Books from My TBR I Aspire to Read in Fall 2023 (And Probably Rest of the Year)

Penned byHannah
25 Comments

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase using that link, a small commission is made from the sale. There are no additional costs to you. Thank you for your support!

I’m going to be honest: I’m really not sure if I’ll make a dent in this list because the list for the last part of 2022 pretty much got forgotten very quickly*. But attempts will absolutely be made (will it, though, or just the thought?), and since this is getting posted middle of September (as part of this week’s Top Ten Tuesday hosted by That Artsy Reader), maybe, just maybe, I’ll make a dent. One can hope.🤞

*being a mood reader is a personal hell sometimes

Behold, My Rest of Fall 2023 TBR

A good amount of my books are going to have some crossovers with previous TBR lists, because being a mood reader is a terrible time sometimes. Most of the list overall, though, is going to include the seniors of my “Deliver Later” button pressing on Libby, overdue ARCs that I’m trying to complete for the 2023 Project Backlist Reading Challenge hosted by Kal from Reader Voracious, or the poor unfortunate souls of books I started reading in 2022.

The Library Edition

Or otherwise known as The Neverending Saga of the Deliver Later Button. As Clo puts it, I probably should have my button privileges taken away.

This list in actuality is long, so I’m only featuring three books. (I’d feature two more books that are upcoming that I’m anticipating, but I’m pretty sure the hold list is going to be so long, I won’t even get to read it until early next year at least. Kind of defeats the purpose of the post.)

When Night Breaks by Janella Angeles

when-night-breaks-janella-angeles

The competition has come to a disastrous end, and Daron Demarco’s fall from grace is now front page news. But little matters to him beyond Kallia, the contestant he fell for who is now lost to this world and in the hands of a dangerous magician. Daron is willing to do whatever it takes to find her. Even if it means embarking on a dark and treacherous journey, risking more than just his life, with no promise of return.

After awaking in darkness, Kallia has never felt more lost. Especially with Jack by her side, the magician with who has the answers but cannot be trusted. Together, they must navigate a dazzling world where mirrors show memories and illusions shadow every corner, one ruled by a powerful game master who could all too easily destroy the world she left behind β€” and the boy she can’t seem to forget. With time running out, Kallia must embrace her role in a darker destiny, or lose everyone she loves, forever.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

Now that I finished reading (well DNFing) The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake, I’m pretty sure this one is the reigning ruler of my Deliver Later pile. But seriously, the amount of times I keep striving to read this book and it just doesn’t happen? I feel like I’m in my own Spongebob episode.

spongebob much much later
Two TBR lists later…

Suns Will Rise by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

suns-will-rise-jessica-brody-joanne-rendell

AN HEIR. A RENEGADE
A CONVICT. A CYBORG
A DÉFECTEUR

FIVE REBELS. ONE REVOLUTION.

It’s been three months since the Patriarche was beheaded, leaving behind no heir. From the outside, Laterre seems to be flourishing. General BonnefaΓ§on has cleaned up the streets, fed the hungry, and restored peace while the next leader is decided upon. But dangerous rifts threaten to shatter the planet from within.

The Red Scar is killing anyone with a legitimate claim to the Regime, while the Vangarde and their freed leader are preparing to overthrow it.

Then, it’s revealed that the Patriarche had a child in secret. A missing heir…

Alouette is the general’s prisoner, interrogated on the whereabouts of his renegade grandson. Marcellus is desperately searching for her, knowing she’s the key to the Vangarde’s plan, but unaware that he’s being hunted by a determined new cyborg. Meanwhile Chatine grows restless, living with a rebel group she doesn’t fit into. Until an old friend solicits her help to save his DΓ©fecteur community from a mysterious, new threat. A threat that will tie them all together.

When the general makes an explosive play for power, allegiances will shift, rebels will become leaders, barricades will rise, and the tinderbox of Laterre will finally ignite, launching a revolution five hundred years in the making.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

I don’t think this is nearly as bad as the previous one; it’s maybe a year younger, but it feels like it’s been on the list for a hella long time.

(I might have a problem finishing up a series, though.)

Only a Monster by Vanessa Len

only a monster vanessa len

It should have been the perfect summer. Sent to stay with her late mother’s eccentric family in London, sixteen-year-old Joan is determined to enjoy herself. She loves her nerdy job at the historic Holland House, and when her super cute co-worker Nick asks her on a date, it feels like everything is falling into place.

But she soon learns the truth. Her family aren’t just eccentric: they’re monsters, with terrifying, hidden powers. And Nick isn’t just a cute boy: he’s a legendary monster slayer, who will do anything to bring them down.

As she battles Nick, Joan is forced to work with the beautiful and ruthless Aaron Oliver, heir to a monster family that hates her own. She’ll have to embrace her own monstrousness if she is to save herself, and her family. Because in this story…

…she is not the hero.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

Something about a title that starts with Only a Monster with the sequel having a title of Never a Hero just calls to me. (Maybe when you put them together, they fit so perfectly in the same sentence. It’s satisfying.) Plus, those covers? Stunning.

But according to Libby, I’ve had this on hold since early β€”

2022.

Let me just give one of my close friends my library login so they can quietly just remove this and all the other really long ones from my hold list if I don’t finish them by the end of the year. Maybe it’s time to accept I’ll never get around to them. I probably won’t notice.

(Someone hold me to this lol.)

RELATED: Only a Monster and Never a Hero review

The Way Overdue ARCs/Review Copies Edition

Or otherwise known as I’m super close to being fully caught up and I’ll be more sad if I just give up on it when I’m only nine books away. I’ll be fully amazed if I do catch up completely before the end of the year, though, so I’m only going to feature four books that I’m going to try for.

(OKAY BUT HEAR ME OUT: I have not touched Netgalley all year except for maybe one book for the blog tour recently and I’ve only requested one physical ARC. At least I’m not really adding anything more.)

Children of Ragnarok by Cinda Williams Chima

children-of-ragnarok-cinda-williams-chima

Sweeping adventure, breathtaking twists of fate, and immersive worlds based in Norse mythology are woven into this first volume of the Runestone Saga, from the New York Times bestselling author of the Seven Realms and Shattered Realms series.

Ever since Ragnarokβ€”the great war between the gods and the forces of chaos–the human realm of the Midlands has become a dangerous place, bereft of magic, where most lead lives of desperation.

Sixteen-year-old Eiric Halvorsen is among the luckier ones. Between fishing, going vikingr, and working his modir’s farm, the family has remained prosperous. But Eiric stands to lose everything when he’s convicted by a rigged jury of murdering his modir and stepfadir. Also at risk is his half-systir, Liv, whose interest in seidr, or magic, has made her a figure of suspicion. Then a powerful jarl steps in: He will pay the blood price if Eiric will lead a mission to the fabled Temple at the Groveβ€”the rich stronghold of the wyrdspinners, the last practitioners of sorcery.

Spellsinger, musician, and runecaster Reggin Eiklund has spent her life traveling from town to town, performing at alehouses all for the benefit of her master, Asger, the fire demon she is desperate to escape. Then after one performance that amazes even Reggin herself, two wyrdspinners in the audience make her an irresistible offer: return with them to the temple to be trained in seidr, forever free of Asger.

Eiric, Liv, and Reggin’s journeys converge in New Jotunheim, the site of the Temple at the Grove, a paradise fueled by magic. They soon realize that a great evil lurks beneath the dazzling surface, and that old betrayals and long-held grudges may fuel another cataclysmic war. It will require every gift and weapon at their command to prevent it.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

Me intending to read this before the HarperCollins strike late last year but didn’t: oops. But if there’s any book I’m going to try and finish from this section (in terms of priority), it would be this one. I’m probably going to aim to read this right after Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods since I’ll be in a mythology mood (assuming my hold breaks free). Hopefully.

Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao

broken-wish-julie-c-dao

1865
Hanau, Germany

Sixteen-year-old Elva has a secret. She has visions and strange powers that she will do anything to hide. She knows the warnings about what happens to witches in their small village of Hanau. She’s heard the terrible things people say about the Witch of the North Woods, and the malicious hunts that follow. But when Elva accidentally witnesses a devastating vision of the future, she decides she has to do everything she can to prevent it. Tapping into her powers for the first time, Elva discovers a magical mirror and its ownerβ€”none other than the Witch of the North Woods herself. As Elva learns more about her burgeoning magic, and the lines between hero and villain start to blur, she must find a way to right past wrongs before it’s too late.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

If I’ve not read this by the time 2024 rolls around, I think it’s time to say that I’ll probably never get around to one of my current oldest ARCs. I might come back to it many years later like I did with Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor and a few other really old ARCs, but that’s for future me to deal with.

The Lies We Tell by Katie Zhao

the-lies-we-tell-katie-zhao

Anna Xu moving out of her parent’s home and into the dorms across town as she starts freshman year at the local, prestigious Brookings University. But her parents and their struggling Chinese bakery, Sweetea, aren’t far from campus or from mind, either.

At Brookings, Anna wants to keep up her stellar academic performance and to investigate the unsolved campus murder of her childhood babysitter. While there she also finds a familiar face – her middle-school rival, Chris Lu. The Lus also happen to be the Xu family’s business rivals since they opened Sunny’s, a trendy new bakery on Sweetea’s block. Chris is cute but still someone to be wary of – until a vandal hits Sunny’s and Anna matches the racist tag with a clue from her investigation.

Anna grew up in this town, but more and more she feels like maybe she isn’t fully at home here β€” or maybe it’s that there are people here who think she doesn’t belong. When a very specific threat is made to Anna, she seeks out help from the only person she can. Anna and Chris team up to find out who is stalking her and take on a dangerous search into the hate crimes happening around campus. Can they root out the ugly history and take on the current threat?

The Lies We Tell is a social activism/we all belong here anthem crossed with a thriller and with a rivals-to-romance relationship set on a college campus.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

Me last year: I’m going to read this ARC because it’s going to publish in a few weeks!

Also me, one year later: did not actually read said ARC

The Stars Between Us by Cristin Terrill

the stars between us cristin terrill

There’s always been a mystery to Vika Hale’s life. Ever since she was a child, she’s had an unknown benefactor providing for her and her family, making sure that Vika and her sister received the best education they could. Now, Vika longs for a bigger life than one as a poor barmaid on a struggling planet, but those dreams feel out of reach. Until one day Vika learns that her benefactor was a billionaire magnate who recently died under suspicious circumstances, and Vika has shockingly been included in his will. Invited to live on a glittering neighboring planet, Vika steps into a world she can hardly believe is real.

The only blight on Vika’s lavish new life is the constant presence of Sky Foster, a mysterious young man from Vika’s past who works for her benefactors. She doesn’t like or trust Sky, but when she narrowly escapes an explosion and realizes someone is targeting the will’s heirs, Vika knows Sky is the only one who can help her discover the identity of the bomber before she becomes their next victim. As Vika and Sky delve into the truth of the attacks, they uncover a web of secrets, murder, and an underground rebellion who may hold the answers they’ve been looking for. But Sky isn’t who he seems to be, and Vika may not escape this new life unscathed.

In The Stars Between Us, Cristin Terrill sweeps readers away to a Dickensian-inspired world where secrets are currency and love is the most dangerous risk of all.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

I’m going to admit it: I was initially super excited to read this when I came across the book, but now that it’s been awhile and reviews have been around, I’m a little nervous to pick this up. I did enjoy All Our Yesterdays, at least, so I probably will enjoy this, but it’s been so long since I read the book, I don’t remember anything.

(Plus, I was like 16-17 back then; there’s been some reading taste difference!)

The Last Year Edition

Or otherwise known as the books I started in 2022 or early this year and then just stopped because that’s when shit hits the fan in my life.

This is the smallest list with only four books, so we’ll list them all for my personal accountability. (Do you think if I say “I will finish this” repeatedly in my head or maybe a fancy mirror, it’ll actually work some wonders… 🥺)

All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman

all-of-our-demise-amanda-foody-christine-lynn-herman

The epic conclusion to Amanda Foody and C.L. Herman’s New York Times bestselling All of Us Villains duology that’s The Hunger Games with magic.

β€œI feel like I should warn you: this is going to be absolutely brutal.”

For the first time in this ancient, bloodstained story, the tournament is breaking. The boundaries between the city of Ilvernath and the arena have fallen. Reporters swarm the historic battlegrounds. A dead boy now lives again. And a new champion has entered the fray, one who seeks to break the curse for good… no matter how many lives are sacrificed in the process.

As the curse teeters closer and closer to collapse, the surviving champions each face a choice: dismantle the tournament piece by piece, or fight to the death as this story was always intended.

Long-held alliances will be severed. Hearts will break. Lives will end. Because a tale as wicked as this one was never destined for happily ever after.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

What’s kind of wild is I actually started this one when I posted last year’s end of year TBR (right after finishing All of Us Villains, too!) and thought it would be one of the first ones I would finish from the list. And then during my three-week break from work in August, I was fully intending to knock out at least this one if not one of the others. Instead, I gravitated toward all the romance books*.

*Look, there is nothing wrong with reading romance books, but I feel like this is clearly something telling me to drop it like it usually means when I take my sweet time with books, except I don’t think it’s a case of this book isn’t working for me.

RELATED: All of Our Demise review

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh

the girl who fell beneath the sea axie oh

Deadly storms have ravaged Mina’s homeland for generations. Floods sweep away entire villages, while bloody wars are waged over the few remaining resources. Her people believe the Sea God, once their protector, now curses them with death and despair. In an attempt to appease him, each year a beautiful maiden is thrown into the sea to serve as the Sea God’s bride, in the hopes that one day the β€œtrue bride” will be chosen and end the suffering.

Many believe that Shim Cheong, the most beautiful girl in the villageβ€”and the beloved of Mina’s older brother Joonβ€”may be the legendary true bride. But on the night Cheong is to be sacrificed, Joon follows Cheong out to sea, even knowing that to interfere is a death sentence. To save her brother, Mina throws herself into the water in Cheong’s stead.

Swept away to the Spirit Realm, a magical city of lesser gods and mythical beasts, Mina seeks out the Sea God, only to find him caught in an enchanted sleep. With the help of a mysterious young man named Shinβ€”as well as a motley crew of demons, gods and spiritsβ€”Mina sets out to wake the Sea God and bring an end to the killer storms once and for all.

But she doesn’t have much time: A human cannot live long in the land of the spirits. And there are those who would do anything to keep the Sea God from waking…

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

SUHANI, I’M A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE BUDDY READER, AND I AM SO SORRY YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH ME.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea is why I’m extremely hesitant on just dropping all the books that have been in Currently Reading Purgatory because I actually liked the four chapters that I read. Axie Oh’s writing sucked me in, and then life went south and I just stopped reading. I feel like if I just drop this, I’m not giving the justice it really deserves.

Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan

daughter of the moon goddess sue lynn tan

Growing up on the moon, Xingyin is accustomed to solitude, unaware that she is being hidden from the feared Celestial Emperor who exiled her mother for stealing his elixir of immortality. But when Xingyin’s magic flares and her existence is discovered, she is forced to flee her home, leaving her mother behind.

Alone, powerless, and afraid, she makes her way to the Celestial Kingdom, a land of wonder and secrets. Disguising her identity, she seizes an opportunity to learn alongside the emperor’s son, mastering archery and magic, even as passion flames between her and the prince.

To save her mother, Xingyin embarks on a perilous quest, confronting legendary creatures and vicious enemies across the earth and skies. But when treachery looms and forbidden magic threatens the kingdom, she must challenge the ruthless Celestial Emperor for her dreamβ€”striking a dangerous bargain in which she is torn between losing all she loves or plunging the realm into chaos.

A captivating debut fantasy inspired by the legend of Chang’e, the Chinese moon goddess, in which a young woman’s quest to free her mother pits her against the most powerful immortal in the realm. Daughter of the Moon Goddess begins an enchanting, romantic duology which weaves ancient Chinese mythology into a sweeping adventure of immortals and magicβ€”where love vies with honor, dreams are fraught with betrayal, and hope emerges triumphant.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

Another case of the book and I working really well, but then life went south, and I mostly stopped reading. Daughter of the Moon Goddess has seriously beautiful writing (and cover), and I really hope I can finish this.

This was January 2023’s pick for Bookish Chaos’s monthly readalong on Discord, so thankfully not as long as the others but it’s getting there.

Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah

monsters born and made tanvi berwah

Sixteen-year-old Koral and her older brother Emrik risk their lives each day to capture the monstrous maristags that live in the black seas around their island. They have to, or else their family will starve.

In an oceanic world swarming with vicious beasts, the Landers―the ruling elite, have indentured Koral’s family to provide the maristags for the Glory Race, a deadly chariot tournament reserved for the upper class. The winning contender receives gold and glory. The others―if they’re lucky―survive.

When the last maristag of the year escapes and Koral has no new maristag to sell, her family’s financial situation takes a turn for the worse and they can’t afford medicine for her chronically ill little sister. Koral’s only choice is to do what no one in the world has ever dared: cheat her way into the Glory Race.

But every step of the way is unpredictable as Koral races against contenders―including her ex-boyfriend―who have trained for this their whole lives and who have no intention of letting a low-caste girl steal their glory. When a rebellion rises and rogues attack Koral to try and force her to drop out, she must choose―her life or her sister’s―before the whole island burns.

She grew up battling the monsters that live in the black seas, but it couldn’t prepare her to face the cunning cruelty of the ruling elite.

Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games and These Violent Delights, this South Asian-inspired fantasy is a gripping debut about the power of the elite, the price of glory, and one girl’s chance to change it all.

Goodreads
Left Bank Books
Bookshop
Amazon

If I only finish a few pages, does it even count as I started the book? 😂

(On the bright side though, since all of these have been so long and I essentially have to start over, there isn’t much to start over for this one. I also don’t remember why I put this on hold either.)

Let’s talk!

What do you hope to read/do this fall* (or before the year ends)?

*or spring, for the southern hemisphere folks!

end of 2023 tbr pin
Blogger at  β€’  Read More Posts

Hannah has a penchant for chaos, which is probably how she ended up blogging since 2012. That, and she was probably too expressive for her parents to handle, so it had to go somewhere. She can be found occasionally at The Arts STL. If you’d like to fuel her boba addiction or just enjoy her posts and want to support her, stop by her KoFi or Buy Me a Coffee!

25 Comments

  2. I made myself a personal rule to not repeat books on seasonal TBRs, otherwise I’d just be blogging about not having read the same books over and over again!

  3. I’m a mood reader too, and I’m absolutely terrible at sticking to lists! My tbr is very long and some of the books on it have been there a very long time. I keep telling myself I’ll get to them eventually! Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!

  5. HA THE MANY DOWNSIDES OF BEING A MOODREADER. (I can unsurprisingly and tragically relate to enormous degrees) I feel compelled to say that you’re not REALLY missing out on much by not reading only a monster because I hated it enough to genuinely consider hurling my phone down the terrace, but like,,, I also know SO MANY people who absolutely loved it so am afraid it could honestly go either way (although I’m secretly hoping you end up hating it too because then we’d rant together DONT HOLD IT AGAINST ME) I also wasn’t a huge daughter of the moon goddess fan (ok look if I’m being ENTIRELY honest,,,, I hated it. the characters were so flat and one dimensional and the romance Sucked and everything was just. SO. BORING) and I should say I hope you have better luck with it but AHAHAHA I KIND OF HOPE YOU DONT BECAUSE THEN, AGAIN, ID GET A RANTING BUDDY.

    but I DO hope you enjoy the rest of these books and POSSIBLY HURL RECOMMENDATIONS MY WAY (I’m convinced my tbr is chronically Too Short even as it towers a good two skyscrapers above me so like) GOOD LUCK SOPHIA

    1. SKSLKF if I hate any of them I’ll let you know for sure! I think Daughter of the Moon Goddess is going well but then again… it’s been a while and all I remember is the writing is very very pretty.

      I’ve heard mostly positive reviews about Only a Monster as well but I’ve heard a fair amount of negative ones as well (maybe secretly inside I’m scared to start it because I might hate it).

    1. I didn’t know about it either at first until I got an email about it! I don’t think there was too much noise for it (that, and also given the book came out days before the HarperCollins strike last year likely impacted it too).

  8. I hear you on the mood reader thing. And the overdue ARCs. (sigh)

    I’ve had The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea and Daughter of the Moon Goddess on my TBR list since before they came out, but still haven’t read either one.

  11. I don’t think I’ve read any of these, but the covers and synopsis intrigue me! I doubt I will stick to my list, but I loved creating it haha x

  15. So many of these sound really good, and are on my TBR list as well. I bought Only a Monster shortly after it came out, and it’s been sitting on my shelf staring at me ever since. I swear, if books can give side eye, half of my shelves would be giving it to me! Happy reading and good luck getting to all of these before the end of the year.

    1. You and me both with our books giving us side eyes! I don’t have a bookshelf though, so most of my books are either scattered about in my room in various states of currently reading or in a tote box (but if books could talk in tote boxes then they’d be very judgmental and probably give me a side eye every time I open up the box to get something else out of it).

  16. Eheh I agrees mood reading sucks, idk how people can just grab one at random.. and READ IT?! Won’t work on me. Need to be in the mood im in. 🫒

    Wishing you get to pick atleast one up- you can do it Soph!! πŸ‘πŸΌ

    1. Sometimes I do grab one at random and read it, but I definitely get what you mean! If I grab one at random, I HAVE to be in the mood for it.

  17. I really relate, both in terms of being a mood reader and in terms of being behind on my ARCs. But I’m extremely impressed that you have gotten your backlog down to 9 books, and even more impressed that you managed not to request any books this year. (Well, hardly any.) I should have that kind of self-discipline if I ever want to get caught up, but I just don’t. Have it, I mean; I do want to catch up.

    The covers on some of these are just gorgeous. And the Axie Oh and Sue Lynn Tan books are both on my (massively long) TBR list. I’ll get to them eventually, just… not for a while.

    Anyway, best of luck and I hope you’re able to read at least some of these this fall.

  18. *cackles* Oh yes you ABSOLUTELY should have your button privileges revoked because some of those books are just dying to be let out of the groundhog day that is ‘delivered later’. Ooooo Only A Monster sounds right up my alley like monsters and the fact that the sequel makes it a sentence? Ok I’m down hehe. This post just makes me want to grab a mirror so I can like chant in front of it for you finish your books cause my gosh. The books are screaming to be let out of their prisons sksksksk.

Comments are closed.