Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019

Top Ten Tuesday new

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Most Anticipated Releases of the Second Half of 2019.  Oh my, this topic is like catnip for book bloggers because if there’s anything we like more than talking about the books we’re reading it’s looking forward to the books we want to read.  So this was a great opportunity to browse the catalogues of some of my favourite publishers and visit NetGalley to view books being published between July and December 2019.

Click on the book title to view the description on Goodreads.


The Bone Fire (Somerhill Manor Mystery #4) by S.D. Sykes (Hodder & Stoughton, July 2019)

I read the previous book in the series, City of Masks, which I really enjoyed. Set in 1361 on Romney Marsh, this sounds equally enticing.

Hudson’s Kill (Justice Flanagan #2) by Paddy Hirsch (Corvus, July 2019)

The first book in the series, The Devil’s Half Mile, was one of my favourite historical crime mysteries of last year so I’m really hoping this next one will be just as good

The Room of the Dead (A Betty Church Mystery #2) by M.R.C. Kasasian (Head of Zeus, July 2019)

As a fan of author’s ‘The Gower Street Detective’ series, I was delighted to learn he was starting a new series.  I really enjoyed the first book, Betty Church and the Suffolk Vampire, and I’m hoping for equally good things from this one.

Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland (Quercus, July 2019)

I loved taking part in the buddy read for The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo organised by Quercus recently so was delighted to be invited to join this next one.

A Tapestry of Treason by Anne O’Brien (HQ Stories, August 2019)

I’ve been wanting to read one of Anne Brien’s books since hearing her speak at Henley Literary Festival in 2017.  This one, set in 1399 and centring on Constance of York, sounds like the perfect place to start.

The Mermaid’s Call by Katherine Stansfield (Allison & Busby, September 2019)

I loved the previous book in the series, The Magpie Tree, and can’t wait to read this new one set in Cornwall in 1845.

Bone China by Laura Purcell (Raven Books, September 2019)

Readers raved about the author’s previous books The Silent Companions and The Corset (both of which are on my wishlist) and this one sounds equally as good.

Wicked By Design by Katy Moran (Head of Zeus, September 2019)

A follow-up to the author’s False Lights once again featuring its charismatic and troubled hero – yes, please!

A Ration Book Childhood by Jean Fullerton (Corvus, October 2019)

I found the previous book in the series, A Ration Book Christmas, a charming read so I’m looking forward to reading this one as part of the blog tour.

Payback (DI Charley Mann #1) by R.C. Bridgestock (The Dome Press, December 2019)

The first book in a brand new series from the husband and wife team behind the DI Jack Dylan series, such as Poetic Justice which I read recently, is too good an opportunity to miss.

What books are you looking forward to?

Top Ten Tuesday: My Spring 2019 TBR – An Update

Top Ten Tuesday new

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

  • Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want.
  • Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
  • Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists.
  • Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Unpopular Bookish Opinions but I’m really not sure I have any or, if I do, I’m not sure I’d want to spread that negativity.  So I’ve decided to revisit a previous topic – Books on My Spring 2019 TBR – and see just how good I’ve been at sticking to my intended reading.

Click on the title to find the book description on Goodreads or my review.


Books on The Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction 2019 Longlist

Little by Edward Carey

Sorry, still haven’t read this one but, in my defence, it didn’t make the shortlist and I’ve been prioritising reading those that did.

Warlight by Michael Ondaatje

Now this one I have read, as it did make the shortlist.  Unfortunately, I still need to write my review.

Now We Shall Be Entirely Free by Andrew Miller

Another one that made the shortlist but I haven’t yet read.  There are only a few days until the winner is announced (on 15th June) but I’m hoping I may just be able to squeeze it in. 

Books To Read For Blog Tours

Unsurprisingly I read all of these as the fear of missing my slot on the blog tour helped focus the mind…and the reading brain.

Sunwise by Helen Steadman

Pilgrim by Louise Hall

Dark Sky Island by Lara Dearman

Call Me Star Girl by Louise Beech

Advance Reader Copies

A mixed bag here – one read and reviewed, one read but not yet reviewed and one not yet read.

The Confessions of Frannie Langston by Sara Collins

Where the Hornbeam Grows by Beth Lynch

The Doll Factory by Elizabeth MacNeal