Top Ten Tuesday: Summer 2020 TBR

Since we’re almost to the official first day of summer, let’s talk about summer TBRs! It’s been awhile since I did a Top Ten Tuesday post, hasn’t it? They’re great for when I’m stumped for a topic, though. I have some ideas for other topics, but they were going to take more time than I had to write today. So, we’re going to talk about some of the books on my Summer 2020 TBR!

Granted, there are way more than 10 books on my TBR. But, we can focus on the ones that I’m most excited to read. Also the ones that are coming out this summer! There are a lot of great YA books that got pushed back to late summer/fall release dates due to the Coronavirus. So, we’ll have lots to look forward to this fall!

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme that was created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently run by The Artsy Reader Girl. Check out the last one I did here!

Summer 2020 TBR

1. Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron

This is actually the next ARC up in my pile to read for Pride Month! But the final copy comes out in July. 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, girls are required to appear at an annual ball where their future husband will be selected. If you don’t get a match, then you’re never seen again. Since Sophia would rather marry Erin than one of those men, she plans to run away. When she does, she never expects to run into a descendant of Cinderella. Who is ready to bring the whole kingdom tumbling down.

2. Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender

I am patiently waiting for my copy of this to come in! Well, maybe not so patiently. I ordered it last week from an indie bookstore and I’ve heard so many great things about it! Felix hasn’t ever been in love. Secretly afraid that it’s because he’s a part of too many marginalized groups–Black, queer, transgender–he’s beginning to think it might not be in the cards for him. When he starts getting hate messages online, he sets up a scheme to catch the culprit. Little did he know it would drop him into his own love triangle.

3. Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

The release date for this book actually got pushed back from June till September, but it seems like fall is the perfect time for this book anyway! I was lucky enough to get an ARC from NetGalley, so expect a review soon! Yadriel is determined to prove his gender to his family, so he performs the ritual to become a brujo and hunt the ghost of his cousin and set it free. Instead, he summons Julian Diaz, the school’s resident bad boy. Refusing to leave, Yadriel begrudgingly helps him. But the longer he spends time with Julian, the less he wants him to go back.

4. Trans Like Me by CN Lester

Reading this as a readalong for Pride Month! Which means I should probably get a move on. CN Lester is an academic and activist, taking readers on a journey through a lot of the most pressing issues facing the transgender community. This nonfiction looks at a variety of topics, including pronouns, feminism, and LGBTQ activists, relating events and moments to Lester’s own experiences.

5. The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis

I picked this ARC way back when at work, but then I never got around to reading it. Honestly, this is a good portion of my unread shelf. Anyway! The Good Luck Girls don’t actually have any luck. Sold into slavery and branded with a curse, their life has been anything but. This all changes when one of them accidentally murders a man. Now, they’re on the run, looking for the one thing that might just be able to bring them to freedom.

6. Darius the Great Is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

A new book that I acquired to read during Pride Month! This seems to be the theme of this list. Darius knows more about fictional cultures than his actual one. So, his first trip to Iran brings a lot of anxiety. Especially when dealing with depression and his disapproving father. As he starts to get to know his extended family, he also starts to get to know Sohrab, the boy next door. Their friendship soars, and when it’s time to go back to America, Darius has to figure out how to keep that with him.

7. Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soira

Okay, okay, this is an ARC I’ve actually had forever. I got it in a trade back when I was actively trading ARCs on Twitter, which I haven’t really done in a while. Set in the city of Eldra, people are ruled by ancient prophecies. Cassa, an orphaned daughter of rebels, is determined to fight back against the powers ruling Eldra. To do so, they have to uncover the meaning of the infallible prophecy, before it’s too late.

8. The Cerulean by Amy Ewing

Oh hey, another book that has been on my shelf for awhile. I’m sensing a theme! Especially since I’m not allowing myself to buy books until I’ve read some of the ones I just bought. Sera hasn’t ever really felt at home with her people, the Cerulean. She longs for the Cerulean to be sent to another planet. However, when she’s chosen as a sacrifice to make that happen, she doesn’t know how to feel. When that sacrifice goes wrong, Sera finds herself in a new world. And it’s up to hear to survive.

9. Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

This is an Owlcrate book I got last year, I think; one that I never got to. I’m bad about keeping up on Owlcrate books, honestly. After rescuing a stranger from drowning, Amaya fears that she’s going to be punished. Instead, the man she rescued gives her a way out of the ship where she’s been trapped for years. Desperate to get revenge on the man who trapped her, she makes her way through the dangerous coastal cities. Learning as much about the truth as possible.

10. Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Oh another ARC I got from work but never read. What a trend I’m noticing. Luckily, we haven’t been getting many YA ARCs lately, so I haven’t been tempted. Raised in a library, Elisabeth has grown up around tools of sorcery, even though all sorcerer are evil. When the libraries most dangerous grimoire is released, Elisabeth is wanted for the crime despite her actions to stop it. The only way to save herself is to partner with her enemy, Nathaniel.