Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween freebie — Ten horror books on my TBR list (2025 edition)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Happy Halloween!

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 a Halloween freebie! For my Halloween post, I’m going to focus on horror novels on my to-read list. (I’ve done this topic a few times in the past several years, and given the state of my TBR list, it’s time to do it again.)

About half of these are holdovers from last year’s Halloween TBR… giving you some idea of how behind I am when I comes to keeping up with my reading plans! Of the books on my list, most have been around a while, and a couple are upcoming new releases:

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Needful Things by Stephen King
Dread Nation by Justine Ireland
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
A Dowry of Blood by S. T. Gibson
Dead Weight by Hildur Knutsdottir
The Place Where They Buried Your Heart by Christina Henry
Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

Have you read any of these (or for the upcoming new releases, do you plan to read them)? Which ones look best to you?

What’s on your Halloween TTT this week? Share your link, please, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

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23Sep2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2025 TBR List

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ 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 Books on My Fall 2025 to-Read List.

Once again, summer whooshed by! I read 8 out of 10 books on my summer TBR list, and I’m including one of the two remaining on my TBR for fall. (I do still want to read the other one… eventually.) Looking ahead now that fall is here, I have a new set of books to prioritize — and hope to do a decent job balancing commitment books (ARCs, book group books) with books that I just feel like reading!

In the interest of not repeating myself, I’m not including any of the books already featured in my list of anticipated new releases for the 2nd half of 2025… but yes, I still intend to read the five remaining from that list too!

My top 10 for fall are:

Green Rider by Kristen Britain: I swore I’d start this series in 2025, and the clock is ticking!
Brigands & Breadknives by Travis Baldree: These books are always so much fun.
Alone in the Wild (Rockton, #5) by Kelley Armstrong: I’ve been loving this series, and I’m kinda, sorta hoping to get through the three books I have left by the end of the year.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman: I’ve been waiting for the mood to strike to pick up this book, and I think it’s about time I make it happen.
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher: My summer holdover. Again, I’ve just been waiting to be in the mood… which hasn’t happened yet, but I know I always end up loving this author’s books, so I think I just need to commit and get started.
A Pirate’s Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne: The first book in this cozy fantasy series was sweet and entertaining — just waiting for my library hold to come in for book #2.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky: Another series that I swore I’d finally start, and since this book also checks a box on a reading challenge I’m trying to finish, I think it’s about time to read it.
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman: I think everyone has read these books but me!
The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell: I apparently have an insatiable appetite for Austen retellings!
A Town with Half the Lights On by Page Getz: I randomly grabbed a copy of this book when I saw I price drop, and I think it sounds like fun.

What books are you most excited to read this fall? Do we have any in common?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

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24Jun2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ 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 Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025.

All of a sudden it’s summer, and… whoosh!… time is flying by. It’s hard to think about the 2nd half of 2025 already, when I’ve barely kept up with my reading plans from the 1st half.

Here are ten books scheduled for release from July through December that I’m looking forward to:

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna (7/15/2025)
The Last Wizards’ Ball (Gunnie Rose, #6) by Charlaine Harris (7/55/2025)
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (8/19/2025)
Play Nice by Rachel Harrison (9/9/2025)
The Poisoned King (Impossible Creatures, #2) by Katherine Rundell (9/11/2025)
The Shattering Peace (Old Man’s War, #7) by John Scalzi (9/19/2025)
Silver and Lead (October Daye, #19) by Seanan McGuire (9/30/2025)
The Haunting of Payne’s Hollow by Kelley Armstrong (10/14/2025)
The Keeper of Magical Things by Julie Leong (10/14/2025)
Blind Date with a Werewolf by Patricia Briggs (10/21/2025)

What upcoming new releases are you most excited for? Please share your TTT links!

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17Jun2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for summer 2025

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ 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 Books on My Summer 2025 to-Read List.

It’s impossible to keep up with all the books I have my eyes on! Here are the top 10 I most want to make time for… preferably for reading outdoors, in the sun, with warm breezes and a big iced coffee to go with them!

Writing Mr. Wrong by Kelley Armstrong
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston
Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab
The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
The Last Wizards’ Ball by Charlaine Harris
Totally and Completely Fine by Elissa Sussman
Swordheart by T. Kingfisher
The Fair Folk by Su Bristow

What are you planning to read this summer? Please share your TTT links!

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29Oct2024

Halloween posts for Tuesday!

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Lately, I’ve been bouncing back and forth for my Tuesday posts, alternating between the Top Ten Tuesday and Top Five Tuesday memes, depending on their topics for the week. This week, both are Halloween themed… so I’m doing them both!!

First up… it’s Top Ten Tuesday:

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 a Halloween freebie! For my Halloween post, I’m going to focus on horror novels on my to-read list (updated for 2024). I’ve done this topic a few times in the past several years, and given the state of my TBR list, it’s time to do it again.

Noted with shame: Some of these books were on my Halloween horror TBR list last year! So, you know, I’m not exactly great at following through…

Still, here are a bunch I really do want to get to… including a few upcoming 2025 new books.

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Dread Nation by Justine Ireland
The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
Diavola by Jennifer Thorne
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
The Return by Rachel Harrison
Cutting Teeth by Chandler Baker
Overgrowth by Mira Grant (upcoming 2025 new release)
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (upcoming 2025 new release)
My Ex, the Antichrist by Craig DiLouie (upcoming 2025 new release)

Are any of these on your TBR too? Which ones look best to you? And if you’ve read any, let me know what you thought!

Next, let’s take a look at this week’s Top 5 Tuesday:

Top 5 Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by Meeghan Reads — check out the next batch of upcoming topics here.

This week’s topic is Top 5 books to recommend for Halloween, and the prompt is: It’s trick or treat time — are you going to tell us your best scary books or cutesy Halloween tales?

My picks are mainly ghost stories, plus a funny/clever fantasy that I reread every October!

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The Uninvited by Cat Winters (review)
The Veil by Rachel Harrison (review)
Thornhill by Pam Smy (review)
I’ll be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong (review)
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny (review) — I’m reading this one again right now! Such a fun annual tradition.

What books do you recommend for Halloween? I love a good ghost story — do you have any favorites? Save

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In case it’s not obvious, I’ll probably be spending my Halloween with my nose in a book! Wishing you all a happy Halloween, whatever you’ll be doing!Save

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24Sep2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2024 TBR List

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ 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 Books on My Fall 2024 to-Read List.

Is it fall already? Where did the summer go? I did pretty well with my summer 2024 TBR list, with just one book still to read, and I’m including it in my fall reading plans. Other than that, my list this week includes an upcoming new release, books from my shelves, and one old favorite that’s become an annual reading tradition.

In the interest of not repeating myself, I’m not including any of the books already featured in my list of anticipated new releases for the 2nd half of 2024… but yes, I still intend to read all of those too!

My top 10 for fall are:

Extinction by Douglas Preston: I haven’t read this type of science thriller in a while, and I think I’m up for it.
A Night in the Lonesome October by Roger Zelazny: My annual October reading tradition. Always a blast!
D’Vaughn and Kris Plan a Wedding by Chencia C. Higgins: I needed an LGBTQ+ romance for a reading challenge, and this one came highly recommended.
On Her Own by Lihi Lapid: A recent new release that sounded promising based on the reviews I’ve seen.
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston: My summer holdover — which I’ve been looking forward to, but just haven’t gotten around to reading yet.
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley: I love the sound of this book!
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: I think I have a reading block when it comes to this book… but I’m determined to finally get through it!
The Wrong Lady Meets Lord Right by Suzanne Alain: The only upcoming new release on this list. This author’s books are always such fun!
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi: I feel like I’m the last person left who hasn’t read this book, and it’s about time to fix that.
The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer: I love this author’s newest novel, The Lost Story, so I’m eager to read this one too.

What books are you most excited to read this fall? Do we have any in common?

If you wrote a TTT post, please share your link!

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25Jun2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ 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 Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024.

But oops – last week’s topic was Books on My Summer 2024 to-Read List, and since I didn’t look at upcoming topics, I focused my list only on new releases for summer 2024… which means for this week, I have to come up with 10 more!

Fortunately, I never lack for books to look forward to (although the books already on my shelves are giving me some serious side-eye as I write this)… but I couldn’t quite come up with ten more must-read new releases, so…

Here are NINE new releases — coming July through December 2024 — that I can’t wait to read:

Listed in order of release date:

Drop Dead by Lily Chu (8/1/2024)
The Life Impossible by Matt Haig (9/3/2024)
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (9/10/2024)
Songs for the Brokenhearted by Ayelet Tsabari (9/10/2024)
So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison (9/10/2024)
I’ll Be Waiting by Kelley Armstrong (10/1/2024)
Rough Pages (Evander Mills, #3) by Lev AC Rosen (10/1/2024)
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern by Lynda Cohen Loigman (10/8/2024)
The Naturalist Society by Carrie Vaughn (11/1/2024)

What are your most anticipated new releases for the 2nd half of 2024? Please share your links!

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18Jun2024

Top Ten Tuesday: Top ten books on my TBR list for summer 2024

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ 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 Books on My Summer 2024 to-Read List.

There are so many new releases coming this summer, and I want to read them ALL. I’d like to say that my reading plans also include books from my shelves… but that’s looking kind of iffy at the moment.

Here are ten new releases I can’t wait to read:

Close Knit by Jenny Colgan
Finding Mr. Write by Kelley Armstrong
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
A Novel Love Story by Ashley Poston
Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs (just released today!)
The Black Bird Oracle by Deborah Harkness
Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell
The Mercy of Gods by James S. A. Corey
Haunted Ever After by Jen DeLuca
The Night Guest by Hildur Knútsdóttir

What are you planning to read this summer? Please share your links!

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31Oct2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Halloween freebie — Ten horror books on my TBR list (2023 edition)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Happy Halloween!

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison
How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix
Dread Nation by Justine Ireland
What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher
Hemlock Island by Kelley Armstrong
The Changeling by Victor Lavalle
The House that Horror Built by Christina Henry
How to Make a Horror Movie and Survive by Craig DiLouie
A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

Have you read any of these (or for the upcoming new releases, do you plan to read them)? Which ones look best to you?

What’s on your Halloween TTT this week? Share your link, please, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

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26Sep2023

Top Ten Tuesday: Books on My Fall 2023 TBR List

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. I wasn’t particularly into this week’s topic (Secondary/Minor Characters Who Deserve Their Own Book), but since I missed TTT last week, I decided to go ahead and do that topic instead!

My list this week is is Books on My Fall 2023 To-read List. My list includes combination of upcoming new releases, books I already own but haven’t read yet, and one on my library hold list.

My top 10 for fall are: