be at The Tattered Cover for the next book in this series, Between Burning Worlds, and I can’t wait!

Oddly enough, I’m going to see four of the authors on this list at The Tattered Cover between tonight and the end of March, because Sandhya Menon, Marie Lu, and the next author are all going to be there soon.

I couldn’t put down Astrid Scholte’s Four Dead Queens either. She’s going to be at the Tattered Cover with Marie Lu on the 5th. In October of 2018 I wrote a Top Ten Tuesday post talking about some authors I’d love to meet. Marie Lu, Kiersten White, and Astrid Scholte were all on the list. I thought I’d probably never get to meet Ms. Scholte since she lived in Australia. Kiersten White was at The Tattered Cover last month, and soon I get to meet two of the other people on my list! So far, 2020 has been pretty good to me.

Finally, I had a hard time putting down Jodie Lynn Zdrock’s Spectacle. It has murder, public morgues, mystery, and was written in a way that I didn’t want to put it down.

And here’s the part where I mention that I read all these books in 2019. Although I’ve still been reading good books, I’m behind on my ARCs (in fact, I have the ARC of Sensational, the sequel to Spectacle, and haven’t started it yet, even though the finished copy is out). I’ve barely touched my Winter TBR. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been doing a lot of writing lately or something else.

So what books did you list for this week? What was the last book you couldn’t put down?

Favorite Ships

By Brookelorren on February 11, 2020February 4, 202034 Comments

Hi! Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!). It’s Valentine’s Day in a couple days, so this week is a love freebie. So I’m going to talk about some of my favorite ships! Some you can probably already guess, but hopefully there will be some new ones in there too. I’ll try to include at least some that are different from the Favorite Couples in Books that I did last year.

So as I’m writing this, I realize there might be some spoilers within the paragraphs for each book. If you don’t want any spoilers on each ship, like if you haven’t read the book yet, just skip the paragraph, please. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.

My favorite ship is Day and June from Legend. I’m a sucker for cinnamon roll boys and strong girls (which will probably become apparent in this post).

Since I did do a similar topic last year, I’m going to mix it up with come couples that I didn’t mention before. I really love Jude and Cardan in The Cruel Prince. Yes, they are toxic. But they’re toxic together, at least! I don’t think I’d like them as a couple if one of them was a bully and the other was a victim, but they seem to be okay with being wicked together, and I’m okay with that.

Divergent is one of my favorite books of all time and I blame Four and Tris for that. This is one of the series I plan on rereading this year, and I’m so excited! I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read this book (which I’ve also read in Spanish and German, and the first 50 pages in Russian) because I read this book several times before I started using Goodreads to track it. I love this book!

Dimple and Rishi in When Dimple Met Rishi are the cutest couple! This is a book I just couldn’t put down! It was such a funny book and they make such a cute couple. It doesn’t hurt that Dimple is into computers.

I know some people like to ship other couples in the Grishaverse, but I happen to like Alina and Mal. There’s just something I find sweet about these two teens who grew up friends with each other and eventually fell in love.

I adore Adelina and Magiano from the last two books of The Young Elites series. This book would have been a much different book without the twist that happened at the end of the first book. This is one of the series I plan on rereading this year and I’m so looking forward to it!

I don’t think I’ll be able to find time to reread Fangirl this year, but I absolutely adore this story! Cath and Levi are such a sweet couple.

Enchantée was my favorite book I read in 2018 and I absolutely love Camille and Lazare. I’m so glad I get to read another book with these characters, set in the French Revolution. I’m a little sad it won’t come out on Bastille Day this year, but I’d rather wait a little longer to get a better book than get a rushed book in July. I feel the same way about An Ember in the Ashes 4.

I loved Akos and Cyra in Carve the Mark. And here’s another ship I love with a boy with a sad story (he was kidnapped) paired with a strong girl. Weird that the book I’m writing and the book I’m editing are both stories like that. I read this story in 2019 so I probably won’t get around to reading this one again this year. But I’m sure I’ll read it again someday.

So I know I’ve already mentioned two Veronica Roth books today already, but this is a new ship! Ms. Roth just writes these beautiful characters I fall in love with, sorry! But I loved Matt and Claire in “Inertia.” It’s a short story (also available in Summer Days and Summer Nights if you enjoy short stories set in the summer by various authors) but I just can’t help but love these two characters, long after I read this story the first time. It was optioned for a movie, but there’s so many steps between getting optioned for a movie and it actually getting made.

So those are some of my favorite ships! I know there were a few repeats from last year, but there are some people I just can’t get off my mind! What are your favorite ships? I’m looking forward to seeing what you did for Top Ten Tuesday this week!

Books on My TBR I Predict Will Be Five Star Reads

By Brookelorren on February 4, 2020February 4, 202020 Comments

Hello! It’s Tuesday again, and that means it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday! Today we’re talking about Books that I Predict will be Five Star Reads. I’m writing this post on January 11th, and I may have read some of these books prior to the time this gets posted. Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

This book is arriving tomorrow! I’m so excited for that. I expect The Kingdom of Back will be a book I’ll love, because I love almost everything that Marie Lu writes.

Another book I expect to love is Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare. I love the Shadowhunter books and I expect that this will be another amazing story. I’ve already seen Cordelia and James Herondale in some stories and can’t wait to see more of them. I already have Chain of Thorns, Chain of Iron, and the untitled Wicked Powers books on my TBR because I know I’ll enjoy them.

I’m looking forward to Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon! This is an enemies-to-lovers story set during graduation. I’ve been interested in reading some of her stories before, but this one really sticks out to me.

In November I plan on reading The Scorpio Races (occasionally I’ll plan to read something far in advance, especially if the book happens over a specific date). Based on the other books I’ve read by Ms. Stiefvater, I expect this one to be five stars.

What’s it about? I don’t know. But it’s Marie Lu. I gave Batman only four stars but I’m not really into superheroes. She wrote this beautiful Instagram post the other day about going out into the backyard with her son.

Here’s another book I can almost guarantee five stars to based on the author alone. Her, Marie Lu, and Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters books are almost always going to be good.

Why have I not read this book yet? I loved the Grishaverse books and expect this one to be awesome too. I probably wouldn’t have to wait long for this one at the library (if at all) yet there are so many other books out there crowding for my time.

If it’s a book about gamers, I’m probably going to like it. I have this ARC and am excited to read it. Hopefully I’ll finish it before its release date on January 28th. I didn’t read a ton of books in November and December and am a little behind in some of the books I want to read, but I’ll probably get to this soon.

The first book in the Lux series, Obsidian, was a five star read, and I predict that the second book in the series, Onyx, will be amazing as well.

March is going to be an amazing month for books, I predict. I have three? (I think, there may be four) books pre-ordered for March 3rd, and then there’s also Between Burning Worlds, which comes out on the 24th (another pre-order). So looking forward to finding out what happens to Chatine. I’m glad I read Les Misérables last fall. Out of the (several, now) books I’ve read inspired by that book, I think this one has the most in common with it. I’m looking forward to this and a reread of Sky Without Stars, so I can compare it to the original Victor Hugo masterpiece.

My Favorite Book Covers

By Brookelorren on January 28, 2020January 27, 202023 Comments

Hello! Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, where we talk about books! Today is a book cover freebie, and I’m going to talk about some of my favorite book covers.

The cover of Astrid Scholte’s Four Dead Queens is gorgeous! It is really shiny too. I originally bought this book on the Kindle, but I recently bought a hardback because Ms. Scholte is coming to the Tattered Cover on March 5 and I want something for her to sign (I pre-ordered The Vanishing Deep on audiobook).

Wicked Fox drew me in with its cover. I can read books with lackluster covers, but a good cover can make me want to read the book even if I otherwise might have overlooked it (I wasn’t too sure about the title).

Some covers are more beautiful in person than they are in pictures, and The Kingdom of Back is one of them. In person, the cover is so detailed, it is lovely. AND the maps inside are gorgeous too. I’m looking forward to seeing the finished copy.

Cassandra Clare has some gorgeous covers. Bookish First is giving away Chain of Gold ARCs this week, and I bought one with my points, and I’m so excited to get this one! I’m still getting the hardback I pre-ordered in 2018 though.

Ghosts of the Shadow Market is another cover that is more lovely in person than it is in pictures. The cover is so detailed! And it’s another Cassandra Clare book.

So today is Cassandra Clare day I guess, because I have one final Shadowhunter cover to share: Queen of Air and Darkness. What I’m most impressed about this cover though, is what is on the other side of the cover. There’s a gorgeous picture of the shadowhunters at the Santa Monica Pier. I couldn’t really get a picture of the entire thing, but I do have a picture of Church the cat from the inside:

Part of me is sad because I bought The Guinevere Deception on audiobook, and as a result, I don’t have a shiny cover to look at. I just love this drawing of Guinevere.

Start Here by Trish Doller has such a fun cover! It makes me think of summer and sun and friendship, which is a lot of what the book’s about. It may not be the prettiest cover, but it makes me happy nonetheless.

War Girls has a great cover too. I just love this girl on the cover–she projects so much attitude. It really sets the mood for the rest of the book.

Sky Without Stars also has this beautiful, shiny cover. I love it. The first printing also has a gold embossed cover, which is a really nice touch.

So those are ten book covers that I really think are beautiful. I’m sure I could come up with others too.

So what books did you pick this week? What aspect of book covers did you decide to write about? Since this is a freebie week, I’m guessing that we’ll see lots of creative ideas that I wouldn’t even think about.

The Ten Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

By Brookelorren on January 21, 2020January 18, 202039 Comments

Hello! Welcome to this week’s edition of Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl), where we talk about various book topics every week. Today we’re talking book hauls! I’ve been living my best book life now and have a couple really awesome books in my most recent books. For purposes of this post I’m not going to talk about books I’ve pre-ordered but haven’t received yet (or that are currently on their way in the mail). Let’s get started!

My most recent two acquisitions were Slayer and Chosen by Kiersten White. Back in October of 2018 we had a Top Ten Tuesday topic called “Authors I’d Love to Meet,” and one of the authors I listed was Kiersten White, even though I had never read any of her books before. She always seemed nice on Twitter. I’m happy to report that not only is she extremely nice, she’s also very funny! I got her to sign the two hardback books of hers I own. The others are all digital, which are hard to sign. One out of ten of those authors met, nine to go!

Another one of my recent additions is an ARC copy of The Kingdom of Back! I’ve had the chance to read it already and I had so much to say about this book, my review ended up being 911 words long. It’s definitely different than any of the other books she’s published that are up on Goodreads.

Romanov was on sale for $1.99 earlier this week, and of course, I had to pick it up. I had hoped to get an ARC for this one prior to publication, but was denied, so getting it on sale is the next best thing.

I’m guessing that some of the lists this week might have some serendipitous and strange books on it. Like this one: Legends and Myths from Wales. The book is free on Amazon. Anyway, the book I’m writing is slightly inspired by Wales, and I got this book for research.

I left Audible for a while because I had several books I hadn’t listened to yet and my credits were building up, so I got How to Write Best-Selling Fiction with one of my credits.

Another one of my Audible purchases was 11/22/63 by Stephen King. This book had seemed interesting. I’m somewhat picky at what books I listen to on audiobook. Some books are just easier to absorb through the printed/electronic page, and this one seems like its one that might work well on audio.

Eliza and Her Monsters was another Audible credit I needed to use up. I had been interested in this story for a while, but sometimes there’s not enough time to read all the stories you want. I did have time to listen to the audio version though.

The Summer of Impossibilities is a recent Netgalley acquisition. It’s hard to believe that it’s time to start thinking about summer books again! It is January, and I probably won’t read this for a couple more months, but summer books are on their way!

Finally, Song of the Abyss was on sale for $2.99! It’s one of Kindle’s monthly deals for January. I read Isle of Blood and Stone last year, so hopefully I’ll get around to reading this soon.

I’ve gotten all these books in the last two weeks. I’ve read two of these already and am working on reading a third (How to Write Best-Selling Fiction).

What were the last ten books you’ve obtained? I wonder if this week we’ll see a lot of random books. Next week, we’re talking about books on out TBR that we predict will be five-star reads. See you then!

Favorite 2019 Releases

By Brookelorren on December 31, 2019December 26, 201918 Comments

Hello, welcome to the final Top Ten Tuesday of 2019! It’s been a great reading year. Today’s Top Ten Tuesday Topic is supposed to be “Favorite Books I Read in 2019” but I normally release that list on January 1st, so today I’m doing my favorite 2019 releases, which is a slightly different list. There will be some overlap with tomorrow’s list. Anyway, here is the list!

10. Song of the Crimson Flower – Julie C. Dao. I absolutely loved this book. The main character, Bao, was sweet, and I loved the twist at the end. This is a great book if you’re looking for a happily ever after in a fantasy setting. I’d definitely read more books from her in the future.

9. There’s Something About Sweetie – Sandhya Menon. This is the second book in the When Dimple Met Rishi series. Rishi’s brother, Ashish, used to be a ladies’ man… until he fell in love. He hasn’t been able to get over his ex, and it’s even affecting his basketball. He ends up asking his parents for help. Sweetie goes to a school across town, and even though she’s a track star, her mother thinks she’s too fat to date an athlete. It was funny and I loved it.

8. Rebel – Beverly Jenkins. Rebel by Beverly Jenkins was one of two books with this title I read this year. I loved the main character in this book, who is a teacher who tries to teach black people to read in the years after the Civil War. I loved the historical setting, as well as the strength of the main character.

7. The Guinevere Deception – Kiersten White. Guinevere is on her way to marry King Arthur–but there’s more to her than everybody knows. As you read this story, you get to find out what her secrets are. I can’t give away too much without giving away spoilers, but I do plan on reading the second book.

6. Spectacle – Jodie Lynn Zdrock. Spectacle was a thrilling book that kept me up late the day I read it. I loved the historical setting that had me (virtually) running around the Parisian Catacombs.

5. Ghosts of the Shadow Market – Cassandra Clare and others. Chain of Gold‘s release date was pushed back until March, but I did get to read this great collection of short stories, whose dates range from right after The Infernal Devices to after The Queen of Air and Darkness. I plan on reading this book again before Chain of Gold comes out in March.

4. The Wicked King/The Queen of Nothing – Holly Black. I read The Wicked King on its release date on January 8th, and that ending! I wanted the next book right away. Fortunately, the release date for The Queen of Nothing was moved up to November from its original 2020 date. Since they both were released this year, they share a spot on my list of favorites from this year.

3. Sky Without Stars – Jessica Brody. I loved this story, which I got to read as an ARC and ended up buying after its release. This is one of those books I plan on reading before it’s sequel, Between Burning Worlds, comes out. I’ve already pre-ordered the sequel and can’t wait to read it.

2. Enchantée – Gita Trelease. Enchantée is the only book on this list that I didn’t read this year, and is not eligible for my list of top books I read for the first time in 2019. I loved this book, and while I’m sad that its sequel, Liberté, won’t be released on Bastille Day next year (it’ll be released in early 2021), I will read this book again before its sequel comes out.

1. Rebel – Marie Lu. There are two books on my favorite 2019 releases called Rebel, and it’s probably not a surprise that this book was my favorite. I just finished rereading this book, and I’m sure I’ll read it again at some point in the future.

So that’s the list of my favorite 2019 releases! There are a few more books I wished I could have added to this list, but I have to stop somewhere.

Tomorrow I release my favorite books I read for the first time in 2019, but next week for Top Ten Tuesday, we’re talking about our most anticipated releases for 2020!

Books I’d Like to Haul in 2020

By Brookelorren on December 24, 2019December 23, 201920 Comments

Hello! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means: Christmas Eve! It’s also Top Ten Tuesday! Today’s topic was supposed to be Books I Hope to Find Under My Tree, but I tend to pre-order a lot of books (or buy them on sale), and I’m not sure if my parents would be able to pre-order books, so the books I really want won’t be there tomorrow. However, I do want some books coming up so I’ll list them here today!

This book is out now, so it might actually be under my tree. This sounds like a good book and I plan on reading it in 2020. I also want to write a fusion fanfic of this book, combined with A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth. I think it might be fun.

I should get an ARC of The Kingdom of Back soon, but I’m still going to get a finished Kindle copy and hardback. Those are going to arrive on March 3rd. The hardback copy will probably be shipped via UPS (along with the next book) so it probably won’t arrive until late in the evening.

I bought Chain of Gold with last year’s Christmas gift cards, so in a way, this did appear under my tree already. However, it won’t be released until March 3rd, so I’m still waiting for it.

The Vanishing Deep is another March 3rd release I want. I’m getting this one on audiobook… because as you can see, there’s already a lot of books coming out that day I want to read.

Here’s yet another book coming out on March 3rd. The Midnight Lie sounds great. I might get this from the library though, as I’m not in a huge hurry to read this.

I adored Sky Without Stars, and knew I had to read the second book as soon as I finished it (even though it didn’t have a title at the time). I’ve already pre-ordered Between Burning Worlds, although I have to wait until March 24th for it to come out. In the meantime, I’ll reread Sky Without Stars.

I just noticed that Chosen Ones, Veronica Roth’s next book, is coming out in April instead of May. So one less month before I read this book. I loved Divergent; this is her adult debut.

I already had the opportunity to read Of Curses and Kisses, but I plan on getting a finished copy. I’m looking forward to reading the next book when it comes out too!

I really liked Echoes by Alice Reeds, and am looking forward to reading Fractures, which is supposed to come out on June 2nd.

A tenth book that I’d like to haul in 2020 is Skyhunter, which doesn’t come out until October 6th, but I’ve already pre-ordered. I’d buy Marie Lu’s shopping list if she published it, so even though I don’t know much about what this book is about, I’m sure I’m going to like it.

So those are ten books that, even though I don’t expect them under my tree, I plan to get in 2020. Do you hope to get books for Christmas? What books do you hope to buy next year?

Winter 2019/2020 TBR

By Brookelorren on December 17, 2019December 5, 201932 Comments

Hello! It’s Top Ten Tuesday today, and it’s time for the quarterly TBR post. I love doing quarterly TBRs because it gives me books to get excited for over the next three months! Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl!

I ended up reading everything from my Fall TBR with a few weeks to spare! The books I read for fall were:

Rebel – Marie Lu
The End and Other Beginnings – Veronica Roth
Ninth House – Leigh Bardugo
The Beautiful – Renée Ahdieh
Always Forever Maybe – Anica Mrose Rissi
This Savage Song – Victoria Schwab
Call Down the Hawk – Maggie Stiefvater
Thousands – Pepper Winters
The Queen of Nothing – Holly Black
Sea Witch – Sarah Henning

I did the same thing for this winter that I did for the fall. I made a list of books I absolutely needed to read, then I made a list of books I was interested in reading and had a TBR lottery using a random number generator. The TBR lottery idea was adapted from the TBR jar idea I found at Destiny at Howling Libraries. It was just easier for me to list all the books on one sheet of paper than to write them all on slips of paper. There were 66 books in the lottery and 6 were chosen.

In addition to the books listed here I already know I’m going to read 10 Things I Hate About Pinkie and The Vanishing Deep. The first I have an ARC for and the second I pre-ordered the audiobook for.

In May 2018, back when I first learned about ARCs and The Kingdom of Back was supposed to come out this year, I set a goal to get an ARC of this book. Then it looked like I wouldn’t get it… but… eek! It was on Bookish First and I was able to claim one! They have my undying loyalty now. I don’t know when it will arrive, but I’ll probably read it in late December or early January.

Laura E. Weymouth is a sweetheart and I promised her that I’d write her a crossover fanfic with A Treason of Thorns and Sorcery of Thorns. I’m sure they’ve forgotten I’d said I’d do it but I have every intention of writing it. First I have to read the books. I pre-ordered this book but didn’t put it on my TBR so it didn’t get read yet.

I won Light from Distant Stars as an ARC, but it didn’t arrive until after its release date. So I hadn’t gotten around to reading it yet. Since I didn’t get it as an ARC, I couldn’t schedule it with my ARC reads, so it’s going on my TBR instead.

I thought I was going to have to wait to read Chain of Gold after I finished The Kingdom of Back, but getting the ARC took care of that problem. Now I’ll get to start reading it on March 3rd as soon as the stupid UPS truck arrives (which is about 8 PM… grr). I’m rereading the Shadowhunter books before this book comes out.

The rest of the books on this list, including Descendant of the Crane, were TBR lottery winners. I wanted to read this book before it came out, found it on sale, and haven’t had time to read it yet. It looks like such an amazing book I’m glad I’ll get to read it (yet still sad as I look longingly at the books that didn’t get picked).

Kim Chance is the lovely host of Chance2Connect on Twitter, and when I found her book on sale, I couldn’t pass it up. The second book in this series is already out, but I’ll start with Keeper.

I found 99 Percent Mine on sale this summer and had to pick it up. Looking forward to reading it. I haven’t read anything by Sally Thorne before.

Tell Me Everything was recommended to me. I don’t have my own copy but my library does. It’s currently available, so I don’t think I’ll have too much difficulty getting this book when I’m ready to read it.

The main reason I want to read Disappearing Earth is that it takes place in Russia. I don’t own this one either, and all the copies are out at the library. I put this one on hold and suspended the hold so I can read this sometime after the first of the year. Who knows how many copies the library has?

My library has several copies of Broken Throne available, so it won’t be difficult getting to read the last TBR lottery winner, Broken Throne. It’ll be fun to get back into the Red Queen universe again.

Well, that’s my Winter 2019/2020 TBR! Will you be reading any of these books in the upcoming season? Have you read any of these? Next week we’re going to talk about books I’d hope to find under my tree… well, since my parents are averse to pre-ordering, I’ll probably tweak it slightly.

Books I Hope to Reread in 2020

By Brookelorren on December 10, 2019December 7, 201935 Comments

It’s Tuesday again, and that means it’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday! It’s hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl! Today is a freebie, and it’s too early to post the “best of” lists, but I’ve been thinking about 2020. One of the things I’ve been thinking about is the books I want to reread next year! So that’s the topic I chose.

I’ve been rereading the Shadowhunter books in anticipation of Chain of Gold coming out on March 3rd. I read a little over 30 pages a day. I should be up to The Dark Artifices at the beginning of the year. I know I’m reading Clockwork Princess right now, but I plan on reading some of the short story books between now and the first of the year.

It’s been a while since I reread Divergent. Well, a year. I love these characters and would like to read the trilogy next year, including Four. I might pass on “We Can Be Mended”. I’m not a fan of everything past chapter 50 of Allegiant.

One of the comp books to my (still untitled) NaNoWriMo 2019 book is Sky Without Stars. Plus, I loved the book. I’d love to give this a reread before Between Burning Worlds comes out on March 24th.

Another book I’m looking forward to reading next year is Liberté, the sequel to Enchantée. I have a while before I have to reread this one though: Liberté doesn’t come out until Bastille Day (July 14, 2020).

Another series I hope to reread next year is The Young Elites. I still want to finish writing my Young Elites fanfic, which tells this story from Magiano’s point of view and is over 300 pages already, but to do that, I need the character’s voices to be fresh in my head. Besides, I really love this story.

There’s only five pictures here, but they represent ten books, so I think I’ll stop here. This year I probably will have reread 23 books (some were quite short). It’s possible I may reread that many books next year, but I don’t want to make plans to reread a lot of books that I won’t get around to. These books are those that are pulling at me and I have a strong desire to reread, and I’ll do my darndest to finish again next year.

Holiday Reads

By Brookelorren on December 3, 2019December 2, 201924 Comments

Hello and welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday! It’s hosted every week by That Artsy Reader Girl! It’s December, which means it’s time to think about Christmas and all those wonderful holiday books! I probably won’t be reading any Christmas books this year, but I do sometimes! Here are some holiday books that I liked.

My True Love Gave to me is a gorgeous holiday book full of short stories. I also recommend the summer edition, Summer Days and Summer Nights. This has some lovely stories, including “Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell. I absolutely love “Midnights”. Such an adorable story.

I’ve read The Immortal Nicholas twice and it put me into tears, especially the first time. This is a Santa origin story that includes Jesus and Crampus.

The Long Winter isn’t actually a Christmas book, but it’s one of those books that you want to cuddle up under a blanket while reading. Now I want to read this book again!

When I was little, my mom would read me a story called Christmas Every Day. It’s a cute little story, and you can google it and read it online for free. It’s about a girl who wished that it was Christmas every day… but be careful what you wish for!

One of my teachers in middle school read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to us. I loved the book. Evidently, so did a lot of people because I was in this play twice: once as an angel, another time as Beth.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a classic story by Dr. Seuss. I’m not a big fan of the more recent movies, but I love the book and the original cartoon that went along with it. Fun fact: if you try to buy the original cartoon movie from Walmart, the cashier has to verify that you’re 17 because it’s not rated. Or at least that was the policy last year. Although if I was still working there, I’d approve the purchase for anyone old enough to scan the video. I’d be willing to get fired over selling that movie to a five-year-old.

Perhaps there’s something about Christmas that makes me want to read short stories and children’s books. The Gift of the Magi is another short story, but it’s really sweet. You’ve probably heard this story before, because it’s a classic. It’s the one where the girl sells her hair and the guy sells his watch to get each other Christmas presents.

I don’t read many poems, but The Night Before Christmas is a classic poem about Santa Claus.

At this point in my list, I have to say I’m getting desperate for holiday stories. All I can come up with is eight books! I need your help to find more! I have never read Christmas with Anne and other Holiday Stories by L.M. Montgomery, but I think I’d like to. Thank the birthday boy (Jesus) for Goodreads and their Listopia! That’s where I found this one.

I haven’t read Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce either, but it sounds like it would be amazing to read. If you’re unfamiliar with what happened, during the early days of World War I, the soldiers were fighting, and it was Christmas Eve, and they defied orders to declare an unofficial Christmas truce and celebrate the holiday together. It’s amazing that two groups of people, who were supposed to be enemies, were able to get together like this.

So that’s my list of holiday books! As you can tell, I really need help finding some new ones! Hopefully some of your wonderful lists will help me. What are some of your favorite Christmas books?

Next week is a freebie and I don’t know what I’m doing yet. See you then!