Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly topic hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week she provides a topic, and you are free to use that topic and/or variations of that topic to make your top ten list. A full list of the weekly themes can be found here.
This week’s topic is on what books I plan to read this spring. I always love these ones because it’s interesting to see what future Darcy actually does read. I’ve never actually “planned” what I’m going to read, except if it’s for one of my book clubs.
A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal
Series: Blood and Tea #1
on February 20, 2024
Genres: Young Adult Fiction / Fantasy / General, Young Adult Fiction / Vampires
Pages: 352
Format: Hardcover
The first book in a hotly-anticipated fantasy duology teeming with romance and revenge, led by an orphan girl willing to do whatever it takes to save her self-made kingdom.
On the streets of White Roaring, Arthie Casimir is a criminal mastermind and collector of secrets. Her prestigious tearoom transforms into an illegal bloodhouse by night, catering to the vampires feared by society. But when her establishment is threatened, Arthie is forced to strike an unlikely deal with an alluring adversary to save it—she can’t do the job alone.
Calling on some of the city’s most skilled outcasts, Arthie hatches a plan to infiltrate the sinister, glittering vampire society known as the Athereum. But not everyone in her ragtag crew is on her side, and as the truth behind the heist unfolds, Arthie finds herself in the midst of a conspiracy that will threaten the world as she knows it. Dark, action-packed, and swoonworthy, this is Hafsah Faizal better than ever.
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
Series: Sage of the Unfated #1
Published by Random House Publishing Group on February 27, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Fantasy / General, Fiction / Romance / Action & Adventure, Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Viking, Fiction / Romance / Royalty
Pages: 432
Format: Hardcover
A shield maiden blessed by the gods battles to unite a nation under a power-hungry king - while also fighting her growing desire for his fiery son - in this Norse-inspired fantasy romance from the bestselling author of The Bridge Kingdom series.
Bound in an unwanted marriage, Freya spends her days gutting fish, but dreams of becoming a warrior. And of putting an axe in her boorish husband's back. Freya's dreams abruptly become reality when her husband betrays her to the region's jarl, landing her in a fight to the death against his son. To survive, Freya is forced to reveal her deepest secret: she possesses a drop of a goddess's blood, which gives her magic capable of repelling any attack. A magic that was foretold would unite the fractured nation of Skaland beneath a king-the one who controls the shield maiden's fate. Believing he's destined to rule Skaland, the fanatical jarl binds Freya with a blood oath and orders his son, Bjorn, to protect Freya from their enemies. Desperate to prove her strength, Freya must train to fight and learn to control her magic, all while facing perilous tests set by the gods. Except the greatest test of all may be resisting her forbidden attraction to Bjorn. If Freya succumbs to her lust for the charming and fierce warrior, she risks not only her own destiny but the fate of all the people she swore to protect.
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Series: Alex Stern #1
Published by Flatiron Books on October 8, 2019
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Paranormal, Fiction / Occult & Supernatural, Fiction / Thrillers / Supernatural
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
A mesmerizing tale of power, privilege, and dark magic set among the Ivy League elite.
Galaxy “Alex” Stern is the most unlikely member of Yale’s freshman class. Raised in the Los Angeles hinterlands by a hippie mom, Alex dropped out of school early and into a world of shady drug-dealer boyfriends, dead-end jobs, and much, much worse. In fact, by age twenty, she is the sole survivor of a horrific, unsolved multiple homicide. Some might say she’s thrown her life away. But at her hospital bed, Alex is offered a second chance: to attend one of the world’s most prestigious universities on a full ride. What’s the catch, and why her? Still searching for answers, Alex arrives in New Haven tasked by her mysterious benefactors with monitoring the activities of Yale’s secret societies. Their eight windowless “tombs” are the well-known haunts of the rich and powerful, from high-ranking politicos to Wall Street’s biggest players. But their occult activities are more sinister and more extraordinary than any paranoid imagination might conceive. They tamper with forbidden magic. They raise the dead. And, sometimes, they prey on the living.
One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig
Series: The Shepherd King #1
Published by Orbit on September 27, 2022
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / Dark Fantasy, Fiction / Fantasy / Epic, Fiction / Gothic
Pages: 432
Format: Paperback
A dark, lushly gothic fantasy about a maiden who must unleash the monster within to save her kingdom—but the monster in her head isn't the only threat lurking. Elspeth needs a monster. The monster might be her.
Elspeth Spindle needs more than luck to stay safe in the eerie, mist-locked kingdom she calls home—she needs a monster. She calls him the Nightmare, an ancient, mercurial spirit trapped in her head. He protects her. He keeps her secrets. But nothing comes for free, especially magic. When Elspeth meets a mysterious highwayman on the forest road, her life takes a drastic turn. Thrust into a world of shadow and deception, she joins a dangerous quest to cure the kingdom of the dark magic infecting it. Except the highwayman just so happens to be the King’s own nephew, Captain of the Destriers…and guilty of high treason. He and Elspeth have until Solstice to gather twelve Providence Cards—the keys to the cure. But as the stakes heighten and their undeniable attraction intensifies, Elspeth is forced to face her darkest secret yet: the Nightmare is slowly, darkly, taking over her mind. And she might not be able to stop him.
The Sea of Monsters by Rick Riordan
Series: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #2
Published by Disney Hyperion Books on May 2, 2009
Genres: Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure / General, Juvenile Fiction / General
Pages: 320
Format: Paperback
After a summer spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson―a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any “normal” friends.
But things don’t stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: the magical borders which protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner by the Cyclops Polyphemus on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters, the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millennia―only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name…the Bermuda Triangle.
Now Percy and his friends―Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson―must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes by the end of the summer or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family―one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon’s son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.
Ghostly Paws by Leighann Dobbs
Series: Mystic Notch #1
Published by Leighann Dobbs Publishing on March 13, 2014
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Amateur Sleuth, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Cozy / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / General, Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths
Pages: 276
Format: eBook
Middle age can be murder ...
At least that's how it seems to former crime journalist, Wilhelmina Chance, whose near-fatal accident has given her a strange side effect ... she sees ghosts. After a messy divorce sends her fleeing back to her hometown of Mystic Notch, nestled in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Willa finds herself haunted by the tenacious ghost of the town librarian who insists Willa solve her murder. Luckily, she has lots of help, including a quirky cast of small-town characters, the cat she's inherited from her grandmother, and her best friend, Pepper, who claims her herbal teas can work magic. But just when Willa thinks she's discovered who the killer is, she finds out that things are not what they seem in Mystic Notch, and the case takes a strange turn that has Willa adding even some of her long-time friends to her suspect list. Can Willa find the real killer in time to keep the magical balance in Mystic Notch on the side of good, or will evil prevail?
Between Mischief & Magic by Marissa Serrao
Published by Marissa Serrao on November 22, 2023
Genres: Fiction / Fantasy / General, Fiction / LGBTQ+ / Gay
Pages: 298
Format: Paperback
A drunken demon, a princess who lost her magic, and a deal to save them both...
Rei Deimos, half succubus-half satyr, is a magic-sensing, chaos-wielding mess. When her brother decides she needs to get her life together, he kicks her out of their house. With nowhere else to go, Rei finds herself at the tavern of an inn, with nothing but a bottle of red wine to keep her company. It's there that the grumpy demon runs into a mysterious cloaked figure who she soon discovers is Amora Lianna of Cerys, the runaway princess with one goal in mind: to find her missing magic.
With Rei desperately in need of a job and a place to live, and Amora equally as desperate to find her magic, the two of them strike up a deal. Rei will help Amora find her magic and, in turn, secure a job as the princess's royal advisor. As the two women embark on their magic-seeking quest, they encounter various fae, sip warm beverages, and devour delicious pastries, all while realizing they may need each other more than they initially thought. As love finds Rei and Amora, will it be enough to conquer the secrets that keep them up at night? Or will everything come crumbling down?
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Series: Dangerous Damsels #1
Published by Penguin on June 15, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Romance / Fantasy, Fiction / Romance / Historical / Victorian, Fiction / Romance / Romantic Comedy
Pages: 336
Format: Audiobook
A prim and proper lady thief must save her aunt from a crazed pirate and his dangerously charming henchman in this fantastical historical romance.
Cecilia Bassingwaite is the ideal Victorian lady. She's also a thief. Like the other members of the Wisteria Society crime sorority, she flies around England drinking tea, blackmailing friends, and acquiring treasure by interesting means. Sure, she has a dark and traumatic past and an overbearing aunt, but all things considered, it's a pleasant existence. Until the men show up.
Ned Lightbourne is a sometimes assassin who is smitten with Cecilia from the moment they meet. Unfortunately, that happens to be while he's under direct orders to kill her. His employer, Captain Morvath, who possesses a gothic abbey bristling with cannons and an unbridled hate for the world, intends to rid England of all its presumptuous women, starting with the Wisteria Society. Ned has plans of his own. But both men have made one grave mistake. Never underestimate a woman.
When Morvath imperils the Wisteria Society, Cecilia is forced to team up with her handsome would-be assassin to save the women who raised her--hopefully proving, once and for all, that she's as much of a scoundrel as the rest of them.
Sea of Monsters has a new cover, I see. You know you’re getting older when books you think of as ‘modern’ get reprinted covers. My list is here should you be interested. 🙂
I see lots of great books on your list! I hope they live up to the hype for you.
I like that Percy Jackson cover. I don’t think I’ve seen that one before. I hope you enjoy all these books!
I just started A Tempest of Tea!
It’s next on my list, so excited!!