Down the TBR Hole #44

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Hello Hello! How are you?

Happy Friday everyone! Thank goodness it’s the end of the week. I have been so busy and I am glad that I have a nice relaxing weekend ahead of me. It is half-term for me next week, but I have a lot of thesis research and university assignments to smash through, so no holiday for me! How has your week been?

I didn’t post a TBR Purge last week because I had an ARC review to get up on my blog, but it’s good to be back to my usual posts!

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!

Today, I am starting my post with a total of 3,648 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf which I don’t exactly know how that is because I have 2 less than last week, and I’m sure I added a few books recently so… strange! As usual, I’ll be making my way through the next 20 books on this list, starting at #377 (and let’s hope they are not all fantasy books like last time ahah)!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

So, this week is already starting with Fantasy, oops. Also, before the blurb, there is a quote from Amie Kaufman that blurbs the book “a kick-***, gender-flipped feminist retelling.” – I mean, need I say more? I know this is YA fantasy and a Robin Hood retelling and I just have to say YES straight away because this sounds exactly like my kind of book.

KEEP

Echo North (Echo North #1) by Joanna Ruth Meyer

Ohoh, another YA Fantasy retelling hehehe! I don’t think I have mentioned this before, but I have a phobia of wolves and I have no idea why, and I usually shy away from books with wolves, but this one doesn’t sound scary or like it will trigger a panic attack and since it is a Beauty and the Beast retelling (one of my faves), I think I will give it a try. Also, that cover is beautiful, and I’ve heard that it’s a great story.

KEEP

Enchantée (Enchantée #1) by Gita Trelease

Ohh, I got myself a copy of this book two years ago when I was in Birmingham and I still have not read the book. it is a historical fiction fantasy story, set in Paris in 1789 and that’s all I need to know, BUT, I can’t remember the blurb… and now that I have read it, goodness me, why has it taken me so long to read this book? It sounds incredible.

KEEP

Ship of Smoke and Steel (The Wells of Sorcery #1) by Django Wexler

I think I added this book to my “Want to Read” shelf because it was one of the BOTM for the Coffee Break Book Club I am part of on Goodreads, but I never got around to it. And I have to be honest, that tiny synopsis was very confusing, so I think I’ll take this off my list for now as I have no idea what it’s about…

REMOVE

Dark of the West (Glass Alliance #1) by Joanna Hathaway

Another YA fantasy and I think I have heard of this one before but I’m not sure I know what it is about. This one sounds a lot like more “traditional” fantasy stories with political intrigue, a war and a touch of romance which I always like in fantasy. I’m not 100% won over on this one yet, but I think I will give it a go!

KEEP

Circle of Shadows (Circle of Shadows #1) by Evelyn Skye

Yet again more YA fantasy, and it’s a series, ooops… I have definitely heard about this one before and seen it all over the bookish community. I think this was a Fairyloot book but I wasn’t yet subscribed with them when it was sent out. This book apparently has magic and betrayal, and after reading that blurb, I just can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!

KEEP

The Cold Is in Her Bones by Peternelle van Arsdale

Another YA Fantasy retelling, so I think we have figured out the bandwagon for this week! This is a book based on the story of Medusa which is actually one that I don’t think I am familiar with! And I am not 100% sure about this one either, but I love anything with myths and I have seen this book about a lot, so I think I will like it, I just have to give it a chance!

KEEP

The Whispers by Greg Howard

Ohhh, we have a middle grade fantasy now, I don’t think I’ve had many so far from my list actually. This honestly sounds like such a great book that I didn’t even have to read the whole blurb because I know it’s something I will love and I will try to get to it soon.

KEEP

Frankly in Love by David Yoon

This is YA romance and I added it to my list a few years ago when I still read YA romance and YA contemporary regularly. It was kind of the only genre I actually knew to be honest, so I know I added this one after having seen it in a BookTube video. Having read the blurb, it sounds cute, but I really think that contemporaries are generally not the books for me and although I do read romance sometimes, I don’t think this is one for me.

REMOVE

Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

I hadn’t heard of this book before a few months ago and I can’t remember if it was because I added it to my thesis research list or something else, but apparently, it’s been on my Goodreads TBR for over 2 years aha! I’m not sure how I feel about this one because it sounds more like a contemporary, and my preference is MG fantasy, horror or historical fiction, so I think I will give this one a miss!

REMOVE

The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman

Another Middle grade book and this one is realistic fiction which is actually a genre I rarely read. I would usually not read a book with this kind of blurb but there is just something about it that makes me want to pick it up. It also reminds me a little bit of the Famous Five for some reason, and I think I want to give it a try! That cover is also stunning.

KEEP

Tight by Torrey Maldonado

Another middle grade realistic fiction. However, after having read the blurb, this is more on the “contemporary” side and unfortunately, just not my thing anymore. I don’t fancy this one at all, so I am going to have to give it a miss.

;

REMOVE

How It Feels to Float by Helena Fox

This is YA contemporary and I don’t think I’ve seen it or heard of it before. After reading the blurb, I’m quite confused because I don’t really know what this book is about, but as I suspected, this is not going to be my cup of tea at all, so I’m going to let this one go.

REMOVE

Love & Other Curses by Michael Thomas Ford

This is YA LGBT and I absolutely loveeeee the cover, it’s so pretty and also spooky. Hmmm, however, I’m not sure that this book would be my cup of tea either as it falls in the contemporary category in my opinion. The blurb doesn’t do anything for me and I just don’t think I can bother, so I’ll get rid of this one as well.

REMOVE

Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

I’ve seen this book about so much and I added it to my list because of that cover, but it is YA contemporary, so I am a little bit sceptical. I think this sounds like a book I would definitely have read a few years ago, unfortunately, this just doesn’t spark my interest much at the moment. I might come back to it one day, but for now, I think this is going to be a no.

REMOVE

Rise of the Dragon Moon by Gabrielle K. Byrne

We are back to middle grade fantasy, that is a beautiful cover and I’ve never seen or heard of this book before, at all! This book also has dragons so I should like the sound of it, but unfortunately, it just isn’t doing much for me right now. I don’t know why, because it has all the elements that I enjoy in books, but I think I’ll have to let this one go for now.

REMOVE

Heartseeker (Heartseeker #1) by Melinda Beatty

Another middle grade fantasy and again, another beautiful cover. I do think I have heard of this book before, but I’m not sure! But wow, this book sounds so unique, adventurous and court intrigues, it sounds like a book I am going to love, so I am definitely keeping this one on my Goodreads TBR.

KEEP

How Not to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee

Oh dear, back to YA romance… I have to admit that it does sound kind of good and I think that had I seen this a few years ago, I would have read it, but for some reason, I just don’t want to pick it up, so this one is going to go.

REMOVE

The Boy, the Bird and the Coffin Maker by Matilda Woods

Oh, another middle grade fantasy. This is really surprising to me because at the time that these books were added to my list, I don’t think I knew what middle grade was as a genre, but I am so glad that I do now because I love MG books. And that title already has me wanting to pick it up. The blurb is really short, but it sounds so sweet, so I want to give it a try!

KEEP

The Not So Boring Letters of Private Nobody by Matthew Landis

And the final book on this week’s list is another MG realistic fiction that I’ve never seen or heard of before! When I first started reading the blurb, I was sure I was going to remove the book, but as I got to the end, I was kind of won over. This has a little slice of history, which I love and I think it’s going to be mysterious, cute and fun, so I am going to give it a shot.

KEEP

Well, that was a bit of a more successful week than last time where I only removed 2 books! Today, I was able to remove 9 books out of the 20 I went through. That takes my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf down to a total of 3,639 books, so I am steadily making the number shrink! Next week, I will start again at #338.

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx