Top Ten Tuesday | My 2018 Spring TBR!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted at That Artsy Reader Girl. 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 'Books On My Spring TBR'. I mentioned in my Winter TBR (and looking at that now I still haven't read any of the books on that TBR - oops!) that I love to tackle high fantasy in the winter, but as it's a genre I've been starting to get back into that's something I'd like to keep going - especially as I didn't actually read any of the high fantasy I was hoping to read over the winter.

Usually I try and do themed seasonal TBRs, but this time I've just gone for books I'm in the mood for at the moment, including some new releases that I'm very excited for!

The Good People by Hannah Kent: I'm definitely a mood reader, but there are certain themes/genres/countries that pull me in at various times of the year, and for some reason I gravitate towards Ireland in the spring. I think it's all that green. I still haven't read this one even though I loved her debut, Burial Rites, so I need to get to it soon.

Gaslight by Eloise Williams: I can't remember the last time I read a Middle Grade book. In all honesty it's not a genre I particularly gravitate towards, but lately I've so been in the mood for an MG book and I couldn't resist picking this one up. Not only is this historical fiction, but it's historical fiction set in Victorian Cardiff which is so unusual given how many Victorian era novels are set in London. I briefly met the author at Cardiff Book Festival last year, she was lovely, and I used to work with the lady who set up the publisher, Firefly Press, who is also incredibly nice. If you're a big fan of MG fiction I recommend checking out their website - they're publishing some great stuff!

Circe by Madeline Miller: This is my most anticipated release of 2018 and it's due out in April! I'm so glad I only read The Song of Achilles last year, I'm not sure I could have waited seven years for another book from Miller.

Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth: Embarrassingly, I'm pretty sure this was on my Spring TBR last year and I still haven't read it. Oops. Something about spring makes me crave fairy tales and this spin on Rapunzel sounds right up my street. Hopefully I'll get to it this year!

How to Stop Time by Matt Haig: I've been reading Jodi Taylor's Just One Damned Thing After Another recently and it's whet my appetite for more books about time travel. This isn't a time travel book exactly, but the protagonist is a history teacher with a strange genetic condition that's caused him to live for hundreds of years. I picked up an edition that's been illustrated by Chris Riddell and signed by both him and Matt Haig and it's beautiful, hopefully I'll get to it soon.

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton: This high fantasy retelling of King Lear features three princesses fighting for their father's crown and sounds like so much fun. I'm one of three sisters myself so I love stories like this.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi: African-inspired high fantasy! I know it's a bit of a fantasy trope now, but I love 'magic is banned' stories so I can't wait to read this one.

The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine: More Middle Grade! I remember reading Ella Enchanted in school and loving it and I've heard so many good things about this one but never read it. I love stories about sisters, as I mentioned before, so I'm looking forward to cross this one off my TBR.

The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu: This time some Asian-inspired fantasy! I was hoping to get to this one over winter - especially as I talked about wanting to read more big books this year - but then I started It and I didn't think I could handle two chunky books at once, so hopefully I'll get to this one in the spring instead.

The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan: I've never read any Trudi Canavan but friends of mine read her when we were teenagers and loved her work. I've seen a lot of reviews about this one that aren't great, saying it's full of tropes, but do you know what? Sometimes I'm in the mood for a trope-filled fantasy story, and I think this one is going to make me nostalgic for the stories I loved as a child.

Which books made your list 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?