Down the TBR Hole #43

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Hello Hello! How are you all?

It’s Friday again, yay! This week has been so long and hectic and I’ve been so busy, but I’m looking forward to the weekend! How has your week been? It’s time for another TBR Purge, so buckle in and let’s get going!

You know the drill if you’ve never read any of my Down the TBR Hole posts before but you want to find out why I started and what rules to follow to do your own TBR list purge on your Goodreads, head over to the first edition of this post to find out more!

I am starting this week’s TBR Purge with a total of 3,654 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf (three less than I finished with last week, so I’m not sure how that happened). I’m going through the next 20 books on this list and starting at #359. Wish me luck!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Important note: This week is mainly comprised of YA Fantasy series. You all know it’s one of my favourite genres, something tells me I’ll not be removing a lot, so please send help….!!

The Falconer by Dana Czapnik

This is a historical fiction that I’m not sure I have heard about before, and I don’t like the cover for starters. I suppose this does sound like a good book, but it is probably not going to be my cup of tea, unfortunately, so I’ll be kicking this week off with an easy choice!

REMOVE

Still Lives by Maria Hummel

Another book that I’m not a fan of the cover and I don’t think I’ve heard of this mystery before either! Again, not the kind of book that I would usually pick up and I know I have loads of other mystery novels on my TBR that I want to get to, so I’m going to take this one off the list.

REMOVE

Kingdom of Needle and Bone by Mira Grant

This is a horror science fiction standalone (I think) from Mira Grant (who is also Seanan McGuire. I like this author’s writing and have already read one of her books and I know I want to read more! This book is about a virus/pandemic in a world where disease has basically been eradicated, so probably not the best book right now, but I’m morbid and this plot doesn’t bother me in the least. This book sounds absolutely incredible and I want to get to it soon.

KEEP

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark

I have heard of this author before but I’m not sure I have seen this book before. However, this is a fantasy, science fiction and steampunk mash-up, the last genre is one I have wanted to delve deeper in for quite a while. The blurb has completely won me over, so I am definitely going to be keeping hold of this book!

KEEP

Gideon the Ninth (The Locked Tomb #1) by Tamsyn Muir

This is a book that I have seen about so much on the book community, and I know that it has some quite different opinions, but I am so intrigued, although the cover is kind of scary aha! This is fantasy and science fiction, but it also seems a little bit like horror because of the necromancers and apparently a lot of dead things, but honestly, that is just my vibe, so this is staying on the list too!

KEEP

The Tiger at Midnight (The Tiger at Midnight Trilogy #1) by Swati Teerdhala

Another YA Fantasy series, I am seriously jigging about with joy after so many strange books on my TBR! This one is based on ancient Indian history and Hindu mythology, it has magic, it has intrigue, it is a trilogy and it has romance, need I say more?

KEEP

Nocturna (A Forgery of Magic #1) by Maya Motayne

This is a book that I got in a Fairyloot box last year, and it’s another one of those really unique-sounding YA Fantasy series! This one is Latinx-inspired and it has a really original kind of magic, I have been meaning to pick it up for months, and since it is on my 2021 Popsugar Reading Challenge TBR, I am going to try to get to it soon!

KEEP

Gates of Stone (Lord of the Islands #1) by Angus Macallan

Another YA Fantasy series – yippee! Although, I don’t think I am a fan of the cover. This one also sounds really unique, I mean, I know you don’t really think unique when it comes to some fantasy books because most of them have magic, political intrigue, a touch of fantasy, etc, but this one sounds really good to me and I am going to try it out!

KEEP

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

I absolutely love the cover of this YA Fantasy standalone, it is beautiful and I have been loving books set at sea lately! The main character decides to take the role of a pirate to survive on the ship. This one sounds like a high-stakes adventure on the high-seas with magic, and I am so glad I add books without thinking because I probably wouldn’t have found this one otherwise!

KEEP

The Gutter Prayer (The Black Iron Legacy #1) by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan

I actually just read a blog post at the start of the week from Ollie over at Infinite Speculation who was talking about the second book in this series in their The Best Books of 2020 post (highly recommend reading this post). The blurb added completely won me over. I highly recommend it! This is epic fantasy, and LET ME TELL YOU, I only needed to read the first line of this blurb to be like YES, this is definitely a book for me, kudos to Ollie for pointing out this series to me!

KEEP

We Are Blood and Thunder (We Are Blood and Thunder #1) by Kesia Lupo

I don’t think I have heard of this book before, but that cover is really intriguing and it’s a YA Fantasy series! This one sounds like a really complex book with a massive secret and a mostly female cast – in other words, just my cup of tea, so thank you once again to my trigger-happy fingers for adding every book my eyes come across!

KEEP

The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett

I’ve had my eye on this book for a while because it’s fantasy and historical fiction, also known as my two favourite genres, and I just can’t say no to that beautiful cover. The first bit of blurb says that a young girl has to track down Vlad the Impaler’s ring and I am intrigued! This one has a really great-sounding expedition and I don’t know why, but I’m getting The Shadows Between Us vibes from the synopsis, (so sorry, not sorry), this is staying on my reading list!

KEEP

Nameless Queen by Rebecca McLaughlin

Just the expression “royal fantasy” and the cover are enough to make me want to keep this on my list, but I have to read the full synopsis, even though I think we all know where this is heading. This one is giving me The Selection vibes (I have no idea why, but it kind of sounds like that). Yep, this is a book I am keeping, it sounds so great!

KEEP

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu

This is another one that I’ve had my eye on for quite a while, this is a fantasy historical fiction based on music and it’s a retelling of Mozart’s story, it really sounds like something different to my usual reads, but I think I am going to give it a shot!

KEEP

Once & Future (Once & Future #1) by A.R. Capetta, Cory McCarthy

This is another YA fantasy series and I have heard some varying reviews and opinions on this one too, but as I read this blurb and realised that it was a retelling of King Arthur, I was completely won over and convinced that I needed this book in my life. I am hoping that this is going to be a series for me!

KEEP

Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology #1) by Robin LaFevers

I first saw this book on Bookstagram and the beautiful cover just pulled me in, I’m pretty sure I added it just for the cover and never actually read the blurb. Another YA Fantasy series that sounds so unique, the main character is one of Death’s daughters (this is so cool), and the plot sounds really interesting, so this is another series I need to try out!

KEEP

Sky Without Stars (System Divine #1) by Jessica Brody, Joanne Rendell

This one is YA science fiction and I’ll admit, it’s not a genre I read that much of, but I have really wanted to read more of this genre lately! OH MY GOODNESS!!!! This is a retelling of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo??? How can I not have known this? ARGH, it’s one of my favourite books! This one is staying firmly on the list and I am even bumping it up higher, so it better meet my VERY high expectations!

KEEP

House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Another book I’ve heard a lot about, and as if you couldn’t guess, it’s a YA Fantasy standalone. One thing is for sure, I am loving this week’s bandwagon! And now I remember that this is a retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses. I am a sucker for retellings, so this one has basically won me over in three lines of blurb, and it has a kind of mystery mixed in too, so you can bet I’ll be reading this book!

KEEP

The Court of Miracles (A Court of Miracles #1) by Kester Grant

This one was all the rage a few months ago and I was dragged into all the buzz about it, but I seem to have forgotten the blurb, although that cover is so mesmerising, so do I really need to read the synopsis? (Yes, I do actually ahah). This book is set in 1828 in Paris (I am sold). OMG, this is also likened to Les Misérables, I don’t even need to read the whole blurb, I need this book in my life.

KEEP

Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

And the final book on this week’s list is by an author I discovered last year with Candyce and absolutely fell in love with her writing style. This one sounds epic, it has gods and a strong main character, I already know I’ll enjoy this book, so it’s staying firmly on the list!

KEEP

Well, I totally failed at removing books this week, but I suppose I also didn’t fail because look at all the amazing books I rediscovered and have decided to keep and get to soon! There was no way I could remove any of these amazing-sounding fantasies!

I was able to remove a total of 2 books this week … but I have pushed my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf down to 3,650 books, so this has definitely not been my most successful week for removing books, but I don’t think we can argue with this amazing list of books I’m keeping! Next week, I’ll be starting up the Purge at #377.

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this book! See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx