HAPPY NEW YEAR! Let’s kick off 2023 with a solid TBR. This will be an easy month as most of the books I have planned are manga volumes so pretty easy reading. So this month’s theme is Manga. While some readers love to read manga and graphic novels at the end of the year to meet their goals, I feel that doing that at the beginning of the year would set me nicely if I enter a slump or reading some massive books later in the year.

Plot: The draking vessel Quin Zaza soars through the skies, hunting dragons that hide in the clouds. A single big catch means full coffers and all the meat they can eat, while failure means an empty wallet and an even emptier stomach. Join us as we log the crew’s grand adventures, chasing dreams of the sky, dragons, and gourmet cooking!

Plot: Shirayuki is an herbalist famous for her naturally bright-red hair, and the prince of Tanbarun wants her all to himself! Unwilling to become the prince’s possession, she seeks shelter in the woods of the neighboring kingdom, where she gains an unlikely ally—the prince of that kingdom! He rescues her from her plight, and thus begins the love story between a lovestruck prince and an unusual herbalist.

Plot: A man dies alone after living a stagnant and fruitless life—but that’s not where his story ends, as a boy named William is born into a land of fantasy and magic. Raised in a city of the dead by his new family—a mummy, a skeleton, and a ghost—he can remember glimpses of his past life, enough to know his time on Earth was wasted, and he vows not to let that happen again.

Plot: In an endless sea of sand drifts the Mud Whale, a floating island city of clay and magic. In its chambers a small community clings to survival, most dying young from the very powers that sustain them. Chakuro is the Archivist for the Mud Whale, diligently chronicling the lives and deaths of his people. As one of the saimia wielders, whose life spans are cut short by their own magic, he knows his time is limited and is determined to leave a better record than his predecessors. But the steady pace of their isolated existence on the Mud Whale is abruptly shattered when a scouting party discovers a mysterious young girl who seems to know more about their home than they do…

Plot: Life at Grace Field House is good for Emma and her fellow orphans. While the daily studying and exams they have to take are tough, their loving caretaker provides them with delicious food and plenty of playtime. But perhaps not everything is as it seems…

This book specifically is for my sequels challenge!

Plot: Everyone knows the story of the Alperton Angels: the cult-like group who were convinced one of their member’s babies was the anti-Christ, and they had a divine mission to kill it – until the baby’s mother, Holly, came to her senses and called the police. The Angels committed suicide rather than go to prison, and Holly – and the baby – disappeared into the care system. Nearly two decades later, true-crime author Amanda Bailey is writing a book on the Angels. The Alperton baby has turned eighteen and can finally be interviewed – if Amanda can find them, it will be the true-crime scoop of the year, and will save her flagging career. But rival author Oliver Menzies is just as smart, better connected, and is also on the baby’s trail. As Amanda and Oliver are forced to collaborate, they realise that what everyone thinks they know about the Angels is wrong, and the truth is something much darker and stranger than they’d ever imagined. This story is far from over – and it won’t have a happy ending.

Plot: Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favourite teacher. The case was never solved, but she’s sure that the three kids who found Mr. Larkin’s body know more than they’re telling, especially her ex-best friend Tripp Talbot. He’s definitely hiding something. When Brynn gets an internship working on a popular true-crime show, she decides to investigate what really happened that day in the woods. But the further she dives into the past, the more secrets she finds. Four years ago someone got away with murder. Now it’s time to uncover the truth . . .