Well, as evidenced by the fact that at least one book on this list was also on my previous list, I wasn’t lying when I said I have trouble sticking to a TBR. However, between these posts and my Currently Reading posts I’ve started, I think I can stick to a general reading plan. Hurray for progress! Anyway, here are the next five books I’m planning on reading soon. I’ve decided it’s time to read some novellas. I’ve got a reading goal to meet for the year after all!
1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
A world at stake.
A quest for the ultimate prize.
Are you ready?
It’s the year 2044, and the real world is an ugly place.
Like most of humanity, Wade Watts escapes his grim surroundings by spending his waking hours jacked into the OASIS, a sprawling virtual utopia that lets you be anything you want to be, a place where you can live and play and fall in love on any of ten thousand planets.
And like most of humanity, Wade dreams of being the one to discover the ultimate lottery ticket that lies concealed within this virtual world. For somewhere inside this giant networked playground, OASIS creator James Halliday has hidden a series of fiendish puzzles that will yield massive fortune—and remarkable power—to whoever can unlock them.
For years, millions have struggled fruitlessly to attain this prize, knowing only that Halliday’s riddles are based in the pop culture he loved—that of the late twentieth century. And for years, millions have found in this quest another means of escape, retreating into happy, obsessive study of Halliday’s icons. Like many of his contemporaries, Wade is as comfortable debating the finer points of John Hughes’s oeuvre, playing Pac-Man, or reciting Devo lyrics as he is scrounging power to run his OASIS rig.
And then Wade stumbles upon the first puzzle.
Suddenly the whole world is watching, and thousands of competitors join the hunt—among them certain powerful players who are willing to commit very real murder to beat Wade to this prize. Now the only way for Wade to survive and preserve everything he knows is to win. But to do so, he may have to leave behind his oh-so-perfect virtual existence and face up to life—and love—in the real world he’s always been so desperate to escape.
This is probably the third time I’ve read this book, but since I’ve never reviewed it, I decided to read it again. I also need to read Ready Player Two, and I decided a re-read was in order before I start that one. I do enjoy this book, but upon this re-read I’m noticing some things that I maybe missed before or that didn’t occur to me. It’s still a fun story, but I feel like there are darker undertones that get ignored when discussing it. Keep an eye out for my review/analysis soon!
2. Crave by Tracy Wolff
My whole world changed when I stepped inside the academy. Nothing is right about this place or the other students in it. Here I am, a mere mortal among gods…or monsters. I still can’t decide which of these warring factions I belong to, if I belong at all. I only know the one thing that unites them is their hatred of me.
Then there’s Jaxon Vega. A vampire with deadly secrets who hasn’t felt anything for a hundred years. But there’s something about him that calls to me, something broken in him that somehow fits with what’s broken in me.
Which could spell death for us all.
Because Jaxon walled himself off for a reason. And now someone wants to wake a sleeping monster, and I’m wondering if I was brought here intentionally—as the bait.
This will be another re-read because I need to get caught up on the series. It’s up to six or seven books now, and I’ve only read the first one! Yes, it’s basically Twilight satire with a modern paint job, but I don’t care. I enjoy reading it, and I especially enjoying talking snark about it online with my friends.
3. Second Spear by Kerstin Hall
Kerstin Hall’s Second Spear is the thrilling follow-up to the Nommo Award finalist, The Border Keeper.
After surviving the schemes of a vengeful goddess and learning some shattering truths about her former life, the warrior Tyn feels estranged from her role guarding her ruler. Grappling with knowledge of her identity, she unleashes her frustrations on all the wrong people.
When an old enemy returns wielding an unstoppable, realm-crushing weapon and Tyn is swept up in the path of destruction, she must make a choice about who she is and who she wants to be.
I meant to read this book a lot sooner, but it took me so long to finish the first one. In fact, after finishing the first one I wasn’t entirely sure if I was even going to read this book. But, I decided it was worth trying just to see if any of the unanswered questions I was left with after finishing The Border Keeper are addressed. Hopefully they are, and I’ve seen more positive reviews for this book.
4. Lucky Girl, How I Became a Horror Writer: A Krampus Story by M. Rickert
Ro, a struggling writer, knows all too well the pain and solitude that holiday festivities can awaken. When she meets four people at the local diner—all of them strangers and as lonely as Ro is—she invites them to an impromptu Christmas dinner. And when that party seems in danger of an early end, she suggests they each tell a ghost story. One that’s seasonally appropriate.
But Ro will come to learn that the horrors hidden in a Christmas tale—or one’s past—can never be tamed once unleashed.
I honestly didn’t even remember what this book was about until I was writing this post. I received an ARC for it via NetGalley, and it’s a relatively short read coming in under 200 pages. It’s also an appropriate October read with all the spooky vibes. I will hopefully be able to sit down soon and finish this in one long reading session.
5. The Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire
Ok, so I know this is sort of cheating since it’s more than one book. I was reading my ARC of the newest book in this series the other day – Lost in the Moment and Found which releases in January 2023. It made me want to re-read the entire series, so I went to the library and picked them all up after work. I don’t think I’ll read these all in one go, one after the other, but they will likely be sprinkled into my Currently Reading posts until I finish my re-read. I also wanted to do this because I’ve never reviewed them all, so look forward to those as well!
What are you planning to read next? Got anything spooky planned for October? Let me know in the comments below!
Tea Rex Reads 