In February, I dropped a list of books that I thought I would end up loving so much that I’d give them five stars. Well, it’s been a hot minute since that post, and I’ve read all of the books, so I thought we’d check in, see how it all turned out, and then compile a new list!

My previous list was:

1. The Beautiful by Renée Adhieh | ★★★★ | This was nearly a five star, but with the combination of vampires not really happening until the end & not totally falling in love with Celine for the first 200 or so pages, it wasn’t quite five stars for me.
2. Zenith by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings | ★★★★ | So close! I know this book generally gets a lot of hate in the community, but I absolutely adored it. I ended up giving it four stars because the writing is ridiculous, but everything else on top just made for a great time.
3. We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal | ★★★★★ | I mean, can you even blame me? This book was phenomenal. I had literal dreams about it.
4. Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin | ★★★★★ | Oh, you mean the book that I stayed up until past midnight binge reading the last 300 pages? Yup, sounds about right.
5. A Spark of White Fire by Sangu Mandanna | ★★★ | Uhhhhh, well. This book and I really didn’t get along. I’m pretty bummed out about that because it sounded right up my alley, but yeah. This was a no for me, and I’m not continuing with the series.
6. The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen | ★★★★★ | Boy, oh boy, did I have to seriously convince myself not to stay up until 3AM finishing this.
7. Strange Birds: A Field Guide to Ruffling Feathers by Celia A. Pérez | ★★★★ | Again, so close! This was an adorable book, and I had a really fun time falling in love with it.
8. Good Omens by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman | UNREAD | Look, I hear you, this post shouldn’t go up until I’ve actually read all ten, but I just don’t envision reading this anytime soon, and I’d really like to post this, so here we are. I am going to read this eventually!
9. Circle of Shadows by Evelyn Skye | ★★★★ | This was a really fun read! I definitely thought it was going to be a five-star at the beginning, and though it didn’t quite get there, it was close!
10. The Babysitter’s Coven by Kate Williams | ★★★★ | So close again! I should note, too, that this book was stellar, and I preordered the sequel before I’d finished it, and I cannot wait.

I got 3/10 right! And of the 7 remaining, 5 were 4-stars, so really, I’m actually pretty impressed with that. I enjoy seeing actual proof of the fact that I’m getting better at picking up books that I’ll definitely like reading. I had a lot of fun with trying to predict these, too, so let’s kick off another 10!

Is it cheating if I pick The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Adhieh since I just read The Beautiful, and thus I’m pretty sure I’m going to love this? Nah. Because not only do I now know that I love Adhieh’s writing, this is one of my favorite fairytales, so this is just an excellent combination that, ultimately, is going to hopefully mean a five-star read for me.

Look, I really don’t know what it is about The Last True Poets of the Sea by Julie Drake. Well, I do know. It’s a combination of incredible title, beautiful cover, and intriguing summary. It’s got small town island vibes, I’m predicting poetic passages about the ocean, and it just sounds like one of those books that’s going to smack me across the head out of nowhere.

I have had Even the Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett on my owned unread shelf for so long. I think this is a 2018 purchase, actually. Hell, it is, it’s from December 2018, I NEED TO READ THIS. It sounds exactly like something I’d like! I mean, magic on Everest??? YES PLEASE. This is loosely based on the early climbers of Everest, and every time I think about this book, it excites me all over again, so I really don’t understand why I haven’t read it yet.

You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson is just a Mary book, and if no other book ends up being a five-star on this list, this one will. I mean, wants to get the heck out of dodge MC begrudgingly tries to become prom queen so she can get a scholarship for college, but accidentally falls in love along the way? Yeah, that’s basically every box ever that I needed checked.

I generally love all Anna-Marie McLemore books, so The Weight of Feathers should be no exception, but I’ve also got this really weird feeling of this is the one about it? Like, it’s not going to surpass When the Moon was Ours, that’d be pretty difficult, but maybe it will? Who knows? I certainly don’t, but I’ve got this vibe about it, and I’m really excited to read it. Plus, it’ll be my last published McLemore, which will be both sad because I won’t have any left, but also hella fun because I’ll be completely caught up on their backlist.

A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan is the only book on here that was gifted to me, and I generally refrain from predicting gifted books as five-stars, but Erin talked this up so highly, and it really sounds like something I’d love, so I’m feeling very hopeful about it. Not only is it about witches, but it’s got a several generations story, which I always enjoy, and it’s French, so. Sounds like it’s going to be fun!

LOOK AT THAT COVER! Ghost Squad by Claribel A. Ortega was all over my Insta feed for the longest time, and I definitely bought it because of that. It will definitely be a Minute before I read this because I kind of overdid it on middle grades recently, but I’m also hella excited for this Dominican ghost story that literally everyone says reminds them of Coco.

This is definitely cheating because I am 100% going to love The Bedlam Stacks by Natasha Pulley so much that it’ll make me cry. I generally don’t read series all in one fell swoop because I like to torture myself, but I read The Watchmaker of Filigree Street and its sequel back-to-back because I could not stop thinking about it, and so, this will honestly probably be the first book on this list that I read.

I’ve been “meaning” to read Iron Cast by Destiny Soria for forever and a half, and I’m stoked to put it on this list because it’ll hopefully make me want to read it sooner rather than later. I absolutely adored Beneath the Citadel, and Soria’s writing is so excellent that it’s pretty much a done deal for me to love this.

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri has been getting some hype lately, showing up in other blogs and on my Insta feed, so the universe must be vibe checking us all to make sure we get our asses into this book. Indian-inspired fantasy with desert spirits, royal politics, and a sequel that’s already published? Yes, please!

Have you read any of these?