Top Ten Tuesday 2/4 – predicted perfection

It’s ya girl, back at it with another Top Ten Tuesday! TTT is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s prompt is “Books On My TBR I Predict Will Be 5-Star Reads.” Honestly, I could have made a list of 20 (or more) titles for this list, because my TBR is crazy-long and I have quite a few books that I’m certain I would love, if I just had the time to enjoy them! To that end, this list is just a sample, but hopefully the point still comes across.

Side note: I do realize most of these are fantasy titles. Those just happened to be the ones that first came to mind as I was working on this.

1. Illuminae

I love Jay Kristoff (as evidenced by my love of Nevernight). I love his work with Amie Kaufmann (or at least I loved Aurora Rising). I love books with weird/cool formatting. I love ragtag teams of misfits. In other words, this book has a boatload of things going for it, as far as my favor is concerned.

2. Ninth House

Leigh Bardugo + dark, adult fantasy + secret societies + elite college kids = a story I will love, I have virtually no doubt. My (signed) copy has been staring at me from my shelf for far too long…

3. They Both Die at the End

Confession: I have never read anything by Adam Silvera. But I love books with gay romances, and I am always on the lookout for things that will crush my heart to pieces, and this book checks both boxes.

4. A Darker Shade of Magic

I recently finished my first Schwab book, Vicious, and I quite enjoy the way she writes. Plus, the Shades of Magic trilogy is a favorite among many fantasy readers, and everything I’ve seen about the characters in it appeals to me as well (Lila seems like a total badass).

5. The Way of Kings

I have yet to read any Brandon Sanderson book that hasn’t been a 5-star read for me (and I’ve read 8 novels and 2 novellas…), so this ought to be self-explanatory.

6. Lady Susan

I was talking “classic novels with feminist heroes” with a college friend over Snapchat a few months ago, and between our discussions of Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice, she mentioned this shorter work by Jane Austen, with a manipulative, kind-of-evil female protagonist. Between my enjoyment of Austen and my fondness for flawed women in leading roles, this seems like a solid bet for me.

7. The Book Thief

WHY HAVEN’T I READ THIS YET??? So many people call it a 5-star read. And I don’t read a lot of historical fiction, but the little that I do, I tend to love and rate really highly. I have a feeling this book would be no exception to that pattern.

8. The Night Circus

A friend of mine, whose book opinions I tend to agree with, has said many times that this is beautifully written and one of her favorite books of all time. I trust her recommendations wholeheartedly and honestly can’t wait to read it.

9. The Name of the Wind

Seriously, I have yet to hear anything bad about this book, and it tends to be highly recommended for fans of Sanderson. Enough said.

10. The Song of Achilles

Now, Circe was a little slow, but still pretty good, largely because of Madeline Miller’s skilled writing. I think that a book that turns those talents to tell the tale of Achilles (and his tragic gay romance with Patroclus) will probably destroy me, and I’ll be happy about it.

So what about you? Have you read any of these? Loved (or didn’t love) them? Let me know!

All for now,

Kathryn (“K-Specks”)