Hello fellow word lovers! How are you? Well, I hope. Me? I’m dreadful, thanks for reminding me. Kidding! It’s November, so I’m currently in the thick of NaNoWriMo 2018, which I’ve been really enjoying (19,000 words and counting), but pairing that with two weekends outside of the UK plus full-time work has kicked my ass slightly. Yes, I’ve come down with the fabled NaNo lurgy.

So while I take a break from trying to be hyper-creative, I thought I’d take a look at the next five books I have lined up on my TBR. Come with me, if you will…

The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas
The premise for this book had me at ‘dead cheerleaders’. (Anybody remember Heroes and “save the cheerleader, save the world”? Those were the days.) The Cheerleaders is Kara Thomas’ third book, and has been described as “a little bit Riverdale, a little bit Veronica Mars“, so of course I couldn’t possibly say no. It seems to have a little bit of a Buffy and Point Horror vibe going for it, too, so I’m IN.

Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager
This author’s last book, Final Girls, consumed my life for roughly two days. I couldn’t put it down. (If you haven’t read it yet, go get it! You won’t be disappointed.) So I’m really excited to check out his next one, which I’ve slightly been putting off, because the copy I have is an enormous hardback, but I’m going to stop being such a wuss and get on with it. I don’t know anything about the plot because I want to be surprised, but if Sager’s previous book is anything to go by, this should be a fun, twisty ride.

Rosewater by Tade Thompson
I’ve seen buzz about this everywhere, and even though I’m not a huge science-fiction reader (I’m more on the fantasy spectrum), the premise for Rosewater is really intriguing and sort of reminded me of The Bone Season (in a good way). It’s come along at a time when black voices and stories are happily enjoying a huge surge in popularity, particularly within the realms of sci-fi and fantasy, and I’m excited to find out what has made people rave about this so much.

Dark Pines by Will Dean
Will Dean is enjoying huge success with this book, which is awesome – I’m only sorry I’ve not got to it sooner. But I finally have a gorgeous paperback copy ready and waiting (it has one of the coolest inner-front-cover quote spreads I’ve ever seen), and I can’t wait to meet Tuva Moodyson. If you know me, you’ll know I’m a Scandi nut (I even taught myself Swedish), so I’m really looking forward to reading this.

Horrorstör by Grady Hendrix
Grady Hendrix is my number one at the moment. I inhaled My Best Friend’s Exorcism and We Sold Our Souls, and I just can’t get enough of his lean but colourful writing, and his thoroughly lifelike characters. Somehow, though, Horrorstör completely passed me by, so I’m going to rectify that in the next few weeks. The book’s laid out like an IKEA catalogue, which is genius. But then, this is Grady Hendrix we’re talking about, so OF COURSE IT IS.

Have you read any of these? What are you sticking in your eyeballs next? Let me know in the comments below!