#5OnMyTBR is a bookish meme hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and you can learn more about it here or in the post announcing it. It occurs every Monday when we post about 5 books on our TBR. Thank you E. for the awesome graphic for these posts as well!

Hi everyone,

If you followed this blog during Pride month, it is probably no surprise to know that enemies to lovers is one of my favourite tropes (in fact I posted a recommendation list for amazing queer enemies to lovers books that you can check out here!) There’s just something about that line between hatred and love, that overwhelming passion that comes with both hatred and love, that make this trope so full of yearning and pain. So here’s five on my TBR!

The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Book I am most guilty and ashamed of not reading yet? THIS ONE. This was one of my top 5 most anticipated books of the year. I have no excuses for why I haven’t read it yet. But I am vowing to read it before the end of the year! It’s about a genderfluid pirate and the hostage noblewoman they fall in love with. And mermaids and witches I guess.

In the Vanisher’s Palace by Aliette de Bodard

Okay a dark sapphic Beauty and the Beast retelling where the beast is a dragon?! This is pretty much the best pitch ever. I finally picked up an eBook copy a few months ago so I can finally read it. Enemies to lovers + monster romance = A BOOK MADE FOR ME.

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

This is another book I feel enormously guilty about not reading yet, because I preordered it in JANUARY and it is now OCTOBER. It’s a retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo with lots of queer rep and a girl on the cover who I want to stab me so should be a great read which I eventually read it.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling

So yes, I have already read this book. But I recently bought a physical copy of it so I really want to reread it now. It’s this incredible, creepy scifi set in caving system where someone is trapped and trying to escape, and the only person she can talk to is her handler, who is guiding her from a control room. But she doesn’t know whether to believe her because she keeps seeing strange things. Anyway it’s BRILLIANT and one of my favourite books so I can’t wait to reread.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

There’s only one month to go until one of THE YA books of the year is released, These Violent Delights. I think this might be more lovers to enemies than enemies to lovers (or maybe both??) but either way it is sure to be excellent! It’s a retelling of Romeo and Juliet set in 1920s Shanghai and there’s lots of knives which is all I need to know to want to read this!

I’m excited to read everyone’s lists this week because I love this trope and want to add more books to my TBR (a totally sensible idea given the stack I already have of course…) Do you like this trope? What’s your favourite book with enemies to lovers? Let me know in the comments!