Down the TBR Hole #3

July 10, 2017 ~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 4 Comments

Hello and welcome to another installment of Down the TBR Hole. I wish I was more adept at photoshop to make an awesome intro image for this. I see lightning and flying books in my head. Instead, you get this photo from National Geographic. Sigh.

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This meme is hosted by Lia @ Lost in a Story.

Here is what you do:

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

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Euphoria by Lily King

Inspired by the true story of a woman who changed the way we understand our world.

In 1933 three young, gifted anthropologists are thrown together in the jungle of New Guinea. They are Nell Stone, fascinating, magnetic and famous for her controversial work studying South Pacific tribes, her intelligent and aggressive husband Fen, and Andrew Bankson, who stumbles into the lives of this strange couple and becomes totally enthralled. Within months the trio are producing their best ever work, but soon a firestorm of fierce love and jealousy begins to burn out of control, threatening their bonds, their careers, and, ultimately, their lives…

First of all, that cover is beautiful. It definitely makes me think of the jungle without being overly obvious about it. This may not be my usual read, but I’m still interested in picking this one up.

Verdict: KEEP

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The Ripper Gene by Michael Ransom

A neuroscientist-turned-FBI-profiler discovers a gene that produces psychopaths in this thrilling debut novel.

Dr. Lucas Madden is a neuroscientist-turned-FBI profiler who first gained global recognition for cloning the ripper gene and showing its dysfunction in the brains of psychopaths. Later, as an FBI profiler, Madden achieved further notoriety by sequencing the DNA of the world’s most notorious serial killers and proposing a controversial “damnation algorithm” that could predict serial killer behavior using DNA alone.

Now, a new murderer—the Snow White Killer—is terrorizing women in the Mississippi Delta. When Mara Bliss, Madden’s former fiancée, is kidnapped, he must track down a killer who is always two steps ahead of him. Only by entering the killer’s mind will Madden ultimately understand the twisted and terrifying rationale behind the murders—and have a chance at ending the psychopath’s reign of terror.

I added this one to my TBR well over a year ago and, to say the least, my tastes have changed since then. It is time for this book to go and make space for something different.

Verdict: tenor

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The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

Despite their differences, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Vianne finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her.

As the war progresses, the sisters’ relationship and strength are tested. With life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.

This is another book that got added to my TBR well over a year ago. I’m pretty sure I just added it because of how poplar it was and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I’m over that. The story just doesn’t sound like it is for me.

Verdict: tenor

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The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

Set in seventeenth century Amsterdam–a city ruled by glittering wealth and oppressive religion–a masterful debut steeped in atmosphere and shimmering with mystery, in the tradition of Emma Donoghue, Sarah Waters, and Sarah Dunant.

“There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed . . .”

On a brisk autumn day in 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman arrives in Amsterdam to begin a new life as the wife of illustrious merchant trader Johannes Brandt. But her new home, while splendorous, is not welcoming. Johannes is kind yet distant, always locked in his study or at his warehouse office–leaving Nella alone with his sister, the sharp-tongued and forbidding Marin.

But Nella’s world changes when Johannes presents her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. To furnish her gift, Nella engages the services of a miniaturist–an elusive and enigmatic artist whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in eerie and unexpected ways . . .

Johannes’ gift helps Nella to pierce the closed world of the Brandt household. But as she uncovers its unusual secrets, she begins to understand–and fear–the escalating dangers that await them all. In this repressively pious society where gold is worshipped second only to God, to be different is a threat to the moral fabric of society, and not even a man as rich as Johannes is safe. Only one person seems to see the fate that awaits them. Is the miniaturist the key to their salvation . . . or the architect of their destruction?

Sigh. I don’t know what I was thinking. Pretty much everything I added to my TBR over a year ago has lost it’s appeal. Granted, I have changed a lot since then so it is not surprising. To say the least…

Verdict: tenor

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Sister Sable (The Mad Queen #1) by T. Mountebank

THE FIRST TENET OF THE WIND: Do not get caught.

Sister Sable has lived by the first tenet for seven years, but when an unexpected accident reveals the runaway nun to the clergy, she is forced to embrace the remaining four.

THE SECOND TENET OF THE WIND: Win by any means.

With the King’s spymaster committed to killing her, and his general regretting he didn’t, Sable enters a deadly game.

THE THIRD TENET OF THE WIND: The purpose of picking up a blade is to cut the enemy.

Scaring them is discretionary.

THE FOURTH TENET OF THE WIND: Have no preferred weapon.

Even so, she likes the axe.

THE FIFTH TENET OF THE WIND: Know the way of all professions.

Prophet, pilot, assassin, spy, Sable will need to call upon all she has learned to protect the King’s future from the past.

Oh look! Something I added to my TBR a year ago that still sounds good! I have zero memory of adding this book but it still sounds like a worth while read.

Verdict: KEEP

Three out of five got tossed out this week which brings my “to-read” list down to 119. Granted, I also added probably five or six last week but at least the list is growing more slowly now. My interests have changed widely in the last year or two so I’m not surprised that a lot of my older adds are getting tossed out. How have your reading interests changed? What do you think caused them to?

Down the TBR Hole #2

July 3, 2017 ~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 1 Comment

Today it is time for another installment of Down the TBR Hole. This is my second time traversing this dangerous hole. Let’s see what we find down here today!

This meme is hosted by Lia @ Lost in a Story.

Here is what you do:

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

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The Seance by John Harwood

Wraxford Hall, a decaying mansion in the English countryside, has a sinister reputation. Once, a family disappeared there. And now Constance Langton has inherited this dark place as well as the mysteries surrounding it. Having grown up in a house marked by the death of her sister, Constance is no stranger to mystery, secrets, and the dark magic around us. Her father was distant. Her mother was in perpetual mourning for her lost child. In a desperate attempt to coax her mother back to health, Constance took her to a seance hoping she would find supernatural comfort. But tragic consequences followed, leaving her alone in the world– alone with Wraxford Hall. Saddled with this questionable bequest, she must find the truth at the heart of all these disappearances, apparitions, betrayal, blackmail, and villainy, even if it costs her life. John Harwood’s second novel delivers on the great promise proven by his first with this gripping mystery set in the heart of Victorian England.

The reviews for this one on Goodreads are all over the board and it is currently averaging a 3.56. Despite that, I still think it sounds like it could be great story. I probably won’t get to this book anytime soon but I’m going to keep it around.

Verdict: KEEP

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The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter by Theodora Goss

Mary Jekyll, alone and penniless following her parents’ death, is curious about the secrets of her father’s mysterious past. One clue in particular hints that Edward Hyde, her father’s former friend and a murderer, may be nearby, and there is a reward for information leading to his capture…a reward that would solve all of her immediate financial woes.

But her hunt leads her to Hyde’s daughter, Diana, a feral child left to be raised by nuns. With the assistance of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, Mary continues her search for the elusive Hyde, and soon befriends more women, all of whom have been created through terrifying experimentation: Beatrice Rappaccini, Catherine Moreau, and Justine Frankenstein.

When their investigations lead them to the discovery of a secret society of immoral and power-crazed scientists, the horrors of their past return. Now it is up to the monsters to finally triumph over the monstrous.

This book comes out this August and may I just say it sounds amazing? I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I also just realized that next month is August and that completely freaked me out. Yikes!

Verdict: KEEP

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The Legend of Sithalkaan (The Legend of Sithalkaan #1) by J.N. de Bedout

The feudal strife of the Sengoku Jidai has soaked Japan in blood. Despite the perils, an ambitious young musketeer is chosen to guide a group of Jesuit priests deep into the Japanese hinterlands in search of an ancient and terrifying artifact. Alas, they are not the only ones pursuing it. A fanatical enemy willing to devastate the country in its wake has already launched its own campaign to seize it.

Villages vanish beneath the marching feet of bloodthirsty marauders.

Cauldrons of intolerant faith scorch the populace.

Lust for vengeance boils beneath the surface.

An eternity of pain hangs in the balance.

Unfathomable horrors grate the musketeer and his pious patrons. Blood will stain them. Grief will besiege them. But can they defy the odds and safeguard the artifact before this savage enemy unleashes a cataclysm on the country?

You ever look at a book on your TBR and wonder how it got there? I have no memory of this book. I think it is going to stay that way. Goodbye.

Verdict: tenor

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The Axeman’s Jazz by Ray Celestin

New Orleans, 1919. As a dark serial killer – The Axeman – stalks the city, three individuals set out to unmask him.

Though every citizen of the ‘Big Easy’ thinks they know who could be behind the terrifying murders, Detective Lieutenant Michael Talbot, heading up the official investigation, is struggling to find leads. But Michael has a grave secret and – if he doesn’t find himself on the right track fast – it could be exposed.

Former detective Luca d’Andrea has spent the last six years in Angola state penitentiary, after Michael, his protégée, blew the whistle on his corrupt behaviour. Now a newly freed man, Luca finds himself working with the mafia, whose need to solve the mystery of the Axeman is every bit as urgent as the authorities’.

Meanwhile, Ida is a secretary at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Obsessed with Sherlock Holmes and dreaming of a better life, Ida stumbles across a clue which lures her and her musician friend, Louis Armstrong, to the case and into terrible danger . . .

As Michael, Luca and Ida each draw closer to discovering the killer’s identity, the Axeman himself will issue a challenge to the people of New Orleans: play jazz or risk becoming the next victim. And as the case builds to its crescendo, the sky will darken and a great storm will loom over the city . . .

Inspired by a true story, The Axeman’s Jazz, set against the heady backdrop of jazz-filled, mob-ruled New Orleans, is an ambitious, gripping thriller announcing a major new talent in historical crime fiction.

When I first saw this book I thought it sounded amazing. I still do. I think it is going to be bumped up the TBR list.

Verdict: KEEP

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The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand

On Christmas Eve five years ago, Holly was visited by three ghosts who showed her how selfish and spoiled she’d become. They tried to convince her to mend her ways.

She didn’t.

And then she died.

Now she’s stuck working for the top-secret company Project Scrooge–as the latest Ghost of Christmas Past.

Every year, they save another miserly grouch. Every year, Holly stays frozen at seventeen while her family and friends go on living without her. So far, Holly’s afterlife has been miserable.

But this year, everything is about to change. . .

Alright. What was I thinking. This sounds all kinds of lame. Buh- bye!

Verdict: tenor

Ah, nothing like a good cleanse…of the reading list. Two books down, that means I get to add three more, right? Isn’t that the rule?

Down the TBR Hole #1

June 26, 2017 ~ Amanda @ Literary Weaponry ~ 6 Comments

I’ve been seeing Down the TBR hole around the bloggosphere for a while and have been tempted to do it. For whatever reason, I hadn’t yet. So, armed with a pot of coffee, I’m going down the hole on this dreary Monday morning.

This meme is hosted by Lia @ Lost in a Story.

Here is what you do:

Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

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A Fierce and Subtle Poison by Samantha Mabry

Everyone knows the legends about the cursed girl–Isabel, the one the señoras whisper about. They say she has green skin and grass for hair, and she feeds on the poisonous plants that fill her family’s Caribbean island garden. Some say she can grant wishes; some say her touch can kill.

Seventeen-year-old Lucas lives on the mainland most of the year but spends summers with his hotel-developer father in Puerto Rico. He’s grown up hearing stories about the cursed girl, and he wants to believe in Isabel and her magic. When letters from Isabel begin mysteriously appearing in his room the same day his new girlfriend disappears, Lucas turns to Isabel for answers–and finds himself lured into her strange and enchanted world. But time is running out for the girl filled with poison, and the more entangled Lucas becomes with Isabel, the less certain he is of escaping with his own life.

This book could either be completely amazing or epicly horrible. I just don’t think there is room for a middle ground on it.

Verdict: KEEP

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Strange the Dreamer (Strange the Dreamer #1) by Laini Taylor

The dream chooses the dreamer, not the other way around—and Lazlo Strange, war orphan and junior librarian, has always feared that his dream chose poorly. Since he was five years old he’s been obsessed with the mythic lost city of Weep, but it would take someone bolder than he to cross half the world in search of it. Then a stunning opportunity presents itself, in the person of a hero called the Godslayer and a band of legendary warriors, and he has to seize his chance or lose his dream forever.

What happened in Weep two hundred years ago to cut it off from the rest of the world? What exactly did the Godslayer slay that went by the name of god? And what is the mysterious problem he now seeks help in solving?

The answers await in Weep, but so do more mysteries—including the blue-skinned goddess who appears in Lazlo’s dreams. How did he dream her before he knew she existed? And if all the gods are dead, why does she seem so real?

Welcome to Weep.

I hate the cover of this book with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. Hate it so much it makes me tempted to not read it. That is some serious cover hate. Despite that, it still sounds like it could be a good book.

Verdict: Keep

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Everless (Untitled #1) by Sara Holland

In the land of Sempera, time is extracted from blood and used as payment. Jules Ember and her father were once servants at Everless, the wealthy Gerling family’s estate, but were cast out after of a fateful accident a decade ago. Now, Jules’s father is reaching his last hour, and she will do anything to save him. Desperate to earn time, she arrives at the palace as it prepares for a royal wedding, ready to begin her search into childhood secrets that she once believed to be no more than myths. As she uncovers lost truths, Jules spirals deeper into a past she hardly recognizes, and faces an ancient and dangerous foe who threatens her future and the future of time itself.

Jules sounds like she is going to be dreadfully dull and single minded. I want nothing to do with her.

Verdict:

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Scarlet (Scarlet #1) by A.C. Gaughen

Will Scarlet is good at two things: stealing from the rich and keeping secrets – skills that are in high demand in Robin Hood’s band of thieves, who protect the people of Nottingham from the evil sheriff. Scarlet’s biggest secret of all is one only Robin and his men know…that she is posing as a thief; that the slip of a boy who is fast with sharp knives is really a girl.

The terrible events in her past that led Scarlet to hide her real identity are in danger of being exposed when the thief taker Lord Gisbourne arrives in town to rid Nottingham of the Hood and his men once and for all. As Gisbourne closes in a put innocent lives at risk, Scarlet must decide how much the people of Nottingham mean to her, especially John Little, a flirtatious fellow outlaw, and Robin, whose quick smiles have the rare power to unsettle her. There is real honor among these thieves and so much more – making this a fight worth dying for.

I like storied that include the potential for a badass female lead. It sounds like there may be a bit of a love triangle in this one, which is usually frustrating, but I’ll still give it a shot.

Verdict: Keep

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Mistress of Rome (The Empress of Rome #1) by Kate Quinn

Thea is a slave girl from Judaea, passionate, musical, and guarded. Purchased as a toy for the spiteful heiress Lepida Pollia, Thea will become her mistress’s rival for the love of Arius the Barbarian, Rome’s newest and most savage gladiator. His love brings Thea the first happiness of her life-that is quickly ended when a jealous Lepida tears them apart.

As Lepida goes on to wreak havoc in the life of a new husband and his family, Thea remakes herself as a polished singer for Rome’s aristocrats. Unwittingly, she attracts another admirer in the charismatic Emperor of Rome. But Domitian’s games have a darker side, and Thea finds herself fighting for both soul and sanity. Many have tried to destroy the Emperor: a vengeful gladiator, an upright senator, a tormented soldier, a Vestal Virgin. But in the end, the life of the brilliant and paranoid Domitian lies in the hands of one woman: the Emperor’s mistress.

I have a love affair with good historical fiction and this one certainly sounds like it has the potential to be great.

Verdict: Keep

That is it for my first Down the TBR Hole post. Only gave one book the axe but it is still nice to weed the TBR garden from time to time. Have a lovely day!