There have been some fun Top Ten Tuesday topics over the years, but my favorites are always the seasonal TBR lists.  It's enjoyable to see what everyone's planning to read.  I love seeing which titles my fellow bloggers are excited about, which I need to add to my own list, and which upcoming reads we have in common.  Because I love seasonal TBR lists so much, I actually started mine last week.  If you missed it, here's Part One of Top Ten Upcoming Releases on My Spring TBR.  There are lots of great books coming out in the next few months, so today I'm going to continue the theme with ten more new and upcoming releases that I want to read.

If you want to participate in TTT (and you definitely do), hop on over to That Artsy Reader Girl for all the details.

Top Ten Upcoming Releases on My Spring TBR List (Part Two)  

1.  The Block by Ben Oliver (available May 4, 2021)—I enjoyed the first book in this YA dystopian series about a boy who's been incarcerated in a futuristic prison that's (almost) impossible to escape.  Now that he and his motley crew of buddies have done the impossible, they have to figure out what is going on in the outside world.  Hint:  It's not pretty.

2.  The Most Beautiful Girl in Cuba by Chanel Cleeton (available May 4, 2021)—Not only does this historical have a gorgeous cover, but the story sounds intriguing.  It features three women—one of whom is a New York City reporter, another of whom is a Cuban revolutionary jailed for stirring up trouble, and the third of whom is a courier secretly working for Cuba's freedom.  This trio comes together as their countries brace for war.

3.  Forget Me Not by Alexandra Oliva (released March 2, 2021)—This thriller revolves around a woman who was born to replace a dead child, then left alone to raise herself in a walled-off rural property.  When she sees something she shouldn't, she escapes, only to find herself in a modern world she's not prepared to inhabit.  Although she tries to lose herself in virtual reality, her traumatic childhood has a fierce hold on her, which forces her to return and confront her past.

4.  Girl in the Walls by A.J. Gnuse (available May 11, 2021)—When a new family moves into the home of a girl who has been orphaned, two brothers start catching disconcerting glimpses of a girl who seems to be living inside its walls.  Is she real?  As they try to cast her out, they bring a whole heap of trouble down on their own doorstep.  

5.  The Kingdoms by Natasha Pulley (available May 25, 2021)—This time travel novel featuring a boy with amnesia sounds fun!

6.  A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia (available May 25, 2021)—I've mentioned this YA novel before.  It concerns all the residents of a Louisiana plantation, both those who live in the big house and those who reside in the slave quarters. 

7.  Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian (available May 4, 2021)—The Salem Witch Trials will never not make an intriguing backdrop for a historical novel.  I've enjoyed many titles by Bohjalian, so I'm interested to see what he does with his newest book.

8.  Are We There Yet? by Kathleen West (available today, March 16, 2021)—I enjoyed West's first novel, Minor Dramas and Other Catastrophes, about suburban moms behaving badly.  Her newest concerns another smug mother whose perfect life is upended when she discovers her daughter is struggling, her teenage son has a secret life, and her own mother is keeping a shocking secret.  As she tries to deal with these bombshells under the judgmental eyes of moms just like her, she learns some hard truths.

9.  You'll Thank Me For This by Nina Siegal (available March 23, 2021)—The Dutch tradition of blindfolding teens and tweens and dropping them in the middle of the forest to see if they can find their way home is disturbing to Grace, an American married to a Dutch man.  When her daughter engages in the practice and disappears, Grace is terrified.  On her own in the wilderness, 12-year-old Karin fights for survival against something more sinister than just a silly Dutch tradition while her mother launches a desperate search to find her before it's too late.

10.  Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley (available March 16, 2021)—This YA novel has been getting tons of pre-publication buzz.  It concerns 18-year-old Daunis Fontaine, a young woman who has never quite fit in on her Ojibwe reservation.  She's eager to make a new start at college, but she's pulled back to her hometown because of a family emergency.  When she meets a dashing hockey player, she's intrigued, especially since he seems to be hiding an intriguing secret.  Recruited by the FBI to go undercover in order to root out an illegal drug ring, she becomes enmeshed in a dangerous world that could mean the end of everything that's good about hers.

There you go, ten more new and upcoming releases I'm excited to read this Spring.  Have you read any of them?  What's on your Spring TBR list?  I'd truly love to know.  Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Happy TTT!  

After the unexpected death of her husband, Laura Evans is struggling to make sense out of everything.  She doesn't understand how her cautious spouse could have fallen at the construction site where he was working, especially after hours.  She has no idea how she's going to pay the bills while a stalled inquest halts insurance payments.  She can barely cope with Tilly, her hostile teenage daughter, who's full of grief and attitude.  Losing her husband, her home, and her struggling flower shop leaves Laura with no money, no support, and no future.  How will she and Tilly survive?

When she and Tilly are offered a place at a commune-style organics farm in the Welsh countryside called Gorphwysfa (Resting Place), Laura has little choice but to take it.  The community's charismatic leader, 27-year-old Alex Draycott, is welcoming and Laura feels herself relaxing for the first time since her husband's death.  It's not long, though, before strange things start happening to Laura and Tilly, things that make Laura question whether Gorphwysfa is a dream or a nightmare.  Tilly's happy at the commune, but as Laura digs deeper into the place's secrets, she grows more and more alarmed.  What is really going on at Gorphwysfa?  Are its gates protecting Laura and Tilly from the outside world or are they imprisoning them, barring its inmates from rescue?  Will the grief-stricken women ever find healing and peace?

Other than its Welsh setting, there's nothing very original about The Family by Louise Jensen.  It's your typical "Is this really a safe, bucolic commune for damaged people or is it a creepy, megalomaniac-led cult that will steal both your money and your soul?" novel.  Laura and Tilly are sympathetic characters, but they're not super smart ones.  Laura's actions after arriving at Gorphwysfa make little sense.  Tilly's decisions are just as dumb, but at least hers can be explained by the ignorance of youth.  Although Alex is described as charming, I found him repugnant from the get-go.  It makes no sense that all the women are in love with him.  Ick.  As far as plot goes, the story moves along at a steady pace.  While I saw most of the twists coming, a couple took me by surprise.  Enough happened in the book to keep me reading, but by the end, I was plowing through just to get it over with, really.  In the end, then, I found The Family to be a pretty ho-hum read.  I doubt I'll revisit this author.

(Readalikes:  Hmmm, I can't think of anything.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of The Family with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

Minnie Miranda's single mother—an Argentine-American with no close family—labors tirelessly to support her and her two younger sisters.  Mamá is always working overtime at her menial jobs, leaving Minnie in charge.  When she is in their drafty basement apartment, Mamá is exhausted and cranky.  Despite all her hours at work, the fridge is never full, Minnie's sisters have few toys, and all of them make do with embarrassing castoff clothing.  Although the 12-year-old knows she should be grateful just to have a roof over her head, Minnie's tired of being poor, frustrated with all of her grown-up responsibilities, and especially weary of her mother's constant warnings to never let outsiders into their lives.  Mamá insists they don't need anyone's help with anything.  Minnie's not so sure.

Despite the endless hours she works, Mamá always comes home in the evenings to say goodnight to her girls.  When she fails to appear one night, Minnie hopes Mamá has just been unable to get away.  With no word from her, however, Minnie begins to fear the worst: she's been detained by ICE.  Knowing she can't confide in anyone—not even a surprising new school friend—she carries on as best she knows how, trying to keep her sisters calm, fed, and entertained.  Nothing seems to go her away, although somehow, the girls seem to be getting a bit of help from the Peques, the Argentine fairies Minnie's younger sisters still believe in.

Even the Peques can't help with Minnie's upcoming audition for Peter Pan.  Minnie knows a penniless Latinx girl has no real hope of playing Wendy, but she's desperate to try for the part.  Mamá knows how important the audition is to Minnie and promised to be there.  Is she really going to miss it?  If she could be there, Minnie knows she would be.  What has happened to Mamá?  She can't conceal her family's situation for much longer, but her mother has always insisted strangers can't be trusted.  What is Minnie to do? 

Let's be honest here, the cover of On These Magic Shores by Argentine-American Yamile Saied Méndez is...not great.  Thank goodness it came to my attention because of The Whitney Awards.  Had I seen the book in a library or bookstore, I never would have picked it up.  And that would have been a shame because there's a lot to like about this #OwnVoices middle grade novel.  It touches on a lot of tough issues—racism, poverty, fear of deportation, children with too much responsibility, etc.—in a way that is eye-opening but also approachable.  As Minnie struggles, she learns the value of friendship, forgiveness, asking for help when you need it, and being grateful for what you have even if it's not a lot.  Some of the lessons are more subtle than others, but they're all there.  Although the plot of On These Magic Shores isn't always logical, the transitions between scenes not always smooth, and the prose a little rough in places, overall the story is engaging and compelling with enough going on to keep me turning pages.  The magical realism isn't my favorite element of this novel, but it worked well enough.  Character-wise, Minnie and her sisters are sympathetic heroines.  Minnie's prickly personality makes her difficult to like, especially when she acts like a victim-y brat.  She does grow and change because of her struggles, but she's still a bit hard to take.  Others act inconsistently (Maverick, for instance), but they're still a likable lot overall.  There are enough issues with On These Magic Shores that I didn't end up loving it.  However, it is an eye-opening, empowering, empathy-inducing story.  I liked it overall.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Land of the Cranes by Aida Salazar and Efrén Divided by Ernesto Cisneros)

Ever since the tragic death of her toddler, Ellie has been spiraling.  She's drinking too much, making reckless decisions, and acting out against her billionaire father.  One night, after too many cocktails, she literally stumbles into a handsome, successful real estate developer named Martin Cresswell-Smith.  His interest and gentle kindness are exactly what Ellie needs.  After a whirlwind courtship, the two are married and headed to Martin's native Australia, where they're heading up a multi-million dollar venture to build a luxury resort at Jarrawarra Bay, New South Wales.

Ellie's excited for this much-needed fresh start, but it's not long before her fairy tale life Down Under starts to dissolve.  Not everything about Martin and his building project is what it seems.  When the developer is brutally murdered, suspicion naturally turns to his unstable wife.  Did Ellie kill her new husband?  If so, why?  

Everyone in Jarrawarra Bay thinks Ellie murdered Martin.  Detective Senior Constable Lozza Bianchi isn't so sure.  She saw evidence of Ellie's fear of Martin firsthand.  Didn't she?  Can the widow be believed or is Ellie Cresswell-Smith manipulating everyone around her, including the police?  Lozza's already on thin ice with the department, but she will not stop digging until she knows what really happened to Martin.  The truth is far more sinister than even she imagined...

I'm always down for a compelling psychological thriller and In the Deep by Loreth Anne White sounded like just the ticket.  Was it?  There's no doubt that this is an engrossing novel.  It kept me on an uneven keel throughout, making me wonder who was telling the truth, who was hiding something, and who I could trust.  While I saw some of the plot twists coming, a couple caught me by surprise.  I like a mystery/thriller that keeps me guessing—and this one did.  Ish.  However, In the Deep is dark, violent, and disturbing.  It gave me more than one nightmare.  Not gonna lie, I kept asking myself, "Why am I reading this?"  It's compelling, that's why!  Bad dreams be darned, I wanted to find out what really happened between Ellie and Martin.  Still, the characters are an unlikable bunch who pretty much get exactly what they deserve.  Lozza is the only one I cared about, so I was disappointed that she didn't get more page time.  On the whole, then, I give this book props for being an unputdownable page-turner.  It loses points (at least for me) for being full of unlikable characters and for being too dark and depressing.  If this book is any indication, White's style is just too much for me.  I'll be giving her books a wide berth in future.    

(Readalikes:  I've seen White compared to Robert Dugoni, but I've only read one book by each of them so I'm not sure how apt the comparison is.  You?)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find