Earl Grey Books

Back in June, I made my little TBR for Winter as part of Top Ten Tuesday, and I thought it would be fun to start looking back at these seasonal TBRs as I go. This Tuesday I’ll be sharing my TBR for Spring, so when’s a better time to share this than now?

What I Read

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon & Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan

I talked about these two quite a lot when I read them in back in July, so if you’re interested in hearing my thoughts about them checking out my Favourites & Disappointments post from then. Basically, I really loved Girls of Paper and Fire but was quite disappointed in The Priory of the Orange Tree—it felt like it could’ve been a much better book with 300 pages less, or by cutting the other perspectives.

Orlando by Virginia Woolf

I picked this one up in August, and I also talked about it in my Favourites & Disappointments post but obviously for August. Spoiler; I was disappointed in this one. I had expected to love it because I really enjoyed Mrs Dalloway, but I found it kind of dull and confusing.

With The Fire On High by Elizabeth Acevedo

I’m so happy that I ended up getting to this one in August. After a pretty disappointing reading month, I needed something that I just really enjoyed and this definitely delivered.

Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron

I picked this one up right at the start of September and had very high hopes for it. I didn’t enjoy half as much as I expected to. I struggled with the pacing—it takes forever to get started and then everything happens at once. The writing style just wasn’t for me either. A lot of people do really love this, so I think this was just a me thing.

The Inland Sea by Madeleine Watts

I managed to sneak this one in very last minute, which I’m so happy about. I’ve written up a full review of this one, so that’ll be going up next week if you’re interested!

What I Didn’t

Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I really intended to get to this one, but I ended up just not feeling like it. I’ve been struggling a little with classics lately, so that was one factor. I’ve had this one on my TBR for a number of years, but I’ve been more focused on getting some of my more recent purchases read these past few months. I’m feeling okay about this still sitting on my shelves for now.

Top End Girl by Miranda Tapsell

Again, I just wasn’t really in the mood for this one lately. I have to be in a particular mindset for memoirs, especially as I rarely read them, and I’m just not in that space at the moment. I’ll get to this soon, I’m sure!

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa

This was meant to be a reread so I could continue the rest of the series. And honestly, I tried it! But I found it really difficult to get through and ended up deciding I just wasn’t interested in it at all anymore.

Jade City by Fonda Lee

I feel like this is one of those books that I’m going to want to be able to get the sequel of quickly if I really enjoy it. I haven’t let myself buy any books since August, and I intend on doing the same in November again. So if I end up reading this in October, I’ll let myself get the sequel as part of my birthday haul.

I think I did pretty well to get through six of them. I’ll be sharing my Spring TBR on Tuesday for TTT, so remember to check back if you’re interested in seeing that!