One day–one day–I will do a monthly TBR post right at the start of said month and angels will weep in joy (and flood the world and usher in a post-apocalypse). But alas, today is not that day.
These are the books that I will 100% get to by the end of this month, either because I have to or because I really, really want to. I’m on a bit of a sci-fi kick lately and that seems to be carrying into July, as there are 3 on this list! (Fantasy purist teenage-me would be flabbergasted)
➽ Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers:
Currently reading through this one and I’m pleasantly surprised. It’s like a cross of Mass Effect and a cozy soap opera, and I can see why people call the series “hopepunk.” It’s my first experience with a Chambers’ novel and it sure as hell won’t be the last.
➽ And the Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness (Illustrated by Rovina Cai):
Moby Dick but flipped upside-down, with whales hunting a mythical man. I just finished it the other day and it’s weird but it works. And I just adore Ness’ stories in general. If the guy announces one day that he wants to write an Austen-esque anthropomorphic animal erotica, I’ll just nod and say, “When can I preorder?”
➽ Redemption’s Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky:
A high fantasy novel that I know very little about (the blurb is rather vague), but I liked Tchaikovsky’s previous books and I’ve heard good things about this one from Susy, so I’m looking forward to diving into it.
➽ Empire of Silence (The Sun Eater 1) by Christopher Ruocchio:
I’ve been craving a large, sprawling scifi epic and this looks to hit all the marks. It’s been compared to The Name of the Wind and from what little I’ve seen, the prose is just my kind of flowery.
➽ Temper by Nicky Drayden:
Drayden’s debut Prey of Gods was a fun blend of sci-fi and fantasy, and Temper looks to continue that trend, albeit in a slightly darker direction. It features twin brothers, jealousy, and a whole lot of demons. Very exciting.
➽ Dragon Age: Hard in Hightown by Varric Tethras
➽ The Adventure Zone: Here there Be Gerblins
It probably says a lot about me that my two most anticipated reads of this month are a 72-page video game tie-in novelette and a comic book adaptation of a D&D podcast. Dragon Age and The Adventure Zone are two of my favourite things in the world and it is fairly ridiculous how excited I am for these books.
DISCWORD READ-A-THON
For those who have missed the original announcement post, Nicole and I are launching our Discworld Readathon this month, starting with The Colour of Magic! Each month we’ll read through one book in the Discworld series and post our reviews on the last Monday. You can join in for any month and stop at any time.
It’s my first official foray into the Discworld universe and I’m very excited to get to know all the characters whom I’ve heard so many great things about.
If you haven’t yet signed up for July and would like to join in, leave a comment below and we’ll add you to our list!
What are you most looking forward to reading this month?
Pages Below the Vaulted Sky 
Good luck with your TBR!!! 🙂 And thank you for mentioning me! ❤ I really hope you would enjoy it!!! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! And I can’t wait!! 😀
LikeLike
What a great line-up and I, too, haven’t done a monthly roundup in a timely manner. In fact I don’t think I’ve done a monthly roundup most of this year… I also want to get hold of the Becky Chambers book – I’ve read the other two she has written and loved them. The Patrick Ness looks great, too. I’ve got Redemption’s Blade but haven’t yet read it – Himself has though and says it’s great. Enjoy your reading month – I love the sound of the Discworld readathon and if I hadn’t fallen so badly behind with my review reads this month already, I’d been really up for it. There aren’t many books I would consider rereading but Pratchett’s are up there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There’s just something about Becky Chambers’ writing that makes me so feel good about humanity and life in general, which is something I rarely ever experience with scifi stories.
And you’re absolutely welcome to join the readathon any month when you’re not too busy! It’s projected to be a 4-year endeavor (which sounds a little crazy), so we’re in it for the long haul. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, I completely agree with you regarding Becky Chambers. And thank you – I love the sound of the Discworld readathon and given that we have all the books, it is one I may well jump into:))
LikeLike
Sounds like a great month! Is the Becky Chambers series all standalones? Because that’s book three, right?
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is indeed book three! I’m sure there are references to previous books I’m missing, but they’re not direct sequels (no repeat characters as far as I’m aware) and I’m having no trouble following the story line!
LikeLike
Good to know, thanks!
LikeLike
Some real good ones here! Have fun.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you! 😀
LikeLike
Wow! Looks like you’re going to have an amazing reading month! I cannot wait to read Record of a Spaceborn Few. Those books are amazing.
And the Ocean Was Our Sky sounds interesting, though I’ve never read Moby Dick so maybe I should read that first haha!
Have to get around to reading Redemption’s Blade this month as well. I’ve never read anything by Adrian Tchaikovsky, though I’ve had Children of Time sitting on my ereader for the past year.
Good luck! Looking forward to your reviews 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha I think the only real pre-requisite for enjoying And the Ocean Was Our Sky is being okay with whale violence. No need to read Moby Dick! 😛
And I hope Redemption’s Blade works out for the both of us! Look forward to your thoughts on it. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good to know! I’ll keep that mind.
LikeLike
Ooh, the new Becky Chambers book! I loved the first two!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will definitely be picking up the first two after this one!
LikeLike
Kathy, I am impressed you did this post, no matter the timing! I sat down with my blog calendar this morning, and I actually wrote things on it…when I did that, I saw that I have once again overcommitted myself to reviews, so other posts go on the back burner. So see- you really are doing awesome! And best of luck with your TBR this month! 💗
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m constantly amazed by how you manage to write so many quality reviews in such a short amount of time, so you are a huge source of encouragement for me, Jennifer!
Happy July to the both us us! May our TBRs treat us well. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lol what are these “planned” blog posts and “beginning of the month” TBR’s people speak of???
I’ve never read anything by Patrick Ness, but a book about whales chasing a mythical man sounds interesting. I keep seeing Empire of Silence around! I think I might have to eventually pick up The Name of the Wind this year even though I said I wouldn’t until something about the third book is out because newer books keep being compared to it.
LikeLike
I love the Discworld books. I think I have read them all at this point but I might join in on the months you are reading one of my favorites. I am jealous that you got an early copy of Patrick’s next book. I agree, even if I don’t totally get his books, I will read anything he writes. I spent a year one summer reading Moby Dick so I am excited to see how he switches it around. Don’t worry about being late with the TBR post, most of the blogs I follow don’t get them up till a few days into the month. I have even seen a few in the middle of a month. Good post.
LikeLike
Oooh, Discworld readathon sounds exciting! Small Gods is one of my favorite books of all time–I’ve only read about 3 Discworld books but I keep meaning to read more.
I’m REALLY looking forward to Record of a Spaceborn Few because I absolutely loved the first two books.
Looks like a great reading month!
LikeLike
Looks like a Sci-Fi/Fantasy filled month! How fun!!!
Looking forward to hearing what you think about some of them– most of these look really interesting ^_^
LikeLike
I’m so happy to hear you’re enjoying the new Becky Chambers. I’m hoping to get to that one too this month, but July is also going to be super busy for me, so we’ll see! Excited about your Mass Effect comparison though!
LikeLike
I totally need that mass effect soap opera in my life! 😂
How I never heard of it before is a mystery…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know right? Can’t believe I didn’t pick up a Chambers book sooner!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I adore Discworld but I am always a tiny bit sad when people start with The Colour of Magic because I think it took a few books before he really got into his stride!! It’s still an enjoyable book though, and I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I heard from people that the first four-ish books can/should be skipped, but I figured for the sake of this readathon we should go through all of them, even if it means reading the not-as-great books first. 😀
LikeLike
You know what? If Patrick Ness decides that he wants to write an Austen-esque anthropomorphic animal erotica that you pre-order I will sit here and nod and go, ‘when are you doing your review?’
LikeLike
Sounds like a great month! And the ocean was our sky sounds amazingly weird!! 💖💖
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is super weird! Moby Dick has been turned into “Toby Wick” and I laughed so hard when I first saw the name, which probably wasn’t the author’s intention 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ha ha!! Well, I laughed when I saw the name in this comment… So, I know what you mean!! 😂😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Record of a Spaceborn Few is high on my reading list since I loved her first two Wayfarers books. And The adventure Zone looks awesome! that’s new to me but I’ll have to check that out…
Ooh a Discworld readathon? I’ve been wanting to try Pratchett, I may have to check THAT out too lol.
Great post!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Gah I’m so sorry for replying so late! July’s been a screwy month for the blog. And you’re totally welcome to join us for Discworld in August since Book 1 and Book 2 are more or less standalones!
LikeLike
I am such a terrible planner when it comes to books Kathy. Seriously, I really, really want to read something, then I start reading it…. and then I’m like meh… can’t be bothered. What’s wrong with me? 😉 I then usually pick something trashy and happily forget about everything… including blogging for that matter. So absolutely no worries about sticking to any timelines, I use them for ‘inspiration’ only. 😉 😉
With that said, I honestly don’t know what I’m really looking forward to reading this month. I will be doing buddy read soon with Language of Thorns. I adore Leigh Bardugo’s writing and I am looking forward to her dark(ish) Russian inspired fairy tales. And it’s a buddy read so it’s going to happen, so yes, I’m looking forward to that one for sure… 😉
Happy reading and enjoy The Colour of Magic! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Speaking of being a terrible planner, SUPER sorry for replying to this so late Vera! And omg, I’ve been trying to stick to my book schedule this month and so far I’ve just been gravitating towards trashy romance novels, so I WHOLLY relate! I hope you enjoyed Language of Thorns. I’ve seen samples of the illustrations and wow, they’re gorgeous!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s so funny Kathy but I have been binging on Kristin Hannah’s books even though I normally would not read them that much. I know what you mean! Still reading Language of Thorns 🙈 but really enjoying. Those illustrations are so beautiful.
LikeLike
Amazing Artice Written. I am very much glad to read your article.
I am Following Your From Last 6 Month- Brother and really linking the stuff
you post on your blog on Regular Basis.
Keep Posting blogs like this….. Thanks alot
LikeLiked by 1 person
Empire of Silence looks like the perfect book to forget the world around you… so it goes straight to my “wanted” list 🙂
LikeLike
I love the ship on the cover of “And the Ocean was our Sky”!!! Tho the book sounds a little weird. Good luck with your TBR! I am most looking forward to reading Heroine’s Journey this month!
LikeLike
Looks like a good time! I want to read And the Ocean Was Our Sky so bad, it looks so good!
LikeLike
I probably shouldn’t read your blog, only because my TBR list always pays the price for it. *laugh/cry emoji because I don’t know how to technology* This seriously looks like a killer line up! I can’t wait to read your reviews for these and I’m also so glad that someone is as excited as I am for Hard in Hightown, because WHERE HAS THIS BOOK BEEN ALL MY LIFE!?
LikeLike
Hey Kathy what a great line up you have here! I never used to do a TBR but in March did a reading challenge and bam! It stuck and now I’m really depending on them, though I sneak in a book or three here and there. I enjoyed the Beck Chambers book I read so I hope you enjoy and Adrian T is always quite inventive! Happy Reading! ❤
LikeLike
I don’t think the Moby Dick one would be my kind of book, but I remember reading the blurb and thinking it was such an interesting premise! Yay Temper! That is literally next on my TBR as soon as I finish my current book. And psh, you totally should be excited for adaptations and tie-ins of things you love!
LikeLike
‘One day–one day–I will do a monthly TBR post right at the start of said month and angels will weep in joy (and flood the world and usher in a post-apocalypse). ‘ – my intentions are similar – and similarly never come to fruition. The best laid plans, etc, etc.
You have some good books to look forward to and we share some of the same reads – I’m looking forward to Temper – loved Prey of Gods.
Lynn 😀
LikeLike
Ooh, I have to read the “backwards Moby Dick” one. I know you’re not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but I can pretty much guarantee I’ll enjoy a book if there’s a beautiful ship on the front. A Discworld read-a-thon is a great idea. I’ll be keeping an eye on that as I’ve only read three Discworlds so far and keep meaning to read more.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I just finished the first Discworld book and wasn’t too impressed by it, but people have told me they get much, MUCH better so I’m not too worried. Definitely feel free to join us anytime!
And I really quite liked the backwards Moby Dick book! It’s full of lovely metaphors and illustrations and prose. 🙂
LikeLike
I found there was a significant jump in quality between the first and second Discworld books. Though I read them many months apart, so I could’ve just been in a better mood for the second one!
LikeLike
This post makes me want to read all these books 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha mission accomplished? 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
More books to my list 🤣 I’m down to 4 books on my tbr list so think it needs bulking up 😂
LikeLiked by 1 person