Top Ten Tuesday

(As always, a big thanks your to the fab bloggers over at The Broke and The Bookish for this weekly meme!)

This week on Top Ten Tuesday is top ten books I wouldn't mind Santa leaving under my tree this year. To be honest though, I think I'd prefer a tree of books. You'd definitely get more reading material that way!

Image courtesy of Wake County

2016 is going to be one hell of a reading year now I've finally started blogging and making more time for my beloved books. This time I'm determined to meet my reading goal, although with so many great books coming, plus a load I still haven't read yet I think I'm setting the bar high! Still, it wouldn't be much of a Top Ten Tuesday if I went ahead and picked a Christmas tree's worth of books, so here is my much more restrained list of picks.

Siren's Song - Mary Weber

This book was my last Waiting on Wednesday pick, and I absolutely hate waiting, so if I could get it a few months earlier, that would be great. This is one of those series' where I can't understand why it isn't bigger than it is. Nym is, without exaggeration, one of my favourite fantasy protagonists ever, so much more than your cookie-cutter good girl/bad girl. The first book in the series, Storm Siren, was a million miles better than countless other YA bestsellers and I'm so excited to finally be able to continue and finish up the series in 2016.

The Fate of the Tearling - Erika Johansen

The Queen of the Tearling was one of my favourite books read in 2015. I wasn't totally sold on The Invasion of the Tearling until the end, but I can't wait to see how the story ends. I always prefer the UK covers to the US covers for this series too, so I'm dying to see what it's going to look like. As it was, all I could find was the US cover. Still, if that's all Santa had in his sack, I'd take it!

Longbow Girl - Linda Davies

Set in the Brecon Beacons in Wales (one of my favourite places in the world), steeped in history, mythology and ancient lore, Longbow Girl sounds like my kind of read! I'm usually a bit wary of dual narratives, they don't always work, but I've heard lots of good things about this book, so it's on my tbr list for 2016!

The Girl Who would Be King - Kelly Thompson

TGWWBK is one of my favourite books ever, responsible for the time I stayed up reading and then slogged through a day in the office on a mere two hours sleep, an event which led to the invention of the team's emergency "rocket coffee" - black coffee with two white sugars, two brown sugars and the secret ingredient, one capsule of coconut oil. I wouldn't recommend it. Anyways, I'm long overdue a reread of this story of superhero vs supervillain and would love the gorgeous paperback for my shelves. Kindle just doesn't do this one justice!

After You - Jojo Moyes

I know I shouldn't read this book. I know it will make me cry bucket loads just like Me Before You did, but I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. I kind of feel like I need to know where Lou goes after the events of MBY, and at least now I've read a few more of Jojo Moyes' books I know to allow myself a good amount of recovery time.

Assassin's Heart - Sarah Ahiers

Described as The Godfather meets Romeo and Juliet, I tried to get my hands on an ARC of this, something I've never really tried before, just because I'm so desperate to read it! I didn't get one though, so I'm just going to have to wait for February, unless I woke up to find one waiting for me under the Christmas tree (hint hint Santa...)

The Sleeping Prince - Melinda Salisbury 

I absolutely loved The Sin Eater's Daughter, so can't wait for the sequel. The wonderful bloggers who get involved with the weekly #ukyachat - who have never let me down with a book recommendation - put me onto it and, while I loved it, I couldn't help but feel it was setting up a bigger and better story. I can't wait to see what waits for Twylla in The Sleeping Prince.

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

I loved the movie version of this book, but haven't got around to reading it yet, even though it's been on my tbr list forever. It's about time I got around to finally reading it. I kind of wish I'd read the book before I saw the movie so I didn't either know or try to second guess what was coming, but then again I wouldn't have been so keen to read the book. It's a conundrum! 




Strange the Dreamer - Laini Taylor
"He's a librarian at the world's greatest library." Go no further, I'm sold! Once I read that sentence on Twitter, I already had Laini Taylor's new book in my 2016 release diary. The fact that I am utterly in love with the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy made it a given, but that teaser has me wishing my life away. September 2016 cannot come soon enough!

What Remains - Natsuo Kirino
I love Natsuo Kirino! Her Japan-set thrillers are dark and more than a little bleak, but they're also an unflinching examination of human behavior. What Remains is the story of a young woman who was kidnapped and held captive for a year at aged 10, now a novelist writing the story of her incarceration when she suddenly disappears, leaving nothing but a post-it note on her manuscript. I've searched high and low for this book, but can't find a copy translated to English or a reason why it was never published outside of Japan like Natsuo's other books. I can't even find a cover! If I woke up on Christmas morning to a copy under my tree, I'd be very happy!

All in though, 2016 is looking to be a great reading year! What's on your fantasy Christmas gift list?