Hey Everyone and welcome back to KEEP IT OR CUT IT!
I hope you are all doing great and have had a lovely week so far.
As you know, in a bid to maybe reduce my TBR, I am taking ten books from it and checking to see if I still want to read said book.
Ohh goodness guys any progress I made reducing my TBR, albeit minutely, has gone out the window! My Sundays Seven feature last Sunday, 7 Books Not Set In Medieval Europe, had me adding a good few more books to my TBR.
So you know…NO PROGRESS! Though, I don’t mind adding books I want to read, I do want to get rid of the ones I no longer want to read.
The Method…
In order to find out if I wish to KEEP IT OR CUT IT I will do the following:
- See if the blurb/synopsis still tickles my fancy
- Check out the reviews
- Maybe read the sample if I still can’t decide…
TO THE BOOKS…
BOOK #1
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death… because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago.
Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?
In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.
Date Added: June 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- I would literally buy this book for the cover alone. It is so pretty but thankfully many reviews suggest this books insides are as gorgeous as its outsides, so I don’t feel lo bad about that fact!
- Also, it is a debut. I have a thing about debut books, I love seeing what it takes to be published and at what point authors start their literary journey.
- This book is also meant to have a lot of war and court politics within its story, which I am quickly finding is one of my favourite elements in fantasy.
BOOK #2
The Witchwood Crown (The Last King of Osten Ard #1) by Tad Williams
Date Added: Jun 2019
CUT IT (BY DEFAULT)
Reasons:
- Ok, so don’t hate. This is a default cut it. As this book is the start of a series that follows the Memory, Sorrow and Thorn books, I don’t always do the but I get the feeling its pretty close in timescales. It is to be removed until I have read and loved the previous books. It is the same as me removing the third book of a trilogy when I haven’t read book two.
- If I’m wrong and this can be read without knowledge of the other series’ let me know!
BOOK #3
A Time of Dread (Of Blood and Bone #1) by John Gwynne
In the south, hotheaded Riv is desperate to join the Ben-Elim’s peacekeeping force, until she unearths a deadly secret.
In the west, the giantess Sig investigates demon sightings and discovers signs of an uprising and black magic.
And in the snowbound north, Drem, a trapper, finds mutilated corpses in the forests. The work of a predator, or something far darker?
It’s a time of shifting loyalties and world-changing dangers. Difficult choices need to be made. Because in the shadows, demons are gathering, waiting for their time to rise…
Date Added: Jun 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- KEEP IT. KEEP IT. KEEP IT because John Gwynne’s debut series is one of my all time favourites, so I will be reading this. It’s funny it has come up this week because I keep eyeing it on my shelves at home, and I even went to check some of its reviews the other day and reread the synopsis as I keep wanting to read it.
- I may very soon break my TBR and get this series done!
BOOK #4
Broken Throne (Red Queen #5) by Victoria Aveyard
The perfect addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling Red Queen series, this gorgeously designed package features three brand-new novellas, two previously published novellas, Steel Scars and Queen Song, and never-before-seen maps, flags, bonus scenes, journal entries, and much more exclusive content.
Fans will be delighted to catch up with beloved characters after the drama of War Storm and be excited to hear from brand-new voices as well. This stunning collection is not to be missed!
Date Added: Jun 2019
CUT IT
Reasons:
- While I enjoyed this series when I read it, and I actually think if I was to read it again I would still enjoy it, I’m not really one to really tackle novellas. I don’t know why I’m just not. If I reread this series and really feel like I want more of the world I know of the book so may read it but it isn’t on my list to just pick up and read, thus this is a CUT IT.
BOOK #5
Age of Myth (The Legends of the First Empire #1) by Michael J. Sullivan
Since time immemorial, humans have worshipped the gods they call Fhrey, truly a race apart: invincible in battle, masters of magic, and seemingly immortal. But when a god falls to a human blade, the balance of power between humans and those they thought were gods changes forever.
Now only a few stand between humankind and annihilation: Raithe, reluctant to embrace his destiny as the God Killer; Suri, a young seer burdened by signs of impending doom; and Persephone, who must overcome personal tragedy to lead her people. The Age of Myth is over. The time of rebellion has begun.
Date Added: Jun 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- This sounds epic and its audio sounds great to!
- Now, this is the same world as some of Sullivan’s other books but Sullivan said himself said that it is 3,000 years between books, so I don’t feel the need to delete this of my TBR.
BOOK #6
Wizard’s First Rule (Sword of Truth #1) by Terry Goodkind
Kahlan Amnell, tormented by treachery and loss, is being hunted, pursued remorselessly by a bloodthirsty tyrant’s assassins. A monstrous evil is about to be unleashed upon the world and she knows her one hope of halting it is to find the last great Wizard…
Together, Richard and Kahlan have a destiny that will not be denied, a destiny that will embroil them in a war three-millennia past… a war that is about to re-ignite with world-devouring violence.
Date Added: Jun 2019
CUT IT
- This book just doesn’t take my fancy. I read a few reviews, which by the way are pretty split apparently it is a book you either love or hate, and I’m still not hugely bothered for it!
BOOK #7
Elantris (Elantris #1) by Brandon Sanderson
The capital of Arelon, the home to people transformed into magic-using demigods by the Shaod.
But then the magic failed, Elantris started to rot, and its inhabitants turned into powerless wrecks.
And in the new capital, Kae, close enough to Elantris for everyone to be reminded of what they have lost, a princess arrives. Sarene is to be married to unite Teod and Arelon against the religious imperialists of Fjordell. But she is told that Raoden, her husband to be, is dead.
Determined to carry on the fight for Teod and Arelon’s freedom, Sarene clashes with the high priest Hrathen. If Hrathen can persuade the populace to convert, Fjordell will reign supreme.
But there are secrets in Elantris, the dead and the ruined may yet have a role to play in this new world. Magic lives.
Date Added: Jun 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- I think I will try and read any of Sanderson’s books, not because everyone dies over him but because he seems like a fairly cool guy. I actually listen to his podcast Writing Excuses, and he comes out with some really great things in that and knowing how he came to some of his ideas is always interesting. So, I will give this book a go and if I love it yay, if not then meh!
BOOK #8
The Dragonbone Chair (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn #1) by Tad Williams
Simon, a kitchen boy from the royal castle unknowingly apprenticed to a member of this League, will be sent on a quest that offers the only hope of salvation, a deadly riddle concerning long-lost swords of power. Compelled by fate and perilous magics, he must leave the only home he’s ever known and face enemies more terrifying than Osten Ard has ever seen, even as the land itself begins to die.
Date Added: Jun 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- I have this on my shelves and have every intention of reading it.
- I love war stories, it has the good ole humble origins trope and a quest. What’s not to like?
BOOK #9
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms (Inheritance Trilogy #1) by N.K. Jemisin
Date Added: Jun 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- Over he last few days N.K Jemisin seems to be popping up all over my radar. I saw people dying over her books on a thread on Twitter, then I featured her in my latest post and now this one. She has also popped up on my Goodreads a fair amount lately. One might argue it is a sign?
- Guess I will have to keep it.
- Barbarian north, mysterious deaths and courtly power struggles…I’m sold.
BOOK #10
The Wolf’s Call (Raven’s Blade #1) by Anthony Ryan
Vaelin Al Sorna is a living legend, his name known across the Realm. It was his leadership that overthrew empires, his blade that won hard-fought battles – and his sacrifice that defeated an evil more terrifying than anything the world had ever seen. He won titles aplenty, only to cast aside his earned glory for a quiet life in the Realm’s northern reaches.
Yet whispers have come from across the sea – rumours of an army called the Steel Horde, led by a man who believes himself a god. Vaelin has no wish to fight another war, but when he learns that Sherin, the woman he lost long ago, has fallen into the Horde’s grasp, he resolves to confront this powerful new threat.
To this end, Vaelin travels to the realms of the Merchant Kings, a land ruled by honour and intri
gue. There, as the drums of war thunder across kingdoms riven by conflict, Vaelin learns a terrible truth: that there are some battles that even he cannot hope to win.
Date Added: Jun 2019
KEEP IT
Reasons:
- I love Anthony Ryan sooooo KEEP IT!
There it is! So, this week I have cut 3 books and kept 7.
What do you think are there any books I really should have cut or ones you cant believe I cut?
_ The Book in Hand _ 