February | 2025 | Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is 2024 Releases I Was Excited to Read but Still Haven’t Gotten To, with the added question: will you be prioritizing these this year?

This was a surprisingly tough topic. I did a pretty good job in 2024 of reading the books I was most excited about. Of the remaining 2024 releases on my TBR list, I can really only name seven that fit the excited description — the rest are maybe, someday books, but not truly high priorities.

Here are my seven books for this week’s list:

1) Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

Synopsis: Welcome to the Grand Abeona Hotel: home of the finest food, the sweetest service, and the very best views the galaxy has to offer. All year round it moves from planet to planet, system to system, pampering guests across the furthest reaches of the milky way. The last word in sub-orbital luxury—and an absolute magnet for intrigue. Intrigues such as: Why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are currently on board? What is the true purpose of the Problem Solver’s conference? And perhaps most pertinently—who is driving the ship?

Priority for 2025? Yes, I do really want to read this one, and I’m on my library’s hold list.

2) The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn

Synopsis: In this magical tale of self-discovery from New York Times bestselling author Carrie Vaughn, a young widow taps into the power that will change the world—if the man’s world she lives in doesn’t destroy her and her newfound friends first.

Priority for 2025? Yes. I’ve enjoyed so many of this author’s books, and bought a Kindle edition as soon as it was released.

3) The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black

Synopsis: An imprisoned prince. A vengeful queen. And a battle that will determine the future of Elfhame... From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Holly Black comes the stunning blood-soaked conclusion to the Stolen Heir duology.

Priority for 2025? Sigh. Unlikely. The Stolen Heir didn’t wow me the way the original Elfhame trilogy did, and by the time The Prisoner’s Throne came out, I barely remembered what had happened in The Stolen Heir. I’d need to reread the first book before reading the second, and right now, that’s not something I see happening.

4) My Salty Mary by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

Synopsis: Perfect for fans of The Princess Bride and A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, New York Times bestselling authors Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows are back with a fantastical, romantical, and piratical historical fantasy remix that marries the story of The Little Mermaid with the life and times of infamous lady pirate Mary Read.

Priority for 2025: Yes! Or at least, I hope so. I have two other “Mary” books to read first (My Contrary Mary and My Imaginary Mary)… but I love the sound of all three, and definitely want to make an attempt!

5) The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

Synopsis: The Honey Witch of Innisfree can never find true love. That is her curse to bear. But when a young woman who doesn’t believe in magic arrives on her island, sparks fly in this deliciously sweet debut novel of magic, hope, and love overcoming all.

Priority for 2025? Maybe. I’m interested, and I have a copy in my Kindle library… but I can’t say that it’s a burning priority at the moment.

6) Annie Bot by Sierra Green

Synopsis: Annie Bot was created to be the perfect girlfriend for her human owner, Doug. Designed to satisfy his emotional and physical needs, she has dinner ready for him every night, wears the cute outfits he orders for her, and adjusts her libido to suit his moods. True, she’s not the greatest at keeping Doug’s place spotless, but she’s trying to please him. She’s trying hard. She’s learning, too.

Priority for 2025? This is a big of a cheat, because this is coming up for me as a book group book, so I’ll definitely be reading it!

7) Storybook Ending by Poppy Alexander

Synopsis: From the author of The Littlest Library—a heartwarming novel about a widowed children’s book author who moves into a cottage in the English countryside and finds herself face-to-face with the handsome and brooding blacksmith who lives next door.

Priority for 2025? Yes! I only came across this book late in the year, but the cover drew me in right away, and I’m looking forward to curling up with it when I’m in the mood for a cozy romance.

What 2024 releases do you still hope to read in 2025? Have you read any from my list? If so, which do you recommend?

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My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

A much mellower week… I was still busy with work, but I also had some good down-time over the weekend. It was gray and rainy, so I couldn’t get out much… but being stuck in the house with cups of tea, cozy socks, and good books was not bad at all.

Blogging.

I hesitate to say anything — don’t want to jinx it! — but the WordPress glitch that wouldn’t save new posts correctly seems to be fixed. I’m proceeding with cautious optimism. I’ve noticed that awkward workarounds haven’t been needed this past week. Maybe it’s actually fine now??

What did I read during the last week?

The Life Impossible by Matt Haig: My book group’s January book. I enjoyed it, although not as much as some of this author’s other books. My review is here.

Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley: Last week’s audiobook. It was a very engaging listen with a unique premise. The ending was a bit unsatisfying, but otherwise, I really liked it. My review is here.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore: Twisty, complicated, excellent read! Review to follow.

Pop culture & TV:

I gobbled up season 2 of XO Kitty on Netflix — just as cute and silly as the first season, and so much fun. Netflix hasn’t confirmed a season 3 yet… but they can’t really just end things that way, can they?

Fresh Catch:

I’m listening to this as an audiobook, but a quick peek at the library showed me that the physical book is filled with amazing illustrations, so I decided to treat myself to a hardcover copy of my own. It’s really fun to follow along and look at this edition while listening to the audio.

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

I finished The God of the Woods late Sunday, and while I haven’t picked up my next book yet, it’ll likely be one of these three:

Three Days in June by Anne Tyler
Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett

I have ARCs for these three February new releases, and I’m excited to read them all!

Now playing via audiobook:

Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell: Not only is this a terrific middle-grade fantasy/adventure, but the audiobook is narrated by Samuel West (Siegfried from All Creatures Great and Small), and he’s amazing!

Ongoing reads:

My book group’s classic read is Mansfield Park by Jane Austen. We’re reading and discussing two chapters per week. Progress: 31%. Up next: Chapters 16 and 17.

What will you be reading this week?

So many books, so little time…