Top Ten Books on my Spring TBR pile

Top ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & The Bookish
So after a rather massive reading slump I am finally back to usual reading habits and that means an ever growing TBR pile (luckily being stuck in France has its perks as it means it's a virtual pile on my kindle instead of a teetering pile threatening to fall on me in the middle of the night...)
However there are so many awesome books out this spring that I cannot wait to get my hands on that I'm not really complaining! So without further ado, in no particular order here are the top ten books on my to be read pile this spring!

1) A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas
(Release Date: May 5th)

Feyre is a huntress. She thinks nothing of slaughtering a wolf to capture its prey. But, like all mortals, she fears what lingers mercilessly beyond the forest. And she will learn that taking the life of a magical creature comes at a high price.
Imprisoned in an enchanted court in her enemy’s kingdom, Feyre is free to roam but forbidden escape. Her captor’s body bears the scars of fighting, and his face is always masked – but his piercing stare draws her ever closer. As Feyre’s feelings for Tamlin begin to burn through every warning she’s been told about his kind, an ancient, wicked shadow grows. Feyre must find a way to break a spell, or lose her heart forever.

I absolutely adore the Throne of Glass series by Maas, and my love of those books has basically guaranteed that anthing she writes is now on my TBR pile, without even looking at the blurb. However I have heard nothing but good things about this book and it's proving increasingly difficult to wait to start reading it...

2) The Girl at Midnight by Melissa Grey
(Release Date: April 28th)
Beneath the streets of New York City live the Avicen, an ancient race of people with feathers for hair and magic running through their veins. Age-old enchantments keep them hidden from humans. All but one. Echo is a runaway pickpocket who survives by selling stolen treasures on the black market, and the Avicen are the only family she's ever known.

Echo is clever and daring, and at times she can be brash, but above all else she's fiercely loyal. So when a centuries-old war crests on the borders of her home, she decides it's time to act. Legend has it that there is a way to end the conflict once and for all: find the Firebird, a mythical entity believed to possess power the likes of which the world has never seen. It will be no easy task, but if life as a thief has taught Echo anything, it's how to hunt down what she wants... and how to take it. But some jobs aren't as straightforward as they seem. And this one might just set the world on fire.

This one just intrigues me. I came across it on Netgalley and the blurb really caught my eye. I don't really know anything else about it, just that it looks fantastic and I hope it lives up to expectations!

3) The Shattered Court by M. J. Scott 
(Release Date: April 28th)
The royal witches of Anglion have bowed to tradition for centuries. If a woman of royal blood manifests powers, she is immediately bound by rites of marriage. She will serve her lord by practicing the tamer magics of the earth—ensuring good harvests and predicting the weather. Any magic more dangerous is forbidden.
Lady Sophia Kendall, thirty-second in line to the throne, is only days away from finding out if she will be blessed—or perhaps cursed—with magic. When a vicious attack by Anglion’s ancient enemies leaves the kingdom in chaos, Sophia is forced to flee the court. Her protector by happenstance is Lieutenant Cameron Mackenzie, a member of the royal guard, raised all his life to be fiercely loyal to the Crown.
Then Sophia’s powers manifest stronger than she ever imagined they would, and Cameron and she are inextricably linked in the process. As a witch unbound by marriage rites, Sophia is not only a threat to the established order of her country, but is also a weapon for those who seek to destroy it. Faced with old secrets and new truths, she must decide if she will fight for her country or succumb to the delicious temptation of power.

This is another one that crept up on me. Found through Netgalley and the blurb and cover caught my eye, I was thrilled to get an early copy for review. Anything magical at the moment is right up my street, so this blurb has me thoroughly curious and intrigued.

4) The Orphan Queen by Jodi Meadows 
(Release Date: March 10th)

When Princess Wilhelmina was a child, the Indigo Kingdom invaded her homeland. Ten years later, Wil and the other noble children who escaped are ready to fight back and reclaim Wil's throne. To do so, Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate the Indigo Kingdom palace with hopes of gathering information that will help them succeed.
But Wil has a secret—one that could change everything. Although magic has been illegal for a century, she knows her ability could help her save her kingdom. But magic creates wraith, and the deadly stuff is moving closer and destroying the land. And if the vigilante Black Knife catches her using magic, she may disappear like all the others.

Jodi Meadows is not an author I've tried before, but a combination of a fab cover and blurb and some truly wonderful reviews of this book mean that it has quickly edged into my top ten. Already released, I just have to wade through my other urgent reads and then I can sink in and devour it.

5) Illusionarium by Heather Dixon 
(Release Date: May 19th)
From the author of Entwined, a brilliantly conceived adventure through an alternate London. This sweeping, cinematic tale of an apprentice scientist desperate to save his family—and his world—is The Night Circus meets Pixar.
Through richly developed parallel worlds, vivid action, a healthy dose of humor, and gorgeous writing, Heather Dixon spins a story that is breathtaking and wholly original.

I adored Heather Dixon's take on the tale of the twelve dancing princesses in her debut novel 'Entwined' and I have been waiting desperately since then to any new releases from her. And now, finally, the wait is almost over. I didn't even need to read the blurb to know I had to have this, but now I have seen what little information they've released to us, I am even more impatient.

6) A School for Unusual Girls by Kathleen Baldwin 
(Release Date: May 19th)
It’s 1814. Napoleon is exiled on Elba. Europe is in shambles. Britain is at war on four fronts. And Stranje House, a School for Unusual Girls, has become one of Regency England’s dark little secrets. The daughters of the beau monde who don't fit high society’s constrictive mold are banished to Stranje House to be reformed into marriageable young ladies. Or so their parents think. In truth, Headmistress Emma Stranje, the original unusual girl, has plans for the young ladies—plans that entangle the girls in the dangerous world of spies, diplomacy, and war.
After accidentally setting her father’s stables on fire while performing a scientific experiment, Miss Georgiana Fitzwilliam is sent to Stranje House. But Georgie has no intention of being turned into a simpering, pudding-headed, marriageable miss. She plans to escape as soon as possible—until she meets Lord Sebastian Wyatt. Thrust together in a desperate mission to invent a new invisible ink for the English war effort, Georgie and Sebastian must find a way to work together without losing their heads—or their heart.

Spies? Intriguing boarding school that isn't what it seems? Regency England? Colour me intrigued. Very intrigued. This one has a bit of so many things that I love that I'm hesitant to read it in case it doens't live up to my quite high expectations. But if I did that with every book I had high expectations for I'd never read at all. So instead I'm going to continue to get very excited and keep everything crossed it lives up to my hopes!

7) Lion Heart by A. C. Gaughen 

(Release Date: May 19th)
Imprisoned by Prince John for months, Scarlet finds herself a long way from Nottinghamshire. After a daring escape from the Prince's clutches, she learns that King Richard’s life is in jeopardy, and Eleanor of Aquitaine demands a service Scarlet can’t refuse: spy for her and help bring Richard home safe. But fate—and her heart—won’t allow her to stay away from Nottinghamshire for long, and together, Scarlet and Rob must stop Prince John from going through with his dark plans for England. They can not rest until he’s stopped, but will their love be enough to save them once and for all?

The conclusion to Scarlet's story is finally nearly here, and what a ride it has been. Heart wrenching, beautiful and with Gaughen's stunning prose driving us all the way through. Scarlet is a fantastic heroine, one that will always have a place in my heart. Her's is a story I will come back to again and again. So it is a bittersweet excitement to find out how her story ends, both wanting to know and never wanting it to end.

8) Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano 
(Release Date: March 12th)

After escaping the city of Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home. The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, bury their dead in vast gardens of bodies, and where Internment is the feature of an amusement park. It is also a land at war. Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another ruler who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them?

Perfect Ruin, the first book in the series was incredible. It showed that DeStefano was a force to be reckoned with and far more than just her fantastic debut series 'The Chemical Garden' trilogy. I still haven't yet articulated into a review how much I loved the first book, but I'm hoping the second book will help me put into words that are slightly more eloquent than READ IT READ IT NOW IT IS SO GOOD.

9) Prudence by Gail Garriger
(Release Date: March 19th)

When Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama (Rue to her friends) is given an unexpected dirigible, she does what any sensible female would under similar circumstances - names it the Spotted Crumpet and floats to India in pursuit of the perfect cup of tea.But India has more than just tea on offer. Rue stumbles upon a plot involving local dissidents, a kidnapped brigadier's wife and some awfully familiar Scottish werewolves. Faced with a dire crisis and an embarrassing lack of bloomers, what else is a young lady of good breeding to do but turn metanatural and find out everyone's secrets, even thousand-year-old fuzzy ones?

I adore Gail Carriger's books. They are just the perfect blend of brilliant wit, fantastic plots and wonderful characters. Her debut series 'The Parasol Protectorate' was my first foray into Steampunk and remains my favourite steampunk series to this day. And now we get a whole new series devoted to her daughter - nothing will keep me away!

10) Shadow Scale by Rachel Hartman 
(Release Date: March 10th)
The kingdom of Goredd: a world where humans and dragons share life with an uneasy balance, and those few who are both human and dragon must hide the truth. Seraphina is one of these, part girl, part dragon, who is reluctantly drawn into the politics of her world. When war breaks out between the dragons and humans, she must travel the lands to find those like herself—for she has an inexplicable connection to all of them, and together they will be able to fight the dragons in powerful, magical ways. 
As Seraphina gathers this motley crew, she is pursued by humans who want to stop her. But the most terrifying is another half dragon, who can creep into people’s minds and take them over. Until now, Seraphina has kept her mind safe from intruders, but that also means she’s held back her own gift. It is time to make a choice: Cling to the safety of her old life, or embrace a powerful new destiny?

This book has been a long time coming and an exercise in patience. Seraphina was one of my favourite books of 2012, and also ranks in my favourite books of all time. It was just that good. And it set up such a wonderful series that I couldn't wait to find out where Hartman took Seraphina next. But we had to wait. And wait. And wait some more. And now finally, I almost cannot believe it is here. In fact until the book actually arrives and I have it in my hands I probably won't beleive it. But it is here. And I cannot wait.

So there are my top ten books I cannot wait to read this spring. Do you agree? Or are there others I've missed you think I need to know about? Tell me in the comments below!