Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) – Down the TBR Hole #32

This meme was started by Lost in a Story.  Here is how it works:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

Because I have so many to do, I’m going to try to do this weekly, and do 10 at a time. 

1.   The Harbinger by Jonathan Cahn:

Is it possible…
That there exists an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future?
That this mystery lies behind everything from 9/11 to the collapse of the global economy?
That ancient harbingers of judgment are now manifesting in America?
That God is sending America a prophetic message of what is yet to come?

Before its end as a nation, there appeared in ancient Israel nine
specific warnings and omens of national destruction – These same nine
Harbingers are now manifesting in America with profound ramifications
for America’s future and end-time prophecy.

Hidden in an ancient biblical prophecy from Isaiah, the mysteries revealed in The Harbinger
are so precise that they foretell recent American events down to the
exact days… the 3,000-year-old mystery that revealed the exact date of
the stock market collapse of 2008… the ancient prophecy that was
proclaimed from the floor of the US Senate and then came true…and more.
The revelations are so specific that even the most hardened skeptic will
find it hard to put down. Though it sounds like the plot of a Hollywood
thriller – IT’S REAL.

The prophetic mysteries are factual but revealed through a riveting narrative the reader will find hard to put down. The Harbinger opens
with the appearance of a man burdened with a message he has received
from a mysterious figure called The Prophet. The Prophet has given him
nine seals, each containing a message about America s future. As he
tells of his encounters with the Prophet, from a skyscraper in New York
City, to a rural mountaintop, to Capitol Hill, to Ground Zero, the
mystery behind each seal is revealed. As the story unfolds, each
revelation becomes another piece in a larger and larger puzzle, the
ramifications of which are, even now, altering the course of America and
the world.
 

My thoughts:
Eh, probably nothing I need to read today.

Verdict:  Toss

2.  Fragment by Warren Fahy:

In this powerhouse of suspense—as brilliantly imagined as Jurassic Park and The Ruins—scientists
have made a startling discovery: a fragment of a lost continent, an
island with an ecosystem unlike any they’ve seen before . . . an
ecosystem that could topple ours like a house of cards.

The time is now. The place is the Trident, a long-range research vessel hired by the reality TV show Sealife.
Aboard is a cast of ambitious young scientists. With a director dying
for drama, tiny Henders Island might be just what the show needs. Until
the first scientist sets foot on Henders—and the ultimate test of
survival begins . . .

For when they reach the island’s shores,
scientists are utterly unprepared for what they find—creatures unlike
any ever recorded in natural history. This is not a lost world frozen in
time, an island of mutants, or a lab where science has gone mad: this
is the Earth as it might have looked after evolving on a separate path
for half a billion years.Soon the scientists will stumble
on something more shocking than anything humanity has ever encountered:
because among the terrors of Henders Island, one life form defies any
scientific theory—and must be saved at any cost. International Thriller
Writers nominee Best First Novel

My thoughts:  
Eh, sounds like it might be good, but also not sure I’ll ever get to it.

Verdict:Toss

3.  Enchanted by Alethea Kontis:

My thoughts:  
I’m usually a big fan of fairy tale retellings, but I don’t know if I’ll ever get to this one. 

Verdict: Toss

4.  Austentatious by Alyssa Goodnight:

In this quirky, sexy
novel set against the lively, music-filled backdrop of Austin, Texas, a
young woman learns that romance can wreak havoc with even the best laid
plans. . .

It started innocently enough. While browsing in one of
Austin’s funky little shops, Nicola James is intrigued by a blank
vintage journal she finds hidden among a set of Jane Austen novels. Even
though Nic is a straight-laced engineer, she’s still a sucker for
anything Austen-esque. But her enthusiasm quickly turns to disbelief
once she starts writing in the journal–because somehow, it’s writing
her back. . .

Miss Nicola James will be sensible and indulge in a
little romance. Those twelve tiny words hit Nic like a thunderbolt, as
if her diary was channeling Austen herself! Itching for a bit of
excitement, Nic decides to follow her “Fairy Jane’s” advice. The result:
a red-hot romance with a sexy Scottish musician who charms his way into
Nic’s heart in about five seconds flat.

Sean MacInnes is warm,
funny, and happens to think Nic is the most desirable woman he’s ever
met. But a guy like Sean doesn’t exactly fit into her Life Plan. With no
one but Fairy Jane to guide her, Nic must choose between the life she
thought she wanted–and the kind of happy ending she never saw coming. .
..

 

My thoughts:
Um, this sounds fun!

Verdict:  Keep

Sadie Walker fights for survival as the dead close in…

In
the months since The Outbreak, Seattle has become a walled fortress –
the Infected are kept at bay, and the survivors are trying to scrape
back a life. But the city is rife with crime, religious cults and
black-market dealings. And things are about to get much, much worse.

When
a group of frustrated fanatics, the ‘Repopulationists’, destroy part of
the wall, zombies start swarming the city. Sadie, devastated by the
brutal kidnapping of her young nephew, must find him and get them both
out before it’s too late. But the only escape is by sea, and she’s seen
for herself the horrible fate of those who tried that route before…


  
My thoughts:
I enjoyed the first book, so I probably want to read this and see how the story finishes up.  Plus I like this author.

Verdict: Keep

6.  Reincarnate, Beloved by Loren Manns:

When Ana, an immortal,
meets the reincarnation of the boy she once loved, and inadvertently
killed, she must fight to save him from her sister, the Norse goddess of
the underworld. And from the curse that dooms any boy who loves her to a
painful death.

My thoughts:
Doesn’t sound that original. 

Verdict: Toss

7.  Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick:

There are stories where the girl gets her prince, and they live happily ever after. (This is not one of those stories.)

Jenna
Lord’s first sixteen years were not exactly a fairytale. Her father is a
controlling psycho and her mother is a drunk. She used to count on her
older brother—until he shipped off to Afghanistan. And then, of course,
there was the time she almost died in a fire.

There are
stories where the monster gets the girl, and we all shed tears for his
innocent victim. (This is not one of those stories either.)

Mitch Anderson is many things: A dedicated teacher and coach. A caring husband. A man with a certain… magnetism.

And
there are stories where it’s hard to be sure who’s a prince and who’s a
monster, who is a victim and who should live happily ever after. (These
are the most interesting stories of all.)

Drowning Instinct is a novel of pain, deception, desperation, and love against the odds—and the rules.

My thoughts:  
I love this author, so I want to read all of her stuff.  Forgot about this one though!

Verdict:  Keep

 8.  Fire by William Esmont:

No one knows what
caused the dead to rise. No one knows what caused them to attack the
living. Fighting for their lives, scattered survivors find the attempted
cure to be almost worse than the disease. In the twilight of a
shattered civilization, the fate of humankind rests upon the actions of a
handful of war-weary survivors. Driven to a scorched corner of the
former United States, they alone hold the key to a global reawakening.
Or the final epitaph for a dead planet.

My thoughts:
Nah, probably won’t get to this one.

Verdict: Toss

9.  Attic Clowns  by Jeremy C. Shipp:

BEWARE THE CLOWNS IN THE ATTIC—LEST YOU BECOME ONE YOURSELF!

Bram
Stoker Award nominee Jeremy C. Shipp spins 13 tales of horror and dark
humor in this highly conceptual collection. Angels and demons, husbands
and wives, tormented ghosts and an army of men made of soap—all of them
trapped in attics of the mind, attics of heaven or hell, the attics we
make for ourselves or with which we ensnare others.

Meet a
paranoid astronaut whose jealousy drives him to extremes beyond murder…a
miniature circus spawned from the mind of woman with too much
control…the underling demon Globcow who desires redemption even more
than the taste of human feet… Men, women, children, and things beyond
imagination all interconnect in ATTIC CLOWNS, where laughter is only the
prelude to the bizarre and terrible.

My thoughts:
Again, there was a time I loved short story collections like this.  Now, not that big of a deal for me.

Verdict:  Toss

10.  Survival of the Fittest:  The Last Hope for the Human Race by Michael Taylor:

One night, seven
teenagers wake completely alone and in the dark. Their parents are gone,
and it seems everyone on earth has disappeared as well. Worse, the
electricity is off. Surrounded by darkness, their differences no longer
matter; they are the sole survivors of an alien attack and the last hope
for humanity. But in the black of night, can they outrun the hulking
creatures with the glowing red eyes?

Priya is the exotic girl who
says what she thinks. Will was a star athlete before the attack. They
find Trevor and Aiyana, the twins; Alex and Ricardo, the tough guys; and
finally, Lindsey, the innocent. Together, the seven of them are the
last humans on earth-but are they really humans at all? They have no
idea that the government has known of the incoming alien attack for
decades; to prepare they created special children with very special
abilities.

The chosen seven are part alien and part human, and
they exist to fight off the otherworldly forces, threatening to conquer
the planet. But with such differing personalities, will the seven be
able to put their pride be-hind and work together? They must move beyond
the grief of lost friends and family and find the strength to go on; if
they don’t, the world will die, taken over by monstrous creatures that
can smell your fear.

My thoughts:
Might be good, but again, don’t know when I’ll get to it.

Verdict: Toss

Final Thoughts:
Keeping three again this week out of the ten, still more gone than kept!

Once again you can see that I may have dropped some, but you can also see how many I’ve added during the week as well because I’m also pointing out how many books are on my Want to Read list on Goodreads each week.  This week, after taking these 7 off, I have 3,162 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,172. As my unpacking continues, I’m finding books to get rid of, not to mention a few that I’m reading now were on my Want to Read list, and so they’ve come off as well since I’ve read them or am reading them currently.

Have
you read any
of these?  Would you suggest I keep any I’m tossing?  And if you’re
inspired to do this on your blog, please feel free to join in and share a
link in the comments, since it will also get you an extra
entry into my giveaway at
the bottom of this post.      
 

Giveaway:
Once
again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a
book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the
difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way.  You get to pick any two books from the pictures
below, as
long as they don’t get traded away, or picked by last week’s winner,
and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice. 
As I mentioned above, unpacking is finding a lot of books to get rid of, so you have even more to pick from this week!  Here are your choices:   

2018 ARCs:

2017 ARCs:

And here are the older ones I’ve cleaned out as I unpack:

2010-2013 ARCs:

2014 ARCs:

2015-2016 ARCs:

Once again I’m going to let you pick two, along with me throwing in a surprise third book!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below.   Disclaimer:  Unfortunately, while I’ve only had it happen once, I’m going to have to make a statement like other giveaways I’ve seen on blogs that I am not responsible for lost mail.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway