Down the TBR Hole #10

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Hello Hello! How are you?

I can’t believe this is the 10^th edition of Down the TBR Hole! Also, this post is two days early because I was supposed to post my monthly Bullet Journaling post today but I haven’t quite finished the spreads I was hoping to talk about, so I’ve switched these two around. I know I’m hopeless, right?

Anyway! I’ve been really busy busy busy lately reading and reviewing loads of books, but I’m so glad to be back for my weekly Down the TBR Hole post! I think they are among my favourites to write and put together and I get to put loads of books on my wishlist in the process! If you would like to read my first ever post, you can find it here where I speak about where this idea came from and what you have to do if you want to purge your own TBR shelf just like what I’m doing in this weekly posts!

Last week, I ended the post at 4,439 books but as I’m sure you can guess, I’ve added a few since. I can’t help it, so many wonderful blogger friends have so many wonderful recommendations and sometimes… I just add more and more books to the TBR. I suppose it’s an excuse to do even more of these posts! I now have 4,446 books on the Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf, as usual, I’ll be looking through the next 20 books on the list, starting from #110. Let’s get these numbers down (fingers crossed!).

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately by Alicia Cook

Before I started these posts over 2 months ago, I would never have believed how many poetry books I had on my TBR, apparently, I liked adding poetry in 2018. I was actually interested in this book until the second half of the blurb. I’m sure it’s a great poetry collection but I don’t really get why the author mixed all the poems up in the second part of the book, because they were already in the first part? Anyway, I don’t really get this book, so I don’t think it’s for me.

REMOVE

Snow Like Ashes (#1) by Sara Raasch

I first heard about this book so, so many years ago on Hailey’s YouTube channel in one of her recommendation series. I immediately added it to my TBR and it has been on here ever since; I totally forgot about it until today. I didn’t even have to read the whole blurb to remember that this book synopsis gave me Divergent and The Hunger Games vibes. I love fantasy series like this and I can’t wait to finally get to it one of these days!

KEEP

The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver

When I saw the title of this book I thought it was a fantasy novel so I was intrigued, then I saw the genres and I was put off, then I started reading the blurb and it sounded promising and then I finished the blurb and I was totally uninclined to read this book, so I think that this might not be for me. It sounds intriguing but I’m not sure I’m in the mood for this type of mystery/ thriller/ court drama type of story.

REMOVE

Passenger (#1) by Alexandra Bracken

The little Ellie in my brain is clapping fiercely at this next fantasy series! I’ve also had this one on my list for years after hearing about it on YouTube by so many people. I feel like this is one of those old-school hyped books that I’ve just never gotten around to. The blurb has me totally rivetted and I really need to pick this book up soon because I want to know everything about it, I’ve also really been enjoying books set on a ship or the ocean lately, so I think I’ll like it a lot.

KEEP

This is Me Letting You Go by Heidi Priebe

Apparently, I like adding poetry without knowing about it, oh well! This would honestly have been a great book for me to read a few years back, but I’m really not in the mood for this type of poetry at the minute, so I think I’ll take it off the list, for now, it might make its way back on the list in the future, but I’m not feeling it right now. I think I fancy reading some great poetry books right now, both some classic ones and some more contemporary ones, give me your recommendations in the comments please!

REMOVE

Recovered by Jay Crownover

I’m trying to move out of my reading habits and broaden my literary horizons a bit more. I used to read contemporaries and a lot of romance novels before I figured out what books were for me, and since becoming a fantasy lover, I haven’t really had the chance to read many romance novels. I have a ton on my Kindle that I got for free or very cheap, so I think I might work through those first when I’m in the mood for a quick romance, I’m sort of not really in the mood for this one though. The blurb sounds fine and interesting, but it’s not really doing anything for me.

REMOVE

Daughter of the Pirate King (#1) by Tricia Levenseller

This month I read The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller with Candyce from The Book Dutchesses as our first-ever buddy read and I loved it so much. I’m so glad I got it in my February Fairyloot because I don’t think I would have picked it up otherwise and discovered this author. Daughter of the Pirate King has been on my TBR ever since it came out, I’ve also been loving books about pirates at the moment, and I’m super excited about this series, I’m sure I’m going to love it.

KEEP

The Girl From Everywhere (#1) by Heidi Heilig

Another fantasy series on the list, maybe this week is the series bandwagon week! I had totally forgotten what this book was about until I read the first line of the synopsis, said “omg” really loud and now I really need to get my hands on a copy and start reading it. Another book set at sea, on a ship, with a girl who travels through centuries and all around the world, even places that only exist as myths and legends as long as her father has a map to sail there? OMG is right! I really need to add this book/series to one of my priority lists because it sounds like I’m going to really enjoy it and it also sort of reminds me of the Firebird series by Claudia Gray, if you haven’t heard of it, please go read it, it’s amazing.

KEEP

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw

I’ve also had this one on my list for years, this time because I was drawn to the cover. I’m sure you know, I absolutely love anything witchy and when I saw this cover I was totally sold, even though I don’t actually know what it’s about.. oops. OMG again, this book is for me, I’ve only read 1 line of the synopsis and I already want to read this book right now!!

KEEP

The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty

I’ve had this on my list for a very long time as well and there was a time when I’m sure I would have adored it, but family thrillers/mysteries like these are not really my cup of tea, I prefer a good old whodunnit to books like The Girl on the Train and such, so I think I might take this off the list and maybe add it again sometime in the future. Have you read this? What did you think?

REMOVE

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (#1) by Jenny Han

Another series that I’ve wanted to read since it came out, I also think that this is one of those series that has sort of kept up the hype even a few years after its publication. Loads of people have read the books and watched the movies and told me to do so as well, and I’m honestly in the mood for a feel-good cute, contemporary young adult romance story, and I’ve really been meaning to pick this up and see for myself what all the hype is about which guy I like the most!

KEEP

The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

I think I added this as soon as it came out and I saw the cover and I would have purchased it last year when I was in Cork in Ireland, if my best friend hadn’t pried my hands away from it and pushed me to the till with my already overflowing armful of books. Once again, I just have to read the first line of the blurb to want to pick this up straight away. Blurb writers really have a way to pull you in, don’t they? This book sounds fabulous, I love weird and wonderful books like this and I’m sure it’s going to be really good!

KEEP

Secondborn (#1) by Amy A. Bartol

Another new series, yay! I’ve not read any dystopian books since the Divergent series I FINALLY got to last year after much procrastinating and I absolutely adored it and sobbed my heart out when the trilogy came to an end, considering what’s happening in the world, maybe this isn’t the best choice, but I honestly wasn’t fazed when I read Red Hail by Jamie Killen this past week so I think I’ll be fine. I have to say that this synopsis also gave me The Hunger Games and Divergent vibes and I’m honestly craving that type of addictive, amazing book at the moment, so I need to try to read this in the near future!

KEEP

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

I know that this is sort of one of THE thrillers to read, but I’m honestly not too bothered. In all the years I’ve been reading, I feel like the world and his wife have read this book, but I don’t think that anyone has ever recommended it to me and the blurb just totally flopped, so this is an easy choice.

REMOVE

Let Me Lie by Clare Mackintosh

I don’t really think I’m in the mood for a thriller at the moment and this synopsis isn’t doing anything for me either, I don’t think I’ve even heard anyone speak about it and it doesn’t have a very good rating, so this is another easy choice to make.

REMOVE

The Missing by C.L. Taylor

Have I ever read a psychological thriller? Do I even know what one of those is? Oh gosh, this week is bleak on the TBR front. Apparently this book is “perfect for fans of Reconstructing Amelia”, I read that book a few years ago and I did like it, but it wasn’t anything exceptional, and I’m really not a great fan of family thrillers so I think I might pass on this one!

REMOVE

The Vanishing Year by Kate Moretti

This blurb doesn’t do anything for me, I don’t remember adding this to my TBR and haven’t heard anyone ever speak about it. I do like the odd thriller/mystery but nowhere near the amount of actual thrillers on this Goodreads shelf. I’m not ever going to read most of them, so there isn’t much point in keeping those that don’t sound like I will enjoy.

REMOVE

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

I’ve never heard of this book before and I’m not sure how it got on here (well, I do know how, it just probably wasn’t a conscious choice). I must admit that the premise does sound rather intriguing but at the same time I’m sort of rolling my eyes and totally bored, so I’m not going to bother with this one either. I’m making quick work of these thrillers today!

REMOVE

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena

I heard about this book in one of Kayla’s YouTube videos and I remember that she said that she really liked this author, but I hadn’t heard of her before and I’ve only ever heard people talk about this book a few times. It is described as a “domestic suspense” and the blurb also sounds a lot like what happened to Madeleine McCann, I remember when she went missing so that just makes me not want to read it, so this is another easy remove!

REMOVE

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Finally, another fantasy, and it is even a middle grade, win-win! Ohhh, the synopsis sounds really cool, I’ve only read a few books where the main characters were cartographers and this one sounds really unique, I’m sure I’m going to love it and this is a great way to wrap up this post!

KEEP

So, out of the 20 books in today’s post, I was able to remove a total of 11 books which I think is one of the best numbers in the past weeks! I had loads of fun doing this post today and I’m glad that the numbers are slowly starting to whittle down, it won’t be long until I’m at a more manageable amount on my TBR (whatever that means)!

I now have a total of 4,435 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf and will be starting next week’s post at #119 and it’s actually a book one of my blogger friends has recently read and really enjoyed so I’m super excited to read the blurb and see what I think!

I’m nearly halfway through the book I added in 2018 and I’m quite certain that most of the book I added to the list in 2019 are more likely to be books I really want to read or will really enjoy, or maybe 1,000 of them are sequels haha! I’m going to try to have a little clean out of the sequels again this weekend ready for next week’s post and hopefully get even more off the TBR!  

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this instalment of the Down the TBR Hole series. Have you read any on this list? Tell me all about them in the comment! See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx