Top Ten Tuesday | Ifs and Debuts

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 2017 Debuts I'm Excited For', but to be honest I'm pretty rubbish at keeping on top of forthcoming debut novels. So instead of sharing ten 2017 debuts with you, I'm going to share ten debut novels I own that I haven't read yet but really want to!

The Butcher's Hook by Janet Ellis: I wasn't sure if I was interested in reading this when it was first released, but I've heard such great reviews describing this as a rather disturbing, Gothic tale I couldn't resist getting my hands on a copy and I'm hoping to read it soon.

The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman: This has praise from Sarah Waters, one of my favourite authors, so I'm looking forward to reading it and consuming more new voices in the realm of historical fiction.

The Lady's Slipper by Deborah Swift: I met Deborah Swift a couple of years ago while I was doing my MA and she was so lovely. She did the same MA as me at the same university and The Lady's Slipper is the product of that MA set in the Lancashire area that I adore. I need to get to this one sooner rather than later!

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: I don't know why I haven't read this yet because this is essentially historical crime meets the Suffragette movement and that's a book I need in my life.

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman: I'm ashamed I haven't read this yet as it was a Christmas gift from my lovely friend Natalie @ A Sea Change last year. I'm planning to get to this one soon!

Under a Painted Sky by Stacey Lee: I love my historical fiction that focuses on women and poc, so I need to get to this debut soon - I'm considering have a historical fiction and non-fiction binge throughout Women's History Month in March.

The Gift of Rain by Tan Twan Eng: Tan Twan Eng's books have such beautiful covers and I love the sound of his novels, especially as I've read so little by Asian authors or set in Asia.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I can't wait to get stuck into Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's fiction and I'd like to start with her debut, which has this stunning cover.

The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer: This was on the 2016 Wales Book of the Year shortlist in the English-language Fiction category and I've heard good things about it. I don't tend to read many thrillers but I always enjoy them when I do, so I'm looking forward to this one.

The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson: The amount I've read by or about the trans community is shocking. Sadly Williamson isn't a trans writer, and I'd like to read books about trans people written by trans people, but I also refuse to believe that people can only write about people exactly like them so I'm not going to dismiss Williamson's debut, which has certainly got a lot of people talking about the trans community and what cisgender people can do to be good allies.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | If I Could Turn Back Time

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 2015 Releases I Meant To Get To But Didn't'. While I thought I did a lot better at reading books that were released in 2015 in 2015, there were still a few that managed to slip by me because I got distracted by other books or I simply wasn't in the mood to read them. Hopefully I can cross them off my TBR soon!

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland: This is the one I'm most ashamed to have not yet read, as the author very kindly contacted me and sent me an ARC. I kept meaning to read it, and for whatever reason I didn't get around to it. I really want to cross it off my TBR soon, because it sounds so fun!

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: Yet more historical fiction that I didn't get around to, which is pretty bad considering I've owned my copy of this for almost a year. Hopefully I'll get to it soon, because I don't think I've ever actually read anything about suffragettes. That's something I need to change.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab: I know, I know. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person left in the world who hasn't read this yet. I've owned it since it came out, I just haven't gotten to it yet, but with the second book coming out next month I'm hoping to read it soon!

Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho: I love historical fiction that includes magic, and as I've mentioned before the entire focus of my MA was on the representation of minorities in historical fiction, so the fact that the sorcerer at the centre of this book is a poc is pretty darn cool. I didn't discover this one until the last couple of months of 2015, so I didn't get around to it, but I do have a very pretty copy I'm hoping to read soon.

The Lake House by Kate Morton: I haven't read any Kate Morton, but after watching this interview with her I've been very interested in reading her most recent novel. Hopefully I'll read it soon!

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: I also haven't read Kirsty Logan's most recent short story collection, A Portable Shelter, and I'm hoping to read both books as soon as I can. I don't think I've read any books that incorporate Scottish folklore and this one sounds very magical.

Resistance Is Futile by Jenny Colgan: I enjoy Colgan's contemporary, so when I heard she'd written a book described as Bridget Jones's Diary meets Independence Day I had to have it. I just haven't read it yet...

A Thousand Nights by E. K. Johnston: I received this gorgeous book from the lovely Mikayla @ Mikayla's Bookshelf for Christmas. It had been on my radar for a while, but it wasn't until I saw Natalie @ A Sea Change's review that I knew I wanted to read it. I can't wait to dive in - it sounds magical!

White Trash Zombie Gone Wild by Diana Rowland: Last year I read the first three books in the White Trash Zombie series and thoroughly enjoyed them, but I still have to read the fourth, How the White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, and this, the fifth. I'm looking forward to them; they're such fun reads and I recommend them to anyone looking for a new urban fantasy series.

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan: This is about dinosaurs. Obviously I was going to get it. I just haven't been in the mood for it yet, but with the second book coming out this summer I'm hoping to read it in the first few months of this year.

Which books made your list this week?

Top Ten Tuesday | Anticipated Releases for the First Half of 2016

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 Most Anticipated Releases For The First Half of 2016', so I'm going to talk about the books that will be released in January, February, March, April, May and June of next year that I'm most looking forward to!

Stars Above by Marissa Meyer: Marissa Meyer is releasing a book of all her short stories set in The Lunar Chronicles universe and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. I read all of them online but I'd really like to own a hard copy of them all, plus I want to sit it on my shelf with the rest of the books in this series.

A Tyranny of Petticoats ed. by Jessica Spotswood: An anthology of female-led historical fiction including authors like Marissa Meyer, Robin Talley and Elizabeth Wein? GIVE IT TO ME NOW. *grabby hands*

Unicorn Tracks by Julia Ember: It has unicorn in the title. Obviously I want it. Plus it just sounds really cool!

The Amber Shadows by Lucy Ribchester: I'm all for books set at Bletchley Park, especially if they're books which just so happen to have a female lead.

My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows: I'll be honest, I'm a little unsure about this one. I love the cover - it reminds me of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette - but I think this is either going to be really cool, or appalling. I love my Tudor history and I've always had a fondness for Lady Jane Grey, so the fact that these three authors (and the fact that there are three writers here always has me a little unsure, as I don't know how fluid it's going to be) have turned her story into a funny one intrigues me. I'm interested to see what this book's like!

The Little Shop of Happy Ever After by Jenny Colgan: I'm weak for Jenny Colgan's adult contemporary novels, they're my guilty pleasure, and in this book her heroine opens her very own bookshop. Yes.

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders: This book sounds so cool. I love stories that explore the relationship between magic and science, so I'll definitely be getting my hands on a copy of this one!

Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler: This is one of the books in the new Hogarth Shakespeare series, a series in which a bunch of really well-known authors are retelling Shakespeare's plays. Vinegar Girl is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew and it sounds really fun; I'm also looking forward to Margaret Atwood's retelling of The Tempest and Gillian Flynn's retelling of Hamlet.

Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey: This book sounds like everything I love to read - it sounds so fun! - and I really like the cover, too, so I'm looking forward to getting my hands on a copy.

Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman: Yay pirates!

Which books made your list this week?

My Debut Novel TBR!

Lately I've really been in the mood to read some debut novels, to read the work of someone whose career as a published novelist is only just beginning, and I own quite a few debut novels that sound fantastic that I still have to read, so today I thought I'd share them with you!

I'm going to see how many of these I can cross off my TBR in the next couple of months!

The Miniaturist

by Jessie Burton

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office-leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella's world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist-an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes' gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand-and fear-the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

I've heard nothing but amazing things about The Miniaturist since it was published, including some fantastic reviews by several of my friends whose taste in books I trust entirely. I've owned my copy for months - I managed to find a beautiful brand new hardback edition for only £5! - and I think it's about time I got around to it. Considering it's autumn setting I think it'll be a great book to read at this time of year.

The Fishermen

by Chigozie Obiama

Four brothers encounter a madman whose prophecy of violence threatens the core of their family in this exciting debut novel.

Told from the point of view of nine-year-old Benjamin, the youngest of four brothers, The Fishermen is the Cain and Abel-esque story of an unforgettable childhood in 1990s Nigeria. When their father has to travel to a distant city for work, the brothers take advantage of his extended absence to skip school and go fishing. At the forbidden nearby river, they encounter a madman who predicts that one of the brothers will kill another. What happens next is an almost mythic event whose impact — both tragic and redemptive — will transcend the lives and imaginations of both its characters and its readers.

I don't usually pay much attention to the Man Booker Prize, even though I should, purely because often the books that are long-listed aren't the kind of books I'm interested in reading. After seeing Jen Campbell's review of The Fishermen, however, I bought myself a copy for my kindle because I love the sound of the fairy tale elements to this book, and I want to read more books set outside Europe and North America.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

by Becky Chambers

When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The Wayfarer, a patched-up ship that's seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.

But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants.

Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful.

But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.

I received an eARC of this from Netgalley and still haven't gotten around to it - oops! It sounds really cool, though, and I'd like to read a little more sci-fi, plus I think that cover is gorgeous.

The Hourglass Factory

by Lucy Ribchester

The suffragette movement is reaching fever pitch but for broke Fleet Street tomboy Frankie George, just getting by in the cut-throat world of newspapers is hard enough. Sent to interview trapeze artist Ebony Diamond, Frankie finds herself fascinated by the tightly laced acrobat and follows her across London to a Mayfair corset shop that hides more than one dark secret.

Then Ebony Diamond mysteriously disappears in the middle of a performance, and Frankie is drawn into a world of tricks, society columnists, corset fetishists, suffragettes and circus freaks. How did Ebony vanish, who was she afraid of, and what goes on behind the doors of the mysterious Hourglass Factory?

From the newsrooms of Fleet Street to the drawing rooms of high society, the missing Ebony Diamond leads Frankie to the trail of a murderous villain with a plot more deadly than anyone could have imagined...

This debut is set in the early 20th century and involves the suffragette movement, lady journalists and trapeze artists. It sounds wonderful and I've owned my copy since the beginning of the year, so I should really get to it soon!

Have you read any good debuts this year? Have you read any of these books? Which one do you think I should read first?

This Week in Books | 16/09/15

This week I'm joining in with Lipsy @ Lipsyy Lost & Found to talk about the books I've been reading recently!

NOW: Right now I'm reading Robin Talley's debut novel, Lies We Tell Ourselves, set in 1959 Virginia where, for the first time, black students are being admitted to a previously all-white high school. It's tough to read. I'm really enjoying it so far, but it's so awful to know that black people were treated this way and that, in some places, they still are. I don't think I'm ever going to understand racism, and I don't want to, but stories like this one are so important. It's also an LGBT* novel, so our protagonists have homophobia to deal with too. 

THEN: My copy of Saga, Vol.5 arrived yesterday so I read it last night and now I have to wait for the next volume. Le sigh. I enjoyed it, I love this story and the art so I'm always going to enjoy it, but it felt a lot more bleak than some of the other volumes. Obviously this is a story about war so it's never going to be sunshine and rainbows, I just hope it's a story with some sort of happy ending at the end of it all.

NEXT: Continuing on my Sarah Waters binge I think I'm going to pick up Tipping the Velvet next. I recently bought myself the BBC adaptation on DVD but I want to read the book first, plus I've heard it's Waters' most fun novel. If I don't go for this one I may read either Jessie Burton's The Miniaturist or Lucy Ribchester's The Hourglass Factory - they're both debuts I want to cross off my TBR!

What are you reading?

Mid-Year Book Freak Out Tag!

Okay, so it's past the mid-year point now, but I saw Cait @ Paper Fury do this tag and it looked like fun, so here goes!

Best Book You've Read So Far in 2015

I've read a lot of fantastic books this year, so this was difficult, but I decided to choose Signal to Noise for a few reasons. 1) It's genuinely not only one of the best books I've read this year, but one of the best books I've ever read. Period. 2) It's a 2015 debut novel, and yet I've barely seen anyone talking about it, which is just ridiculous. It's vital that you read this book. 3) I sometimes find it difficult to relate to teenagers in books, and it's not because I'm a super special snowflake or because they're unrealistic, it's just because, let's face it, a lot of YA is romance-centric and romance has never been a big part of my life. I didn't feel attracted to many people at all when I was at school; I never had a cute moment at a school dance or a kiss in the rain or anything, really. But this book reminded me so much of what it was like to be a teenager, it spoke to me even though I didn't grow up in the '80s and even though I didn't grow up in Mexico City. It takes a special book to bring out feelings like that.

There are, of course, a few very close runners up: The Goblin Emperor; To Kill a Mockingbird; Jane Eyre's Sisters: How Women Live and Write the Heroine's Story; How To Be a Heroine; Fingersmith; The Little Stranger.

Best Sequel You've Read So Far in 2015

So this is kind of cheating because I haven't actually finished Blackout yet, but it wasn't until I started thinking about this that I realised how few sequels I've read this year. I've been reading a lot of standalones - I love me a good standalone - and I have been reading a lot of graphic novels, but not a lot of non-graphic series at all. I'm fairly certain this is going to be my favourite sequel once I've finished it, though! I'm just savouring it because I don't know how much more heartbreak I can take with this series...

New Release You Haven't Read Yet But Want To

I own all six of these 2015 releases and I haven't read any of them yet, but I do really want to!

Most Anticipated Release for the Second Half of the Year

I mean, duh. I'm desperate to get my hands on Winter even though I'm going to be very sad when this series ends.

Biggest Disappointment

This series has a lot of potential, but I just didn't like it at all. I love the game, The Wolf Among Us, but I'm just not keen on Bill Willingham's writing style.

Biggest Surprise

Oh my God this book. I was warned just how twisty and turny this book is before I started it, but I think I'm usually quite good at guessing what's coming. I wasn't prepared for this. This book left me gaping at three in the morning and desperate to talk to someone about it, while also wanting to shove the book at people so they could read it and we could both be shocked together. It's fantastic.

Favourite New Author

such a cutie patootie

After reading Signal to Noise I'm definitely going to be keeping an eye out for anything else Silvia Moreno-Garcia writes. I already have her short story collections, This Strange Way of Dying and Love & Other Poisons, and I'm planning on reading them soon!

Newest Fictional Ship

Like Cait, I'm much more of a shipper than a crusher. I love Violet and Orc Dave from Rat Queens, and also Meche and Sebastian from Signal to Noise.

Newest Favourite Character

This was a tough one because I've met so many wonderful characters already this year that I've loved, but there was one in particular who immediately popped into my head when I read this, and that was Maia. The Goblin Emperor is a fantastic, thoughtful book by a very skilled writer, but there's no way I would have loved it as much as I did if Maia hadn't been in it. He's precious and good, but he's never sickly sweet or unbelievable. I love him.

Honourable mentions go to: Meche (Signal to Noise), Angel (White Trash Zombie series), Violet (Rat Queens), Kamala (Ms. Marvel), The Stalk (Saga) and Caroline (The Little Stranger).

Book That Made You Cry

This book is so heartbreaking. Sadness weeps from the pages in waves, but it's so, so good. 

Book That Made You Happy

I opened this book and I didn't stop grinning from start to finish. This series is everything I have ever wanted in a fantasy series all rolled into one, and I can't wait for the next volume!

Favourite Book to Film Adaptation You Saw This Year

I have to agree with Cait and say If I Stay. I've watched it several times now and I'm still not bored of it.

Favourite Post You Have Done So Far This Year

I've done a few discussion posts that I'm quite proud of:

My Problem with Peeta

Should Our Books Have Trigger Warnings?

How Do You See Cinder?

Most Beautiful Book You Have Bought So Far This Year

That would have to be this stunning 150th anniversary edition of The Complete Alice: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There. It's beautiful, and I bought it from a fantastic independent bookshop in Monmouth, Rossiter Books.

What Books Do You Need to Read by the End of the Year?

SO MANY. But especially these ones:

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland: Donna Thorland was lovely enough to contact me and personally send me an ARC a couple of months before this novel was published - she even left me a little message on the cover of the ARC - and I still haven't read it because I'm a terrible human being. I really want to - it sounds amazing - but I'm only just getting back into historical fiction after many months of reading speculative fiction, and I think I'm a little intimidated by my complete lack of knowledge concerning American history. But no more excuses! I'm determined to read this soon, and leave the lovely Donna Thorland a review.

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: One of the 2015 debuts that I couldn't resist picking up. I don't think I've read any books about suffragettes - fiction or non-fiction - and that's something I need to change!

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein: How haven't I read this yet? I've heard nothing but amazing things about this book, and my mum managed to find me a signed copy last Christmas, so it's about time I read it. I'm going to save it for the next time I'm in the mood for a cry.

Mortal Heart by Robin LaFevers: I got this for Christmas too, and I still haven't read it. Seriously, what's wrong with me? I really like this trilogy and I have a problem when it comes to finishing series - I never want them to end! It's about time I crossed this book off my TBR, though...

The Falconer by Elizabeth May: I've heard such mixed things about this book that I just want to see what it's like for myself. I'm hoping it's good, because I think it's a cool concept, and I love me some historical fiction with fantastical elements.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: Again, how have I not read this yet? I think this book makes me nervous because it's so popular, but I'd like to try and read it during the build up to Halloween!

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan: Another debut novel that sounds right up my alley, and one that I've heard some amazing things about it. It also has a gorgeous cover, and it's even prettier under the dust jacket.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel: This book has been getting a lot of hype so usually I probably wouldn't go anywhere near it, but my friend Elena (who I went to Rome with!) absolutely loves this book, in fact I'm fairly certain it was her favourite book of 2014, so I thought I should give it a try!

Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan: I have a soft spot for Colgan's contemporary fiction - particularly her Rosie Hopkins books - but she's also a big sci-fi nut. This book has been described as Bridget Jones's Diary meets Independence Day, so I simply have to read it. Plus it's another 2015 release so I'd like to read it in 2015!

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton: Yet another book that's done well for itself, and one that several of my friends have said is amazing. I was lucky enough to find a hardback edition for only £5 just before Christmas, and I'd like to read it soon! I'm pretty sure it's set in the autumn, so I think September/October time will be the perfect time to cross it off my TBR.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: Yet another 2015 release and yet another book that everyone has been talking about. I snapped up a copy of this when it was released in February and I still haven't read it because I suck.

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milán: YES DINOSAURS. This is also a 2015 release and the first book in a new trilogy, I believe. I'd like to read it this year so that, if I like it, I can snap up the second book when it comes out next year.

There's so much to read and so little time. Seriously, those of you who manage to read 200 books in a year, I salute you. I'm not going to tag anyone because I'm lazy, but if you want to do this tag then do it!

Top Ten Tuesday | 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'. I've mentioned on my blog before that I don't tend to give myself TBRs; I tried giving myself monthly TBRs last year but they just ended up bumming me out because I don't like turning reading into a competition with myself. I just want it to be something I enjoy!

Even so, I have enjoyed doing seasonal TBRs for Top Ten Tuesday, because I just select a bunch of books I'd like to get through that feel right for that season. Will I read all of these? Who knows!

I've split my list; there are five books which have been/are being released in 2015, and five that haven't.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman: I read If I Stay last year and really enjoyed it, so it's about time I read Where She Went!

Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan: Spring time always puts me in the mood for contemporary. I fell in love with Jenny Colgan last year when I discovered her Rosie Hopkins books, and I've heard nothing but great things about this book. Plus it's set in Cornwall, and I have a bit of a weakness for books set in Cornwall.

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell: That's right. I haven't read this. I'm very wary of hype, so when I'm continuously being told a book is awesome, particularly if the book is in a genre I don't know all that well like contemporary, I'm less likely to pick it up. But there are friends of mine I have very similar tastes to who've enjoyed it, so I'm hoping I'll like it, too!

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater: Also still haven't read this, and I need to. Not only because I've heard great things about it, but also because I live in Wales, where Owain Glyndŵr is still a very famous figure!

Among Others by Jo Walton: Yet another book I've heard nothing but great things about.

Rat Queens, Vol.2: The Far Reaching Tentacles of N'rygoth by Kurtis J. Wiebe and Roc Upchurch: I fell in love with this series when I read the first volume, so naturally I preordered a copy of the second volume. It's due to be released in May and I can't wait to read it!

Ms. Marvel, Vol.2: Generation Why by G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona and Jacob Wyatt: Another graphic novel series I started earlier this year and want to continue. Volume 2 is due to be released at the end of this month!

Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant: I love Mira Grant's Newsflesh trilogy and am therefore willing to buy anything she releases. I've preordered my copy, due to be released in April, and I can't wait to see Mira/Seanan's take on merpeople!

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury: A 2015 debut I've heard nothing but praise for. I got my hands on a copy a few weeks ago, so I need to get around to reading it!

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: Another 2015 debut. It has a gorgeous cover, as well as being historical fiction featuring suffragettes. I'm hoping I'm going to love this one!

Which books made your list?

Anticipated 2015 Reads! | Top 10 of 2014

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas!

Today's theme for Top 10 of 2014 is 'Top 10 books I'm looking forward to in 2015'. I'm not very good at keeping up with the latest trends, or at least I'm not very good at reading them, so I found this list a little tricky to put together at first because there are already so many books on my TBR that have been around long before 2015. But a bit of snooping later and I had my list of 10!

Fairest by Marissa Meyer: The Lunar Chronicles is one of my favourite series, so it's only natural that Fairest is on my list. I'm really looking forward to reading Levana's story - I have faith that Meyer has written her an amazing backstory.

Winter by Marissa Meyer: I'm so desperate for this book it's unreal. Like I said I love The Lunar Chronicles and I'm so excited for the release of Winter, I really want to know how this fantastic series is going to come to an end! Oh well, it's only 11 months away...

The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker: I love witchy books, and I really like the premise of this story. Hopefully I can get my hands on a copy of it following its release!

Love Hurts, edited by Malorie Blackman: I'm on a mission to collect short story collections, because I just don't read enough of them, and to be honest I'm all over anything with Malorie Blackman's name on it. I adore her Noughts & Crosses series, it's still one of my favourites, so I trust her whole-heartedly to bring me a short story collection of star-crossed lovers.

Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery by Jenny Colgan: I'm a cheating a little with this book. It's the sequel to Little Beach Street Bakery, which I haven't actually read yet! I've recently started reading Colgan's books and they're really fun and sweet. Last month I picked up a copy of Little Beach Street Bakery for just £1.99 and it has great ratings on Goodreads, so I'm hoping I'll enjoy it enough to pick up a copy of Summer at Little Beach Street Bakery next year!

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland: My list wouldn't be complete without some historical fiction, and I'm guilty of some fun historical romance every now and then. Plus any piece of historical fiction involving a female playwright rather than a male one already has my vote!

A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab: This book just sounds cool. I still haven't read any Schwab, though I do own a copy of Vicious now, so I'd love to get my hands on a copy of this.

The Dinosaur Lords by Victor Milan: SFF featuring dinosaurs? Um, yes please! Considering I was obsessed with dinosaurs when I was little I don't think I've ever actually read a book with any dinosaurs in it that weren't fossils, so I'm really eager to get my hands on this.

The Well by Catherine Chanter: This book is Chanter's debut novel, set to be released in May, and it just sounds really interesting. I have something of a weak spot for novels featuring protagonists who have been released from prison. It probably stems down to my eternal love for Sirius Black.

The Hourglass Factory by Lucy Ribchester: This is another 2015 debut, and with its gorgeous cover and inclusion of the suffragette movement it just had to be on this list.

Which books made your list?