Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish, and is now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. It’s all about books, lists and sharing the love we have of both with our bookish friends. This week we’re celebrating the books we loved but somehow never wrote a review for.

2019 was a really bad blogging year for me in terms of reviews: work was tough, brain was tired, I just didn’t have the energy to cudgel it into writing reviews late at night. To make amends of sorts, I did a top ten of books that I hadn’t reviewed yet at year’s end… of which I’ve still only ever reviewed two.

But 2019 was hardly the first time I’d failed to review a book. I’ve been reading a lot longer than I’ve been blogging, and while I initially committed to review every read I haven’t always managed. So hooray for this week’s topic, the perfect excuse to list ten books I’d like to review (and in most cases am willing to reread to make that happen).

To Kill A Kingdom – Alexandra Christo

Who wants a fairytale about voiceless girls pining for a prince when they can have a story about murdermaids cutting out princes’ hearts to prove their loyalty to the endlessly cruel Sea Queen? Everybody here thinks they’re more evil than they really are, but it’s a lot of fun.

 

The Poison Song – Jen Williams

Look, I’ve talked about The Winnowing Flame series plenty – I’ve even discussed The Poison Song at length (‘ware, spoilers) – but I never actually reviewed it. Guess I better plan a reread! What a shame…

 

Among Others – Jo Walton

This is one of two books I consistently expect to be able to link to my review of, only to remember I never wrote one. I recall adoring this poignant story of a lonely outsider connecting with the works of classic SF, but I read it before I began blogging.

 

The Ocean at the End of the Lane – Neil Gaiman

…and this would be the other one I never remember I haven’t reviewed. It took me a while to realise I’m not a Gaiman fan: he’s hit and miss for me, but this childhood reimagining hit me straight between the eyes.

 

The Books of Ambha – Tasha Suri

Tasha Suri cemented herself as a must-read author with Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash – tales of courage, magic, sacrifice and love against all odds in a Mughal-inspired secondary world. But I inhaled each without taking notes at times when life got in the way of me writing a review on the spot, leaving me simply with UGH SO GOOD READ IT READ IT NOW.

 

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld – Patricia McKillip

Another I feel I ought to review for my intermittent series on classic SF. I read this years ago and recall it as hauntingly beautiful – safe to say I’ll be rereading it at some point (but it’s a long way down the list, behind books I haven’t actually read yet).

 

Children of Time – Adrian Tchaikovsky

I didn’t love Tchaikovsky’s modern classic at all, although I doff hat off to him because it really is brilliantly executed. It deserves a review, but all I have for you is “no, this is NOT okay if you’re not okay with spiders” (even when they’re more sympathetic than their human antagonists).

 

Record of a Spaceborn Few – Becky Chambers

I’ve read the third volume of the Wayfarers sequence twice without ever achieving a review. 2019 was simply a dreadful year for reviews or me, but at least this got some love during the SciFiMonth read-along. Third time lucky? Probably – you know there will be a third time.

 

The Lights Go Out In Lychford – Paul Cornell

…what was I saying about 2019? Yeah, that. The fourth Witches of Lychford novella was as heartbreaking as anticipated, and leaves me terrified for the final instalment this autumn. Expect a full reread and review before Christmas.

 

Night Waking – Sarah Moss

This was my first encounter with Sarah Moss, and she won my heart on the spot with her frustrated, sleep-deprived historian. Again, I read it long before I started blogging – it’s on my list for a Throwback Thursday reread at some point.

 

Any books you’ve read that you’d like to review but haven’t for whatever reason?