Top Ten Tuesday | May 12, 2020

Happy Tuesday!

Top Ten Tuesday is a Bookish Meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, and this week’s theme is THE LAST TEN BOOKS I HAVEN’T FINISHED!

I have two shelves on Goodreads for books that I stop reading, abandoned and come back to. Abandoned books are just not for me, and I’m never going to finish them. Come back to books, on the other hand, I am definitely going to finish! (someday) Today’s list is only come back to books, because I really do want to finish them!

And now without any further ado, here’s this week’s Top Ten Tuesday!

Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry
Published on March 24, 2020 by Algonquin Young Readers
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 288
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram

The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say.   In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award–longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story.  

Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud
Published on July 30, 2019 by Point
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA
Pages: 289
Add to Goodreads

Fiercely independent and smart, Zora Emerson wants to change the world. She's excited to be attending a prestigious summer program, even if she feels out of place among her privileged, mostly white classmates. So she's definitely not expecting to feel a connection to Owen, who's an actual prince of an island off the coast of England. But Owen is funny, charming...and undeniably cute. Zora can't ignore the chemistry between them. When Owen invites Zora to be his date at his big brother's big royal wedding, Zora is suddenly thrust into the spotlight, along with her family and friends. Everyone is talking about her, in real life and online, and while Owen is used to the scrutiny, Zora's not sure it's something she can live with. Can she maintain her sense of self while moving between two very different worlds? And can her feelings for Owen survive and thrive in the midst of the crazy? Find out in this charming romantic comedy that's like The Princess Diaries for a new generation.

The Portal by Kathryn Lasky
Series: Tangled in Time #1
Published on March 19, 2019 by HarperCollins
Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Time Travel
Pages: 361
Add to Goodreads

Life used to be great for Rose: full of friends, a loving mom, and a growing fashion blog.
But when her mother dies in a car crash, Rose is sent away to live with a strange grandmother she hardly knows and forced to attend a new school where mean girls ridicule her at every turn.
The one place Rose finds refuge is in her grandmother’s Tudor-style greenhouse. But one night, she sees a strange light glowing from within it. She climbs a ladder to investigate . . . and finds herself transported back four hundred years to Hatfield Palace, where she becomes servant and confidante of the banished princess Elizabeth, daughter of King Henry VIII. Rose soon discovers something else surprising—a locket with two mysterious images inside it, both of them clues to her own past.
Could her grandmother’s greenhouse portal offer answers to the mysteries of her family . . . and their secrets? And how will she ever unravel them all?

96 Words for Love by Rachel Roy, Ava Dash
Published on January 15, 2019 by Jimmy Patterson
Genres: Contemporary, Retellings, YA
Pages: 320
Add to Goodreads

A modern retelling of a classic Indian legend, 96 Words for Love is a coming-of-age story.
Ever since her acceptance to UCLA, 17-year-old Raya Liston has been quietly freaking out. She feels simultaneously lost and trapped by a future already mapped out for her.
Then her beloved grandmother dies, and Raya jumps at the chance to spend her last free summer at the ashram in India where her grandmother met and fell in love with her grandfather. Raya hopes to find her center and her true path. But she didn't expect to fall in love... with a country of beautiful contradictions, her fiercely loyal cousin, a local girl with a passion for reading, and a boy who teaches her that in Sanskrit, there are 96 different ways to say the word "love."
A modern retelling of the classic Indian legend of Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

You Won't See Me Coming by Kristen Orlando
Series: The Black Angel Chronicles #3
Published on January 8, 2019 by Swoon Reads
Genres: Thriller, YA
Pages: 304
Add to Goodreads

After finally View Spoiler »taking down Torres, her mother's merciless killer, Reagan and Luke have two targets on their backs and are forced into hiding. With new names, looks, and cover stories, they're living quiet, "safe" lives, but revenge comes at a steep price. Reagan's actions continue to haunt the pair and put the people they love in danger.
When Reagan discovers her best friend Harper is on the verge of being kidnapped, she and Luke defy Black Angel orders and risk blowing their cover to save their friend. After the rescue attempt goes wrong, the three friends must go on the run with an army of assassins hot on their trail and the list of trust-worthy Black Angels getting smaller and smaller. « Hide SpoilerWill they make it out alive? And at what cost?
Fast-paced and suspenseful, this is the explosive finale of Kristen Orlando's Black Angel Chronicles series.

Evermore by Sara Holland
Series: Everless #2
Also in this series: Everless
Published on December 31, 2018 by HarperTeen
Genres: Fantasy, YA
Pages: 368
Add to Goodreads

Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: View Spoiler »She is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.
The whole kingdom believes that Jules is responsible for the murders, and a hefty bounty has been placed on her head. And Caro is intent on destroying Jules, who stole her heart twelve lifetimes ago. « Hide SpoilerNow Jules must piece together the stories of her past lives to save the person who has captured her heart in this one.

What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera
Published on October 9, 2018 by HarperTeen
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, YA, Queer
Pages: 437
Add to Goodreads

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.
Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.
But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?
Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.
Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.
But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?
What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?
What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?
But what if it is?

The Brightsiders by Jen Wilde
Published on May 22, 2018 by Swoon Reads
Genres: Contemporary, YA, Queer
Pages: 297
Add to Goodreads

A teen rockstar has to navigate family, love, coming out, and life in the spotlight after being labeled the latest celebrity trainwreck in Jen Wilde's quirky and utterly relatable novel.
As a rock star drummer in the hit band The Brightsiders, Emmy King’s life should be perfect. But there’s nothing the paparazzi love more than watching a celebrity crash and burn. When a night of partying lands Emmy in hospital and her girlfriend in jail, she’s branded the latest tabloid train wreck.
Luckily, Emmy has her friends and bandmates, including the super-swoonworthy Alfie, to help her pick up the pieces of her life. She knows hooking up with a band member is exactly the kind of trouble she should be avoiding, and yet Emmy and Alfie Just. Keep. Kissing.
Will the inevitable fallout turn her into a clickbait scandal (again)? Or will she find the strength to stand on her own?

As You Wish by Chelsea Sedoti
Published on January 2, 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Pages: 417
Add to Goodreads

What if you could ask for anything- and get it?

In the sandy Mojave Desert, Madison is a small town on the road between nothing and nowhere. But Eldon wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, because in Madison, everyone gets one wish—and that wish always comes true.
Some people wish for money, some people wish for love, but Eldon has seen how wishes have broken the people around him. And with the lives of his family and friends in chaos, he’s left with more questions than answers. Can he make their lives better? How can he be happy if the people around him aren’t? And what hope is there for any of them if happiness isn’t an achievable dream? Doubts build, leading Eldon to a more outlandish and scary thought: maybe you can’t wish for happiness…maybe, just maybe, you have to make it for yourself.

Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
Published on September 5, 2017 by Delacorte Press
Genres: Contemporary, Thriller, YA
Pages: 262
Add to Goodreads
Author Links: Website, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram

Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat. Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete. An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two. A bad romance, or maybe three. Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains. A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her. A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.

What books have stopped reading, but totally intend to come back to someday? Let me know in the comments and have a splendiferous week!