May is almost upon us, and with it, Wyrd and Wonder, one of my favorite blogging events of the year! Hosted by Lisa of Dear Geek Place, imyril of There’s Always Room for One More, and Jorie of Jorie Loves a Story, Wyrd and Wonder encourages us to celebrate all things fantasy, from books to movies and everything in between. It’s also my annual excuse to dig into my backlog and set aside some of the ARC commitments – there’s always summer for catch-up, right?
Now, originally, I had a lovingly crafted TBR, full of all kinds of books that I’ve been meaning to read forever. It was organized, it was reasonable, it was…starting to feel constrained. As quarantine has continued without end in sight (in my city, we’re on lockdown until AT LEAST the 15th of May), I’ve found myself resisting carefully made plans in favor of what little spontaneity I get to have in my life right now. So when Lisa from Way Too Fantasy joked that we should make it Mood Read May, I found myself going, “Why not?”
So instead of a fully fleshed out TBR, I’m going to let my mood reads run rampant in May. I’ve already ordered some books from Mysterious Galaxy which will likely end up on the top of my stack, and I’ve been browsing my YA con hauls that have long been neglected. I’m not going to list them here, because that starts to drift into TBR territory, and that’s not what I want right now! That being said, I WILL list three books that are likely to get read in May because I’ve been putting them off for far too long and it’s TIME TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
KINGS OF THE WYLD by Nicholas Eames
Everybody take a drink, KINGS OF THE WYLD is on a list where I swear I will read it! But this time I mean it, if I read nothing else this month, I’M READING KINGS OF THE WYLD. For those who haven’t been around the first 87 times I’ve mentioned it, KINGS OF THE WYLD is about a mercenary band who haven’t worked together in years who have to reunite to save the daughter of one of their own, who is stuck in a town under siege. I have been promised by just about everyone I know that I will love it, so read it I shall!
THE TETHERED MAGE by Melissa Caruso
This was on my 2019 Wyrd and Wonder TBR, and I’m very bummed I didn’t get to it. Magic and court politics are some of my favorite things in fantasy and this book is supposed to have it in spades! In a world where any person with magical ability is conscripted into the army, two women are thrust together to navigate the politics of a city on the brink of war.
SWORD OF KAIGEN by M.L. Wang
Just because it’s Wyrd and Wonder doesn’t mean I’m skipping my monthly goal of reading a self-published book! SWORD OF KAIGEN, currently vying for top prize in the annual Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off, has been on my radar for a year (almost exactly!) and it’s time I read it. With comparisons to MISTBORN and praise for the action and the characters, I’m almost nervous to read it and see what all the fuss is about!
So those are my three top priorities for this year’s Wyrd and Wonder! What books will you be reading? Let me know in the comments!
You should prepare yourself: you’re going to want to grab the sequel Bloody Rose as soon as you finish Kings of the Wyld!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thankfully it was a kindle daily deal at some point and I bought it already!
LikeLike
Oooooooh good picks! I adore The Tethered Mage so am always happy to see someone else about to venture into its awesomeness (please tag me on twitter for all your screaming, I have popcorn 😉 and I’m so curious about The Sword of Kaigen – I hear so many good things about it, you’re tempting me…
I’m in the tiny group who didn’t love Kings of the Wyld – it was a ‘DNF for now’ for me, which I’ve never been tempted to go back to. But I can see why most people do love it – so I hope you fall firmly into the Band!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m going to join in this year! And with so many May books being pushed back to the summer, I might actually have time to read my review books AND get some extras in, so my goal is to do some catching up with backlist titles 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s awesome! Look forward to seeing what everyone gets to read! ☺️
LikeLike
I have decided for a TBR for Wyrd and Wonder, but I have The Sword of Kaigen in it! The sad thing is that it is in there like “special guest”… I don’t know how much time I would have to read so I tried to keep the list to a minimum plus a couple of books that I hope to read if the time allows it! But I have great expectations!!
And I hope you would enjoy Kings of the Wyld!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know, juggling which books to read is always such a challenge! Hope you have time to get to it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just adored Kings of the Wyld and Bloody Rose — I think/hope you’re in for a treat. Sword of Kaigen is nearly to the top of my TBR — next after Charlie Jane Anders’ The City in the Middle of the Night.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kings of the Wyld will probably be at the top of my TBR in the next few weeks, fingers crossed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
So, I love ALL of these books and I seriously can’t wait to see what you think about them! ❤ ❤
LikeLiked by 1 person
They’ve all been on my TBR for so long, I really want to make May the month they finally get read!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kings of the Wyld looks so good. I’ll put it on my TBR pending a good review!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Fingers crossed!
LikeLike
Lol! Yes!! Hope you have a good time reading Kings of the Wyld.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Tethered Mage yesssss, I love that series SO. MUCH. Like, I though book one was OK but I’m glad I kept reading because they just kept getting better and now it’s one of my favorite series.
I also rearranged my W&W tbr to be more mood reading. I just need happy and fun books right now. I’ll get back to my normal reading at some point.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eep I need to have a think about what I’m gonna do for Wyrd and Wonder! I’m *attempting* to be a more organised blogger now I’m out of my pandemic-induced slump ha. Looking forward to hearing about your Tethered Mage read.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, ironically, so ironic given I’m usually very organized in my reading and next month I’m just throwing everything up in the air and seeing what lands!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Caitlin, I came across your blog cos I’m also participating in Wyrd & Wonder 🙂 I was hoping to read The Tethered Mage this month as well but my library doesn’t have a digital copy. Kings of the Wyld sounds like a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy your reading!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Jenna! Hope you have fun this Wyrd and Wonder!
LikeLiked by 1 person