It’s true I’ve read some great books so far this year. BUT there is no end to great books I haven’t read! As you know, I am not reading much fiction right now. And I expect this list will change before I have time to read a lot of other people’s stories. Nevertheless, here are ten titles I HAVE RIGHT HERE IN FRONT OF ME on my Kindle that I would really love to read:
1. Above by Leah Bobet. I’m sure I mentioned this before, but this is the very first book I ever got on my Kindle, and have I read it yet? No. That’s just wrong.
2. The Goblin Emperor by “Katherine Addison”. I know many of you have read it and loved it already! In fact, I just noticed Maureen has her review of this one up today.
3. Mistwood by Leah Cypess. I’ve heard lots of good things about this title for YEARS.
4. Tempting Danger by Eileen Wilks. Chachic has been pushing this UF series and I’d really like to try it, but do I have time for a multi-book series? Not this year.
5. Jellicoe Road by Marchatta. I know lots of people have been recommending this and it sounds great. I hope I get to it this year!
6. Scarlet by Gaughen. Because, Robin Hood retelling! I love the idea and really want to read this.
7. The Emperor’s Edge by Lindsay Buroker. This is a self-published title that Sherwood Smith recommended, and I like the author’s blog.
8. A Posse of Princesses by Sherwood Smith, because I’ve really enjoyed all her books so far and I want to read more of her backlist.
9. Above World by Jenn Reese because I’ve heard good things about it and besides, I met her a few years ago.
10. Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews because hey, Ilona Andrews!
As I say, I HAVE all these titles. I just don’t know when I’m going to get a chance to READ them. IF I read any new-to-me-fiction before August, a big IF, it will probably be Regency romance or contemporary — categories which don’t take as much attention because you don’t have to pay much attention to the worldbuilding.
Meanwhile, incidentally, the TBR pile does keep growing. I never pick up a free or “daily deal” book just because someone mentions it on Twitter, but then on the other hand if someone I know and trust recommends a book, that’s different. Martha Wells just recommended a book called The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer; it was a Kindle daily deal yesterday, so I read some of the reviews and then picked it up. Sounds like the author does a great job pouring her hobby (mountain climbing) into this story. By the time I get time to really read, who knows, maybe that will jump over the entire list and wind up as my first choice.
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Just so you know, the Buroker book is the first in a series, too ^^ – as is Clean Sweep, but the second book is just being serialised so no danger there.
A Posse of Princesses is standalone, although I think Lhind the Thief has some people talking about the same countries, or something… when I read that I didn’t see a connection anyway.
I throw in another vote for the Eileen Wilks series!
This is not a Kindle book, altho self-pubbed e-book, and it may interest you – not that you need any more books!
But, I’m certainly enjoying it, and the Teen who read it over my shoulder after I quoted a few bits decided she needed it on her own Kindle: THE MARCH NORTH by Graydon Saunders. I found it reviewed on Goodreads. It’s the details and voice that have caught me: The narrator’s voice (it’s first person) keeps reminding me of Dag from Bujold’s Sharing Knife – one of those unflappable, competent, just keep doing what needs doing guys – and the world building and details such as:
on the first page ‘West Wetcreek isn’t somewhere. Even back in the day, Westcreek wasn’t anywhere.’ Twitch was born here, says this like the laws of the universe are being changed. Twitch don’t like it. These days there’s a Westcreek (dust dry), a West Wetcreek, a Lost Creek (swamp), and Split Creek(on some fixed astrological schedule: fire, blood venom, beer) in the province of Westcreek. I’m leaving out the rest of the Creeks, plural, the stuff further east.”
And there’s more to Split Creek than just that – several chapters in: “It’ll be venom and fire before it’s blood again.’ When’s it blood next…. But that’s the flaming kind… ‘ ‘Flaming, what colour?’ Halt & Rust are paying extra attention,m too. Quietly. ‘Like snot when you’re just catching a cold. Kinda greenish.’ Thank you, Chuckles [name of ‘snot’ speaker]. ‘You have a river of dragon’s blood?'”
And the thinking that can come up with solving an iron shortage by extracting it from said river of blood.
When Halt & Rust first arrive in Ch 2: …today unusual is being led by a five-tonne sheep under a howdah. … We’ve got Rust, all right. Rust’s horse looks good and plain and honest, too, and it might have been. It might still be; Rust has been riding the ghost of that horse since there are records, and if anyone knows how that works, they’re not saying. The sheep with the howdah has to be Halt. If you’re willing to call something six-horned & about five tonnes a sheep, anyway. Smells like a sheep. …. … it looks like someone set out to cross malice with a sheep and got black iron and brass into the malice. It breathes slow, which you’d expect, and fire, which you would not. Pale flames a meter long from each nostril on the exhale, which is giving Twitch pause.”
The Teen is reminded of Hodgell’s world of Rathillien. Anyway, I haven’t finished it yet, but it’s certainly been interesting as far as I’ve gotten, and other people who hang out here may also enjoy it.
Extracting iron from a river of blood! That is something. I’ll have to look into it, since I certainly do appreciate unflappable do-the-job types.