One of the things that was going around a lot at the end of last year around book blogs was the 5 star tbr prediction. And who am I to not jump on the bandwagon? Precisely.
This was first started by booktuber Mercy from Mercy’s Bookish Musings and you can find her video here. Basically she predicts which books from her TBR she will thinks will be 5 star reads. I think this is an interesting idea because of course we have expectations of books on our tbr.
Some of us have tbr mountains and we hope to love them all. But there are always those that stand out. Those you want to desperately love. Those you know you will love. And those I usually don’t pick up for ages because I am scared of them. I thought it would be good to look at some of the books on my shelves and pick out five I highly expect to become 5 star reads for me and why.
An added extra is that I am hoping to read these all this year so hopefully I can come back on this topic next year and see if they really were 5 star reads and why they were or weren’t.
The Name of the Wind
Release: 2007
Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.55 out of 5.00
When you hear people talking about adult fantasy one of the first books I hear mentioned, after ASOIAF of course, are The Kingkiller Chronicles. This book has been on my radar for a while and while everything I hear about this book and series makes me sure that I will love it very much as a fantasy lover, the fact that Patrick Rotfuss takes about as long as George R.R. Martin to release his next book is really putting me off. Considering the thickness of the books (I own the sequel and the novella as well) I know that I don’t want to go to long between these books so I don’t forget details. This is one of the reasons why I have been losing interest in ASOIAF. I just don’t remember everything anymore.
The City of Brass
Release: 2017
Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.27 out of 5.00
Look when Aimal suggests I might like this as a fantasy lover I’m going to jump all aboard that train. It has djinn, Cairo, diversity, magic. The synopsis sounds like this is just one big juicy delicious fantasy to set my teeth in.
The Way of Kings
Release: 2010 Average
Rating on Goodreads: 4.64 out of 5.00
I think out of all of Brandon Sanderson’s books The Way of Kings has always appealed to me the most. Why then did I read other books first? Because they were thinner. As a result though Sanderson has not been able to convince me like he has others. But I also realize he writes a lot of different things. And The Way of Kings is a big high fantasy. I don’t know if you have seen the synopsis but that alone is a novel, haha. I think this will be a brillaint fantasy to tear into with a lot of books to look forward to. And at least I know with Sanderson I won’t have to wait 14 years until the fourth books come out. Just saying…
The Empty Grave
Release: 2017
Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.60 out of 5.00
Why haven’t I read this yet? Possibly because I don’t want this series to end. The last book to the Lockwood & Co. series and I am positive that I will likely rate this 5 stars like I did the last two books. I am just in love with these characters and world.
The Three Body-Problem
Release: 2014
Average Rating on Goodreads: 4.02 out of 5.00
A book I haven’t mentioned a lot but one that I do see myself loving. For a change this is a sci-fi. Now sci-fi books can be a bit of a hit or a miss with me while I do love sci-fi tv shows. What caught my interest was the pyramid on the cover. I had instant Stargate vibes because the pyramid is what drew me to that series to begin with. Even though I KNOW this book is completely different I still have such high hopes for it. I feel like there will be a lot of webs being spun in this book. This whole trilogy really and I am all in for that.
They recommended City of Brass on New York Public Library’s Ask a Librarian Thursday, so that book jumped onto my tbr. Ha ha. I wasn’t intending on reading it before that. š
Gosh, I don’t know… for me probably A Closed and Common Orbit, and The Amulet of Samarkand. š
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Haha I hope it will be great.
I have to say that The Amulet of Samarkand wasn’t a 5 star read for me back then but the next two are for sure 5 star reads! š
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I buzzed through two ARCs over the weekend and am reading another one for March right now, plus The Song of Blood and Stone. When I finish these two, I only have two more ARCs for this year. š± I can go crazy reading pretty much what I want. ššš #JazzHands
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What a mix of books. I strongly recommend City of Brass, that book was utterly fantastic. Long but there was so much detail in it and the world building was immense. I didn’t love Three Body Problem but it is an original one. If you read I’d be very interested to see your thoughts on it.
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I am so curious about it. It sounds amazing.
I have a love for those kind of stories as the synopsis of the Three Body Problem say it is in tv shows so I’m curious to see it in book form.
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This 5 star tbr prediction is a really fun idea! I completely agree about The Name of the Wind, I really want to read it and it sounds amazing, but I’m woried about forgetting everything before the next book is even released…
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It really is!
That is one of my worries as well as I am seeing that with ASOIAF right now. But I am hoping that at least next year the third one is out? And until then I have two huge books and a novella haha.
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Oh this is such an interesting topic to think about! I’ve got the third Magnus Chase book waiting for me at home, and I’m expecting that to be a 5-star read, but other than that I have no idea haha. The Name of The Wind is on my tbr as well, but now that I know the author takes forever to write books I think I’m going to wait a while š
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It is! Oh that book was for sure a 5 star read for me last year! So good.
Haha, that might be a good idea. š
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I’m also planning to read City of Brass this year and hoping it will be a good one! I requested it from the library but haven’t heard back yet. Hopefully all of these will be the 5 star reads you want them to be!
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I hope so!
I hope we will both love City of Brass.
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I thought I would love The Name of the Wind. It sounded like exactly the kind of book I would fall in love with and it came so highly recommended. I didn’t. I was so disappointed! The protagonist annoyed me all the way through and I just did not like it. The story left me lukewarm at best.
Since everyone else seems to love it, it is probably a case ‘it’s not the book, it’s me’. š
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Ah that really sucks. š¦ Especially when you were so highly anticipating it.
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I’m hoping The Name of the Wind and City of Brass to be five-stars readings for me as well. However, The Name of the Wind is such a thick book that I’m scared of picking it up from my TBR pile. I’m not sure when I’ll finally read it…
Happy readings! š
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Haha that sounds familar. š
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Your tbr is soo good! I have only read the first 3 books in the Lockwood & Co series so I hope you enjoy it!
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I’ve just reread the first three Lockwood books and hope to reread the fourth one next month to pick up The Empty Grave. ā¤
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Nice blogpost. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of any of the books you mentioned before (oops). However, The Name of The Wind sounds interesting and the cover is also really beautiful. I think the book ‘Half of a Yellow Sun’ by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie will probably a five star read for me, I loved Americanah so I can’t wait to read this book too.
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Haha we can’t hear about every book out there. š There are just too many. š
It is great that you already loved her other book. Those are often great indicators. I should read Americanah.
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Eep I feel the same way about City of Brass! I’ve only read one other djinn book before (I forgot the title–the pinkish purplish one with a ring on the cover), which I thought was HORRIBLE, so this one has a huge chance of beating that one. XD
– Aimee @ Aimee, Always
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Haha I think I know which one you mean. It can only go up from there. š
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City of Brass for sure! It’s coming up on my TBR soon. The other ones I didn’t know about, so YAY for new books to look up!
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Yes so curious. š
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City of Brass…. Definitely read it. I am still figuring out how I really feel about it š
And I do hope you enjoy ‘The Way of Kings’ and ‘The Name of the Wind’ š
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Will be curious to hear your thoughts. š
I really hope I love them. š
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I cannot wait to get to The City of Brass. All I hear are amazing things and I’m sure it will receive a high rating from me.
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I actually saw someone had rated it a 1 star this weekend. :O But I am ignoring this fact haha.
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I’m already side-eyeing and I haven’t even cracked open the pages yet.
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Awesome predictions! Name of the Wind was 5* for me! and I think city of brass is going to be good š
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Yes so curious about City of Brass. I’ve heard mostly good things about The Name of the Wind. š
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Gisteren zag ik iets gelijkaardigs in de Readiculous groep op Amino en nu hier bij jou. Ik kan de vraag zo niet meteen uit het hoofd beantwoorden maar misschien maak ik er binnenkort eens een blogpost van.
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Ja dat zou leuk zijn om te zien!
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expectations! š
I’m SO BAD at predictions! Let alone 5 star tbr predictions! I’m glad you did jump on the bandwagon! š These books sound good so I’m sure they will be 5 stars! Especially The Way of Kings!
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Haha. Fingers crossed they will be!
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Oh, I love this list! There are definitely some Sanderson books I need to get through this year. My husband has informed me that I will be starting with Warbreaker. xD He should know, so I suppose I’ll listen to him for a change. The Lockwood & Co. series is also on my TBR list for this year! I’m glad to hear you think so highly of them. Someone recommended I read Jonathan Stroud because of the Bartimaeus Sequence, but then I found Lockwood and, well, that sounds so much more up my alley.
I’m thinking (hoping, maybe?) that Time Was by Ian McDonald will by a five-star read. I’ve been excited about it since around last November or December, and now I’m just stuck in that drudge of waiting foreverrrrrr for it to be released. But I think it’ll be worth the wait.
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Haha, he’s been reading more Sanderson?
Oh, I love Lockwood but to me the Bartimaeus series is so much better (well the last two in the trilogy anyway). A lot darker. But Lockwood is great too. š
How much longer do you have to wait for it? Waiting on releases is the hardest.
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Oh, he loves Sanderson. He’s read them all, and he forced me to read the Reckoner series, which I absolutely LOVED. Well, except the ending of the last book. But that’s a whole other can of worms. And then Elantris. And now Warbreaker, apparently. And then, I’ve been informed, Mistborn. xD He has it all planned out.
I’ve already got the first book of Bartimaeus (just haven’t read it yet … there seems to be a pattern here …) so I’m looking forward to that! I do enjoy darker.
April 24th. I’ve had it preordered since December. xD Unfortunately, that gets you nothing except automatic delivery when it comes out on April 24, which is still so far away. Ugh. I agree. Waiting on releases stinks.
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Haha that ending sucked. I didn’t like the whole series though (but dystopian/superhero not my thing, high fantasy girl all the way so I have hope for his other books).
(I recognize this pattern)
Ah two more months. Fingers crossed other books can fill in the voic.
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It did. It really, really did. I’m the opposite. I love dystopian and heroes or powers, but I don’t typically read urban fantasy or high fantasy. xD I loved Elantris, though, which is why I’m willing to give his other books a chance, and I started Mistborn forever ago and liked it but never continued, so I have to go back and re-read the first one now.
*glances at never-ending TBR list* Erm. Yeah, I’m sure I can manage to find *something* in the meantime. xD
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Oh have you read Not Your Sidekick by C.B. Lee then? One of the few superhero books I’ve really enjoyed. š
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I have not, but I will now. xD I’ve added it to my list lol.
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