Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Hello! It’s time for another Top Ten Tuesday and today we’re chatting about our Summer reading plans! There could have been some crossover from last week’s Most Anticipated Releases Of The Second Half of 2019 post so I’ve not used any of the books I’ve listed there so there’s plenty of new books to discuss! Hope you enjoy!

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1.Between Shades Of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Summary: from Amazon

That morning, my brother’s life was worth a pocket watch . . .

One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia.

An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn’t know if she’ll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope.

Lina hopes for her family.
For her country.
For her future.
For love – first love, with the boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose . .

Will hope keep Lina alive?

Why:

I’m really excited to finally be reading something by this author because I have heard nothing but good things about her books. I’ve read a lot of fiction and non-fiction based on World War Two but this perspective involving Lithuania and the horrors people like Lina faced is not one I’ve encountered before. I think it will be a powerful read, all the more harrowing because it is based on the accounts of survivors.

2.Black Dahlia, Red Rose by Piu Eatwell

Summary: from Amazon

On 15th January 1947, the naked, dismembered body of a black-haired beauty, Elizabeth Short, was discovered lying next to a pavement in a Hollywood suburb. She was quickly nicknamed The Black Dahlia.

The homicide inquiry that followed consumed Los Angeles for years and the authorities blew millions of dollars of resources on an investigation that threw up dozens of suspects. But it never was solved.

Until now.

In this ground-breaking book, Piu Eatwell reveals compelling forensic and eye witness evidence for the first time, which finally points to the identity of the murderer. The case was immortalised in James Ellroy’s famous novel based on the case, in Kenneth Anger’s Hollywood Babylon and Brian de Palma’s movie The Black Dahlia.

Why:

I love reading True Crime books as long as they’re well written and well researched and I’m hoping this will be both. It’s a really famous case but not one I actually know much about and Black Dahlia, Red Rose was on a list of great true crime books I was perusing so it’s now on my summer TBR!

3.Romanov by Nadine Brandes

Summary: from Amazon

From the author of Fawkes comes a magical take on the story of Anastasia Romanov. The history books say I died. They don’t know the half of it. Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them . . . and he’s hunted Romanov before. Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are either to release the spell and deal with the consequences, or to enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya’s only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction for Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her . . . That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.

Why:

I received this one in last months Book Box Club Subscription box and I’m quite intrigued by it. I find the Romanov family endlessly fascinating but everything I’ve read about them has been non-fiction so I’m really interested to see how their story works in a fiction book. Book Box Club are great at picking their featured reads so I’m optimistic!

4. A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes

Summary: from Amazon

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of all of them. . .

In the middle of the night, Creusa wakes to find her beloved Troy engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of brutal conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over, and the Greeks are victorious. Over the next few hours, the only life she has ever known will turn to ash . . .

The devastating consequences of the fall of Troy stretch from Mount Olympus to Mount Ida, from the citadel of Troy to the distant Greek islands, and across oceans and sky in between. These are the stories of the women embroiled in that legendary war and its terrible aftermath, as well as the feud and the fatal decisions that started it all. . .

Powerfully told from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships gives voices to the women, girls and goddesses who, for so long, have been silent.

Why:

I read The Amber Fury by Natalie Haynes a few years ago and loved it – it also had a big dose of mythology in it and it was beautifully written so I have no idea how A Thousand Ships seems to have been totally off my radar until very recently. I think it’s because recent and highly publicised The Silence of The Girls by Pat Barker covers an almost identical sounding story but I’m still more than happy to read Haynes’ take on the Trojan War.

5.This Mortal Boy by Fiona Kidman

Summary: from Amazon

Auckland, October 1955. If young Paddy Black sings to himself he can almost see himself back home in Belfast. Yet, less than two years after sailing across the globe in search of a better life, here he stands in a prison cell awaiting trial for murder. He pulled a knife at the jukebox that night, but should his actions lead him to the gallows? As his desperate mother waits on, Paddy must face a judge and jury unlikely to favour an outsider, as a wave of moral panic sweeps the island nation.

Fiona Kidman’s powerful novel explores the controversial topic of the death penalty with characteristic empathy and a probing eye for injustice.

Why:

I’m really looking forward to delving into this one. The topic of the death penalty is so hotly-debated and I’m always interested in reading a story concerning it. It sounds like an intriguing case and I have no idea what happened so I’m going into this one pretty blind.

6.Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Summary: from Amazon

They were the new icons of rock and roll, fated to burn bright and not fade away.
But on 12 July 1979, it all came crashing down.

There was Daisy, rock and roll force of nature, brilliant songwriter and unapologetic drug addict, the half-feral child who rose to superstardom.

There was Camila, the frontman’s wife, too strong-willed to let the band implode – and all too aware of the electric connection between her husband and Daisy.

There was Karen, ice-cool keyboardist, a ferociously independent woman in a world that wasn’t ready for her.

And there were the men surrounding them: the feuding, egotistical Dunne brothers, the angry guitarist chafing on the sidelines, the drummer binge-drinking on his boat, the bassist trying to start a family amid a hedonistic world tour. They were creative minds striking sparks from each other, ready to go up in flames.

It’s never just about the music…

Why:

This one was getting so much buzz a little while ago and even though it’s not a book I would generally gravitate towards since music isn’t a topic that hugely interests me I still bought it because I was curious. For some reason, it seems to me like a good choice for a summer read and I’m really hoping it will live up to it’s hype.

7.Perfectly Preventable Deaths by Deirdre Sullivan

Summary: from Amazon

Sixteen-year-old twins Madeline and Catlin move to a new life in Ballyfrann, a strange isolated Irish town, a place where the earth is littered with small corpses and unspoken truths. A place where, for generations, teenage girls have gone missing in the surrounding mountains. As distance grows between the twins – as Catlin falls in love, and Madeline begins to understand her own nascent witchcraft – Madeline discovers that Ballyfrann is a place full of predators. And when Catlin falls into the gravest danger of all, Madeline must ask herself who she really is, and who she wants to be – or rather, who she might have to become to save her sister.

Why:

This is one which got me just on the cover alone which I LOVE but I also love the spooky sounding theme of witchcraft it involves and I can’t wait to give it a read. It seems like it will be an atmospheric and quite sinister story and Deirdre Sullivan is a very well regarded author so I’m rather excited for this one.

8.You by Caroline Kepnes

Summary: from Amazon

When aspiring writer Guinevere Beck strides into the bookstore where Joe works, he is instantly smitten.

But there’s more to Joe than Beck realises and much more to Beck than her perfect facade. And the obsessive relationship quickly spirals into a whirlwind of deadly consequences…

Why:

I loved the Netflix series so I feel like I almost have to read the book now because as we all know – the book is almost always better! I think it will be interesting to see the differences between the two although it will be difficult to separate the characters from the TV show representations of them!

9. What Red Was by Rosie Price

Summary: from Amazon

‘Kate Quaile,’ he said. ‘I like your name.’
Kate frowned. ‘How do you know my name?’

Throughout their four years at university, Kate and Max are inseparable. For him, she breaks her solitude; for her, he leaves his busy circles behind. But loving Max means knowing his family, the wealthy Rippons, all generosity, social ease and quiet repression. Theirs is not Kate’s world. At their London home, just after graduation, her life is shattered apart in a bedroom while a party goes on downstairs.

What Red Was explores the effects of trauma on mind and body, the tyrannies of memory, the sacrifices involved in staying silent, the courage of a young woman in speaking out. And when Kate does, this question: whose story is it now?

Why:

I picked this one up when I was browsing in Waterstones a little while ago and I’ve had it sitting on my shelf since but I’m definitely going to pick it up this summer. It sounds like a timely, intense and complicated story which I’m hoping will live up to my high expectations for it.

10.The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

Summary: from Amazon

Tiffy and Leon share a flat
Tiffy and Leon share a bed
Tiffy and Leon have never met…

Tiffy Moore needs a cheap flat, and fast. Leon Twomey works nights and needs cash. Their friends think they’re crazy, but it’s the perfect solution: Leon occupies the one-bed flat while Tiffy’s at work in the day, and she has the run of the place the rest of the time.

But with obsessive ex-boyfriends, demanding clients at work, wrongly imprisoned brothers and, of course, the fact that they still haven’t met yet, they’re about to discover that if you want the perfect home you need to throw the rulebook out the window…

Why:

This is really not the kind of book I go for at all but I think it’s good to mix it up occasionally and I do read a lot of grim books so sometimes it’s quite nice to read something with a bit more lightness and heart! Plus the story just sounds so wonderfully unusual and interesting. The Flatshare has been getting rave reviews from plenty of reviewers I trust so I’m really excited to give it a go!

Well there you go – ten books from my Summer TBR! I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments on any of these if you’ve already read them and I can’t wait to read about all of your Summer TBR lists! Lets chat in the comments! Happy Tuesday!

xxx