Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #33

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.   Pompeii by Robert Harris:

All along the Mediterranean coast, the Roman empire's richest citizens are relaxing in their luxurious villas, enjoying the last days of summer. The world's largest navy lies peacefully at anchor in Misenum. The tourists are spending their money in the seaside resorts of Baiae, Herculaneum, and Pompeii.

But the carefree lifestyle and gorgeous weather belie an impending cataclysm, and only one man is worried. The young engineer Marcus Attilius Primus has just taken charge of the Aqua Augusta, the enormous aqueduct that brings fresh water to a quarter of a million people in nine towns around the Bay of Naples. His predecessor has disappeared. Springs are failing for the first time in generations. And now there is a crisis on the Augusta's sixty-mile main line—somewhere to the north of Pompeii, on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.

Attilius—decent, practical, and incorruptible—promises Pliny, the famous scholar who commands the navy, that he can repair the aqueduct before the reservoir runs dry. His plan is to travel to Pompeii and put together an expedition, then head out to the place where he believes the fault lies. But Pompeii proves to be a corrupt and violent town, and Attilius soon discovers that there are powerful forces at work—both natural and man-made—threatening to destroy him.

With his trademark elegance and intelligence, Robert Harris, bestselling author of Archangel and Fatherland, re-creates a world on the brink of disaster.
 
My thoughts:
There was a time I was dying to read this.  Now, probably won't get to it.

Verdict:  Toss



2.  The Xeno Solution by Nelson Erlick:

Someday soon: 

The use of animal organs in human patients has revolutionized medicine in the 21st century, freeing thousand of patients from dialysis, and sparing them the slow death of waiting for a human organ that may never come. Thanks to the discoveries of Paradigm Transplant Solutions, reliable organs are available to almost anyone who needs one.

Some fear that animal transplants could cause a deadly virus to cross over into the human population, triggering an epidemic of catastrophic proportions. However, PTS uses only cloned animals that have been genetically-engineered to be virus-free, so this danger has been eliminated.

Or has it?

My thoughts:  
Again, something I used to devour, but  not so much anymore.

Verdict:Toss



3.  The Center by David Shobin:

In the most advanced hospital in the world, medical computers ensure perfect care. But machines have no scruples. No compassion. No mercy. And now they have a mind of their own.

Surgeon Chad Dunston helped create The Center, a revolutionary medical facility where computers, not humans, treat patients. Its cure rate is unequaled, its medical successes unrivaled...until a child named Christine Lassiter mysteriously dies. The girl's older sister Maxine can't get Christine's records, her body, or even her death certificate.

Maxine wants Chad Dunston to find out what happened. But the more questions Chad asks, the more dead-end answers he receives. He has only one option left: check into The Center as a patient...and enter a machine-made nightmare, where the only way out may be death.

Author of the best-selling medical thriller The Unborn, Dr. David Shobin has returned with a chilling cautionary tale about the direction of today's high-tech medicine...medical care without the caring, greed raging out of control, and deadly terror as the new specialty.

 

My thoughts:  
Again, another type of book I read all the time, but not these days.

Verdict: Toss



4.  Intrinsical by Lani Woodland:

Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn't want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist's attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn't going to go quietly.

My thoughts:
Sounds like a lot of other books.  Nothing new here.

Verdict: Toss

5.   Amber Eyes by Jolyn Palliata:

Note: This title is no longer in print.

~ Eyes are the window to the soul, in a time when souls are ancient. ~

After an accident, one she shouldn’t have walked away from, Lexi’s life finally begins. She meets Dez, a new student with the most beautiful eyes she’s ever seen. And since gazing into them, Lexi has had vivid waking dreams that pull her back through time, and into the warm embrace of a mysterious stranger—a stranger who becomes all too familiar. When offering an explanation for her detailed visions, Dez changes her world forever with two simple words: Soul mates.

For the first time in her life, Lexi feels safe and complete. But lingering in the shadows is the embodiment of evil, coveting the light within her. He’s a threat to Lexi’s very existence, and to a love that has transcended time.
  
My thoughts:
Well, as Goodread's description says, this is  no longer in print, and I don't know if it sounds that great either.

Verdict:  Toss



6.  Down the Drain by Daniel Pyle:

Bruce has lost everyone he ever cared about—even his cat.

Now he thinks he's finally alone in the house, but something is about to come clawing its way out of the plumbing to prove him wrong.


My thoughts:
Could be creepy, but doesn't have the highest rating on Goodreads, so I probably won't ever get around to it.


Verdict: Toss




7.  The Anne Boleyn Collection:  The Real Truth about the Tudors by Claire Ridgway:

Should Anne Boleyn be pardoned and reburied as Queen? Anne Boleyn and "The Other Boleyn Girl." Did Anne Boleyn dig her own grave? The Six Wives' stereotypes - are they right? Did Anne Boleyn commit incest with her brother? "The Anne Boleyn Collection" brings together the most popular articles from top Tudor website The Anne Boleyn Files. Articles which have provoked discussion and debate. Articles that people have found fascinating. Written in Claire's easy-going style, but with an emphasis on good history and sound research, these articles are perfect reading for Tudor history lovers everywhere. Discover the REAL truth about the Tudors

My thoughts:  
These are some interesting sounding articles.  But I don't know that I'm as invested in this history anymore, as I've mentioned with other books like this.

Verdict: Toss


 8.  Zombie CSU by Jonathan Maberry:

When there's no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth….

And law enforcement is ready to take them down!

Since Night of the Living Dead, zombies have been a frightening fixture on the pop culture landscape, lumbering after hapless humans, slurping up brains and veins and whatever warm, fleshy matter they can clench in their rotting limbs. But what if they were real? What would happen if tomorrow, corpses across the nation began springing up out of their graves and terrorizing the living?

Employing hard science and solid police work—not to mention jaw-dropping (literally!) humor—Zombie CSU is the only guide you need to make it through alive—not undead:

• Investigate zombie crime scenes, collecting and analyzing evidence of a zombie attacks, and create a “murder book.”
• Examine the psychology of the zombie and develop a perp profile.
• Observe medical science pros as they probe felled zombies for forensic clues.
• Devise a zombie apocalypse survival scorecard and more!

Complete with lists of must-see zombie flicks from around the globe and tons of tips for kicking undead butt, Zombie CSU features hundreds of interviews with real zombie experts, forensics experts, detectives, filmmakers, and more.

Special guest stars: Max Brooks, Tony Todd, Brian Keene, Patricia Tallman, David Wellington, James Gunn, Robert Kirkman, Dr. Wade Davis, Robert Sacchetto, Zombie Squad, Ramsey Campbell, Kim Paffenroth, Amy Grech, Jamie Russell, Michael “CJ” Kelly, Bruce “Andy” Bohne, and dozens more!

My thoughts:
I do love Jonathan Maberry, but my days of anthologies are probably not so many.


Verdict: Toss


9.  Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard:

There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . .

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.

Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My thoughts:
I think I do still want to read this. But I feel it is one that is kind of popular, so I don't need to keep it on my list, because it is in my library where I work.

Verdict:  Toss


10.  Chosen Ones by Tiffany Truitt:

Life is bleak but uncomplicated for sixteen-year-old Tess, living in a not-too-distant future where the government, faced with humanity's extinction, created the Chosen Ones, artificial beings who are extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.When Tess begins work at Templeton, a Chosen Ones training facility, she meets James, and the attraction is immediate in its intensity, overwhelming in its danger. But there is more to Templeton than Tess ever knew. Can she stand against her oppressors, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?

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

Verdict: Toss



Final Thoughts:
I'm tossing them all this week!  Wow!  

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 10 off, I have 3,153 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,162. 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.  I also moved a few from the list to my TBR owned list on Goodreads because I own them.

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.  I added in my July books this week!

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

Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #25

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 Academie by Susanne Dunlap:

Madame Campan’s Academie Nationale is one of the most celebrated schools in all of France, and her students are equally illustrious. Meet the impetuous Eliza Monroe - la belle Americaine - whose father will one day be named president of the United States. And Hortense de Beauharnais, Josephine Bonaparte’s stunningly beautiful daughter, who has fallen for a man her family will never accept. Meanwhile, Caroline Bonaparte - yes, Napoleon’s sister - will stop at nothing to capture the attention of a handsome young general, even if it means crossing her brother. And then there is (the original character) Madeleine de Pourtant, daughter of a volatile actress in the Comedie Francaise, who harbors a secret that could tear apart the world of the dazzling young socialites. Before the term is out, one girl will find true love, one will be heartbroken, and a third girl’s dreams will take a deadly turn.
 
My thoughts:
I didn't realize this one was sort of historical fiction when I first saw it on my list, but because of that, I'm definitely still interested.

Verdict:  Keep



2.  TV Goes to Hell:  An Unofficial Road Map of Supernatural:

Bringing together elements of the road movie and the horror genre, Supernatural follows brothers Dean and Sam Winchester as they crisscross America, struggling to protect humanity from what lurks in the dark by battling monsters, witches, demons, angels, the Devil, and sometimes even each other. A natural heir to The X-Files and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural has developed a strong cult following as it evolved past its monster-of-the-week origins and into a global battle between Heaven and Hell, as Dean and Sam attempt to avert the Apocalypse. Amidst the action and horror, the brothers enjoy the pleasures of the road, listening to hard rock, drinking beer and eating fast food, while driving their iconic Impala.

TV Goes to Hell is the first book to give a full and fascinating examination of the series under the creative control of creator/producer Eric Kripke. This collection of essays, written by leading scholars, situates the series within debates surrounding folklore, religion, comedy, gender, and sexuality, and considers the impact of the show's genre-bending hybridity and its signature use of hard rock. The book aslo examines the show's innovative approach to storytelling and its unique relationship with its critics and its fans. Designed for fans of the show, as well as scholars and students, TV Goes to Hell unravels the wonders and horrors of Supernatural.

(Includes a comprehensive episode guide through season six.)

My thoughts:  
As much as I used to devour any and all books, including nonfiction, about my favorite tv series, I don't have the time these days to get around to them.

Verdict: Toss



3.  New England Witch Chronicles by Chelsea Luna:

NEW ENGLAND WITCH CHRONICLES is the first book in the four-book bestselling young adult series. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 were an embarrassing stain on America’s revered past. Innocent people were persecuted at the hands of a few overzealous Puritans, but what if real witches existed during those colonial hunts? What if there are witches in present day New England? That’s what Alexandria Ramsey’s crazy grandmother believes. Grandma Claudia claims Alex descends from a long line of New England witches.

Modern day witches in Hazel Cove, Massachusetts? Unlikely, but strange things are occurring in the weeks preceding Alex’s seventeenth birthday. Alex is haunted by bizarre recurring nightmares of a man chasing her through the Hazel Cove Cemetery. On a few occasions, when her emotions have spiraled out of control, inanimate objects have shattered around her. But that’s just a coincidence, right? Alex isn’t so sure, especially after a local girl, who supposedly dabbled in witchcraft, was killed in the nearby forest.

Alex knows something strange is happening. With the arrival of a new boy in town, James Van Curen, who is causing problems between Alex and her best friend, Peter, Alex feels like her entire world is on the verge of chaos. Could Alex really be a witch? Is it possible Hazel Cove will become a battleground for modern-day witches and witch hunters?

My thoughts:  
Kinda sounds good. But don't know when or if I'd get to it.

Verdict:  Toss



4.  Z:  Zombie Stories by J.M. Lassen:

When the zombie apocalypse comes, it's not just those crusty old folks who will struggle against the undead, it's young people. What happens when you come of age during the zombie apocalypse?

Zombie Stories has the answer to that question.

Zombie Stories gathers together some of the hottest zombie fiction of the last two decades, from authors including Kelly Link, Jonathan Maberry, and Catherynne M. Valente. These stories focus on those who will inherit a world overrun with the living dead: a young man who takes up the family business of dealing with the undead, a girl dealing with her abusive father... who has become a zombie, a poet who digs up the wrong grave, and a Viking maiden imprisoned with the living dead...
 
My thoughts:
While this has one of my favorite authors in it, Jonathan Maberry, I don't really read that many zombie stories these days.

Verdict:  Toss

5.   31 Dates in 31 Days by Tamara Duricka Johnson:

On the eve of her 31st birthday, after yet another painful breakup, Tamara Duricka Johnson decides it’s time to overhaul her dating habits. When a friend jokingly suggests that she embark on a “dating project,” inspiration strikes: in honor of turning 31, she'll go on 31 dates in 31 days — and resist the urge to turn each date into her next relationship. Instead, she’ll have to wait until the 31st date to pick one of the 30 men to go out with a second time. Some dates are awful, while others are amazing—but all of them help change her attitude about dating and men in general. She opens up to the world around her and develops a handful of crushes, making it difficult to decide who will be the lucky final date. In the end, though, she realizes there’s only one man of the entire thirty that she can see herself marrying — and one year later, she does. Chatty, fun, and confessional, 31 Dates in 31 Days is an entertaining journey that offers astute insights into the modern dating scene.
  
My thoughts:
I've mentioned before about how I went through a phase of reading lots of dating memoirs such as this.  I also mentioned that I no longer think they will have anything to do with my life, so I don't really care anymore.

Verdict: Toss



6.  A Cure to Die For by Stephen G. Mitchell:

A Cure To Die For is a medical thriller about a wonder drug, a miracle cure and a conspiracy to destroy it. A genetically engineered cure for the common cold--a simple, inexpensively-grown plant--turns out to be a cure for cancer and threatens to make most other drugs obsolete. The discovery triggers a crisis of medical, corporate and political greed that sweeps the country as the government and the media conspire with Big Pharma to keep the miracle drug off the market. 



Alex Farmer, a drug-addicted doctor with a shattered life, and Cyd Seeley, a research assistant with a deadly secret, are inadvertently thrown together to protect a medical breakthrough that could change the face of healthcare forever. Amid the suspense of harrowing kidnappings, manhunts, political and corporate intrigue, Wall Street corruption, suicides, arrests and terrifying escapes--in the Montana wilderness, in the high-tech world of Houston, Texas, in the political cesspool of Washington D.C., and on a massive Indian reservation--Alex and Cyd fight to survive a perilous journey where the fate of a healthy planet hinges on the
 survival of a tiny seed.

My thoughts:
Hmm, even though I don't read a lot of this type of book anymore, this one sounds like it could be good. But who knows when I'd get to it.

Verdict:  Toss



7.  Frail (Dust #2) by Joan Frances Turner:

Being human is a disadvantage in post-apocalyptic America...Now that the Feeding Plague has swept through human and zombie societies, it seems like everyone is an "ex" these days. Ex-human. Ex- zombie. Except for Amy, that is. She's the only human survivor from her town-a frail. And if the feral dogs, the flesh-eating exes, and the elements don't get her, she just may discover how this all began. Because in this America, life is what you make it...

My thoughts:  
So, this is a sequel to a book I think I either still have on my TBR shelf, or I may not even have it since I may have donated it to my school library, or else taken to Half Price bookstore.  I guess I'll find out when I really start packing my books to move. But anyway, until I read the first one, I may not care about this one.

Verdict: Toss



 8.  1Q84 by Haruki Murakami:

The year is 1984 and the city is Tokyo.

A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.

As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.

A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s — 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.

My thoughts:
I've heard so much about this one, I feel that I need to try to read it at some point.  However, I also feel it is so well known that I probably don't need to keep it on a list somewhere.

Verdict: Toss



9.  Invisible by Jeanne Bannon:

Lola’s not pretty. Lola’s not popular. Lola wishes she could disappear … and then one day she does just that...

For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.

Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.

Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…

Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power.

A coming-of-age story that will warm the heart.

My thoughts:
It kind of sounds good, kind of sounds like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode.  But I don't know that I'd ever get around to it.

Verdict:  Toss


10.  Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough:

Delaney Collins doesn't believe in fairy tales. And why should she? Her mom is dead, her best friend is across the country, and she's stuck in California with "Dr. Hank," her famous life-coach father—a man she barely knows. Happily ever after? Yeah, right.

Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.

But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?

My thoughts:
Sounds similar to other books I know of.

Verdict: Toss


Final Thoughts:
Did a great job this week with my Goodreads list, dropping nine!  So you can see that I may have dropped some, but you can also see how many I've added during the week as well, I'm also pointing out how many books are on my Want to Read list on Goodreads each week.  This week, after taking these 9 off, I have 3,190 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,191. So I kind of did better!  Got rid of more than I added!  

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's not really catching on, I'm not going to waste time with the link up this week.  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.  This week I'm upping the prize, 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.  Here are your choices:   

2018 ARCs:

2017 ARCs:

2014 ARC:

And, surprise!  I am adding 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.

Once again I'm going to let you pick two, along with me throwing in a surprise third book!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below. 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #18

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.  Notes from the Blender by Trish Cook and Brendan Halpin:

Declan loves death metal--particularly from Finland. And video games--violent ones. And internet porn--any kind, really. He goes to school with Neilly Foster and spends most of his classroom time wondering what it might be like to know her, to talk to her, maybe even to graze against her sweater in the hallway. Neilly is an accomplished gymnast, naturally beautiful, and a constant presence at all the best parties (to which Declan is never invited). She's the queen of cool, the princess of poker face, and her rule is uncontested-- or it was until today, when she's dumped by her boyfriend, betrayed by her former BFF Lulu, and then informed she's getting a new brother--of the freaky fellow classmate variety. Declan's dad is marrying Neilly's mom. Soon. Which means they'll be moving in together.

My thoughts:
Sounds okay, but not sure it stands out.

Verdict:  Toss



2.  Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper:

WRONGED. HANGED. ALIVE? (AND TRUE!)

Anne can't move a muscle, can't open her eyes, can't scream. She lies immobile in the darkness, unsure if she'd dead, terrified she's buried alive, haunted by her final memory—of being hanged. A maidservant falsely accused of infanticide in 1650 England and sent to the scaffold, Anne Green is trapped with her racing thoughts, her burning need to revisit the events—and the man—that led her to the gallows.

Meanwhile, a shy 18-year-old medical student attends his first dissection and notices something strange as the doctors prepare their tools . . . Did her eyelids just flutter? Could this corpse be alive?

Beautifully written, impossible to put down, and meticulously researched, Newes from the Dead is based on the true story of the real Anne Green, a servant who survived a hanging to awaken on the dissection table. Newes from the Dead concludes with scans of the original 1651 document that recounts this chilling medical phenomenon.

My thoughts:

I'd forgotten this one, but now that I'm reminded, I think it still sounds pretty good!

Verdict:  Keep

3.  Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson:

Once upon a time there was a girl who was special.
This is not her story.
Unless you count the part where I killed her.

Sixteen-year-old Alison has been sectioned in a mental institute for teens, having murdered the most perfect and popular girl at school. But the case is a mystery: no body has been found, and Alison's condition is proving difficult to diagnose. Alison herself can't explain what happened: one minute she was fighting with Tori -- the next she disintegrated. Into nothing. But that's impossible. Right?

When Alison meets Dr Faraday, a visiting psychologist, she feels an instant connection. More, he believes her story. But there's more to Faraday than Alison can possibly imagine ... and the answers he will give her are ... extraordinary ...

My thoughts:

Hmm, don't remember this one.  Not sure it stands out that much.

Verdict:  Toss

4.  Rise of the Corpses (The Undertakers #1) by Ty Drago:

On a sunny Wednesday morning in October, a day that would mark the end of one life and the beginning of another, I found out my grouchy next door neighbor was the walking dead. When you turn around expecting to see something familiar, and instead see something else altogether, it takes a little while for your brain to catch up with your eyes. I call it the 'Holy Crap Factor.'

Forced to flee his home and family, twelve-year-old Will Ritter falls in with the Undertakers - a rag-tag army of teenage resistance fighters who've banded together to battle the Corpses.

My thoughts:

Hmm, not sure.  Sounds pretty similar to other zombie stories.  

Verdict:  Toss

5.  Draw the Dark by Ilsa J. Bick:

There are things in Winter, Wisconsin, folks just don't talk about. The murder way back in '45 is one. The near-suicide of a first-grade teacher is another. And then there is 17-year old Christian Cage. Christian's parents disappeared when he was a little boy, and ever since he's drawn and painted obsessively, trying desperately to remember his mother. The problem is Christian doesn't just draw his own memories. He can draw the thoughts of those around him. Confronted with fears and nightmares they'd rather avoid, people have a bad habit of dying. So it's no surprise that Christian isn't exactly popular. What no one expects is for Christian to meet Winter's last surviving Jew and uncover one more thing best forgotten: the day the Nazis came to town. Based on a little-known fact of the United States' involvement in World War II, Draw the Dark is a dark fantasy about reclaiming the forgotten past and the redeeming power of love.   

My thoughts:

I really like this author, and this sounds pretty original.

Verdict:  Keep

   

6.  Pinch Me by Adena Halpern:

LILY MARRIED THE MAN OF HER DREAMS. THEN SHE WOKE UP.

“Never marry a man unless he’s short, bald, fat, stupid, and treats you badly.” That is the advice that twenty-nine-year-old Lily Burns has heard her entire life from her grandmother Dolly and her mother, Selma. Despite this, when she meets Gogo, the handsome, successful pediatrician who treats her like a queen, she has no choice but to let her heart take over. When she agrees to marry him, Dolly and Selma are inconsolable. They decide it’s time to tell her the truth: their family is cursed. If she marries for love, there will be unimaginable consequences.

Nevertheless, Lily and Gogo elope. Unable to believe her good fortune, Lily asks Gogo to pinch her—to make sure all this isn’t just a dream. The moment he does, Lily finds herself transported back to the house she lived in when she was single. Gogo is gone. When Lily tracks him down, she finds that he’s married to someone else and has no memory of her. In this modern fairy tale, Lily must find a way to break the curse and turn her nightmare back into a dream come true.  

My thoughts:
Well, not sure if this is one I'm interested in anymore.

Verdict: Toss



7.  Frankie the Walk 'n Roll Dog Coloring and Paper Activity Book by Barbara Gail Techel:

Frankie the Walk 'N Roll Dog keeps rolling along in her doggie wheelchair. This paralyzed dachshund's unabashed healing, exuberant spirit, and spunky personality is a blessed gift to everyone she befriends. In this true, inspirational story, Frankie tells how she became a registered therapy dog and shares her visits to Libby's House, a senior facility where many residents have Alzheimer's or dementia. Frankie teaches us that patience, listening, and understanding opens our hearts to what matters most-love. With this lovely book, Frankie will win your heart and inspire children to overcome whatever obstacles they face in life. Told from Frankie's viewpoint, this journey from using a wheelchair (dog cart) to finding her purpose as a therapy dog is not only touching but also shows children how much joy, healing, and hope a dog can bring to this world. Outstanding! ~Linda and Allen Anderson, authors of Angel Animals books www.angelanimals.net 

My thoughts:
It's a dachshund, I need it some day if I can find it.

Verdict:  Keep 



8.  Dead of Night by Jonathan Maberry:

A prison doctor injects a condemned serial killer with a formula designed to keep his consciousness awake while his body rots in the grave. But all drugs have unforeseen side-effects. Before he could be buried, the killer wakes up. Hungry. Infected. Contagious. This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang…but a bite.

My thoughts:
It's Jonathan Maberry who I love, but I don't read a ton of zombie books, especially not adult, these days.  I think I'd always pick up any book by him though, so not sure I need to keep it on a Goodreads TBR list.

Verdict: Toss for  now   



9.  Ripple by Mandy Hubbard:

Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. The water calls to her, draws her in, forces her to sing her deadly song to unsuspecting victims. If she succumbs, she kills. If she doesn't, the pain is unbearable. To keep herself and those she cares about safe, she shuts herself off, refusing to make friends or fall in love - again. Because the last time she fell in love with a boy, he ended up dead.


Then Lexi finds herself torn. Against her better judgement, she's opening up again, falling in love with someone new when she knows she shouldn't. But when she's offered the chance to finally live a normal life, she learns that the price she must pay to be free of her curse is giving him up.
  
My thoughts:  
Hmm, probably another I won't get to.

Verdict:  Toss



 10.  Lost Voices by Sarah Porter:

What happens to the girls nobody sees—the ones who are ignored, mistreated, hidden away? The girls nobody hears when they cry for help?

Fourteen-year-old Luce is one of those lost girls. After her father vanishes in a storm at sea, she is stuck in a grim, gray Alaskan fishing village with her alcoholic uncle. When her uncle crosses an unspeakable line, Luce reaches the depths of despair. Abandoned on the cliffs near her home, she expects to die when she tumbles to the icy, churning waves below. Instead, she undergoes an astonishing transformation and becomes a mermaid.

A tribe of mermaids finds Luce and welcomes her in—all of them, like her, lost girls who surrendered their humanity in the darkest moments of their lives. The mermaids are beautiful, free, and ageless, and Luce is thrilled with her new life until she discovers the catch: they feel an uncontrollable desire to drown seafarers, using their enchanted voices to lure ships into the rocks.

Luce’s own talent at singing captures the attention of the tribe’s queen, the fierce and elegant Catarina, and Luce soon finds herself pressured to join in committing mass murder. Luce’s struggle to retain her inner humanity puts her at odds with her friends; even worse, Catarina seems to regard Luce as a potential rival. But the appearance of a devious new mermaid brings a real threat to Catarina’s leadership and endangers the very existence of the tribe. Can Luce find the courage to challenge the newcomer, even at the risk of becoming rejected and alone once again?

Lost Voices is a captivating and wildly original tale about finding a voice, the healing power of friendship, and the strength it takes to forgive.  

My thoughts:
While this sounds like it definitely has a different twist to it than some mermaid stories, I don't know that I'll ever get around to it.

Verdict:  Toss


Final Thoughts:
Look at me, I'm on a roll!  Only keeping three again this week!  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's not really catching on, I'm not going to waste time with the link up this week.  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.  This week I'm upping the prize, 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.  Here are your choices:   

2018 ARCs:

2017 ARCs:

2014-2016 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. 

  a Rafflecopter giveaway