Down the TBR Hole #46

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Hello Hello! How are you all?

I can’t believe that today is Friday and that we are in the last days of February! I am glad to be back with my weekly TBR Purge post though and I have a little bit of a confession to make… I may have gone through the pictures on my phone and added a lot of books to my Goodreads TBR… oops…

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’m going to be starting this week’s Down the TBR Hole post with a total of 3,725 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf (I finished last week’s at 3,627 books…..). Needless to say, I have a lot of catching up to do, but I did make sure to check the blurbs first and only added what I thought I would enjoy, obviously that was quite a few books. As per usual, I’ll go through the next 20 books on my TBR list and I’m starting today at #397.

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Truly Madly Royally by Debbie Rigaud

This is a contemporary romance that I don’t remember adding to my list. This one sounds a lot like The Princess Diaries which is a film I loved when I was younger (I’m pretty sure I still like it ahah). However, I don’t read many romances or contemporaries as you know and I think that I would have picked this up when I was younger, but it just doesn’t appear to me anymore. If I fancy something like this, I’ll just watch the movies again.

REMOVE

The Devouring Gray (The Devouring Gray #1) by Christine Lynn Herman

I remember seeing this book on Bookstagram and falling in love with the cover, but I only read the blurb a few months ago when I stumbled on this book on a “Disabled characters” list that I was researching for my thesis. This is on my thesis reading list but it also sounds like a fantastic first book in a YA fantasy series that I am definitely going to try very soon hopefully!

KEEP

You Owe Me a Murder by Eileen Cook

This is a YA mystery and you all know that I’m obsessed with this genre at the minute. It has also been likened to One of Us is Lying and E. Lockhart, a book and an author that I really like! Oh, this blurb sounds really intriguing, the book may be a little bit obvious and not be very surprising, but I think I will give it a chance.

KEEP

The Black Butterfly by Shirley Reva Vernick

This is another unknown-to-me book and a YA fantasy/paranormal. I think this book would have appealed to me when I was younger, but to be honest, the blurb does absolutely nothing for me and I don’t think I would enjoy it. There is nothing wrong with it, it’s just not got that spark that I look for when picking a book.

REMOVE

Stronger Than a Bronze Dragon by Mary Fan

Another YA fantasy that I haven’t seen before! Apparently, it is also epic fantasy and steampunk, which seems like a lot, but the blurb sounds really cool. I’m not 100% sure about it and whether I will like it, but the blurb has definitely drawn me in and I’m intrigued to read this one, I think it will be good.

KEEP

Bone Crier’s Moon (Bone Grace #1) by Kathryn Purdie

I got this beautiful book in a Fairyloot box a few months ago and I remember reading the blurb for the first time on opening the box and falling in love with it. This book sounds so unique, and the fact that the Bone Crier’s have to ferry the dead to the afterlife and sacrifice their one true love just sounds wow, and I know that I am going to adore this book and this series, so hopefully, it will be picked in a TBR game soon!

KEEP

The Bakersville Dozen by Kristina McBride

Another YA mystery I didn’t know I had on my list and I’ve never seen before. And actually, I am so glad I added this book to my list because having read the blurb it sounds really good. I love books with mysteries to work out, and this one seems really sinister. I am not a fan of the cover, but just for this once I think I’ll let it slide.

KEEP

Crown of Coral and Pearl (Crown of Coral and Pearl #1) by Mara Rutherford

We are back to YA fantasy and a series and luckily I have seen this book before. Oh wow, if there is something I really like in YA fantasy it is also a plot with royalty and with some sort of mystery. This book sounds exactly like the kind of read that I adore and I will definitely be picking it up as soon as I can!

KEEP

All the Stars and Teeth (All the Stars and Teeth #1) by Adalyn Grace

Another YA fantasy and I feel like this is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, but I might be completely wrong. I think that the magic system in this book sounds really intriguing, how everyone in the kingdom can pick their magic except one person. I am completely won over by this blurb and the cover is beautiful, bring on mermaids, pirates, magic and what seems like a kick-ass main character!

KEEP

Winterdream by Chantal Gadoury

This is a fantasy retelling that I have never seen before and I honestly cannot tell what that is supposed to be on the cover… it seems like it’s a Nutcracker retelling and I don’t know that story yet, unfortunately. This one is wintery, Christmassy, and I didn’t think I would be keeping it on the list but it really does sound like the perfect read for the coldest months!

KEEP

The Bright and the Pale (The Bright & the Pale Duology #1) by Jessica Rubinkowski

I hadn’t realised I already had this book on my TBR list because I actually only discovered it a few weeks ago when I was preparing my anticipated books of 2021 list. This is also YA fantasy, a duology, it has magic, it sounds dark and sinister and the cover is gorgeous. And I also really appreciate that TWs are added to the bottom of the blurb, so kudos to the author, publisher or person who made this page. I’m looking forward to reading this one soon.

KEEP

Soul in Darkness by Wendy Higgins

This is another unknown-to-me book and it is fantasy with romance and mythology. And I think this is a retelling because, in the January Fairyloot box, there was a trinket dish with Psyche and Cupid, the two characters in this book, so that’s interesting as I don’t know about those two gods yet. Yes, this book sounds really good and I love reading anything based on mythology!

KEEP

Scavenge the Stars (Scavenge the Stars #1) by Tara Sim

Another YA fantasy retelling but this time I’ve definitely seen this book before, I think I added it once I saw it in a BookTube video. Oh wow, this is a retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo, a book that I haven’t read yet but it on my list. And the blurb just sounds really good, it’s definitely my kind of thing and I’ll be keeping it!

KEEP

Never-Contented Things by Sarah Porter

Another YA fantasy I’ve not seen before, so I think we can say that YA fantasy is the bandwagon for this week, which makes me very happy. This book also has fae, which I love, so, so far so good. And I did think I would be keeping this book on my list, but having read the blurb, it just sounds a little lacklustre, so I think I’m going to let this one go.

REMOVE

The Waking Forest by Alyssa Wees

Again, we have an unknown-to-me YA fantasy and I adore the cover. It is very similar to the cover of The Devouring Gray, but also quite different. The blurb seems a little bit vague and I didn’t really understand what this book is about, but there is something about it that intrigues me, so I think I want to give it a chance.

KEEP

Eight Will Fall by Sarah Harian

This is another YA fantasy that I received in a Fairyloot box, I think it was the January box last year, and I still haven’t read it yet. According to Goodreads, there is also a horror element to this book, and I can’t remember the blurb off the top of my head, but I know it sounded really good when I unboxed it, and I definitely do want to read it!

KEEP

Stain by A.G. Howard

I have seen this Fantasy retelling all over the bookish community for such a long time but I still have no idea what this book is about. I don’t like the cover at all, however. Oh, it is a retelling of The Princess and the Pea, and it is blurbed as a “high-fantasy gothic fairytale” which just sounds great in my opinion. And oh boy that blurb!!! This is EXACTLY the kind of book that I really enjoy and I can’t believe I haven’t gotten to it yet, this is staying firmly on my list.

KEEP

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall

This is an unknown-to-me fantasy, LGBT, mystery and the cover is just giving me massive Sherlock Holmes vibes. And it is actually a kind of Sherlock Holmes retelling, need I say more? And I have to admit that this blurb sounds fantastic. I think the book is set in a kind of warped reality and it does hint at science fiction elements as well, I think I’ll really enjoy it.

KEEP

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley

This is science fiction and I don’t think that I have heard of this book before actually. It is also a futuristic thriller. Having read the blurb, I am quite confused as to what this book is about and I found it quite vague. I don’t know if I would enjoy this one or not, but since I have loads of other science fiction on my TBR, I’ll focus on those first.

REMOVE

Chilling Effect (Chilling Effect #1) by Valerie Valdes

And the final book on this week’s Down the TBR Hole post is a YA science fiction. I’m not really sure about this one either, to be honest, I haven’t read many (or even any I don’t think) space operas and the blurb just felt a little bit all over the place for me. I don’t think I’ve read any reviews on this either, so I’ll take it off my list for now and I might add it back later!

REMOVE

Well, this was another interesting week and I did a lot more keeping than removing, but I also found some great new books that I am excited to get to soon.

I was able to remove a total of 5 books from the 20 I looked through today, taking my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf down to 3,718 books, which is much better than where I started! I’ll be going back to this list next week and starting at #412 and I’m so glad I am now on page 5 of this massive list!

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

Ellie xx