Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) - Down the TBR Hole #21

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.   Haunting the Night (Past Midnight #2.5) by Mara Purnhagen:

Charlotte Silver has been through hell.


Her mom’ s in a coma. She may have caused the death of a young man. And now her friend Avery wants her to tackle going to Prom? Not going to happen, even if she is dying to spend some alone time with her boyfriend, Noah. Instead, Charlotte needs to find some answers to a few nagging questions—why was her family attacked? Will her mother survive? And is there a creature from the Other Side coming for her? Soon enough, Charlotte's search for the truth becomes a race against time. But she may just find the sign she's been looking for all along....

An ebook exclusive Past Midnight series novella.
 

My thoughts:
This is one of my all time favorite series and I wish the author would write more, but alas, I'm friends with her on Facebook, and she's said she has no plans to write anymore.  So at some point I need to get this one.  Here are the links to my reviews of the others in the series:  Books #1, #1.5, and #2,   Book #3.

Verdict: Keep



2.  Between by Jessica Warman:

Elizabeth Valchar-pretty, popular, and perfect-wakes up the morning after her eighteenth birthday party on her family's yacht, where she'd been celebrating with her six closest friends. A persistent thumping noise has roused her. When she goes to investigate, what she finds will change everything she thought she knew about her life, her friends, and everything in between. As Liz begins to unravel the circumstances surrounding her birthday night, she will find that no one around her, least of all Liz herself, was perfect-or innocent. Critically acclaimed author Jessica Warman brings readers along on a roller-coaster ride of a mystery, one that is also a heartbreaking character study, a touching romance, and ultimately a hopeful tale of redemption, love, and letting go.

My thoughts:  
Sounds like a lot of other books that were popular around the time I added this to my TBR.  But doesn't sound unique or seem to be one I still want to read.

Verdict:  Toss



3.  Dark Rising (Alex Hunter #2) by Greig Beck:

When a massive amount of gamma radiation is detected somewhere beneath the desert of Iran, the world is on edge. Is it a nuclear weapon—or worse? Alex Hunter and his highly trained incursion team is on a mission to find out. When they arrive at the ruins of Persepolis, they find an underground facility but no lab, no weapons, no scientists—not even radiation. A black hole has taken everything…

Meanwhile, Iran is preparing for the return of the prophet. Israel is threatening nuclear war. And the details about Alex’s special U.S. military venture—code name: Arcadian—have been stolen. Then another gamma spike is detected…and someone, or something, is draining the fluids from the bodies of Iranian soldiers in the desert.

Now it’s up to Alex to follow the traces of radiation all the way to the ancient caves of Arak, where he’ll come face to face with a creature from his darkest nightmares. Is it game-over for Alex and his team? Or are greater forces at work as the world reaches its natural end—and mankind casts its final judgment?

My thoughts:  
Um, so this is the second book in a series that I haven't started.  Not sure.  Sounds maybe like something I used to read a lot of, but not anymore.

Verdict:  Toss



4.  The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills by Joanna Pearson:

The Japanese hold a Mogi ceremony for young women coming of age. Latina teenagers get quinceaneras. And Janice Wills of Melva, NC ... has to compete in the Miss Livermush pageant.

Janice loves anthropology--the study of human cultures--and her observations help her identify useful rules in the chaotic world of high school. For instance: Dancing is an effective mating ritual--but only if you're good at it; Hot Theatre Guys will never speak to Unremarkable Smart Girls like Janice and her best friend, Margo; and a Beautiful Rich Girl will always win Melva's annual Miss Livermush pageant.

But when a Hot Theatre Guy named Jimmy Denton takes an interest in Janice, all her scientific certainties explode. For the first time, she has to be part of the culture that she's always observed; and all the charts in the world can't prove how tough--and how sweet--real participation and a real romance can be.

Funny, biting, and full of wisdom, this marks the debut of a writer to watch
 
My thoughts:
Hmm, I don't remember this one, but it sounds really good! 

Verdict: Keep

5.   The Postmortal by Drew Magary: 

John Farrell is about to get "The Cure."

Old age can never kill him now.

The only problem is, everything else still can...

Imagine a near future where a cure for aging is discovered and-after much political and moral debate-made available to people worldwide. Immortality, however, comes with its own unique problems-including evil green people, government euthanasia programs, a disturbing new religious cult, and other horrors.

Witty, eerie, and full of humanity, The Postmortal is an unforgettable thriller that envisions a pre-apocalyptic world so real that it is completely terrifying.
  
My thoughts:
Sounds like it might have been kind of original, but these days, not sure it's something I'm that interested in.

Verdict: Toss



6.  Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay:

These violent delights have violent ends
And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,
Which as they kiss consume.
-William Shakespeare,
ROMEO AND JULIET

Juliet Capulet didn't take her own life. She was murdered by the person she trusted most, her new husband, Romeo Montague, who made the sacrifice to ensure his own immortality. But Romeo didn't anticipate that Juliet would be granted eternal life as well, and would become an agent for the Ambassadors of Light.

For seven hundred years, Juliet has struggled to preserve romantic love and the lives of the innocent, while Romeo has fought for the dark side, seeking to destroy the human heart. Until now.

Now Juliet has found her own forbidden love, and Romeo, O Romeo, will do everything in his power to destroy their happiness.

Secrets unfold and surprises abound in Stacey Jay's powerfully dark romance, which reunites literature's most tragic couple.

My thoughts:
I know this is a retelling that sounds good. But I don't know when I'll get to it. We do have it at the school library where I work, so I probably will just try to get to it some day.  Don't know that I need to keep it on my list though. 

Verdict:  Toss



7.  To Die For - A Novel of Anne Boleyn (Ladies in Waiting #1) by Sandra Byrd:

What would you sacrifice for your best friend?
Would you die for her?

Meg Wyatt has been Anne Boleyn's closest friend since they grew up together on neighboring manors in Kent. So when twenty-five-year-old Anne's star begins to ascend, of course she takes Meg along for the ride.

Life in the court of Henry VIII is thrilling... at first. Meg is made mistress of Anne's wardrobe, and she enjoys the spoils of this privileged orbit and uses her influence for good. She is young and beautiful and in favor; everyone at court assumes that being close to her is being close to Anne.

But favor is fickle and envy is often laced with venom. As Anne falls, so does Meg, and it becomes nearly impossible for her to discern ally from enemy. Suddenly life's unwelcome surprises rub against the court's sheen to reveal the tarnished brass of false affections and the bonafide gold of those that are true. Both Anne and Meg may lose everything. When your best friend is married to fearsome Henry VIII, you may soon find yourself not only friendless but headless as well.

A rich alchemy of fact and fiction, To Die For chronicles the glittering court life, the sweeping romance, and the heartbreaking fall from grace of a forsaken queen and Meg, her closest companion, who was forgotten by the ages but who is destined to live in our hearts forever.

My thoughts:  
As I've mentioned, I went through a phase of being obsessed with all things to do with Anne Boleyn, but I don't know that I will ever get to them all.

Verdict: Toss



 8.  i am DACHSHUND (Dachshund Escapades #2) by Mavis Duke Hinton:

I AM DACHSHUND

Sometimes a dog has to put up with a little silliness from humans.

People have strange notions and do some of the craziest things, but I don't mind them. I get all the attention I want from Mama, Papa, and my sweet baby sister, Annika, who loves my kisses. But there's one thing lacking...people food. I love people food. After you've had it, dried-up dog food tastes like cardboard. That's why I count on my absolute favorite person in the world, Papa, who calls me his "Granddawg," and his best friend, Sellars. They've been known to slip me the good stuff now and then, when Mama and Grandma aren't looking.

Most dogs just lie around, passively accepting what comes their way, watching the world go by. That sounds suspiciously like a cat to me. I want the world to know I AM DACHSHUND - the guardian, the sentinel, the keeper of everything my family holds dear.

I AM DACHSHUND

Fall in love with Sarge, the quintessential dachshund, and laugh along with his foibles and humorous escapades.

BOOK TWO
The Dachshund Escapades

Previously published as I Am Shadow... One Dog's Story

My thoughts:
It's about a dachshund.  Need I say more?

Verdict:  Keep



9.  The Academie by Amy Joy:

The teachers have been replaced with military personal. The school doors are locked. We won't be going home until we're 22. And somehow, everyone seems to be ok with this. Everyone, that is, but me. When Allie Thompson graduated, she thought she'd put high school behind her. But when a series of violent outbreaks by teens sends panic surging through the nation, high school is right where she finds herself again. Now transformed into what the government calls The Academie, what was once the public school system is now the permanent home of everyone 22 and under.

Torn from her boyfriend, her friends from college, her life, Allie doesn't take too well the Academie's militaristic nature or its 16 foot perimeter fences. Knowing she won't see her boyfriend for years and remembering all she's left behind, Allie plummets into depression. But when strange things being to happen and her brother disappears, Allie realizes that she must unravel the mystery that is The Academie-before it's too late!

Fans of Divergent (Veronica Roth), The Gender Game and The Girl Who Dared to Think (Bella Forrest) will enjoy this scifi romance dubbed "a sweet love story" by Publisher's Weekly . Mystery, heartbreak, true love, unexpected friendships, and a dark secret await inside The Academie.

My thoughts:
Sounds like a lot of what I used to read, but don't know that I'll get to it.

Verdict:  Toss




10.  Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day by Ben Loory:

Loory's collection of wry and witty, dark and perilous contemporary fables is populated by people–and monsters and trees and jocular octopi–who are united by twin motivations: fear and desire. In his singular universe, televisions talk (and sometimes sing), animals live in small apartments where their nephews visit from the sea, and men and women and boys and girls fall down wells and fly through space and find love on Ferris wheels. In a voice full of fable, myth, and dream, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day draws us into a world of delightfully wicked recognitions, and introduces us to a writer of uncommon talent and imagination.

Contains 40 stories, including "The Duck," "The Man and the Moose," and "Death and the Fruits of the Tree," as heard on NPR's This American Life, "The Book," as heard on Selected Shorts, and "The TV," as found in The New Yorker.

My thoughts:
I don't read too many short story collections these days.

Verdict:  Toss


Final Thoughts:
Tossing all but 3 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:

2014-2016ARCs:

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

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A to Z April: P Reviews - Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen/The Pride of the Peacock by Victoria Holt

For the last post this week I've got an old romance novel and a YA paranormal story.  Both are books I really enjoyed, and remember well.

The first book I want to talk about is one that I did actually review on my blog. But it is a series that I don't think gets enough attention.  So I want to bring it back by linking you to my reviews of the first two books in the Past Midnight series by Mara Purnhagen HERE.  And then I'll share the blurb from Goodreads below.  I just loved the ghost story, the characters, the mystery, such a great story!
Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston—and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

The second book is one that I happened upon by chance.  I had been hanging out with my aunt and cousins for the day because my parents were busy for something I can't remember now. We'd gone over to her grandmother-in-law's house.  I was bored, it was before I always remembered to bring a book with me.  So I saw a book sitting on a table and asked if I could read it.  Or maybe I picked it up and started reading, and the lady who it belonged to actually told me I could take it with me when we left. I'd always thought peacocks were cool, so that is one thing that got my attention. The other thing is that opals were my birthstone, and in this book I first learned about black opals, and probably became really obsessed with all types of opals.   Here is the blurb for it from Goodreads:
Victoria Holt demonstrates her mastery once again in her most exciting novel set in turn-of-the-century England where a young woman grows up in the shadow of the great estate - and privileged way of life - that was once her family's birthright. But a unique inheritance compels Jessica Clavering to marry the owner of a fabled opal mine and leads her to faraway Australia. There she will discover the mysteries - and evil - surrounding the greatest opal ever found. There she must confront the danger that lust for the stone has aroused even in her own husband - and there she must find love.

Actually both books I've chosen today have ghosts in them!  Or seem to maybe have ghosts.  And romance. Have you read either of these?  I am friends with the author of the first one, Mara Purnhagen, on Facebook.  And I've asked her what book is next. Nothing so far.  But I enjoy her writing so hope there will be more soon.  I've tried other books from the 2nd author, but haven't found any I loved as much as this one.

While you're here, enter my giveaway below!

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A to Z April - P: Paranormal

One type of story that has really taken off in the past decade it seems is paranormal. Especially for teens it seems. And it has always been one of my favorites.  For my post I'm considering books about ghosts, vampires, werewolves, angels, etc. to be considered paranormal.  I'll share 5 of my favorite paranormal books below.

1.

Make fun of me all you want, but I will always love the Twilight series.  And honestly, yes, it has vampires, but I really feel it is more of a romance story than a traditional vampire story.  Which for all those who make fun of vampire sparkling, need to really kind of get over it.  As far as we know, vampires aren't real, so who knows what they would really be like.  The author can make them however they want for their stories, and all authors do change them in some way.

2.

This is a book I'd seen on the shelves at the bookstore where I work, but just never got around to reading it until I got a good deal on the first two books at a Scholastic Book Warehouse sale.  Then, I really loved how detailed and creative the ghost story was.  You can read my review of it HERE.

3.

This is a really great ghost series that I found as e-books I believe.  There are 4 books I think in the series. But it is again really good characters, the ghosts are done well.  I've asked the author if she'll ever do any more with the series, and I don't thinks she plans on it.  But the characters and storyline has really stayed with me after reading them.  You can read my reviews of the first two books in this series HERE.

4.

I am a huge Maggie Stiefvater fan, as you know if you've been following my blog for very long.  And I could have shared her werewolves series, but this is a series that I find so creative and different, that I decided to share this one as well.  It includes ghosts, in face one of the main characters is a ghost.  And there are all other sorts of paranormal details.  You can read my review of this HERE.

5.

And this is a story about angels.  But an incredible story, so original, and so different.  I can't even think of any other stories to say it reminds me of them, because of how original it is.  Although, there are some bits that make me think of the Supernatural tv show.  I've got the 2nd book in the series on my TBR shelf, needs to be read soon, because the third books comes out this month!  You can read my review of this book HERE.

So, wow, I could go on forever and ever with all the paranormal books I love. These are all YA books, but I'm not a teen, I'm in my 40's, and I enjoyed them all.  Probably the ones that would be considered younger out of these are #2, and maybe, just a little bit, #3.  The rest would all be very in depth and great reads for any adult who loves paranormal titles.

Are you a fan of paranormal stories?  What are your favorites?  Do you consider what I've listed as paranormal or not?

My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers #1) by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All I can say is, why has it taken me so long to read this book? And I'm guessing, any book by Rachel Vincent is going to be this good! Reading this book reminds me of when I found Mara Purnhagenand her ghost series. I fell right into it, in love with it, and can't wait to read the rest of the series! First off, not sure why I didn't guess right from the series name: Soul Screamers, that this was about banshees. But what a cool new supernatural creature to develop into a story! The main character is Kaylee. Kaylee gets this uncontrollable urge to scream when she sees this black cloud surrounding people, and somehow she just knows that they're about to die. She had an episode in a mall,and I guess I have to get the prequel novella to read about that, but her aunt and uncle, who she lives with because her mother died when she was little and her father has moved back to Ireland, well, they put her in a psych ward and get her on meds to try to help with these "episodes". Only it happens again when she's snuck into a local club for 18 and older with her best friend Emma. The night starts off good, as one of the hottest guys in school, Nash, seems to have eyes for only her, and really be into her. But then this happens again, and she has to hold back the scream, and doing so makes her look like she's having a fit. Only, Nash doesn't seem to be too freaked out or scared off by this. In fact, he seems to know what's going on, and he does, he lets Kaylee in on what her heritage is. The cool thing, banshees aren't quite what we think of them as. In fact they have a cool Irish name that is interpreted as banshees, bean sidhe. The females scream/sing because they can tell when the soul leaves the body. And they are able to hold it and keep it from leaving the body, so that the deceased can see his family say their goodbyes, etc. The males don't do the screaming, but they can get the soul to move, back into the body, towards where it should be going, etc. But you're not supposed to bring someone back to life this way, because it means someone else will take their place. And what Kaylee soon learns, is that this rash of deaths of young people isn't supposed to be happening. They aren't on death's "list" to die. Someone is taking their souls for a nefarious purpose. And we do find out who, and Kaylee's father does come back, and we learn a lot about her family, but I won't tell you that, you'll have to read it for yourself.
I just have to say I love the connection between Nash and Kaylee. Can't wait to read on and find out where it goes. I do also like the character Tod, a grim reaper, which reminds me of one of my favorite shows, Dead Like Me. I can't wait to keep up with him too. I got this book as a strip cover that was going to be thrown away at the bookstore where I work. Now I have to go back and buy the compilation that has this, as well as the prequel novella: My Soul to Lose, and the 2nd book in the series: My Soul to Save. I'm hoping that they'll put the next 3 in a compilation as well.
This counts as my "M" in my A-Z Reading Challenge.

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Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen

Beyond the Grave by Mara Purnhagen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I got to read this early as an e-galley through NetGalley from Harlequin. I'm so mad though because I forgot there was a 2.5 in the series called Haunting the Night and so I didn't read it before. And it's so stupid because it was a free e-book! Oh well, I downloaded it and will go back and read it. I still really enjoy this series, and this book was no less enjoyable.
We join back in with Charlotte and her mom is still in a coma. Charlotte is trying to do what she can in secret to communicate with the spirit world to try to help her mom. After defeating the Watcher, she is sure it has to be something spiritual causing her mom to be in a coma. It turns out the Watcher is not gone though, and there are other people out there, called Protectors, that can help against Watchers.
I love reading about paranormal investigators as I really enjoy shows such as Paranormal State, and I like going on ghost hunts. So it is neat to read about a family that does this. I enjoyed the flashback in this book as well to learning about some past ghost hunts the family had been on. Expect a review of part 2.5 after a couple more books on my list.



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