This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, asks us for ten books on our spring TBR. I have a lot more than ten books that I would like to read this spring, but I’ve chosen a selection of them to list below.
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1. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins – I’ll be reading this soon for a blog tour on the 10th of April.
2. Sprig Muslin by Georgette Heyer – I have a few unread Heyer novels on my shelf, but this one is a library book so I will need to read it first.
3. The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb – Having read and loved Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders Trilogy and Tawny Man Trilogy over the last few years, I think it’s time to move on to her next series, The Rain Wild Chronicles!
4. The Duke’s Children by Anthony Trollope – This is on my Classics Club list. I’m looking forward to reading it as it will bring the wonderful Palliser series to a close and will mean I can then try some of Trollope’s standalones.
5. The Butterfly Room by Lucinda Riley – I’ve received a review copy of Lucinda Riley’s latest novel, which is being published in May.
6. A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay – On my NetGalley shelf. I can’t wait to read Kay’s new historical fantasy novel inspired by Renaissance Italy.
7. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes – There have been several retellings of the Trojan War from female perspectives recently and this is another one.
8. The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch – I’ve just finished re-reading Howatch’s Cashelmara and it has left me wanting to move straight on to a re-read of this one.
9. The Surgeon’s Mate by Patrick O’Brian – It’s been far too long since I last read an Aubrey/Maturin book. This will be my seventh.
10. The King’s Evil by Andrew Taylor – I enjoyed the first two books in Andrew Taylor’s Marwood and Lovett series, so I’m expecting to enjoy this one too.
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As well as these books, I will be continuing to take part in the Agatha Christie Challenge for which I’ve been reading one Christie novel every month, and I also need to choose something to read for the upcoming 1965 Club in April. I have lots of books to explore from this year’s Walter Scott Prize longlist too! I think it’s safe to say that I won’t be running out of things to read in the near future.
Have you read – or will you be reading – any of these books? What is on your spring TBR?
She Reads Novels 
These all look so tempting.
I’ve read The King’s Evil and think it’s just as good as the first two in his Marwood and Lovett series – I hope you’ll enjoy it too. Years ago I read lots of Susan Howatch’s books (her Starbridge series), but not The Wheel of Fortune – I missed that one, it looks good!
I loved the first two Marwood and Lovett books – I’m pleased to hear you think The King’s Evil is just as good! I can’t remember much about The Wheel of Fortune, but I know it was my favourite of the Susan Howatch books I read years ago, so I’m looking forward to reading it again.
Sprig Muslin is delightful. You”ll love it.
Oh, that’s good to know! I do usually enjoy Heyer’s books so I have high hopes for it. 🙂
If i’m a Hobb newbie, which one of her series would you recommend I start with?
You should definitely start with the Farseer Trilogy, which begins with Assassin’s Apprentice. It’s the first chronologically and all of her other series follow on from there.
Great list! Georgette Heyer, Robin Hobb, Anthony Trollope and Natalie Haynes are all authors I really want to check out. I started The Confessions of Frannie Langton recently and I’m enjoying it so far. 🙂 Happy reading!
Thanks! I’m glad you’re enjoying The Confessions of Frannie Langton – I’ll be starting it soon. 🙂
The Duke’s Children can turn into a bit of a slog, Trollope being a proponent of the why-use-one-word-when-six-will-do school of writing, but it’s a satisfying ending to the Palliser saga; I hope you enjoy it!
Well, I’ve enjoyed the other books in the Palliser series (although I think all of them were a bit of a slog in places) so I’m expecting to enjoy The Duke’s Children too!
Yeah, he’s remarkably rewarding even when he’s going on a bit…!
Even though they’re short and entertaining, I imagine a Christie novel each month is something to keep track of. I found it difficult to keep up with a single Mazo de la Roche, when I was reading through her 16 Jalna books, even though they’re light and fun mostly. It ended up taking me two years instead of one, because I kept taking a “month off” now and again, for various likely-unimportant-to-anyone-else-bookish reasons. Good luck with your spring reading plans!
So far the three Christie novels I’ve read this year have all been very different (a Poirot, a book written under her Mary Westmacott pseudonym, and a Miss Marple). I’m not sure if I will continue to read one every month for the rest of the year – it might become too much – but I’m looking forward to reading at least a few more.
I like the covers of some of these a lot. Of course, I think you’ll enjoy the Heyer, which is the only one I have read. I read a bunch of the Patrick O’Brien books years back, but I never got as far in the series as that one. My Trollopes have been the Barchester ones. I don’t often find the political ones around here. Happy reading!
Thanks. I’m sure I’ll enjoy the Heyer. I think the Patrick O’Brian series is getting better with each book so I’m looking forward to reading The Surgeon’s Mate.
Maybe I should try it again. The problem is that I read the books so long ago, I don’t remember them.
That is an awesome list! I am somewhat seriously considering reading A Suitable Boy this spring but what if it kills my books read stat for the whole year? Ha Ha.
It will be worth it if you enjoy the book! The length does look daunting, though. Good luck if you do decide to read it. 🙂
Andrew Taylor is one I would enjoy I think having read Ashes of London some time ago
If you enjoyed The Ashes of London I would definitely recommend reading the second book in the series, The Fire Court, which I thought was even better.
well it turns out I haven’t read Ashes – I mixed it up with something else entirely……But I do have it on my e-reader…
Oh well, I hope you enjoy it anyway when you get to it.
I haven’t read any of these, I hope there are some good ones for you – you’re right you won’t be running out of things to read! Good Luck.
Thanks! I’m sure there will be some great ones amongst these ten. 🙂
I’ll definitely be reading The King’s Evil at some point, I’m enjoying his Fire Court at the moment.
I enjoyed The Fire Court – I thought it was even better than The Ashes of London. I’ll probably be starting The King’s Evil in the next few days.
Great list of books! I just finished reading Sprig Muslin and I totally loved it. Sir Gareth and Amanda made me smile all the way through. 🙂
I’m glad you loved it! I’ll look forward to meeting Sir Gareth and Amanda. 🙂
Awesome list! I LOVE Sprig Muslin!
I’m glad to hear that! I’m sure I will love it too. 🙂
I’ve probably read Sprig Muslin but I can never remember which Heyer is which till I start reading them! I’ll be reading both Frannie Langton and A Brightness Long Ago over the next couple of months, so I hope we both enjoy them! Happy reading!
Thanks! I’ll look forward to comparing thoughts on Frannie Langton and A Brightness Long Ago. 🙂
The Confessions of Frannie Langton is high on my spring TBR list, and I’ll probably pick up one of my unread Heyer’s soon too. I’m very curious about A Thousand Ships, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts on it. Happy spring reading, Helen!
Thank you! I’ve just started Frannie Langton and it seems good so far. 🙂
I have fond feelings about Sprig Muslin!
I read far too many O’Brian’s too close together so I’ve never finished the set nor gone back and reread any. I’d be more likely to reread Hornblower instead, I think. I think O’Brian is the better writer but I like Hornblower as a character better.
I managed to read A Brightness Long Ago back in December when I found an ARC. It’s set about a generation before Children of Earth and Sky. In his best books, certain characters or scenes will strike deep and make me go, “Oh.” I can’t remember any from this book but it probably needs a reread. It’s GGK so very good anyway.
It sounds as though everyone has enjoyed Sprig Muslin! I’ve never read any Hornblower – nautical fiction has never really appealed to me at all, but so many people were recommending Patrick O’Brian that I decided to try his books anyway and was surprised by how much I liked them. Maybe I’ll give Hornblower a try too one day.
I’m glad you thought A Brightness Long Ago was good, even if it wasn’t one of his best. My favourites by Kay so far are Tigana and The Lions of Al-Rassan, although I haven’t read all of his others yet.
Helen, I haven’t read any of these, however it looks like you have a really selection of books to look forward to. Happy spring reading! 🙂
Thank you! I’m glad you think it looks like a good selection. 🙂
I’m also reading The Duke’s Children this spring — I belong to an online Trollope reading group which has been reading the ENTIRE Pallisers series the past two years, and have finally got to the one I haven’t read yet! They’re specifically reading the new restored edition available from Everyman’s Library. I’m really looking forward to it.
The group’s web address is https://trollope.groups.io/g/main if you’re interested in joining in.
It has taken me a lot more than two years to read the Pallisers (I read Can You Forgive Her? in 2014). I do love Trollope but have to be in the right mood for starting one of his books. I’m not sure that I could commit to a group read, but I hope you enjoy it!