Top Ten Tuesday | Oops! I Did(n't read) It Again...

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Ten Books We Meant To Read In 2017 But Didn't Get To (and totallyyyy plan to get to in 2018!!)' - books I meant to get to and didn't is the story of my life, particularly in 2017. There are so many books I could have mentioned, but I decided to go with the 2017 releases I hoped to get to, couldn't find the time to and really hope to get to this year. Without further ado, here are my top ten!

The Women of the Castle by Jessica Shattuck: I love the sound of this one because it's WW2 fiction told from within Germany, which is a perspective we don't get often - the most famous example is The Book Thief. Hopefully I can cross this one off my TBR this year.

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown: I have a big interest in the history of witchcraft and witch trials and love the sound of this novel told from the point of view of Matthew Hopkins' sister. In my opinion Hopkins is one of the most cruel men in history and I'm hoping to read this one soon as I believe it's going to be adapted for TV.

The Good People by Hannah Kent: You probably all know by now how much I loved Kent's debut, Burial Rites, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of The Good People, but I was never quite in the mood for it in 2017 and I'm very much a mood reader. I really want to try and get to this one this year!

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig: I loved Heilig's debut, The Girl From Everywhere, but still haven't read the sequel. I think I'll try to get to this one in the summer.

The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I'm so disappointed for not getting to this one in 2017. I've started this one and I really like what I've read so far, but I was in a bit of a slumpy mood while reading this one and I didn't want my mood to effect my enjoyment. Hopefully I'll get back into this one soon!

Under the Pendulum Sun by Jeannette Ng: Yet another one I started and just wasn't quite in the mood for but I love the sound of it and I'd really like to get to it this year.

A Skinful of Shadows by Frances Hardinge: I've yet to read any Frances Hardinge but I couldn't resist picking up a copy of this at the end of last year. I haven't owned this one for as long as some of the others on my list so I'm not beating myself up about it that I didn't get to it last year, but I'd like to get to it this year if I can - I've heard lots of good things about Hardinge's work.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant: My lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change bought me this one for Christmas and I'm very excited to read it. I've been in the mood for a bit of horror recently and I've been looking forward to this sequel since I enjoyed Rolling in the Deep.

Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng: Everything I Never Told You was my favourite book that I read in 2016 so I couldn't wait to get my hands on Ng's next novel and, so far, I've heard nothing but amazing things about it. Unfortunately I was never quite in the mood to pick this one up last year but, as with all of these books, I'm hoping I can get to it soon.

Florence in Ecstasy by Jessie Chaffee: I visited Florence in 2016 and fell in love with it, it's my favourite European city (out of the ones I've seen so far, anyway), so I couldn't resist picking up this novel which is set there and sounds fascinating, especially when I saw Katherine Howe, author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane which I like a lot, singing its praises. This is another one I'd like to get to in the summer.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Cover Lover

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is a cover theme freebie, so I thought I'd share my ten favourite historical fiction covers!

Viper Wine by Hermione Eyre: I still haven't read this, I haven't heard the best reviews, but I will always love that cover. It reminds me of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette with that juxtaposition of the historic and the modern.

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier: Daphne du Maurier's books have many pretty covers, and rightly so, but I love how nautical this edition of Jamaica Inn is. I didn't love Jamaica Inn a huge amount when I read it, though all of du Maurier's novels pale in comparison to Rebecca, but it's a fun book and a great one to read if you happen to be visiting Cornwall.

Witch Child by Celia Rees: The cover of Witch Child is what convinced me to pick up a copy in my early teens, and it's thanks to this book that I love historical fiction so much now. This cover is haunting and I can't help but be drawn in to those eyes.

The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge: I will love anything that has some of Chris Riddell's art on it. I haven't read this one yet, but I'm glad to have this edition on my shelves.

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: This cover has so much character, and I think it's certainly one of the many reasons this book did so well when it was released. If you haven't read this one yet I recommend giving it a try - it's a very good book!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters: My favourite covers are simplistic ones, and that's why I love these editions of Waters' novels. This edition of Fingersmith, in particular, I like a lot; I don't own many books with grey covers at all, but this book uses the colour well.

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown: This book is even more beautiful in person because it's textured. I haven't this one yet either, but it's a recent release and I'm planning to pick it up soon.

Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: I really like these editions of Margaret Atwood's books too, with bold colours and a black and white image in the centre, and this edition of Alias Grace always catches my eye.

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry: I own the normal hardback edition, which I think is beautiful, but I love the colours on this special edition, too.

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon: Again, I love a simplistic cover and this one's as simple as they come.

What did you talk about this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | My Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is Top Ten Books On My Spring TBR, and this week I've split my list into fiction and non-fiction. There are lots of books I want to read, but right now these are the books I'm either most inclined toward or put me most in the mood for spring. My non-fiction selections certainly have a theme as March is Women's History Month (woohoo!) so I'm hoping to absorb all the women's history I can throughout spring and beyond.

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig: I have such fond memories of reading The Girl from Everywhere last spring that it only feels natural to pick up the sequel, which has been released very recently, this spring. I'm looking forward to seeing where Heilig takes this story!

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown: To me, Matthew Hopkins is one of history's most wicked villains. He's also known as The Witchfinder General, and we have him to thank for the persecution of thousands of women across the UK and in the US. It's thanks to a book written by Hopkins that the Salem Witch Trials took place, such is his influence. This novel, another recent release, is about Hopkins' sister and I can't wait to read it; I think it'll be really interesting to read Hopkins through the eyes of a female relative.

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth: Something about spring puts me in the mood for fairy tales, and Bitter Greens has been on my radar for a while. Recently I finally got a copy for my kindle and I keep thinking of picking it up so I think I'm going to read it soon; rather than the Brothers Grimm, I think Bitter Greens focuses more on the many women who told fairy tales before the Brothers Grimm collected them and subsequently took the credit for them.

Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson: Another thing spring puts me in the mood for is contemporary, and I've owned this novel for longer than I'd like to admit. Not only does it sound like a charming, very British book, but with the focus on the relationship between a white man and a Pakistani woman, a woman who isn't thought particularly highly of within her community, I think it's going to be a timely and important read, too.

Chocolat by Joanne Harris: I really like the film but I still haven't read the book, and frankly what better book is there to read over Easter?

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly: I saw the film not so long ago and absolutely adored it, it's one of the best films I've seen in a long time, and now I can't wait to read the book and learn more about the African-American women who helped get man to the moon.

Heartthrobs: A History of Women and Desire by Carol Dyhouse: This is another recent release and a book that sounds super interesting to me. I've seen plenty of books and articles about the male gaze, particularly when I was at uni, but I don't think I've ever read anything about the way men are portrayed for women, and I think this will be a fascinating read given the worrying love some women have for men such as Heathcliff and Christian Grey.

She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor: I love to watch documentaries and Helen Castor's are always fantastic, but I've yet to read any of her books. This one sounds brilliant and will hopefully fill some of the gap in my historical knowledge; my favourite era of history is the 16th century, particularly the reign of the Tudors, but my Medieval knowledge is lacking, so I'm hoping this book will teach me about some of the amazing women who paved the way for Elizabeth I.

Take Courage: Anne Brontë and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis: I loved Samantha Ellis's memoir, How To Be a Heroine, and I've been looking forward to this book since I found out she was writing a book about Anne Brontë, who is my favourite of the three sisters. I'm looking forward to reading it!

Crown of Blood: The Deadly Inheritance of Lady Jane Grey by Nicola Tallis: I've always had a soft spot for Lady Jane Grey ever since one of my primary school teachers introduced me to her story as the Nine Days Queen, but other than the basics I know very little about her. I know what happened to her and I know that was a very intelligent young woman, but I don't have a feel for her character in the same way I do her cousins, Mary I and Elizabeth I. I've heard very good things about this biography so far and I'm looking forward to getting to it soon.

What are you planning to read this spring?

Top Ten Tuesday | Anticipated Releases of 2017

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature created at The Broke and the Bookish. Each week you compile a list of ten books which coincide with that week's theme. You can find everything you need to know about joining in here!

This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books I'm Looking Forward To For The First Half Of 2017'. I usually don't like doing these because, despite working in publishing, I'm not that great at keeping up with what's coming out in the coming years that I'm going to love. If there's a favourite author I follow or a series I'm keeping up with, I'll know, but otherwise I'm fairly useless.

Nevertheless there are some books I'm really looking forward to in the first half of 2017, so, without further ado, here are my top ten twelve most anticipated books being published between January and June!

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli: Despite not being much of a YA reader these days, I adored Becky Albertalli's debut Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (reviewed here!) so I'd like to check out her second novel not only because I loved her debut so much, but also because The Upside of Unrequited features an overweight protagonist. We need more such protagonists in YA!

The Other Half of Happiness by Ayisha Malik: The sequel to Sofia Khan is Not Obliged (reviewed here!), which is probably one of the best adult contemporary novels I've read in a long while.

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal: If that title doesn't catch your eye, I don't know what will. I just love the sound of this novel.

Stay With Me by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀: I read about Adébáyọ̀'s debut in The Bookseller and loved the sound of it. Anyone who's had Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Margaret Atwood for mentors has to be fantastic so I can't wait to get my hands on this one.

Red Sister by Mark Lawrence: I don't read much high fantasy - I wish I read more than I do - but this sounds so cool. Assassin nuns are the best kind of characters.

The Seafarer's Kiss by Julia Ember: A Norse, LGBT+ retelling of The Little Mermaid. I am ready. I read and enjoyed Ember's debut Unicorn Tracks (reviewed here!) this year, and I can't wait to read more of her work!

The Ship Beyond Time by Heidi Heilig: I was surprised by how much I enjoyed The Girl From Everywhere (reviewed here!), so I'll definitely be checking out the sequel! I'm fairly certain this series is a duology so I'm curious to see how Heilig intends to wrap up Nix's story.

Dragon Springs Road by Janie Chang: This sounds magical. I've been meaning to read Chang's debut novel, Three Souls, but haven't got around to it yet. Dragon Springs Road sounds like my cup of tea, though; it's historical fiction meets magical realism meets mystery, all with a mixed race protagonist. I always enjoy reading books featuring mixed race protagonists and I'm really looking forward to this one.

Take Courage: Anne Brontë and the Art of Life by Samantha Ellis: I loved Samantha Ellis's memoir, How To Be a Heroine (reviewed here!), and I love Anne Brontë, so Samantha Ellis writing a book about Anne Brontë sounds perfect to me.

The Witchfinder's Sister by Beth Underdown: As far as I'm concerned Matthew Hopkins is one of the most evil men in history. He turned witch-hunting into a career for himself, inciting fear in small towns and making money killing women he accused of witchcraft - we even have him to thank for the Salem Witch Trials after a book he wrote became very popular overseas. This novel is from the point of view of Matthew's sister during the tumultuous years of the witch trials, and I think it'll be so interesting to read a book about Hopkins from the point of view of a female relative.

The Good People by Hannah Kent: Another author whose debut, Burial Rites (reviewed here!), I adored. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of The Good People which, like Burial Rites, is set in the 19th century but this time in Ireland.

The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck: This novel is set in Germany after the Second World War and follows the widow of a German resistor who was killed in a failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1944. She has made a promise to her dead husband to rescue other widows of the resistance and make a home for all of them in the grand house of her husband's ancestors. I think there's a real lack of historical fiction set in Germany during or after the Second World War, and this sounds fantastic.

Which books made your list this week?