Top Ten Tuesdays

Top Ten Tuesday: April Showers

Happy Tuesday everybody! It’s been a while, but I just wasn’t feeling the last couple of prompts (I don’t have a bucket list and I couldn’t think of ten books that described me). I’m cutting it a little close, but I really wanted to participate this week!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is April Showers. It’s a very open prompt, and can be anything from rainy day reads, to books that made you cry, to books that wash away a bad reading experience.

I’m going with Books That Washed Away a Not Great Reading Experience. And by this I mean: books I DNF-ed, books I read but didn’t like, or books I didn’t hate but were very slow for me to get through. (I consider a book feeling too slow to be a bad reading experience for me personally; even if sometimes I end up thinking the book itself is alright (around three stars) after the fact.)

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it! From most recent to least recent.

  1. Don’t Let the Forest In by CG Drews: I didn’t really enjoy the book I read before it.
  2. How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe: It took me a while to get through the last two books I read before this one, even though I ultimately thought they were alright. It was a real slog for me to get through them though, and I was in a slump for a bit until I read this.
  3. Dark Moon, Shallow Sea by David R. Slayton: I DNF-ed the book I read before this one.
  4. This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone: I didn’t hate the book I read before this one, but it irritated me a lot. This book being so good helped turn my mood around.
  5. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: I DNF-ed the book I read before this one.
  6. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers: I didn’t really like the book I read before this one.
  7. White Trash Warlock by David R. Slayton: I didn’t really like the two books I read before this one.
  8. The Chalice of the Gods by Rick Riordan: I really didn’t enjoy the two books I read before this one.
  9. In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune: The book I read before this one was a slog for me to get through. This was a real pick-me-up.
  10. In Deeper Waters by FT Lukens: I really didn’t like the book I read before this one.

What did you do for April Showers? What books washed away your not-so-great reading experiences?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book

Happy Tuesday everyone! I’m cutting it a bit close this week, but I’ve been looking forward to this week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Buzzwords or Phrases That Make Me Want to Read (or Avoid) a Book. They can be in the title, summary, marketing stuff, book reviews, blurbs, etc. These words or phrases can immediately grab your attention or immediately drive you away and make you go “Nope.”

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it! I’ve decided to do both sides of the prompt, so I’m going to do ten of each!

10 Things That Make Me Want to Read a Book

Found Family

I’m an absolute sucker for this trope! I love it!

Grumpy and Sunshine

Platonic or romantic, this trope rules!

Retelling/Reimagining

I’m a sucker for this kind of thing. I love fairytale retellings or new spins on classics or legends with a magical, sci-fi, or romantic twist.

Friends to Lovers

I love to see best buds fall in love.

Second Chance

It’s sweet to see characters giving a relationship another go. Plus, knowing two characters have a history is always interesting. I like it both as a friendship or a romance.

Stuck Together

I love it when two characters or a group of characters are stuck together and forced to get along. The friction is so fun, whether platonic or romantic.

Parodies

I don’t indulge too often, but when I see a parody alluded to, I know it’s probably gonna be a lot of fun. These are especially interesting when they’re played completely straight.

“Spine-tingling”

Reading this phrase makes my spine tingle with anticipation.

“Charming”

This makes me think the book will be a little cozy without being too cozy. I like it when my books are sometimes a little cozy without being too cozy.

“Dark/Terrible/Hidden Truth”

I read this phrase or its variants and I immediately want to know what is up with this novel.

10 Things That Make Me Want to Avoid a Book

Enemies to Lovers

I really hate this trope. Like, I just don’t like the concept. Especially because it’s mis-used so often – it’s usually something more like “reluctant allies to lovers” or “neutral to lovers” or something else, but it’s marketed as “enemies to lovers.” Ugh. And I also hate phrases that related to this trope, like “icy hostility to fiery passion” (thanks so much ACORAR).

Love Triangles

I absolutely despise love triangles. They are beyond irritating.

Amnesia

I hate amnesia plots that are involved with romance. All it does is reset half of a relationship and make the other half miserable.

Soulmates

If this is alluded to in the summary, I basically always walk away. I hate destined love.

Forbidden Love

I’ve just seen this one too much – I’m more tired of this trope than anything else.

Damsels

I’m tired of damsels of any kind. Let both the MMC and the FMC be capable in their own ways. I don’t want either locked away in a tower to wait or two be a plot device.

Bad Boys/Girls

I’m kind of tired of them.

“Fierce”

I still see this word pretty often in synopsis, but I mostly saw it everywhere like two to five years ago. This one is mostly a case of seeing it too much and getting fed up with it.

“Bold”

The same problem I have with “fierce.” But I also can’t stand the phrase “bold [new] debut.”

“Dangerous Temptation”

I hate it. I’m not a big romance reader, so that might be why, but I still hate this phrase.

What are words or phrases that make you want to read a book? Which ones make you want to stay away from a book?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Spring 2026 TBR

Happy Tuesday everybody! Can’t believe it’s been a month since I last participated in this!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Books on Your Spring 2026 To-Be Read List. It’s pretty self-explanatory, so I’m not gonna elaborate this time.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get into it! Here are ten books currently near the top of my ever-shifting TBR! From most likely to least likely to be read.

  1. One Piece (Volumes #73 – #78) by Eiichiro Oda
  2. Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
  3. A Widow’s Charm by Caitlyn Paxson
  4. Proven Guilty (Dresden Files #8) by Jim Butcher
  5. The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu
  6. Aurora (Volume #2) by Red
  7. Platform Decay (Murderbot Diaries #8) by Martha Wells
  8. The Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro
  9. Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawsett
  10. The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence #1) by K.D. Edwards

What books are on your spring TBR? Which ones are you most excited to read? Are they upcoming releases, books that have been around awhile, or a mix of both?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Quotes That I Really Liked From Ten Books That I Love

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Quotes From/About Books. So you can share book quotes that you love, quotes about books themselves, quotes about being a reader, etc. I decided to highlight Quotes That I Really Like From Ten Books That I Love. I went with the last ten books I gave five star for this one, because I’ve just read so many books.

Without further ado, let’s get into it! From most recently read and rated to least recently read and rated – to keep them straight in my head (but mostly because I’m having trouble choosing which books I like better than others).

#1

Perhaps that is what it is like with other people. Perhaps even people you like and admire immensely can make you see the World in ways you would rather not.

Susanna Clarke – Piranesi

#2

“You keep asking why your work is not enough, and I don’t know how to answer that, because it is enough to exist in the world and marvel at it. You don’t need to justify that, or earn it. You are allowed to just live. That is all most animals do.”

Becky Chambers – A Psalm for the Wild-Built

#3

One doesn’t need magic if one knows enough stories.

Heather Fawsett – Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries

#4

Art doesn’t need to be good to be valuable. I’ve heard it said that art is the one truly useless creation-intended for no mechanical purpose. Valued only because of the perception of the people who view it. The thing is, everything is useless, intrinsically. Nothing has value unless we grant it that value. Any object can be worth whatever we decide it to be worth.

Brandon Sanderson – Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

#5

There is no such thing as a single truth. There are just the stories we tell others, and the ones we tell ourselves.

Chelsea Abdullah – The Stardust Thief

#6

Humanity is awful, angry, and violent. But we are also magical and musical. We dance. We sing. We create. We live and laugh and rage and cry and despair and hope. We are a bundle of contradictions without rhyme or reason. And there is no one like us in all the universe.

TJ Klune – In the Lives of Puppets

#7

Real hearts are nothing but trouble.
They break and bleed and bring their owners torment. But without them existence is hollow, only breath following breath.

Frances Hardinge – Unraveller

#8

You are the Ship of Theseus. We all are. There is not a single living cell in my body that was alive and a part of me ten years ago, and the same is true for you. We’re constantly being rebuilt, one board at a time.

Edward Ashton – Mickey7

#9

“Not every story is willing to reveal itself right away. Some of them are bashful.”

Marissa Meyer – Gilded

#10

“I’d rather die on an adventure than live standing still.”

V.E. Schwab – A Darker Shade of Magic

What are your favorite quotes? Are they from your favorite books? Do you have any quotes you really like that are just about books and reading in general?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers Featuring Pretty and/or Unique Typography

It’s been a few weeks, but I’m here again (sort of) participating in Top Ten Tuesday.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Books for Armchair Travelers, but I wasn’t really feeling the prompt, so I went rogue and decided to do one from a couple of weeks ago that I was interested in, but didn’t have time: Book Covers Featuring Pretty or Unique Typography.

Anyway, without further ado, on with the post! I couldn’t narrow it down to just ten, by the way, so here’s twelve.

  1. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Jaysea Lynn – Both pretty and unique
  2. Girls of Dark Divine by E.V. Woods – Unique
  3. How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe – Unique
  4. A Thousand Nights by E.K. Johnson – Pretty
  5. A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers – Unique
  6. Prince of Fortune by Lisa Tirreno – Pretty
  7. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawsett – Pretty and unique
  8. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle – Both pretty and unique
  9. Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco – Both pretty and unique
  10. Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir – Unique
  11. Tigers Trek by Colleen Houck – Both pretty and unique
  12. Of Owls and Oolong by Shari L. Tapscott – Both pretty and unique

What are some books with covers with your favorite typography? Do you prefer books with a pretty or a unique title font? Or do you like both equally?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025

Hey everyone, and Happy Tuesday! I’m here participating in another Top Ten Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Bookish Discoveries I Made in 2025. There are a lot of options with this one: new-to-you authors, new genres, new bookish resources you found, new general bookish stuff, etc. I’m going with: New-to-Me Authors I Discovered in 2025.

Anyway, in order from earliest discovery in the year to latest, here we go!

  1. Christine Calella (via Liar’s Kingdom)
  2. Max Gladstone (via This is How You Lose the Time War)
  3. Amal El-Mohtar (via This is How You Lose the Time War and The River Has Roots)
  4. L.R. Lam (via Dragonfall)
  5. Katherine Rundell (via Impossible Creatures)
  6. M. Stevenson (via Behooved)
  7. Nicole Jarvis (via A Spell for Change)
  8. Andrew Rowe (via How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps)
  9. Brittany Cavallaro (via A Study in Charlotte)
  10. Lois McMaster Bujold (via Penric’s Demon and Penric and the Shaman)

What authors were new to you in 2025? How did you like their books? Will you be reading things written by them again, or was their work not for you?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026

It’s almost no longer Tuesday, but I was determined to do this this week. (I have to get better about my time management in regards to blog posts.) Anyway, it’s time for Top Ten Tuesday.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the First Half of 2026.

There’s quite a few new releases coming up that I’ve got my eye on, but I’ve decided to pick two books from each month of the in the first half of 2026 to make it even. Anyway, let’s get into it!

Strange Animals by Jarod K. Anderson – Releasing February 10th

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawsett – Releasing February 17th

Green & Deadly Things by Jenn Lyons – Releasing March 3rd

Brighter Than Nine (Darker By Four #2) by June CL Tan – Releasing March 10th

The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu – Releasing April 7th

Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsai – Releasing April 14th

Platform Decay (Murderbot Diaries #8) by Martha Wells – Releasing May 5th

The Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro – Releasing May 26th

Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer – Releasing June 9th

Letters from the Last Apothecary by Bita Behzadi – Releasing June 9th

What books are you most excited about that are coming out the first half of 2026? Do we share any of the same ones?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf

It’s barely Tuesday anymore, so I’m cutting it close, but I wanted to participate in Top Ten Tuesday one last time for the curtain closed on 2025. (Edit: Whoops, I crashed while finishing it up. Ugh, I have to back post again!)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Most Recent Additions to My Bookshelf.

These are in order from least to most recently acquired. Surprisingly, only like one of them is from Christmas. It’s because I got the rest of them so recently – I didn’t want to clutter up my bookshelf with even more books I haven’t read yet, haha – so I didn’t really ask for any for Christmas. Almost all of them are gifts, though. Anyway, without further ado, let’s be off!

  1. What Stalks the Deep by T. Kingfisher
  2. For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn
  3. Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura
  4. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
  5. How to Defeat a Demon King in Ten Easy Steps by Andrew Rowe
  6. The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
  7. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
  8. Hollow by Karina Halle
  9. The Glass Scientists: Volume Three by S.H. Cotugno
  10. One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig

What books have you recently added to your bookshelf? When and where did you get them? Which ones have you already read? Which ones are you looking forward to the most?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Set in Snowy Places

It almost isn’t Tuesday anymore, but Happy Tuesday anyway! It’s been almost two months, but I’m back participating in this post!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Books Set in Snowy Places.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get started!

  1. Winterspell by Claire Legrand
  2. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
  3. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawsett
  4. Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber
  5. A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas
  6. The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
  7. Snow Drowned by Jennifer D. Lyle
  8. Otherworldly by F.T. Lukens
  9. Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer
  10. A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos

Do you like books with a snowy setting? If so, what are your favorite ones? What kinds of books do you like to read during the early winter?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time

It’s barely Tuesday anymore, but Happy Tuesday anyway! Two weeks in a row!

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly post currently hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It celebrates lovely lists, wonderful books and the bookish community. This week’s topic is Books I Wish I Could Read Again for the First Time.

Anyway, without further ado, let’s get started! In no particular order, here comes my list!

  1. Among the Beasts and Briars by Ashley Poston: One of my favorite books ever. A fantastic fall read – it had all the right vibes. It was one of the best things I read in 2020.
  2. A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab: Another one of my favorite books ever. I was so jittery with excitement when I was reading it. I actually read this one in the late fall as well, as well as 2020.
  3. Piranesi by Susanna Clarke: One of my newer favorite books – I read this last year in 2024. I loved the experience of reading it for the first time – the unique way it was written, the unreliable narrator, the clues for what’s actually going on laid out for the reader. It’s wonderful.
  4. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness: I’m always singing the praises of Chaos Walking – I just love this trilogy. I first read this series way back in 2010.
  5. The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima: I adore the Seven Realms Series, and I haven’t been shy about it. Honestly, I wish I could experience this series again for the first time, it was so good. One of the highlights of 2015 for me.
  6. This Monstrous Thing by Mackenzi Lee: An awesome Frankenstein retelling. Another book I read in 2015.
  7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: I’m just about positive that I read this in 2009. A great read.
  8. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee: One of my favorite books ever, and one of my oldest ones at that. I read this in 2010. Such a classic.
  9. The Other by Thomas Tryon: Another one of my oldest favorite novels. It’s pretty obscure nowadays, but no less great. I read it back in 2009.
  10. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens: A classic that I was looking forward to reading for a long while by the time I actually read it. This was back in 2009, around Christmas. I used to love watching different adaptations of this book, and honestly I still like them, though I haven’t seen one in years.

What are your favorite books? Which books do you wish you could read for the first time?

As always, thanks so much for reading, and I hope that you have an amazing day/night!

See ya ~Mar