Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl. Each Tuesday is assigned a topic.
This weeks topic: The Top Ten books in our summer TBR
This is the list of books I intend to read over the summer. Some of them are the first book in a series, so I will be continuing reading the series throughout the rest of the year once I’ve gotten to them.
These are in no particular order.
Title: Starside
Author: Alex Aster
Published: March 31, 2026
Genre: Fantasy Romance
Synopsis:
Hundreds of years ago, a brutal war split a land in two. Starside is the realm of magic and immortals—the descendants of the gods, living in a power-rich paradise. Stormside is where mortals fight for scraps of that magic.
Every fifty years, the gates between them open, and fifty challengers are allowed to journey across Starside on a deadly quest to access a pool of magic that can heal, grant wealth, or extend life. Everyone has their reasons for entering, but Aris has only vengeance. As a child, a goddess set fire to her village, killing her family. Aris isn’t after the gods’ magic—she’s going to kill them.
First, she must survive the Culling, the king’s deadly competition to choose his fifty challengers. An orphaned blacksmith’s apprentice, Aris doesn’t have the superior weapons of the heirs from the Great Houses. But the greatest swords—ones that contain power—are not inherited or bought, they are claimed, by both sides. And when Aris claims a great sword, it makes her not just a real competitor—but a target.
Getting past the gates is only the beginning. Starside is deadlier than it seems. If the ancient creatures, magic-wielding beasts, and bloodthirsty immortals weren’t dangerous enough, a new peril has even immortals fearing what rises from the ground at night. With a blade most would kill to claim, Aris can’t trust anyone. Especially not Harlan Raker, the merciless and mysterious king’s guard who betrayed her years ago—and who may now be the key to her survival.
But Aris is hiding a secret tied to her family’s death. And when it’s revealed, not even the gods will be able to stop what’s coming…
I picked this one up earlier this year during a book haul. I had some gift card money (aka guilt free book money)
Title: Doctor Sleep
Author: Stephen King
Published: September 24, 2013
Genre: Horror
Synopsis:
Stephen King returns to the characters and territory of one of his most popular novels ever, The Shining, in this instantly riveting novel about the now middle-aged Dan Torrance (the boy protagonist of The Shining) and the very special 12-year-old girl he must save from a tribe of murderous paranormals.
On highways across America, a tribe of people called The True Knot travel in search of sustenance. They look harmless – mostly old, lots of polyester, and married to their RVs. But as Dan Torrance knows, and spunky 12-year-old Abra Stone learns, The True Knot are quasi-immortal, living off the “steam” that children with the “shining” produce when they are slowly tortured to death.
Haunted by the inhabitants of the Overlook Hotel where he spent one horrific childhood year, Dan has been drifting for decades, desperate to shed his father’s legacy of despair, alcoholism, and violence. Finally, he settles in a New Hampshire town, an AA community that sustains him, and a job at a nursing home where his remnant “shining” power provides the crucial final comfort to the dying. Aided by a prescient cat, he becomes “Doctor Sleep.”
Then Dan meets the evanescent Abra Stone, and it is her spectacular gift, the brightest shining ever seen, that reignites Dan’s own demons and summons him to a battle for Abra’s soul and survival. This is an epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted fans of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.
During a visit to a local used bookstore I was able to pick up a copy of this book. I’ve been wanting to read it for quite some time now. Hoping I’ll get through all of the books I have in my physical copy read pile.
Title: Once Upon a Broken Heart
Author: Stephanie Garber
Published: September 28, 2021
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
The IRRESISTIBLE first novel in the #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING Once Upon a Broken Heart series, about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after
For as long as she can remember, Evangeline Fox has believed in true love and happy endings . . . until she learns that the love of her life will marry another.
Desperate to stop the wedding and to heal her wounded heart, Evangeline strikes a deal with the charismatic, but wicked, Prince of Hearts. In exchange for his help, he asks for three kisses, to be given at the time and place of his choosing.
But after Evangeline’s first promised kiss, she learns that bargaining with an immortal is a dangerous game ― and that the Prince of Hearts wants far more from her than she’d pledged. He has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy.
This one has been on my TBR for several years now. I absolutely loved the Caraval series so I’m looking forward to starting this one. I have this series in Ebook form so during my commutes to work I plan to read this one over the summer
Title: The God of the Woods
Author: Liz Moore
Published: July 2, 2024
Genre: Mystery
Synopsis:
When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide.
Early morning, August 1975: a camp counselor discovers an empty bunk. Its occupant, Barbara Van Laar, has gone missing. Barbara isn’t just any thirteen-year-old: she’s the daughter of the family that owns the summer camp and employs most of the region’s residents. And this isn’t the first time a Van Laar child has disappeared. Barbara’s older brother similarly vanished fourteen years ago, never to be found.
As a panicked search begins, a thrilling drama unfolds. Chasing down the layered secrets of the Van Laar family and the blue-collar community working in its shadow, Moore’s multi-threaded story invites readers into a rich and gripping dynasty of secrets and second chances.
Liz Moore’s most ambitious and wide-reaching novel yet, The God of the Woods is a story of inheritance and second chances, the tensions between a family and a community, and a history that will not let any of them go.
This one I first heard about from following reddit subs about Taylor Swift. People recognized the title from one of her documentaries and as such is was added to my want to read list. I picked up a physical copy earlier this year during a book haul.
Title: When the Moon Hatched
Author: Sarah A. Parker
Published: November 24, 2024
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
He’s fire and brimstone.
I’m shattered ice …
I’ll gladly burn beneath him until the world comes crumbling down.
As an assassin for the rebellion, Raeve’s job is to complete orders and never get caught. When a rival bounty hunter shatters her world, Raeve finds herself captured by the Guild of Nobles – a group of powerful fae.
Crushed by the loss of his great love, dragon rider Kaan Vaegor took the head of a king and donned his melted crown. Now on a tireless quest to quell the never-ebbing ache in his chest, a clue lures him into the capital’s high-security prison where he stumbles upon the imprisoned Raeve …
Together, they seek truths that threaten to unravel everything they knew about their world – and each other.
This has also been on my TBR since it was released. I have the first book in EBook form but I picked up a physical copy of the second book in the series (it’s SOOO pretty!) I have heard a lot of good things about this series so I’m looking forward to reading it.
Title: A Rip Through Time
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Published: May 31, 2022
Genre: Mystery, Historical Fiction
Synopsis:
A modern-day homicide detective finds herself in Victorian Scotland—in an unfamiliar body—with a killer on the loose.
May 20, 2019: Homicide detective Mallory is in Edinburgh to be with her dying grandmother. While out on a jog one evening, Mallory hears a woman in distress. She’s drawn to an alley, where she is attacked and loses consciousness.
May 20, 1869: Housemaid Catriona Mitchell had been enjoying a half-day off, only to be discovered that night in a lane, where she’d been strangled and left for dead . . . exactly one-hundred-and-fifty years before Mallory was strangled in the same spot.
When Mallory wakes up in Catriona’s body in 1869, she must put aside her shock and adjust quickly to the reality: life as a housemaid to an undertaker in Victorian Scotland. She soon discovers that her boss, Dr. Gray, also moonlights as a medical examiner and has just taken on an intriguing case, the strangulation of a young man, similar to the attack on herself. Her only hope is that catching the murderer can lead her back to her modern life . . . before it’s too late.
I was approved for an E-ARC for the fifth book in this series. So I kind of need to read the ones that come before it first. I have the first two books in the series in ebook form already, I’ve put holds on the rest from my library, so hopefully those come through this summer so I can read them.
Title: That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You
Author: Elyse Myers
Published: October 28, 2025
Genre: Non-Fiction, Memoir, Biography
Synopsis:
Writer, comedian, and content creator Elyse Myers gets real about life’s awkward moments in her bold, funny, and unfiltered debut book
Elyse Myers is known to her twelve million followers as “The Internet’s Best Friend,” sharing her relatable stories and comedic sketches and serving as an advocate for topics such as neurodivergence, impostor syndrome, body image, and more. Whether she’s making people laugh with tales of disastrous dates or giving a voice to that awkward internal monologue many of us have, she has three simple goals behind everything she makes: To make people feel known, loved, and like they belong.
In That’s a Great Question, I’d Love to Tell You, Elyse delivers a debut collection of deeply personal stories and hand-drawn illustrations, offering even more intimate reflections beyond what fans have seen on her social media, including:
• Spending 7 Minutes in Heaven accidentally friend-zoning her crush
• How Lucy, the Magic 8 Ball keychain, changed her life by accident
• Moving from California to Australia to Texas to Nebraska to like (maybe even love!) herself
• How to Fold Hospital Corners in 10 EASY STEPS!—a practical guide and a rumination about…everything
• The “meat cute” when she met her smoke show of a husband at a butcher’s counter in Australia—and how she revealed herself to be an emotional runner
Plus, tales involving bad dates and is-this-a-dates; the tempting yet futile urge to reinvent yourself, panic attacks and escape hatches, and favorite pens and systems to use them, all while loving and letting yourself be loved, preferably at the same time.
I have been following Elyse Myers on social media for several years now. She was such a breath of fresh air when she first appeared on my reels feed on Facebook. I bought her book in Ebook form and am looking forward to reading it. I also try to read at least one biography/Memoir genre’d book a year. So this will cover that goal.
Title: Shield of Sparrows
Author: Devney Perry
Published: May 6, 2025
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
Shield of Sparrows is a slow-burn, high-stakes romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros—where enemies become lovers, monsters stalk a cursed realm, and a forgotten princess finds the strength to tear off her crown and become the warrior she was never meant to be.
The gods sent monsters to the five kingdoms to remind mortals they must kneel.
I’ve spent my life kneeling—to their will and to my father’s. As a princess, my only duty is to wear the crown and obey the king.
I was never meant to rule. Never meant to fight. And I was never supposed to be the daughter who sealed an ancient treaty with her own blood.
But that changed the fateful day I stepped into my father’s throne room. The day a legendary monster hunter sailed to our shores. The day a prince ruined my life.
Now I’m crossing treacherous lands beside a warrior who despises me as much as I despise him—bound to a future I didn’t choose and a husband I barely know.
Everyone wants me to be something I’m not—a queen, a spy, a sacrifice.
But what if I refused the role chosen for me? What if I made my own rules? What if there’s power in being underestimated?
And what if—for the first time—I reached for it?
So I had seen the second book of this series being promoted and the book looked so pretty I couldn’t pass it up, I hadn’t realized at the time that it was the second book of a series. So Immediatly I ended up ordering the first book, which is this one, so both this one and it’s sequel Rites of the Starling are on my Summer TBR
Title: A Curse Carved in Bone
Author: Danielle L. Jensen
Published: May 13, 2025
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Synopsis:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A shield maiden fights to break the shackles of prophecy—and to overcome the betrayal of the man who broke her heart—in this searing conclusion to the Norse-inspired fantasy romance duology that began with the bestselling A Fate Inked in Blood.
The secret of her divine heritage revealed, Freya finds herself on a path that will see thousands of lives lost to the magic in her blood. Desperate to avoid this dark fate, she risks an alliance with Skaland’s greatest enemy to seek answers from the seer who foretold her future—the same seer who sent Bjorn to kill her.
While Freya still seethes with rage over Bjorn’s betrayal, the blood oaths that bind her demand that she keep him close as she hunts for a way to avert the looming war. Her magic draws her to the front lines of an old enmity, embroiling her with Nordeland’s Unfated—children of the gods who serve the king she was raised to fear. The same king who, unlike Bjorn, is now willing to fight at her back. For despite the desire that burns hot between Bjorn and Freya, his growing distrust of her chosen path threatens to drag them further apart.
As war approaches, gods and mortals must choose their weapons. Yet the fiercest battle will be the one Freya wages within herself. With the magic of two goddesses burning in her veins, she must weave the threads of destiny to decide her own fate: Will she be the shield that protects her people or the curse that destroys them?
I read the first book for this last year and picked up the second one in physical form during my birthday book haul last year so it’s been on my TBR for about seven months now. Hopefully I’ll get to it this summer, if not fall for sure.
Title: Dive Bar at the End of the Road
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Expected Publication: October 6, 2026
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Synopsis:
Final Destination meets The Cabin at the End of the World in this supernatural horror from New York Times bestselling author Kelley Armstrong, in which a series of car accidents traps a group of strangers at a dive bar.
A forested road at night, slick from the pounding rain and eerily illuminated by flashes of lightning. Just before midnight, a car swerves to avoid something—or someone—mysteriously standing in the road, only to slam into a fallen tree instead. In the pitch black, four more cars follow in a pileup no one can seem avoid.
Stumbling out of the wreckage, soaked from the rain and nursing various injuries, five strangers find themselves in a backwoods dive bar, waiting for daybreak and hoping for cell service. But as tensions rise and the storm rages on outside, the occupants of the dive bar start to notice that not everything is as it seems. Time is moving differently, and they quickly learn that going outside—whether to assist another accident victim or to hike for help—is a very bad idea.
There’s something in the woods, something that isn’t natural. Could the figure in the road have been a warning? Or something more sinister? None of this is normal, and they’ll need to work together to figure out what’s happening if they have any hope of surviving through the night.
I recieved an E-arc copy of this book from NetGalley, and it’s by one of my favourite authors, Kelley Armstrong. I’ve been reading her books for decades and this one sounds right up my alley. If I’m not able to get through all of the books on my TBR for the summer this one will for sure be one of the first for fall.
Thanks for reading!
What books would you have added to your list?
Were any of these on your lists too?
Leave a comment below and let me know!
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