Backlist Books I’m Still Dying To Read

As bloggers, a lot of us tend to get caught up on the shiny new of upcoming releases. I’m certainly guilty of this. But I thought I might take a minute to shoutout some backlist books that sound fabulous that are sitting neglected on my TBR.

As well-meaning as we tend to be as book bloggers, I think we can probably all agree that we have too many books sitting neglected on our TBRs. I like to imagine that somewhere, in some other reality, there are squads of librarians that go into homes filled with neglected books and rescue them, sweeping them away to be fawned over and loved and rehabilitated until they find their forever homes. You know, like the precious pets they are. (Though, I think that would complicate my own position, because . . . yikes. I’d have to invade my own house to rescue my own books, and that would be . . . messy and confusing.)

Thankfully, that’s not a thing here, in this universe. But that doesn’t mean these backlist books don’t still deserve a little bit of love and attention! After all, without them, our TBRs wouldn’t be what they are (literally).

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday is technically supposed to be books from previous seasonal TBRs that I haven’t read yet, but I tend not to make seasonable TBRs. Or, you know, read books off them. So that’s a little redundant. So instead, I decided to just focus all the love on some backlist books that deserve more attention!

I make absolutely no claims at all about the quality of these backlist books. Mainly because I haven’t read them yet, hence the title of this post. For the most part, though, I’ve heard good things from other bloggers about each one of these titles! Which of course makes me excited to pick them up for myself. Just . . . you know . . . not excited enough to go out there and invent time travel in order to manage it? I know, I know, I’m a slacker. So since I can’t really tell you anything about them, I’m going to let the bloggers speak for themselves. Just click the blog name to check out their full reviews of each title!

If you’ve read any of these and highly recommend them, let me know! I might just have to bump them up my fictional ordered TBR in my head that definitely doesn’t exist because I’m a horrible mood reader. 😉

The Bone Ships

Two nations at war. A prize beyond compare.

For generations, the Hundred Isles have built their ships from the bones of ancient dragons to fight an endless war.

The dragons disappeared, but the battles for supremacy persisted.

Now the first dragon in centuries has been spotted in far-off waters, and both sides see a chance to shift the balance of power in their favour. Because whoever catches it will win not only glory, but the war.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy: “Thrilling and atmospheric, The Bone Ships is a rollicking sea adventure with heart, humor and a very large sea dragon.”
  
• Isabelle @ The Shaggy Shepherd: “If you like a world with dragons, windtalkers, coursers, ships, pirates, and epic battles, then this will be the perfect series for you to get lost in.”
  
• Bibliosanctum: “Barker clearly spent a lot of time crafting the world, the people and their culture and their traditions, and I’m happy to say all that hard work paid off in the sheer immersion of the experience. History and mythology intertwine to create a full picture of the setting and to explain how life on the Hundred Isles has developed to become so dark and rife with chaos.”

First Lines:

My Lady Jane

Edward (long live the king) is the King of England. He’s also dying, which is inconvenient, as he’s only sixteen and he’d much rather be planning for his first kiss than considering who will inherit his crown…

Jane (reads too many books) is Edward’s cousin, and far more interested in books than romance. Unfortunately for Jane, Edward has arranged to marry her off to secure the line of succession. And there’s something a little odd about her intended…

Gifford (call him G) is a horse. That is, he’s an Eðian (eth-y-un, for the uninitiated). Every day at dawn he becomes a noble chestnut steed—but then he wakes at dusk with a mouthful of hay. It’s all very undignified.

The plot thickens as Edward, Jane, and G are drawn into a dangerous conspiracy. With the fate of the kingdom at stake, our heroes will have to engage in some conspiring of their own. But can they pull off their plan before it’s off with their heads?

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Kal @ Reader Voracious: “The story flows almost as if it’s being told to me around a campfire; as if it’s been told orally through the ages. I recommend this one to anyone who love banter, found families, and a dose of love.”
  
• Dani @ Literary Lion: “I knew after reading My Plain Jane that I wanted to read every other book these three put out together. Their voices as narrators are hilarious and the characters and stories they craft together are some of the best multi-author works I’ve had the privilege to read.”
  
• Heather @ The Sassy Book Geek: “I don’t usually enjoy historical fiction or romance but the way these ladies wrote it I couldn’t help but love it. It’s hysterical, fun, light-hearted and so very unique and I want you all to go read it ASAP!”

First Lines:

Bear Town

People say Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forest, it is slowly losing ground to the ever encroaching trees. But down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded this town. And in that ice rink is the reason people in Beartown believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals, and they actually have a shot at winning. All the hopes and dreams of this place now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys.

Being responsible for the hopes of an entire town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match is the catalyst for a violent act that will leave a young girl traumatized and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made and, like ripples on a pond, they travel through all of Beartown, leaving no resident unaffected.

Beartown explores the hopes that bring a small community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes for an individual to go against the grain. In this story of a small forest town, Fredrik Backman has found the entire world.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Abby @ Read This, Not That: “Beartown is an impactful tale of family, friendship, love, loyalty, and hope with a wide range of unique and relatable characters. If you love hockey, you’ll devour Beartown. If you don’t care about hockey, you’ll still end up loving Beartown anyway. It’s a story that transcends time, age, location, race, and gender.”
  
• Celeste @ Novel Notions: “Beartown shattered my heart and sharpened the fragments into deadly shrapnel that threatened to rip into those I love. It absolutely wrecked me. And not at all in a healthy, cathartic way. No, I wasn’t myself the entire time I was reading this. I was barely suppressed rage.”
  
• Amy @ Amy’s Bookshelf: “Backman doesn’t pretend that every wronged person will always achieve justice, but what he does not let the reader forget, is that the guilty are guilty no matter their gender, wealth, talent, or age, and we must endeavour to never let the truth remain hidden.”

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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

This is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.

A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all.

To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Space and Sorcery: “One of the best features in this book is its narrative quality, a lightly witty mood that’s kept constant all throughout the story and attains that right balance that’s often so difficult to manage and that K.J. Parker handles with no apparent effort. This, together with a steady pace, made breezing through the book a joy . . .”
  
• Michael @ The Unseen Library: “K. J. Parker’s Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City is an exceptional piece of fantasy fiction that keeps the reader enthralled with its excellent story, fantastic self-aware humour and one of the best depictions of a siege that I have ever had the pleasure of reading.”
  
• Dial H For Houston: “Really, Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City reminded me less of a generic Tolkien homage, and more of Andy Weir’s The Martian. It’s kind of a ‘problem fiction,’ in that the main arc of the story is ‘oh shit, we have a problem, time to think of a way to fix it.’”

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Gods of Jade and Shadow

The Mayan god of death sends a young woman on a harrowing, life-changing journey in this one-of-a-kind fairy tale inspired by Mexican folklore.

The Jazz Age is in full swing, but Casiopea Tun is too busy cleaning the floors of her wealthy grandfather’s house to listen to any fast tunes. Nevertheless, she dreams of a life far from her dusty small town in southern Mexico. A life she can call her own.

Yet this new life seems as distant as the stars, until the day she finds a curious wooden box in her grandfather’s room. She opens it—and accidentally frees the spirit of the Mayan god of death, who requests her help in recovering his throne from his treacherous brother. Failure will mean Casiopea’s demise, but success could make her dreams come true.

In the company of the strangely alluring god and armed with her wits, Casiopea begins an adventure that will take her on a cross-country odyssey from the jungles of Yucatán to the bright lights of Mexico City—and deep into the darkness of the Mayan underworld.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• CW @ The Quiet Pond: “I am still reeling by the sheer magnificence of this book, the immaculate and deft storytelling, and the incredible journey that I’ve been on. Moreover, thinking about this book still makes my heart ache – because it is over and because it was just so perfect and heartrendering.”
  
• Becky @ Becky’s Book Blog: “This book contains everything I enjoy about reading, getting the chance to learn about other cultures folklore/mythology, being swept away on epic adventures and having my heart stings tugged by an unforgettable romance. I can honestly say the only thing I didn’t like about this book was that it was a stand-alone and I would love the author to write more books in this world.”
  
• Éimhear @ A Little Haze Book Blog: “This book to me is the perfect blend of fantasy, mythology and historical fiction. It’s filled with Mayan folklore that truly came alive for me.”

First Lines:

The Goddess of Nothing At All

Perhaps you know the myths.

Furious, benevolent Gods.
A tree that binds nine realms.
A hammer stronger than any weapon.
And someday, the end of everything.

But few have heard of me.

Looking back, it’s easy to know what choices I might have made differently. At least it feels that way. I might have given up on my title. Told my father he was useless, king of Gods or no, and left Asgard. Made a life somewhere else.

Maybe I would never have let Loki cross my path. Never have fallen in love.

But there’s no going back.

We were happy once.

And the price for that happiness was the end of everything.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Cait @ Paper Fury: “THIS BOOK, OH. Just imagine me lying on the ground in a pool of my own tears as I try to recover from this incredible tome. If you like Madeline Miller’s Circe and Song of Achilles — you need this book immediately. It’s Norse Mythology, but make it full of lgbtqia+ characters and world-shattering romance and heart-pounding twists and beautiful writing.”
  
• Dini @ Dini Panda Reads: “If you love Norse mythology, unapologetically queer characters, characters who refuse to give up or back down no matter how many times they’re discarded or beaten down, heart-achingly sweet romance and heartbreakingly painful betrayals, complex and morally grey characters that you want to protect forever and rage against, then I would 100% recommend you read this book because it gives you all that and more.”
  
• Melissa @ The Reader and the Chef: “The Goddess of Nothing At All is the first book of the Unwritten Runes series, a dark fantasy Norse mythology that will keep you at the edge of your seat from page one. And don’t let the easy banter and humor in the beginning of the story trick you, it also gets darker and gory and glorious!”

First Lines:

The Song of Achilles

Achilles, “the best of all the Greeks,” son of the cruel sea goddess Thetis and the legendary king Peleus, is strong, swift, and beautiful, irresistible to all who meet him. Patroclus is an awkward young prince, exiled from his homeland after an act of shocking violence. Brought together by chance, they forge an inseparable bond, despite risking the gods’ wrath.

They are trained by the centaur Chiron in the arts of war and medicine, but when word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped, all the heroes of Greece are called upon to lay siege to Troy in her name. Seduced by the promise of a glorious destiny, Achilles joins their cause, and torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus follows. Little do they know that the cruel Fates will test them both as never before and demand a terrible sacrifice.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Ryan @ Muse With Me: “As was the case when I read her novel Circe a couple of years ago, I marvel at Miller’s ability to novelize mythology while preserving a sense of authenticity. The book blurs the line between history and fantasy, depicting real-world kingdoms of old, inhabited by the gods and spiritual forces they believed in.”
  
• Celeste @ Novel Notions: “The Song of Achilles is a powerful, achingly beautiful retelling of one of our oldest stories. Miller’s take on this classic myth is lyrical, truly a song. I truly believe that The Song of Achilles and Circe will stand the test of time just as well as their Homeric inspirations.”
  
• Emily @ Literary Elephant: “All in all, an excellent read. I positively sped through this one and loved every minute of it. I recommend it to Greek myth fans, to queer romance fans, to character study fans, to Women’s Prize readers, and virtually everyone else. It’s a great retelling, it’s a great story in its own right, and there’s a reason it won a prestigious literary prize.”

First Lines:

Casper Tock and the Everdark Wings

Casper Tock hates risks and is allergic to adventures. So it comes as a nasty shock to him one day when he hides from bullies in an ancient grandfather clock—and ends up finding an entire world inside.

Casper discovers that this sky kingdom of Rumblestar is one of the four Unmapped Kingdoms in charge of controlling the weather in Casper’s own world. What’s more, Casper is now stuck in Rumblestar, and the only person there who doesn’t think he’s a demon spy is a strange girl named Utterly, who hates rules and is allergic to behaving.

All Casper wants is to find his way home, but Rumblestar is in trouble. An evil harpy called Morg is trying to steal the magic of the Unmapped Kingdoms. And if these kingdoms fall, Casper’s world will be destroyed as well.

And so, together with Utterly and her miniature dragon, Arlo, Casper embarks on a quest full of cloud giants, storm ogres, and drizzle hags. Can he, Utterly, and Arlo—the unlikeliest of heroes—save both their worlds from the clutches of Morg?

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• BookCraic: “I absolutely relished the deliciously rich, breath-taking world of Rumblestar which invites the reader to savour its many wonders, including the landscape of floating clouds, spectacular castle and magical creatures. “
  
• Charlotte @ Charlotte, Somewhere: “I laughed a lot reading this book. There is so much to love in the world of Rumblestar: this is one of those books I could reread a hundred times and still find something new in each reading.”
  
• Reader Fox: “This book has so much going for it, from diversity–Casper is half Tanzanian–to expert storytelling. The world-building is truly excellent as well, leaving readers feeling as though they are right there alongside Casper and Utterly as the two continue on their perilous journey through the various quadrants of her world, each one related to the type of weather that the inhabitants must create for the Faraway, what they call our world.”

First Lines:

A Little Hatred

The chimneys of industry rise over Adua and the world seethes with new opportunities. But old scores run deep as ever.

On the blood-soaked borders of Angland, Leo dan Brock struggles to win fame on the battlefield, and defeat the marauding armies of Stour Nightfall. He hopes for help from the crown. But King Jezal’s son, the feckless Prince Orso, is a man who specializes in disappointments.

Savine dan Glokta – socialite, investor, and daughter of the most feared man in the Union – plans to claw her way to the top of the slag-heap of society by any means necessary. But the slums boil over with a rage that all the money in the world cannot control.

The age of the machine dawns, but the age of magic refuses to die. With the help of the mad hillwoman Isern-i-Phail, Rikke struggles to control the blessing, or the curse, of the Long Eye. Glimpsing the future is one thing, but with the guiding hand of the First of the Magi still pulling the strings, changing it will be quite another…

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Drew @ The Tattooed Book Geek: “Some of the characters you will love, some you will hate and, at times you will love the ones you really should hate. There are bastards galore in A Little Hatred and you might even say that A Little Hatred is a brutal yet beautiful bastard of a book.”
  
• Hiu @ The Fantasy Inn: “There’s something about Joe Abercrombie’s world and characters that seems so… vibrant. It’s a cliché, but they really do leap off the page. When you shut the book (as if you could ever bring yourself to), you get the feeling that the characters are still getting on with their lives when you aren’t reading. Plotting and stabbing and posturing.”
  
• Stuart @ Always Trust In Books: “A Little Hatred is a calamitous, savage, witty and extremely compulsive novel that brings Joe Abercrombie’s highly acclaimed grimdark First Law series into the Age Of Madness and I was just glad to be along for the ride.”

First Lines:

The Switching Hour

A bewitchingly beautiful, spine-chilling story of courage, friendship and fears that come alive after dark…

Never stay out after the Switching Hour…

never let the outside in…

Amaya lives with her grandmother, her small brother Kaleb and her pet goat in a land suffering a terrible drought.

Every night, the doors must be locked after twilight, the Switching Hour, because the drought has awoken Badeko, a creature that snatches people away to eat their dreams.

Three days later, the memory that they existed is gone from those that knew them, and those that are left are afflicted with The Sorrow Sickness – a grief which consumes a person without them knowing why.

When Kaleb is taken by Badeko, Amaya must journey into the terrifying forest to find her brother before she forgets him.

What Other Bloggers Are Saying:

• Lilyfae @ Lily and the Fae: “The Switching Hour by Damaris Young is utterly, jaw-droppingly amazing. It’s creeps under your skin until it grips and refuses to let go drifting you deeper and deeper into its spell.”
  
• BookCraic: “This was a captivating, spine-tingling read imbued throughout with an underlying sense of danger in an environment of stifling heat, inspired by the landscape of Southern Africa.  The writing is exquisite and lyrical and took me on the most incredible journey of fear, awe and heartbreak, but also let me see the incredible bravery and strength of others in the face of seeming hopelessness and abject loss.”
  
• Mr. Ripley’s Enchanted Books: “This is a story of courage and bravery as Amaya saves her little baby brother (Kaleb) and the other children that have been taken by the Dream Eater. It is a brilliantly balanced book that lets the imagination feed a turbulent storm. There is just the right amount of backstory and dialogue to keep the reader thoroughly immersed and entertained throughout the unsettling sections. Conquering fears and overcoming challenges are the focus. However, that shiny piece of magic might also just give you a good nip on the back of your arms and legs.”

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