Top Ten Books on my Winter TBR pile

Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish): 10 books on my winter TBR pile. This year, I am going to finish the Debut Author Challenge. Come Hell or high water, I will succeed. That means I need to get 6 more debut books off my TBR shelves before the end of the year! And once I’m done with those I am going to get to those fabulous sequels that somehow I never have time for.

The Debut 2011 Authors:

 

1. Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton – I’ve heard nothing but brilliant things about Tessa’s work, so I fully expect Blood Magic to live up to the hype it has gotten. So much so that I even bought this book in hardback!

2. Unearthly by Cynthia Hand – I’ve read reviews of Unearthly written by people who usually dislike YA PNR, especially the type with angels! So, I am sure I am going to love it.

3. Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini – I’ll be honest, I’m not that excited about Starcrossed… am I off my head for being skeptical?

4. Die for Me by Amy Plum – Oh, Paris. I am expecting Phantom of the Opera and fully expect to get it!

5. Darkness Becomes Her by Kelly Keaton – Another urban fantasy author breaks into the YA market! I love it when adult authors write for YA audiences, so I expect very good things from Kelly.

6. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – This book is stunning and yet utterly disturbing. I simply can’t imagine not adoring it.

The YA sequels I have been longing to read:

7. Muse by Rebecca Lim – I adore Rebecca’s Mercy series (read my reviews of Mercy and Exile) and cannot wait to start this. If it weren’t for the Debut Author priorities, I would be all over this book right now!

8. Forever by Maggie Stiefvater –  I KNOW. How could I not have read this book?? I really really really adore this series, and I cannot wait to start Forever… no, really!

9. Defiance by Lili St. Crow – It makes me sad and excited to know that this series is complete – can’t wait to see what violence Dru has been up to!

10. Rip Tide by Kat Falls – I absolutely adored Dark Life, which unfortunately didn’t get the praise it deserved. Still, cannot wait to start on the sequel! (Btw, make sure you buy the US version of this book. The UK cover is something awful!)

Shelf Analysis: The Big Red Dress

So, has anyone else noticed something rather red about YA covers as of late? Big, red and rather poofy?

Yes, I am talking about all the gorgeous red dresses that are gracing YA book covers. While I absolutely love all these covers, I am rather perplexed by the trend.  Was there a fashion notice that I missed?  Should I be rushing out and buying matching gowns to go with my books?

 
 
Dark Heart Rising by Lee Monroe
Forgiven by Janet Fox
 
 
 
Unearthly by Cynthia Hand
Captured by Maggie L. Wood
 
 
 
Falling Under by Gwen Hayes
Die for Me by Amy Plum

 

Dark Angel by Eden Maguire

Supernaturally by Kiersten White (Thank you, Maggie, for pointing this one out!)

 
 
I feel like I’ve missed some out – are there any other red dress books I’ve skipped?  Not that seven nine is exactly a small number… in fact, I didn’t realise how many red dress books there were out there until I put together this post. And any thoughts on the trend?  While I like it, I’m not sure I get it…