I think at this point I’ve been adding more to my Goodreads to be read shelf than I’m removing, but that’s part of the fun. By the time I make it to those books, I will have either read them already or will decide it’s time to remove them. It’s basically a vicious cycle, but I love it.
Blood Heir by Amélie Wen Zhao
I’ve tried to read a book by this author before and I really couldn’t get into it, so I don’t have a lot of hopes for this one. The cover is absolutely gorgeous though, it’s probably why I wanted to read it in the first place.
Verdict: remove
Synopsis: In the Cyrilian Empire, Affinites are reviled. Their varied gifts to control the world around them are deemed unnatural–even dangerous. And Anastacya Mikhailov, the crown princess, is one of the most terrifying Affinites.
Ana’s ability to control blood has long been kept secret, but when her father, the emperor, is murdered, she is the only suspect. Now, to save her own life, Ana must find her father’s killer. But the Cyrilia beyond the palace walls is one where corruption rules and a greater conspiracy is at work–one that threatens the very balance of Ana’s world.
There is only one person corrupt enough to help Ana get to the conspiracy’s core: Ramson Quicktongue. Ramson is a cunning crime lord with sinister plans–though he might have met his match in Ana. Because in this story, the princess might be the most dangerous player of all.
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
I know a lot of people really like this series but I’ve tried one of V.E Schwab’s books before and I couldn’t get through it. Which I’ve only just remembered, it’s under her full name so I didn’t realise at first.
I may try out the graphic novels and potentially check out the books if I like them, but that doesn’t seem too likely.
Verdict: remove
Synopsis: Kell is one of the last Antari—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black.
Kell was raised in Arnes—Red London—and officially serves the Maresh Empire as an ambassador, traveling between the frequent bloody regime changes in White London and the court of George III in the dullest of Londons, the one without any magic left to see.
Unofficially, Kell is a smuggler, servicing people willing to pay for even the smallest glimpses of a world they’ll never see. It’s a defiant hobby with dangerous consequences, which Kell is now seeing firsthand.
After an exchange goes awry, Kell escapes to Grey London and runs into Delilah Bard, a cut-purse with lofty aspirations. She first robs him, then saves him from a deadly enemy, and finally forces Kell to spirit her to another world for a proper adventure.
Now perilous magic is afoot, and treachery lurks at every turn. To save all of the worlds, they’ll first need to stay alive.
On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
I’m not saying this is Angie Thomas’s fault, but I “bought” this book years ago thinking it was the entire book, but no it was a sampler and it didn’t say. I downloaded it a few weeks ago because I finally decided to read it and lo and behold it’s less than 50 pages. I paid actually money for that. I’m so annoyed.
So, sorry Angie Thomas but I will never read this book purely because this situation has made me angry.
Verdict: remove
Synopsis: Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill. But when her first song goes viral for all the wrong reasons, Bri finds herself at the centre of controversy and portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. And with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri no longer just wants to make it – she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be.
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