Down the TBR Hole #51

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Hello Hello! How are you?

Another Friday (YAY) and it’s been a while again since I’ve done a TBR Purge post, I’ve just been so busy that I’ve been running out of time to draft my posts, but I got a bit ahead this week, and I’m glad I’m back to a dive into the massive TBR shelf!

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’s Down the TBR Hole post is starting off with a total of 3,660 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf, which means I somehow removed 14 books without realising aha, but yay right? I’m going to make my way through the next 20 books as usual, and I’m going to be starting today at #430, so wish me luck!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

The Secret Diamond Sisters (#1 The Secret Diamond Sisters) by Michelle Madow

I am already starting this week with what I think is going to be a dud because I don’t like the cover and it is YA contemporary romance… I think this is definitely a case of the wrong reader at the wrong time because I would have most likely read and enjoyed this book a few years ago, but I’m not into these themes any more, so I’m starting this week off with an easy choice!

REMOVE

Dear Killer by Katherine Ewell

This is an unknown-to-me YA mystery, so that bodes a bit better than the first book. but it is actually blurbed more as a psychological thriller, which is very obviously not the kind of book I like or choose to read, so I’m not going to keep this on the list as I don’t think it would be my cup of tea.

REMOVE

Daughter of Chaos (#1 Red Magic) by Jen McConnel

I think this is going to be the week where all the books are unknown to me, and I have to say, I really do not like peoples’ pictures on books, just not a cover style I like. This actually sounds like an interesting book. However, I am well aware that my TBR is absolutely massive, and that I have a load of other urban fantasy/YA fantasy books that sound similar, so I think I will concentrate on those first.

REMOVE

Grim edited by Christine Johnson

This is a YA fantasy short story anthology of retellings of the Grim fairy tales. You know how much I love fairy tales and especially retellings. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this book before, but I like the sound of this book, and some of the authors are well-known, so I’m going to give it a go.

KEEP

The Girl from the Well (#1 The Girl from the Well) by Rin Chupeco

Oh, well I haven’t heard of this book before I don’t think, but I have heard of this author and have a few of their books on my TBR already I believe, so I am definitely intrigued. This is YA horror, and I’m getting into horror more lately, so I’m not too worried about it. Uhmmm, this book sounds absolutely amazing, why have I never heard of it before? I’m definitely keeping it on the list and I will even be pushing it high on the TBR.

KEEP

Dancing with a Dead Horse by Danielle DeVor

I’ve never heard or seen this book before, and I don’t like the cover or the title, but it is YA horror, so maybe that will be the bandwagon for this week! This book sounds interesting and possibly like something I would like, but I really do not like the cover, so I’m going to let the cover be the deciding factor and remove it from the list for now.

REMOVE

The Jewel (#1 The Lone City) by Amy Ewing

This is YA fantasy dystopia so visibly this week is just all over the place with genres! It reminds me a lot of The Selection. I’ve only read the first book of that series so far, but I enjoyed it a lot and I don’t know why I haven’t picked up the others yet. This really sounds like a book and a series that I would enjoy!

KEEP

Dissonance (#1 Dissonance) by Erica O’Rourke

And this is another unknown-to-me book and it is YA fantasy science fiction. And guess what? I don’t like the cover! But ohhh… this book actually sounds really quite interesting. It reminds me a little bit of the Firebird series by Claudia Gray which is one of my favourites, and while I don’t make a habit of reading similar books to my faves, I do think I want to give this one a go!

KEEP

Nil (#1 Nil) by Lynne Matson

And now we have an unknown-to-me YA dystopia, which is a genre I usually really like. This sounds a little like the Maze Runner, but maybe a bit better? I don’t know, it sounds intriguing for sure and I really want to give it a chance, so it is staying on my list!

KEEP

Beware the Wild (#1 Beware the Wild) by Natalie C. Parker

More unknown books… yikes! But this is a YA fantasy paranormal, so definitely up my street. I’m not too sure what to think about this book because it sounds both a little boring, but also really good. Since I don’t really have the “spark” to want to absolutely read it, I think I am going to let it go.

REMOVE

The Sound of Letting Go by Stasia Ward Kehoe

This is YA contemporary romance and I can already tell that it’s most likely a book that I’ll be removing from my list. Having read the blurb, this honestly does not sound like a book for me, and I am going to be removing it from my list.

REMOVE

Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine

This is YA historical fiction romance and a standalone from what I can tell. But why are there so many people on covers? Grrr! Oh, from the first line of the blurb, this is definitely a Romeo and Juliet retelling, which has me intrigued. This sounds really, really good and I am definitely keeping it on the list, I can’t believe I’ve never heard of it before!

KEEP

Don’t Even Think About It (#1 Don’t Even Think About It) by Sarah Mlynowski

And we are back to covers I hate and YA contemporaries. This actually sounds interesting, but in a weird kind of way and it would have been a great book for 15-year-old Ellie, but I think 22-year-old Ellie would not be the biggest fan, so I’m going to get rid of it!

REMOVE

Plus One (#1 Plus One) by Elizabeth Fama

Once again, it is another unknown-to-me book and this time it is YA dystopia and yet again, another cover I am not a fan of. I am starting to believe that the majority of my TBR comprises all the ugly books out there ahah. The blurb has really confused me and I don’t even want to finish reading it, so it’s going to be a removal for this one.

REMOVE

Faking Normal (#1 Faking Normal) by Courtney C. Stevens

More unknown-to-me YA contemporary with a not great cover, I promise I have now learned my lesson and only add books once I have read the blurbs haha. I think this one is about rape and I just don’t want to read it, and it also seems to have themes of self-harm, which I don’t want to read either, so it’s coming off the list.

REMOVE

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

Yay, finally a book that I’ve heard about and seen before, but I didn’t know it was YA mystery, so that’s a surprise! Oh, I actually think that this is one of the books on my thesis reading list as well, so it is staying on the list, and it does also sound really interesting, so I’m looking forward to it, I always love finding new YA mysteries to read!

KEEP

Turning 16 (#1 Turning 16) by Perie Wolford

I sometimes honestly wonder what was going through my head while I was clicking “want to read” on all these books because I don’t even think I would have read this at 16. It just does not interest me at all, and I’m going to be getting rid of it.

REMOVE

No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown

More YA contemporary romance. I have to be honest and say I got a bit bored reading the blurb and only skimmed it, but it didn’t sound like a story I would be interested in, and since I got bored, I think that decides it for me.

REMOVE

Pandemic by Yvonne Ventresca

Yikes… probably not the best book title at the moment! This is YA dystopia and again, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of it, or seen it before. Even if this didn’t have a big pandemic at the centre, I don’t think I would have read it because it just doesn’t sound like my kind of read, unfortunately.

REMOVE

Honey Queen by Christina Mercer

And the final book this week is yet again an unknown-to-me YA fantasy. And I still have the cover, so this has not been a great week for covers, has it? This sounds… weird, so it’s a really easy choice. I don’t think I would enjoy this book and it actually creeped me out ahah, so this is a great way to finish the post!

REMOVE

What a strange mix of books I had on my list again this week, I hardly read YA contemporaries any more, but I’m glad I found a few other books in other genres that I do enjoy, and hopefully, they will be good reads!

This week, I was able to remove a total of 14 books from the 20 I looked through, so I’m really happy about that. The removals have taken my Goodreads “Want to Read” list down to 3,647 books, which is really good, it’s getting smaller slowly! Next Friday, I’ll start my post at #437 and hopefully get rid of a load more!

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

Ellie xx