Top Five Tuesday: Books From My 2019 TBRs I Haven’t Read Yet

This week, I’m free styling my own topic for Top Five Tuesday.  Every month, I create a TBR list, one that I struggle to maintain to a manageable length I can reasonably tackle in 30 days.  Inevitably, books fall through the cracks, and they never quuuite make it to the top of the TBR, despite my best intentions.  This December, I plan to dedicate as much of the month as possible to books that I meant to read this year but haven’t yet.  So for today’s Top Five Tuesday, I’m spotlighting a handful of the books that I desperately, DESPERATELY want to read before 2019 is up.

    

SHIP OF SMOKE AND STEEL by Django Wexler
This book dates all the way back to my January TBR.   This is a YA entry from Django Wexler, who made his mark in adult fantasy.  I actually won a copy of this in a Twitter giveaway, which delighted me because the cover is GORGEOUS and I love it and I desperately want to read this fantasy about a girl who can access a rare battle magic, and is tasked to hunt down a mythical ghost ship.

A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by Arkady Martine
I got a copy of this sci-fi space opera way back at SDCC 2018 and I had every intention of reading it before it’s release in March 2019.  Well, that didn’t happen.  I’m hoping I may actually squeeze this book in during Sci-Fi month in November, but if not, it is a high priority for December!  This follows an ambassador sent a space station to replace her deceased predecessor, only to discover his death may have been part of a conspiracy that she’ll have to untangle if she wants to get to the truth.

SWORD OF KAIGEN by M.L. Wang
I’m trying to branch out a little more into self-published fantasy, and this one seems like a safe bet.  I have seen nothing but praise for this tale of a mother who picks up her warrior past when war threatens the land once more. I had hoped to get to this during Wyrd and Wonder, but ran out of time.

  

THERE BEFORE THE CHAOS by K.B. Wagers
Long-time readers know how much I absolutely LOVE the INDRANAN WAR trilogy, which tells the space opera adventures of a low-ranking princess who has spent 20 years living a life of freedom and adventure as a gun-runner, only to be summoned home to court when a series of assassinations leave her next-in-line to the throne.  After three books of fending off a coup and invasion from a neighboring empire, Hail Bristol now has to contend with a potential non-human threat.  Up until now, the Farian race has kept its distance from humans, but with another alien race entering the mix, Hail may be pulled into a conflict that could spill into her empire if she doesn’t sort things out.  I am SHOCKED that this has been unread on my shelves for nearly a year, and with book two coming out this December, I am GOING TO READ IT.

THE TETHERED MAGE by Melissa Caruso
Another book that was on my Wyrd and Wonder list, this is the first book in a fantasy trilogy where all mages must serve the empire, whether they like it or not. This trilogy is a high priority candidate for my Great Series Read Project, so I’d love to finally read this and then get to the sequels in quick order!

And that’s the list!  What books do you want to get to before December comes to a close?