Biblio File: Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

Hi Guys! It's my very first TOP TEN TUESDAY. Today's topic is "Top 10 Books on your Spring Reading List"

Like I could narrow it down to 10! So, I have 20, or rather, 2 Top 10 lists. 1 is for sequels/series books, one is stand alone (or first in a series).

Top Ten Books That Aren't a Sequel That I Want to Read This Spring

The Princesses of Iowa M. Molly Backes

I'll be straight up and tell you that Molly and I go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back (we were both in high school when we first met) and I have read many versions of this book (including the final one) AND SOON IT WILL BE A REAL BOOK AND OMG YOU GUYS IT IS AWESOME.

Last spring, Paige and her friends were in a car accident. This fall, after being sent away for the summer so her mother could do damage control, Paige sees her friends and her life in a new light and realizes there's more than the Homecoming Court and her "perfect" boyfriend. Molly says it's a reverse Cinderella.

This is how good of a writer Molly is-- after over a decade of struggling with it, she taught me to use eyeliner. OVER EMAIL. With no visual aids. TRUE STORY.

One for the Murphys Lynda Mullaly Hunt

This is only on my radar because Hunt contacted me to be on her blog tour. I'm not accepting a lot of ARCs right now because I have so much to read, but something about this one grabbed me. Then, when I got it, I was flipping through and started reading in the middle right away before I realized I should probably, oh, I don't know, start at the beginning? I haven't finished it yet, but it's looking very promising right now.

Carley ends up in foster care and gets assigned to the Murphys, who show her a stable family life she thought only existed in fantasies. First up, can we just say "yay" to a positive foster environment? I know the system has serious problems, but I've known so many dedicated and wonderful foster parents and families over the years, I'm happy to see them shown in a book. (I really hope they don't end up being secretly evil.)

The Difference Between You and Me Madeleine George

Amazon says "Jesse cuts her own hair with a Swiss Army knife. She wears big green fisherman's boots. She's the founding (and only) member of NOLAW, the National Organization to Liberate All Weirdos. Emily wears sweaters with faux pearl buttons. She's vice president of the student council. She has a boyfriend.

These two girls have nothing in common, except the passionate "private time" they share every Tuesday afternoon. Jesse wishes their relationship could be out in the open, but Emily feels she has too much to lose. When they find themselves on opposite sides of a heated school conflict, they each have to decide what's more important: what you believe in, or the one you love?"

But it's more about Jesse's coming to terms than Emily coming to terms. Can't wait.

Happy Families Tanita S. Davis

Ysabel and Justin are twins with a good life and a perfect family. Until their world is rocked by the fact that Dad has started to live as woman.

Tanita S. Davis tackling such a heady topic? YES PLEASE!

Wonder Show Hannah Barnaby

Portia is trying to outrun her past and ends up as the only normal girl in a traveling freak show. As the back says:

"Oh, it's not for the faint-of-hear folks. If you're prone to nightmares of you've got a weak ticker, you'd best move on. Within these pages lies a tale of abandonment, loss, misfortune for the rich, and glory for the poor (and a little murder doesn't hurt). It's a story for the ages, but be warned: Once you enter the Wonder Show, you will never be the same."

Code Name Verity Elizabeth Wein

Verity is a secret agent, behind enemy lines and arrested by the Gestapo. And so she unwinds the tale of how she became a spy and her friendship with her pilot, Maddie, whom she left behind in the wrecked plane.

Lady spies that have been caught? Tell me more. I admit, I'm hoping for another Tamar: A Novel of Espionage, Passion, and Betrayal. I know it won't be, but hopefully it will blow me away in the same way.

The Book of Blood and Shadow Robin Wasserman

Nora's best friend is dead and his girlfriend is in a coma. Her boyfriend is missing and presumed responsible. Nora's desperate to clear his name. She ends up in Prague where she finds secret societies, ancient conspiracies, and clues hidden in a centuries old manuscript.

I'm sorry, how do you NOT want to read this?

And now we've come to the segment of the list that is historical fiction court intrigue:

Cross My Heart Sasha Gould

Venice, 1700s. Laura's sister has drownded and Laura's ripped from her convent to marry her sister's repulsive fiance. She joins the Segreta, a "shadowy society of women who deal in only one currency--secrets." And, as it turns out, may have been responsible for Laura's sister's death. This one promises "clandestine romance, political intrigue, and deadly secrets." I say, oh yes.

Ladies in Waiting Laura L. Sullivan

Three girls named Elizabeth who all end up as ladies-in-waiting on Queen Catherine as the court of Charles II.

Scandal? Treachery? British court? What more does a girl want? Well...

Gilt Katherine Longshore

What about a book about Catherine Howard's best friend? And following her to Henry VIII's court? And trying to keep your head?

This is the one ARC I got super-rabid about at ALA. Yes.

OH! And Extra One!

Enchanted Alethea Kontis

From Amazon:

"It isn’t easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.
When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.
The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past—and hers?"

I've never heard of this, but it caught my eye when I was linking to Happy Families as apparently they're often bought together? Anyway, it sounds awesome. Glad I stumbled across it.

AND NOW! My Top Ten List of Sequels!