Wyrd and Wonder TBR

We are a few weeks out from Wyrd and Wonder, the second annual fantasy blogathon that is being hosted by some absolutely lovely ladies, Lisa, Jorie and imyril!  These same women hosted the #RRSciFiMonth blogathon I participated in last November.  Unlike November, however, I actually have had this on my radar ahead of time and have been able to prepare a proper reading list and kick around a few ideas for discussion posts and lists!

Below is my VERY ambitious TBR List that I know going in I will be unable to finish.  I’m using Wyrd and Wonder to start a few fantasy series (okay, several) that have loooong been on my TBR.  I’ve tried to give myself a good spread of options, from urban fantasy to grimdark, massive tomes to novellas, self-published to established publishers.  This might change sliiightly if I have any ARCs leftover from April (thankfully both are fantasy) but otherwise this is likely the pool of books I’ll be drawing from.

If you want to add these own books to your TBR, covers link to Goodreads!

    

RED SISTER by Mark Lawrence
I have been hearing about this series constantly since RED SISTER first came out, but I haven’t had a chance to get to it.  Then I had the incredible good fortune to win a  giveaway from Ace Books, and now I have fresh shiny copies of the first two books in the trilogy!  I took this as a sign from the universe that it is time to finally start the series, and so read this I shall.

STORM CURSED by Patricia Briggs
I have loved the Mercy Thompson series for years, first discovering them when I was desperate for fun audiobooks to listen to during a commute from hell.  I just received an absolutely gorgeous hardcover from Penguin Random House ahead of the release and I cannot WAIT to read it. This is an urban fantasy series featuring a woman who can shapeshift into a coyote, who keeps getting entangled into various supernatural dealings.  I miiiight read it ahead of Wyrd and Wonder and save my review for the start of the event.

THE TETHERED MAGE by Melissa Caruso
I’ve had this book for a while, immediately intrigued by the premise of a fantasy world where magic users are impressed into an army and controlled by the empire.  Coincidentally, no less than the hosts of Wyrd and Wonder have sung the praises of this series, and I’m excited to check it out!

    

JADE CITY by Fonda Lee
Universally praised by almost every person I’ve talked to whose read it, this is a fantasy-crime-martial arts tale.  Jade fuels the magic in this world, and the power to control it is fought over by various families in the central city of the empire.  I’ve been wanting to read this for a while, and with the sequel coming out in a few months, I’ve got extra incentive.

SHADOW OF THE FOX by Julie Kagawa
Dipping into the YA bucket, we have a Japanese-inspired fantasy adventure of two adversaries forced to work together as they race to find a magical scroll that will grant one wish to the first person to find it. I meant to read this book when it came out last November but good LORD there were a lot of releases that month!  The sequel is out in June, so I’d love to get this read this month.

REFLECTION by Elizabeth Lim
And now, for a media tie-in!  This comes from a line of books out of Disney Publishing called TWISTED TALES, which proposes different alternate versions of classic Disney tales. I haven’t been particularly interested in the series…until I discovered there was one about Mulan traveling to the underworld to rescue the soul of Shang, killed in the mountain pass battle with the Huns.  Sign me up!

    

SHIP OF SMOKE AND STEEL by Django Wexler
This book falls into the category of “Bought Primarily For the Cover.” I mean, look at that art!  But a premise of a girl who can wield a rare form of battle magic who is commissioned to steal a mysterious ghost ship didn’t hurt either.  Django Wexler has an adult fantasy series I keep meaning to read, but I’ll likely end up reading his YA book first (in part because there’s only one right now!).

SNOWSPELLED by Stephanie Burgis
Balancing out all these somewhat lengthy fantasy tomes, I’m slipping in novella!  This is a regency fantasy, which I have a soft spot for.  In an alternate England (here called Angland), Cassandra Harwood has recently become the first female magician in the country – but has also secretly lost her own magic. Now she’s snowed in at a manor with magicians and ladies and, rather inconveniently, her ex-fiance, all of whom must contend with as she deals with a danger lurking outside in the snow storm.

THE SWORD OF KAIGEN by M. L. Wang
Last, but not least, we have an entry in the “I Blame Twitter” category!  This is a self-published fantasy book of a warrior mother fighting the urge to pick up her sword again as an invasion looms.  Honestly, I don’t know much else except that several people I respect went absolutely bonkers for this book, and it was a steal on Amazon, so I had to check it out for myself!