This week I accomplished something I was rather proud of. I managed to only add one book to my TBR! While that may be the case I am still hovering around 150 on my TBR and I continue to weed out the ones that I know I will never get to or have lost interest in over time. Continue reading
I have been doing these Down the TBR posts for several weeks now and, unfortunately, my TBR pile is still growing. When I started these posts my TBR pile was around 100, now it is over 150 even with the purging. Yikes! Maybe I should be a little more ruthless because I know I will never read all of these books. Lets try to bring the hammer down on it today, shall we?
Down the TBR Hole is a meme that was started by Lia @ Lost in a Story. Here is how it works:
Down the TBR Hole is a meme that was started by Lia @ Lost in a Story. Here is how it works:
This is my 8th trip down the hole. Lets see what is waiting at the bottom of it today! All book descriptions in italics are taken from Goodreads.
Hello and welcome to this edition of Down the TBR Hole! I’ve finally reached the part of my TBR list on Goodreads that I actually, at least vaguely, remember adding. Exciting, isn’t it? Yes? No?
Welcome to this week’s edition of Down the TBR Hole! Most of the books this week I have added within the last year and I still have very little memory of them. That either says something poor about me or about the books and I’d rather not delve into that at this hour. Anyway, here are some books from my TBR that had me scratching my head.
Welcome back to Literary Weaponry’s rendition of Down the TBR Hole. This week, we are traversing this hole for the fifth time. There a few books on this list that I honestly don’t remember ever crossing paths with. Let’s see how this goes, shall we?
I started doing this Down the TBR Hole feature about a month ago now. It has really helped me clean up my potential reading list on Goodreads and I’ve reintroduced myself to books I want to read but had forgotten about. All in all, it has been a real win-win situation. Hopefully, by posting this, it is also introducing you lovely readers to books you may want to read but hadn’t heard about before!
Red Queen (Red Queen #1) by Victoria Aveyard
This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.
The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.
That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.
Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.
But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.
From reviews I’ve read about this book people seem to be very much on one side of the fence or the other about it. Aka a very love it or hate it kind of book without much middle ground. When I first added it to my TBR I thought it sounded vaguely interesting but since then my interest had waned. I think it is time for this book to go.
Verdict: 
An Ember in the Ashes (An Ember in the Ashes #1) by Sabaa Tahir
Laia is a slave.
Elias is a soldier.
Neither is free.
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.
You know, I had been seeing this book and author around online everywhere lately. I kept thinking, “Hm. I need to get on Goodreads and look at her books!” Apparently I already had sometime last year and forgotten about it. Whoops! This one is definitely sticking around.
Verdict: KEEP
A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis
Grace Mae knows madness.
She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.
When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars, where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.
What can I say? I still want to read this. It’s not high on my TBR but I’ll get to it eventually. Maybe when I am old and grey.
Verdict: KEEP
Snow Like Ashes (Snow Like Ashes #1) by Sara Raasch
A heartbroken girl. A fierce warrior. A hero in the making.
Sixteen years ago the Kingdom of Winter was conquered and its citizens enslaved, leaving them without magic or a monarch. Now, the Winterians’ only hope for freedom is the eight survivors who managed to escape, and who have been waiting for the opportunity to steal back Winter’s magic and rebuild the kingdom ever since.
Orphaned as an infant during Winter’s defeat, Meira has lived her whole life as a refugee, raised by the Winterians’ general, Sir. Training to be a warrior—and desperately in love with her best friend, and future king, Mather — she would do anything to help her kingdom rise to power again.
So when scouts discover the location of the ancient locket that can restore Winter’s magic, Meira decides to go after it herself. Finally, she’s scaling towers, fighting enemy soldiers, just as she’s always dreamed she would. But the mission doesn’t go as planned, and Meira soon finds herself thrust into a world of evil magic and dangerous politics – and ultimately comes to realize that her destiny is not, never has been, her own.
This one pretty much lost me at “a heartbroken girl.” You all may have noticed that I have a healthy dislike of love stories. I just don’t understand their draw, I suppose. Or my heart is a shriveled thing incapable of appreciating that concept which is love. Either way, this book has to go.
Verdict:
Girl Waits with Gun (Kopp Sisters #1) by Amy Stewart
A novel based on the forgotten true story of one of the nation’s first female deputy sheriffs.
Constance Kopp doesn’t quite fit the mold. She towers over most men, has no interest in marriage or domestic affairs, and has been isolated from the world since a family secret sent her and her sisters into hiding fifteen years ago. One day a belligerent and powerful silk factory owner runs down their buggy, and a dispute over damages turns into a war of bricks, bullets, and threats as he unleashes his gang on their family farm. When the sheriff enlists her help in convicting the men, Constance is forced to confront her past and defend her family — and she does it in a way that few women of 1914 would have dared.
Guys, the comments section for this book on Goodreads is pretty brutal. Especially the Reader Q&A part. Folks are feisty! This one is definitely sticking around my TBR list.
Verdict: KEEP
Not a bad list clean up for a Monday morning, if I do say so myself, and it was done with a head cold and Game of Thrones hangover. I’ll call it a success. I hope you all have a wonderful day!
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.
This meme is hosted by Lia @ Lost in a Story.
Here is what you do:
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
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:
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:
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:
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?
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:
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
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
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:
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
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:
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?
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:
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
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
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:
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
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!
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