Wyrd and Wonder TBR 2020: Tides of Chaos

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!