Tag: Summer TBR

Books for your Summer TBR!

Posted on July 17, 2026July 17, 2026 by fantasyst95

I’m not a big seasonal reader, especially in summer. What most people read at the beach rarely graces my Summer TBR – I’m just not your typical reader. If you’re not either though, then hopefully my slightly out-there recommendations appeal more to your reading taste.

What today’s featured books have in common with other summer read lists is that they are lighter, warmer, and more fun than the usual epic fantasy I read a lot of. No blood, guts and gore on today’s list. Sorry if that’s your thing. Maybe check out my favourite fantasy books or spooky season reads if that’s more your jam?

Somewhere Beyond the Sea – cozy vibes and childhood adventures!

Either The House in the Cerulean Sea or its sequel, Somewhere Beyond the Sea are perfect summer reads if you’re looking to put cozy vibes and misfit children finding their place in the world on your Summer TBR!

These books are wholesome for the way the children and their guardians band together in the face of prejudice and adversity. It’s what family should look like. The children, with their wildness and magic (sometimes dangerous) aren’t orphans, they’re chosen by Arthur and Linus.

That’s not all! If you enjoy an LGBTQ cinnamon roll romance then you’re in luck!

The Rosie Project – Romance with a Twist

If a slightly different type of romance tickles your pickle (or not… we don’t judge here!), The Rosie Project is another option.

Don Tillman is hopeless when it comes to love. He’s far from a socialite, struggles to relate to people and has given up on romance. However, convinced by an acquaintance that there is someone for everyone. So, Don sets out to find his perfect partner, checklist in hand. As only a scientist would do. However, perhaps Don will be drawn to another, one who certainly does not tick all the boxes. Or any of them…

The Rosie Project is funny and light. Romance is generally on the lighter side anyway, but the humour that stems from Don’s inability to read social cues and lack of understanding about how to conduct himself is a unique flavour.

Fuck No! How to Stop Saying Yes When you Shouldn’t! – humour and practical advice in one compact book

Moving away from romance, but leaning heavily into humour, this self-help may just be the way to keep personal growth on your radar whilst at the beach.

Tired of being a yes-man? Need advice on how to say no in a humour, disarming way? If so, this book can be both a practical guide and have you laughing out loud. Sarah Knight’s hands-on examples are easy to put into practice in everyday life. When you’re back from vacation and work demands try to overwhelm you, you’ll be armed with the ingenious way of saying f*ck no, well, a little more politely…

The Tw*t Files – because laughing at someone else’s misery is entertaining

Finally, my current read is proving a balm in the current heat. There’s nothing more entertaining than laughing at someone else misery. We’ve all made fluff-ups, some more monumental and public than others. Dawn French has made many a blunder, large and small.

The Tw*t Files is unapologetically funny. Dawn recounts her mishaps, major to minor, and happily laughs at her own tw*tishness. She’s not afraid to be honest about moments in her life that weren’t her finest. We all make mistakes, even when you’re famous.

Sometimes, it helps to laugh at someone else’s mistakes. Will The Tw*t Files make it onto your Summer TBR as well?

Summary

Sometimes, a lighter read is what you need in the moment. Whether you’re sat around the pool, on the beach, or just need a laid back moment, there’s a book for every occasion.

What would you recommend to fellow readers for their Summer TBR?

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Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Summer TBR

Posted on June 20, 2023 by fantasyst95

In today’s Top Ten Tuesday post, I will share the books that I’ll be looking to read over the summer months.

I shared a similar post for my Spring reads, with mixed results. I read six of the ten books I listed in that post. A couple of those I didn’t get to make a reappearance in today’s Top Ten Tuesday.

Personally, I find these posts really useful in planning my future reading. They keep me accountable. I also hope you enjoy them, as you learn what books and content will be coming up on my blog in the near future!

But, that’s enough ramble – I’m sure you want to dive into the list, so let’s get to it!

Summer TBR

Children of Dune

Children of Dune featured on my Spring TBR list. Whilst I haven’t gotten around to the book as of drafting this post, it is on my June TBR. After I’ve finished my current read (The Midnight Library by Matt Haig), I intend to pick up Children of Dune.

Ship of Destiny

Much like Children of Dune, Ship of Destiny is also on my June TBR. It’s also a carryover from my Spring TBR list… and was added to my June TBR because it was still outstanding.

Ship of Destiny is likely to be the last read on my June TBR, and I may end up reading it into July. It’s a hefty read at just over 900 pages. I didn’t shy away from chunky books in my Spring TBR; nothing has changed for this Top Ten Tuesday – Summer 2023 TBR.

A Brief History of Time

A Brief History of Time is a book I intend to pick up very, very soon. I recently featured this book on my 30 Before 30 list. If you haven’t checked out that post, it is a list of the books I would like to try and read before I turn 30.

Whilst this isn’t a very long book, it may be a challenge for me in how scientific and mathematical it is. I am not a big science nerd. But, I am interested in the subject and I would like to give it a go.

Wizard and Glass

The Waste Lands by Stephen King featured on my Spring TBR. One of my goals for the year is to continue reading ongoing series rather than starting new ones. It had been four years since I picked up this series last, and when I read The Waste Lands (in four days), I vowed I wouldn’t be making that mistake again!

With this in mind, the next book of The Dark Tower series, Wizard and Glass, has made it to my Summer TBR.

Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years A Slave is another book from my 30 Before 30 list that I would like to pick up during the summer. This book would make a great read in 2023 for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it helps me make a prompt start on my 30 Before 30 list. Secondly, as a non-fiction memoir, it also contributes towards my goal of reading more non-fiction throughout this year!

The Pagan Lord

The Pagan Lord is the seventh book in Bernard Cornwell‘s Saxon Stories series. This is a series that I have been reading for a number of years. I picked it up again earlier this year when I read Death of Kings. With that goal of continuing reading series in mind, I would like to resume this one. Whilst the series and characters are relatively fresh in my mind, it makes sense to pick up the next instalment.

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the outlier on this Summer TBR. However, I do have my reasons for adding it. The first of those is that I already pulled the book out of my TBR jar, and so I will be reading it next month. Secondly, as the book has an emphasis on mental health, and because I’m enjoying The Midnight Library so much, I want to continue exploring fiction with this topic.

Three Sisters

Three Sisters is the third book in Heather Morris’s The Tattooist of Auschwitz series. I have listened to the first two books of the series already, and finally listening to Three Sisters will give me a big ol’ tick on my completed series list. I don’t get many of those very often!

It’s been a little while since I last pick up the series, but the events and characters stand out so well that it doesn’t matter. The books don’t overly relate to each other either, so I’m not dependent on being so familiar with what’s already happened in the other books that I can’t pick this one up.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

It’s been five years since I picked up the Legacy of Orisha series. Too long really, but it’s only going to get longer if I continue not to revisit it.

I really enjoyed the start of this series by Tomi Adeyemi back in 2018, and I’m overdue getting back into it. A secondary motive I have for picking this book up soon is that the author is due to publish a third book in the series in September. If I manage to pick up the second book before then, I will very briefly be caught up with the series until the sequel comes out. But, with events fresh in my mind, it would make sense for me to pick up the third book quickly and get caught up again.

A Storm of Swords

This year, I am re-reading George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series (a.k.a. A Game of Thrones). With the understanding that the next book is due out soon, I want to refresh my memory before diving into this new instalment. You know me, I will be doing that as soon as it’s physically available!

So, those are the books that have made it onto my Top Ten Tuesday – 2023 Summer TBR post.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! Have you read any of the books on my list? Are there any that you intend to pick up as well?

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Top Ten Tuesday – Books on my Summer TBR

Posted on June 15, 2021 by fantasyst95

Hello everyone and welcome to today’s Top Ten Tuesday post! Today’s subject is all about my Summer TBR. For those of you who read my blog regularly, you will know that I have taken a bit of a step back with reading this year. I don’t particularly anticipate getting through ten reads throughout summer, but I will certainly do the best I can!

Therefore, this list is going to be the books that I will choose my TBR from, rather than a definitive list of ALL the books I’m going to read in summer.

Does that make sense? I certainly hope so… But without further ado let’s get into the books on my list!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – J. K. Rowling

I’ve been re-reading the Harry Potter series this year and this is the next instalment on my list. I recently finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I really enjoyed that one, and I love that the books are starting to get a bit chunkier! I love a big book and I’m excited that some of the grittier aspects of Harry Potter are going to start creeping in soon. I can’t wait to pick this up!

Clarissa – Karl Drinkwater

This book is definitely going to be read very shortly as I am reviewing it for an upcoming blog tour next month. These are only short stories in a universe I’m already familiar with, having read other shorts in the series. I’m looking forward to seeing how this one compares and I have no doubt that I will enjoy it!

Ruabon – Karl Drinkwater

As with Clarissa, I am also reviewing the second short story around a week later than the first one. So, again, I will be reading this very very soon!

Dune – Frank Herbert

I intended to pick up Dune earlier this year, however, for one reason or another, it didn’t come to pass. I am determined to pick this up properly though, and so I imagine this will be among the next few books I decide to read.

Red Sister – Mark Lawrence

It has been several years since I read a book by Mark Lawrence, however, I really enjoyed his Broken Empire series when I was a teenager! So, as I’m sure you can imagine, I’m really looking forward to trying something new of his and seeing if it lives up to my recollection of The Broken Empire trilogy.

The Talisman – Stephen King & Peter Straub

I haven’t picked up a Stephen King book for a little while, and this is the oldest one on my TBR. It’s my mission to get through some of the oldest books on my list this year and so this one is definitely in scope. I’m reading The Dark Tower series at the moment and I love how Stephen King dabbles in a little bit of fantasy. This is completely different, to the best of my knowledge, but I’m willing to give anything a go…

The Feedback Loop – Harmon Cooper

The Feedback Loop is another reasonably old item on my TBR. Given that I’m really enjoying more in the way of science fiction at the moment, this is definitely one to consider picking up soon. I think it’s quite a short one compared to my typical average, so it shouldn’t take too long to read once I do pick it up.

The Keeper of Lost Things – Ruth Hogan

The Keeper of Lost Things is a lot more contemporary than I typically pick up, however, I love the premise. As a sentimental person, I can see the appeal of the book and the narrative! With this one I was wanting to push my boundaries and try to read something new… so I hope I can get round to this before too long!

Hild- Nicola Griffith

It feels like an absolute age since I read a historical fiction novel. I’d say it’s my go-to genre that I haven’t picked up the longest. I’ve definitely been reading more in the way of science fiction and fantasy instead. With that in mind, I’m looking forward to getting back into historical fiction as it is one of my favourite genres. Having taken the break, I think reading Hild will be refreshing.

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck – Mark Manson

A summer TBR isn’t complete without a dash of humour, and this is what I expect and more from The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. I read a similar book recently, which blended psychology and humour. This also dabbles in a bit of self-help, which isn’t something I read much of, but I think this appeals to me for a lot of reasons!

Not giving a **** sounds like a plan to me!

So, there you have my Summer TBR (or at least the books I will be choosing my Summer TBR from). Have you read any of these books? Do you have any recommendations? Please let me know in the comments!

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