Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) – Down the TBR Hole #37

Posted September 7, 2019 by Lisa Mandina in CUTBR, giveaway / 10 Comments

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.   Darkness Before Dawn by J.A. London:

At seventeen, Dawn
Montgomery knows that monsters really do come out at night—after all,
they are her job. It’s just after the thirty-years war between vampires
and humans, and as an ambassador between the two sides (a role she
inherited when her parents were killed), Dawn quickly learns that
balancing schoolwork, teen life, and the requests of Lord Valentine, the
most frightening vampire in the region, isn’t easy.

And it only
gets more complicated when she forms a tentative friendship with Victor,
the mysterious stranger who rescued her from a hoard of vampires…only
to discover that not only is Victor a vampire, but that he is Lord
Valentine’s son.

Soon Dawn is struggling to remember that with everything on the line, she can’t afford to fall for the enemy…

 

My thoughts:
Sounds like a lot of books that I was reading at that time, nothing original. 

Verdict:  Toss

2.  Old Before My Time:  Hayley Okines’ Life With Progeria by Hayley Okines, Kerry Okines, and Alison Stokes:

The extraordinary life
of Britain’s 100-year-old teenager Hayley Okines is like no other
13-year-old schoolgirl. Born with the rare genetic condition progeria,
she ages eight times faster than the average person. In medical terms
her body is like that of a 100-year-old woman. Yet she faces her
condition with immense courage and a refreshing lack of self-pity. In
Old Before My Time, Hayley and her mum Kerry reflect on her unusual
life. Share Hayley’s excitement as she travels the world meeting her pop
heroes Kylie, Girls Aloud and Justin Bieber and her sadness as she
loses her best friend to the disease at the age of 11. Now as she passes
the age of 13 – the average life expectancy for a child with progeria –
Hayley talks frankly about her hopes for the future and her pioneering
drug trials in America which could unlock the secrets of ageing for
everyone…

My thoughts
This is something I’m still interested in reading, I am always fascinated to hear about how different people get by.

Verdict: Keep 

3.  The Glimpse by Claire Merle:

In a near future,
society is segregated according to whether people are genetically
disposed to mental illness. 17-year-old Ana has been living the
privileged life of a Pure due to an error in her DNA test. When the
authorities find out, she faces banishment from her safe Community, a
fate only thwarted by the fact that she has already been promised to
Pure-boy Jasper Taurell.

Jasper is from a rich and influential
family and despite Ana’s condition, wants to be with her. The
authorities grant Ana a tentative reprieve. If she is joined to Jasper
before her 18th birthday, she may stay in the Community until her
illness manifests. But if Jasper changes his mind, she will be cast out
among the Crazies. As Ana’s joining ceremony and her birthday loom
closer, she dares to hope she will be saved from the horror of the City
and live a ‘normal’ life. But then Jasper disappears.

Led to
believe Jasper has been taken by a strange sect the authorities will not
interfere with, Ana sneaks out of her well-guarded Community to find
him herself. Her search takes her through the underbelly of society, and
as she delves deeper into the mystery of Jasper’s abduction she
uncovers some devastating truths that destroy everything she has grown
up to believe.

 

My thoughts:  
Sounds again like the types I used to read all the time.  But nothing that different really.

Verdict: Toss

4.  Intangible by Jen Meyers:

Twins Sera and Luke
Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he
sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the
sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift.

Then
Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always
cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing
about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about
it.

My thoughts:
Nothing new here.

Verdict: Toss

5.   The Farm by Emily McKay:

Life was different in
the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across
America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and
quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens
where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters,
known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to
survive the Farms by turning on each other…

My thoughts:
I remember when this one came out, and I was really wanting to read it.  Now it doesn’t necessarily sound that unique, and I actually had a friend read it and say it wasn’t that great, so I probably won’t get to it.

Verdict:  Toss

6.  Revived by Cat Patrick:

It started with a bus crash.
Daisy
Appleby was a little girl when it happened, and she barely remembers
the accident or being brought back to life. At that moment, though, she
became one of the first subjects in a covert government program that
tests a drug called Revive.
Now fifteen, Daisy has died and been
Revived five times. Each death means a new name, a new city, a new
identity. The only constant in Daisy’s life is constant change.
Then
Daisy meets Matt and Audrey McKean, charismatic siblings who quickly
become her first real friends. But if she’s ever to have a normal life,
Daisy must escape from an experiment that’s much larger–and more
sinister–than she ever imagined.
From its striking first chapter to its emotionally charged ending, Cat Patrick’s Revived is a riveting story about what happens when life and death collide.

My thoughts:
Hmm, sounds kind of good.  And that cover is pretty creepy. But will I get to it?  I don’t think so. 

Verdict: Toss

7.  Disney at Dawn by Ridley Pearson:

It’s supposed to be a
happy day at the Magic Kingdom-the return of the teenaged holographic
hosts. But things go very wrong when a sudden lightning storm disrupts
the celebration, and Amanda’s mysterious sister, Jez, disappears. The
only clue is the sighting of a wild monkey in the Magic Kingdom during
the storm. The mystery deepens as Finn is contacted by Wayne, an old man
he hasn’t heard from in months. Wayne tells Finn that there’s trouble
at the Animal Kingdom: the evil Overtakers have gained control of one of
the computer servers that will be used to operate Daylight Holographic
Imaging there. That means that if any of the holographic hosts fall
asleep, they will go into comas-permanently. Filled with action and
brimming with the same meticulous detail as The Kingdom Keepers: Disney After Dark, this second book in the series-Disney at Dawn-is
the result of hands-on research behind the scenes at Disney’s Animal
Kingdom Park. Young and older readers alike will get a glimpse into a
second Disney kingdom. The wild rides have only just begun; and the
clock is ticking. How long can the teens keep themselves awake in their
quest to find their friend-and what happens if they fail?

My thoughts:  
I really did kind of enjoy the first book in the series, so maybe I’ll get to this at some point. I feel like I want to, as I am a huge fan of the Disney parks and rides.

Verdict:  Keep

 8.  Never Fall Down by Patricia McCormick:

This National Book Award
nominee from two-time finalist Patricia McCormick is the unforgettable
story of Arn Chorn-Pond, who defied the odds to survive the Cambodian
genocide of 1975-1979 and the labor camps of the Khmer Rouge.

Based
on the true story of Cambodian advocate Arn Chorn-Pond, and
authentically told from his point of view as a young boy, this is an
achingly raw and powerful historical novel about a child of war who
becomes a man of peace. It includes an author’s note and acknowledgments
from Arn Chorn-Pond himself.

When soldiers arrive in his
hometown, Arn is just a normal little boy. But after the soldiers march
the entire population into the countryside, his life is changed forever.

Arn
is separated from his family and assigned to a labor camp: working in
the rice paddies under a blazing sun, he sees the other children dying
before his eyes. One day, the soldiers ask if any of the kids can play
an instrument. Arn’s never played a note in his life, but he volunteers.

This
decision will save his life, but it will pull him into the very center
of what we know today as the Killing Fields. And just as the country is
about to be liberated, Arn is handed a gun and forced to become a
soldier.

My thoughts:
I feel like this is kind of a must-read, and it is one that I do want to get to at some point.

Verdict:  Keep 

9.  Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris:

Sixteen-year-old Janelle
Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working
as a lifeguard in San Diego with an intense academic schedule. Janelle’s
mother is bipolar, and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means
Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother, Jared.

And
that was before she died… and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels,
a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a
strange clock that seems to be counting down to the earth’s
destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how
to stop the clock and save the planet.
 

My thoughts:
This is one that is popular enough I don’t think I need to leave it on this list.  We have it in our school library, so I might read it some time.

Verdict:  Toss

10.  Elemental by Emily White:

Night has fallen across the galaxy and Fire rages, uncontrolled.

An army marches, killing in the name of their god.

A
forgotten girl sits alone in a dark cell aboard an interstellar prison
ship, traveling through space, never stopping. Until one day.

Now
the Destructor roams and a prophecy is fulfilled. But the one thing no
one expected was that their longed-for savior just might be their own
undoing.

My thoughts:
Doesn’t really grab my attention.

Verdict: Toss

Final Thoughts:
Same as last week, only keeping three this week. 

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 3,156 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,163.  So I improved!  A tiny bit.

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:

I’m continuing to add in my early 2019 ARCs now.  You can pick one of your two choices from the picture below, the other book you pick needs to come from the pictures above.  

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

Oh yeah, and I’m also celebrating my 10th Blogoversary with another giveaway, so go help me celebrate and check it out HERE
 

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10 responses to “Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) – Down the TBR Hole #37

  1. Excellent choices for your keep/toss list. I also have Unraveling on my TBR. Thanks for sharing your ARCS–I have recently given some of mine away to a reader because I know I won't reread them and it's great to get the books into hands that want them.

  2. Holy smokes it looks like you did a great job this week. I read Darkness Before Dawn and it was a complete waste. A lot of these are on my TBR pile but I don't think I've gotten to them yet. Hope you enjoy the books you have kept.

    Do you go through your e-books too? I've been avoiding those.

    Sharrice @Reese's Reviews

    • Good to know or hear that I've made good decisions based on other's experience! I haven't even started going through my e-books. The sad thing is most of those were free, so, they're just there. Maybe if I ever get through this list.

      Thanks for stopping by!

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