Top Ten Tuesday: Things on my reading wishlist

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week they post a new topic that the participants come up with a top ten list for.

Today is about things on our reading wishlist, meaning things we'd like authors to write about (not books we wish we owned). Books that aren't written, at least as far as we know.
To be honest this is really hard. I used to have a lot of these wishes/ideas when I was younger, but I think I've grown a bit jaded over time. I haven't thought about this in a long time, I usually just think "oh wow, what a cool idea!" when I see a book that sounds awesome to me, but I rarely actively think about what I'd like to see. Let's give this a try though.


More diversity
This is a very general wish. I'd love to see more stories with characters from non-white backgrounds as main characters (rather than sidekicks). Same goes for characters with a disability or illness, LGBT characters... you get the idea. I know these books are there but they're a tiny minority compared to the bulk of literature being written and published.

Something steampunky and magical with libraries
Yup. I want gaslight and rolling ladders on the shelves and books books books. Maybe a scientist. Zeppelins. Secret passageways. Late Victorian London and its underworld. Adventure. A dash of romance. Obviously, there are already a lot of books there but I feel like I'm looking for a very specific vibe, and so far I haven't quite found it.

Something written from the POV of the villain
If there is a villain-POV book out there that you've enjoyed - please send me a link to info about it! Villains are so compelling. And I want to read from the POV of one who is unrepentantly evil. Maybe also a tad snarky.
I might just have to write the person myself.

A fantasy set in the 'old' Japan
I know there is Stormdancer but I've read such mixed reviews about the way the author represented the culture, I don't know what to think and whether I should read it. Basically I want Japanese customs, architecture, rice paper walls, secrets, samurai, ninjas, and an awesome girl character. I want part accurate historical depiction, but also fantasy elements and magic. Something a bit like Across the Nightingale Floor, but with a different focus.

Something set in a Carnival or Circus
You know, kind of like the HBO series Carnivale meets Erin Morgenstern's The Night Circus. I'm not sure what I'd like to happen, it's the setting that intrigues me. Maybe in the 1890s, with some spiritualism thrown in. If you know of something like that - link me up, please!

Urban Fantasy set in Zurich
I know, I know. But seriously, there are UFs set all over the US and some in the UK, but not all that much that I know of set in central Europe (I know a few set in Prague). I'd loooove to see my own city in a new, magical way!

Written from the POV of Death
I know there already are books like that out there, for instance The Book Thief, but somehow they aren't quite what I'm looking for, at least those I've read. In The Book Thief, it's more about what happens to Liesl and the Third Reich than Death as a character/entity/perspective. I'd love unique writing and rich lore. I guess I'm looking for a specific tone in the writing that I can't quite describe.

A really great vampire novel
I know, vague and there are tons and tons of vampire books out there. But I want something new. I want to be swept away as I first was by The Vampire Lestat, or by Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls. I don't want romanticized sparkly vampires or gloom-and-doom tortured souls. I want a vampire who revels in being what he or she is. Something decadent. Something kind of like Holly Black's Coldest Girl in Coldtown.

A Modern Retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray
Has this been done? If so, link please! I love Wilde's story and I'd be very curious about a modern take on it. And very open to how it's done.


This is only 8 things but I think I'll leave it at that. What do you think of my ideas? Any books that could match what I'm looking for? And what's on your wishlist?

Review: Witch Eyes, by Scott Tracey

Released: September 8, 2011 

Publisher: Flux

Format: Paperback, 330 pages

From the back of the book:

A boy who can see the world’s secrets and unravel spells with just a glance.

Braden’s witch eyes give him an enormous power. A mere look causes a kaleidoscopic explosion of emotions, memories, darkness, and magic. But this rare gift is also his biggest curse.

Compelled to learn about his shadowed past and the family he never knew, Braden is drawn to the city of Belle Dam, where he is soon caught between two feuding witch dynasties. Sworn rivals Catherine Lansing and Jason Thorpe will use anything – lies, manipulation, illusion, and even murder – to seize control of Braden’s powers. To stop an ancient evil from destroying the town, Braden must master his gift, even through the shocking discovery that Jason is his father. While his feelings for an enigmatic boy named Trey grow deeper, Braden realizes a terrible truth: Trey is Catherine Lansing’s son… and Braden may be destined to kill him.

Review (no spoilers):

From the intriguing opening to the final showdown, this book was a thrilling ride with a guessing game that kept me sorting through the possibilities to figure out what was happening.

Braden’s gift is unique – unless he wears heavily tinted sunglasses to focus his attention, he sees through all the layers of the world around him, resulting in sensory overload, nosebleed, and heavy migraines. The perks? He can work out and unravel any spell, unveil the memories attached to a place, widen his gaze to encompass whole cities and even see the dominant forces that make up the character of a person. Basically, there are few limitations to what he could do and the full scope of his gift is unknown as of yet.

For Jason Thorpe and Catherine Lansing, the two most powerful witches in the town of Belle Dam and sworn enemies, he is the perfect weapon to tip the scales in their conflict. As soon as Braden arrives in town, still clueless about the feud he has just stumbled into, everyone he meets keeps their own secrets and everyone has an agenda. While Braden struggles with the revelation that Jason Thorpe is his father and that his best friend Jade and his love interest, Trey, have turned out to be Catherine Lansing’s children, he also discovers that there is something foul going on in Belle Dam that no one else seems to be fully aware of.

Witch Eyes was a thrill-ride of plot twists and unique magic combined with the coming-of-age story of a boy who still has to master his powers and grow comfortable in his skin. Belle Dam is Braden’s first experience of highschool (he was homeschooled by his uncle in a remote area) and I enjoyed seeing him try to keep up with his normal life while trying to retain his independence as both his father and his new friends and their mother, Catherine, try to get him on their side of the feud. Does he tell his maybe-boyfriend the truth about his father and risk losing him? Or does he continue the lie and risk being exposed anyway?

Also, there is an ancestor of the Lansings who apparently had the same gift Braden does. Just what did she do to the town, and what does Lucien Fallon, Thorpe’s lawyer, have to do with all the goings-on? In a town where everyone is picking sides, can Braden pursue his own goals or has he been someone’s pawn all along?

If you’re looking for a paranormal read that is different and has an edge, as well as great writing and well-drawn characters driven by a plot full of intrigues, Witch Eyes should definitely go on your shelf! I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for Trey and Braden in the sequel, Demon Eyes, which will be released on October 8.

Personal thoughts (contains spoilers):

About half a year ago, everyone was raving about this book. Sometimes that makes me a bit wary – what if I don’t like it even though everyone else does? But the prospect of what appeared to be unique story combined with the chance to read a gay protagonist (this kind of diversity is still WAY too rare in YA. There might be a gay minor character but rarely a main one) convinced me that I had to read this novel.

Braden’s voice was very authentic and I liked that he was confident and proactive despite being thrown in the middle of a conflict without much information to go on and not sure who he could trust. The question which characters know how much, who is lying and who is simply deceived themselves always hovers over the book. In Belle Dam, no one does anything without a reason.

I loved how the magic worked in this book! Especially the concept of weaving it into the geometry and architecture of a place, but also the more traditional elements of summoning circles, drawing energy from nature and using focusing objects. I’m still not quite sure that we as readers know everything about Grace Lansing and what exactly she did at the end of the book. What exactly is the relation between her and Lucien? I think there are still pieces missing when it comes to her history and their bargain. I’m also curious about the hints at the greater supernatural world ‘out there’ that we’ve gotten so far. There are not just witches but also demons, vampires, and shifters, and I’m curious to know more about those.

Then of course, there’s Trey and Braden. Though Trey went on my nerves sometimes with how set he was on ‘protecting’ Braden and how blind when it came to his own mother, I’m still hoping the best for him and Braden. I liked the way their romance was handled. It was present and woven throughout the story, but it didn’t consume everything else that was going on and become the main focus. I’d really like to know more about Trey to understand him better, and I also think that both he and Jade will turn out to have some kind of power. I don’t know, it just doesn’t seem likely that they would inherit none of their mother’s gift.

And of course, I’m curious to see what Braden will do with his gift, and how he will handle the feud now that most everyone knows whose son he is. Basically, I want the sequel right now ^^’’

Have you read Witch Eyes? What was your impression? Can you recommend any other YA novels with gay/queer characters? Does this sound like the type of book you’d enjoy? As always, let me know in the comments :)