Top 10 (or 20) Books On My Summer TBR
Main/linkup post at That Artsy Reader Girl; this post mirrored at Literary Loot.
Honestly, I have such a huge stack of titles I'm looking forward to at this point that I can't stop at ten. Arguably that's the point of a top ten, but no. Today it's simply got to be a double batch. A decent amount of this list has been inspired by previous TBR posts of varying natures, so maybe I'll actually follow through this time! Maybe. I have been very unexpectedly busy and a bit stressed this month so I haven't really been able to relax into any of the books I'm really excited about. I'm HOPING that changes next week??
[IS this a real TBR that I actually stick to though? who can never be sure]
1 Girls of July - Alex Flinn: You know what? I'm just gonna name & shame myself and put this on my summer TBR now until the end of time or I finish it. I finally got A Walk in the Sun off of there!! And I know I'm going to enjoy a group of 4 teen friends at an Adirondack cabin just as much.
2. The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer: the wait list for this is craaaaazy long, and I accidentally un-paused my hold at the worst possible stress time so now I'll probably have to wait until the very end of summer instead of end of June like I intended, but I'm really excited for it!
3. Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid: I haven't really made it a priority to read more TJR, but the Challengers previews rather abruptly led to me reading Carrie Soto last month, and since I've got that done, this is the one I was actually more interested in reading...
4. The Haunting - Natasha Preston: you know what, new summer tradition to read a trashy Natasha Preston book with an infuriating cliffhanger ending. :P I read the first chapter last week and part of me is like, man, I really should save this for actual Halloween, except the problem is I'm already hooked.
5. Prom House - Chelsea Mueller: couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a cheesy, cheap YA horror/slasher. Like the above, I intend to have a good time with this for Summerween (if not sooner!)
6. Let Me List the Ways - Sarah White: this has been on my TBR for a few years, but I just bought a copy for $4, and summer is definitely the time to read this story of two opposite-sex best friends, post-graduation, is it time for her to finally tell him how she feels??
7. A Galaxy of Whales - Heather Fawcett: most of her backlist does not interest me, but while I wait impatiently for more Emily Wilde, I shall amuse myself with this contemporary middle grade novel instead. [EDIT: I ended up reading this one last night. A sweet little summer story. 1/20 down! :P]
8. Peacock Summer - Hannah Richell: I mentioned this in a recent post so we are REALLY REALLY going to try it this summer.
9. The Heiress - Rachel Hawkins: I haven't read any of her books yet because they don't really call to me, but I canNOT resist a good rich-person/mansion/family secrets drama.
10. The Nature of Disappearing - Kimi Cunningham Grant: I mentioned this waaaay back on my "anticipated releases" post, still excited!
11. Birding With Benefits - Sarah T. Dubb: saw this while scrolling through Goodreads giveaways. I generally don't like fake dating or divorced MCs, especially divorced MCs who are parents, but I do like outdoorsy novels -- curious to find out what that's like in an Arizona setting! -- and "quiet cinnamon roll" heroes (direct quote from synopsis), so the fake-dating thing feels like it will simply aid in the slow burn. Which I also like.
[edit: you know what I should have read. is the second half of the book summary, that informs me they will in fact become casual "friends with benefits," which is THE WORST. I'm stubborn and I already put together the pictures so I'm still gonna try it but the reviews have me pre-cringeing in distaste.]
12. The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: another Goodreads giveaway. Mostly because omg the special edition (that I obviously didn't win) is so beautiful, and between that and the title I am ready to be carried away to cozy fantasy. I keep saying fantasy is not my genre and then I keep randomly picking up cozy fantasy books and mostly loving them, so maybe it is?? Maybe I just actually hate fantasy that's centered on kingdoms and/or war, and I'm finally finding out that not ALL of them are like that.
13. The Joy of Falling - Lindsay Harrel: I don't actually know if I'll read this, but if I'm going to, it will be this summer. Two semi-recently-widowed sisters-in-law train for & compete in an ultramarathon in New Zealand that their husbands had been planning to do, and fall in love (not with each other) along the way. The cover is just so pretty it drew me in, and it might motivate me to exercise? In a less brutal way than their training regime, lol.
14. The Undoing of Thistle Tate - Katelyn Detweiler: Picked up from the dollar store last month, a YA best-friends-turned-dating scenario with a main plot of "teen girl pretends to be a wunderkind author of a fantasy series (actually written by her dad) for Sales Reasons." I mostly bought it because it was cheap, but I'd also never heard of it and it seems fun.
15. Between You & Me and the Honeybees -- Amelia Diane Coombs: I saw this for $3.50 on BookOutlet and am sooo mad I couldn't justify enough other items to make a purchase. That sighting reminded me I've wanted to read this for a couple of years now, but forgot because it's only in the county next door so I couldn't put it on my for-later library wishlist. I don't love "falling in love with your business rival" stories, but I DO love any story I can get about teens who want to stay home & help with the family business instead of going to college. Also the cover is gorgeous.
16. Meet Me At the Summit - Mandi Lynn Bell: also on the recent "books I was so excited to get and still haven't read yet" post, summer is the time!
17. The Secrets We Bury - Stacey Ramey: i finally bought a copy of this YA Appalachian trail novel (it was only available via ILL otherwise), so now I can read it for Hiking Inspiration!
18. Songs In Ursa Major - Emma Brodie: this feels like it would be a good August read, added to TBR after Lady Sunshine last year, for the late 60s/early 70s music scene.
19. The Thicket - Noelle Ihli: omg, y'all, I was going to do an ILL for this this summer because I've been gazing longingly at it on my Goodreads TBR for over 2 years now, but my library finally bought a copy?? YEE-HAW. More Summerween-themed fun.
20. Middle of the Night - Riley Sager: I hate to be basic, but his books are stupid addictive. Honestly not that excited about a male MC from him, buuuut because TTT has me getting my act together and I did not enjoy waiting as many months as I did at the library for The Only One Left, I hopped on that request train early.
Honestly, I have such a huge stack of titles I'm looking forward to at this point that I can't stop at ten. Arguably that's the point of a top ten, but no. Today it's simply got to be a double batch. A decent amount of this list has been inspired by previous TBR posts of varying natures, so maybe I'll actually follow through this time! Maybe. I have been very unexpectedly busy and a bit stressed this month so I haven't really been able to relax into any of the books I'm really excited about. I'm HOPING that changes next week??
[IS this a real TBR that I actually stick to though? who can never be sure]
1 Girls of July - Alex Flinn: You know what? I'm just gonna name & shame myself and put this on my summer TBR now until the end of time or I finish it. I finally got A Walk in the Sun off of there!! And I know I'm going to enjoy a group of 4 teen friends at an Adirondack cabin just as much.
2. The Wishing Game - Meg Shaffer: the wait list for this is craaaaazy long, and I accidentally un-paused my hold at the worst possible stress time so now I'll probably have to wait until the very end of summer instead of end of June like I intended, but I'm really excited for it!
3. Malibu Rising - Taylor Jenkins Reid: I haven't really made it a priority to read more TJR, but the Challengers previews rather abruptly led to me reading Carrie Soto last month, and since I've got that done, this is the one I was actually more interested in reading...
4. The Haunting - Natasha Preston: you know what, new summer tradition to read a trashy Natasha Preston book with an infuriating cliffhanger ending. :P I read the first chapter last week and part of me is like, man, I really should save this for actual Halloween, except the problem is I'm already hooked.
5. Prom House - Chelsea Mueller: couldn't resist the opportunity to grab a cheesy, cheap YA horror/slasher. Like the above, I intend to have a good time with this for Summerween (if not sooner!)
6. Let Me List the Ways - Sarah White: this has been on my TBR for a few years, but I just bought a copy for $4, and summer is definitely the time to read this story of two opposite-sex best friends, post-graduation, is it time for her to finally tell him how she feels??
7. A Galaxy of Whales - Heather Fawcett: most of her backlist does not interest me, but while I wait impatiently for more Emily Wilde, I shall amuse myself with this contemporary middle grade novel instead. [EDIT: I ended up reading this one last night. A sweet little summer story. 1/20 down! :P]
8. Peacock Summer - Hannah Richell: I mentioned this in a recent post so we are REALLY REALLY going to try it this summer.
9. The Heiress - Rachel Hawkins: I haven't read any of her books yet because they don't really call to me, but I canNOT resist a good rich-person/mansion/family secrets drama.
10. The Nature of Disappearing - Kimi Cunningham Grant: I mentioned this waaaay back on my "anticipated releases" post, still excited!
11. Birding With Benefits - Sarah T. Dubb: saw this while scrolling through Goodreads giveaways. I generally don't like fake dating or divorced MCs, especially divorced MCs who are parents, but I do like outdoorsy novels -- curious to find out what that's like in an Arizona setting! -- and "quiet cinnamon roll" heroes (direct quote from synopsis), so the fake-dating thing feels like it will simply aid in the slow burn. Which I also like.
[edit: you know what I should have read. is the second half of the book summary, that informs me they will in fact become casual "friends with benefits," which is THE WORST. I'm stubborn and I already put together the pictures so I'm still gonna try it but the reviews have me pre-cringeing in distaste.]
12. The Spellshop - Sarah Beth Durst: another Goodreads giveaway. Mostly because omg the special edition (that I obviously didn't win) is so beautiful, and between that and the title I am ready to be carried away to cozy fantasy. I keep saying fantasy is not my genre and then I keep randomly picking up cozy fantasy books and mostly loving them, so maybe it is?? Maybe I just actually hate fantasy that's centered on kingdoms and/or war, and I'm finally finding out that not ALL of them are like that.
13. The Joy of Falling - Lindsay Harrel: I don't actually know if I'll read this, but if I'm going to, it will be this summer. Two semi-recently-widowed sisters-in-law train for & compete in an ultramarathon in New Zealand that their husbands had been planning to do, and fall in love (not with each other) along the way. The cover is just so pretty it drew me in, and it might motivate me to exercise? In a less brutal way than their training regime, lol.
14. The Undoing of Thistle Tate - Katelyn Detweiler: Picked up from the dollar store last month, a YA best-friends-turned-dating scenario with a main plot of "teen girl pretends to be a wunderkind author of a fantasy series (actually written by her dad) for Sales Reasons." I mostly bought it because it was cheap, but I'd also never heard of it and it seems fun.
15. Between You & Me and the Honeybees -- Amelia Diane Coombs: I saw this for $3.50 on BookOutlet and am sooo mad I couldn't justify enough other items to make a purchase. That sighting reminded me I've wanted to read this for a couple of years now, but forgot because it's only in the county next door so I couldn't put it on my for-later library wishlist. I don't love "falling in love with your business rival" stories, but I DO love any story I can get about teens who want to stay home & help with the family business instead of going to college. Also the cover is gorgeous.
16. Meet Me At the Summit - Mandi Lynn Bell: also on the recent "books I was so excited to get and still haven't read yet" post, summer is the time!
17. The Secrets We Bury - Stacey Ramey: i finally bought a copy of this YA Appalachian trail novel (it was only available via ILL otherwise), so now I can read it for Hiking Inspiration!
18. Songs In Ursa Major - Emma Brodie: this feels like it would be a good August read, added to TBR after Lady Sunshine last year, for the late 60s/early 70s music scene.
19. The Thicket - Noelle Ihli: omg, y'all, I was going to do an ILL for this this summer because I've been gazing longingly at it on my Goodreads TBR for over 2 years now, but my library finally bought a copy?? YEE-HAW. More Summerween-themed fun.
20. Middle of the Night - Riley Sager: I hate to be basic, but his books are stupid addictive. Honestly not that excited about a male MC from him, buuuut because TTT has me getting my act together and I did not enjoy waiting as many months as I did at the library for The Only One Left, I hopped on that request train early.