I’m sure we’ve all done it. We are so excited about a book and we purchase it and then other things get in the way of reading it immediately. Whether it’s life in general, books we need to read for review or a project, readathons and book clubs, or my downfall lately, all those library holds, something prevents us from getting to those books we genuinely are excited about. I wanted to talk about some of those books I haven’t gotten to yet but am really excited about so here are my top five (in no particular order) books I physically own that I want to get to. I’ll have another list later for ebooks.
Browsing my shelves, the first book I see that *really* excites me is Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala. This is the first book in a new cozy mystery series with Filipino characters. This particular story follows Lila who moves back home to help her aunt’s failing restaurant. When her ex boyfriend and food critic dies after going to the restaurant, people begin suspecting her. That’s all I really know but I haven’t read any mysteries this year which is surprising for me but I think this one will really get me back into my normal mystery mood.
Next, I am really drawn to Wundersmith by Jessica Townsend. I read the first book in this middle-grade fantasy series, Nevermoor, last year and it was such a fun time. I really liked the whimsy and escapism this series has provided me with so far and want more from this world. I was trying to spread them out a bit since I can’t get the third book in paperback until late this summer so that’s why I’ve been waiting to pick up Wundersmith but with the twist at the end of Nevermoor, I’m really itching to see where the story is going to go.
There’s obviously going to be more than one contemporary romance on this list because I am very much in the mood for them but I keep getting library books and then can’t pick them up but the first one I want to talk about is The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon. I mentioned wanting to pick this up in my post about my new interest in romance and I ultimately did. This follows two radio hosts who have to pretend they used to date in order to keep listeners invested in their radio show. I think this sounds like such a fun time and will give me all the summer vibes that I associate with contemporary books.
I’ll just go ahead and talk about another romance I picked up and am excited for – Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron. I don’t know a ton about this book other than there’s Muslim rep and the love interest is her neighbor but honestly? That’s enough for me. I’ve been keeping my eyes open for some more POC romances and the number of books with Muslim rep I’ve read are much lower than they should be so I figured this would be a fun one to pick up. I imagine myself carrying this book (and the last one) with me to my local beach and just sitting in the sun for a few hours and having a nice afternoon.
The last book is sort of cheating because it’s three of them – The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. It’s no secret how much I loved The Broken Earth Trilogy, especially The Fifth Season and I got a bind-up of The Inheritance Trilogy not long after discovering how much I love N. K. Jemisin’s writing. The Inheritance Trilogy deals with gods and mortals and there is a political power struggle and that’s about all I know but I love Jemisin so much, I don’t need anything else. So far, she’s truly taught me that I can love complex fantasy and shown me what fantasy can really be and I’ll never not be appreciative of that. I want to work my way through all of her works but I am pretty intimidated because what I’ve read so far really takes focus and commitment – something I’m lacking lately.
I’d love to be able to read these soon because I’m just so excited about them. Hopefully my library holds spread out a little more and I can pick them up soon. Does this happen to you? What are you excited to read that you just haven’t been able to get to yet? Let me know!
Dear Bookshelves 
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