Top 5 Tuesday || Popular Books I Haven’t Read Yet

It’s not unusual for me to be…a little bit behind.

I tend to be late to the party on a lot of things, including books. Sometimes, I’m lucky and get ahead (bless you, NetGalley ARC gods), but more often than not? I’m clueless until wayyyy after the fact. This is especially true with popular books, too!

Which naturally means that Shanah @ Bionic Bookworm Blog has made today’s T5T capable of exposing me for what I am: a procrastinator who knows the mainstream exists about a year after the fact. Do you know how long it took me to read Children of Blood and Bone? To give Sadie a shot?

Oh well. Why don’t you just give me hell for these late arrivals to my shelf instead? I’m ready for it. Go ahead. Let the roast begin.

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

This one has been on my shelf for wayyyyy too long. Mermaids are one of my favorite things, and since I have a project involving mermaids, I need to know if this is a good comp title… 👀

Not only that, though, but this seems to be a love or hate book. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “meh” opinion on it, and it’s piqued my curiosity. Why is that, and where am I going to fall on the opinion scale? Basically, it’s time to find out.

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal

Another one folks rave about, We Hunt the Flame is high on my TBR as well! I wish I had my own copy, but at this rate, I’m just going to have to hope I can request it from my library as an ebook. Or, if I have some kind of sudden windfall, I’ll just buy it, but I don’t think I’ll hold my breath for that one.

Anyhow, I’ve been intrigued by the concept of WHtF for a while now, and I’ve loved following Hafsah Faizal on Twitter. Plus, her work under Icey Designs is just outstanding. She’s clearly a killer talent, and I want to get to know more of her work!

House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Okay, first I have to ask: who put the series title in big letters and the actual book title in little tagline letters? I couldn’t be sure what this book was called for ages because of that. Not a fan.

Anyway, ever since reading the first three Throne of Glass books before being absolutely bored (at best) and appalled (at worst), here’s one of today’s popular books I haven’t read and won’t read. I don’t have time for books that bore the hell out of me, folks. And lots of sex with hot fae dudes is…decidedly the farthest thing from my interests.

Sorry, folks. But this one is a hard pass, now and forever.

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi

Ensemble heist story set in fantasy Paris? I mean, obviously I’m interested in The Gilded Wolves. But not only have I seen it hyped by bloggers whose opinions I trust, I’ve also seen people complain about it being a Six of Crows rip-off. To me, that translates to worshiping the ground Leigh Bardugo walks on and not acknowledging that she doesn’t own the concept of a heist story. I’ll be reading this one partly out of interest, and partly out of spite. Y’know, as one does.

Literally Anything Anna-Marie McLemore Writes

I don’t know if they’re that popular in the bookish world at large, but I know that on my timeline, Anna-Marie McLemore is royalty. Time and again, I see folks repping their books like it’s no tomorrow, and when I have two of their titles on my shelf, and more on my wishlist, I think that’s a sign I ought to hop to it. But which to start with? Right now, I own Wild Beauty and Blanca & Roja, and it’s difficult to decide!

(You are very welcome to weigh in here, just so you know.)

 

Now, the question is: which one of these popular books do I prioritize? Not SJM, that’s for sure. Sorry to her fans, but I just…can’t do it. Not again. Never again… 😬