Time for another round up of books from my TBR to go through! Each week I’ll be going over a selection from my physical unread books and deciding what to keep and what to purge. There will be a third option–undecided–which I might ask for your input on why you think I should keep or purge that title from my list. You can also check out my full TBR pile here.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart.

I’ve read the Six of Crows duology and one other Leigh Bardugo book in the Grishaverse but I’ve never read the original trilogy somehow? I can’t remember where I picked this one up at but I found it in the wild and brought it home with me and it’s been on my shelf for a while. I do want to read this series! KEEP

Star of the Morning by Lynn Kurland

Darkness covers the north, since the black mage has begun his assault on the kingdom of Neroche. Legend has it that only the two magical swords held by Neroche’s king can defeat the mage. Now the fate of the Nine Kingdoms rests in the hands of a woman destined to wield one of those blades…

In this land of dragons and mages, warrior maids and magical swords, nothing is as it seems. And Morgan will find that the magic in her blood brings her troubles she cannot face with a sword-and a love more powerful than she has ever imagined.

 

I used to be a HUGE fan of Lynn Kurland’s romances (in fact, it was one of her books that made me a fan of the genre) so I was excited when I learned she was writing a fantasy romance series. So I picked this up and then put off reading it for some reason because apparently that’s what I do? I have this one and one sequel. Still want to get to these! KEEP

Issola by Steven Brust

Okay, so maybe I’ve been living in the woods too long, where you can’t even get a decent cup of klava first thing in the morning. So who should turn up but Lady Teldra, the courtly servant of my old friend the Dragonlord Morrolan?

Teldra wants my help, because Morrolan and Aliera have disappeared, and according to Sethra Lavode, it looks like they may be in the hands of the Jenoine. Do I want to mess with them? The guys who made this place? And I thought I had problems before…

Oh well, what’s a little cosmic battle with beings who control time and space? It’s better than hunkering down in the woods without even so much as a drinkable cup of klava.

I don’t exactly remember when I picked this one up but I guess I got it when I was out browsing used books and remembered ‘oh yeah I have heard good things about this series’. But it’s book 9 apparently? And I also don’t have as much interest in this series anymore. PURGE

Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful by Arwen Elys Dayton

Set in our world, spanning the near to distant futures, Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is a novel made up of six interconnected stories that ask how far we will go to remake ourselves into the perfect human specimens, and how hard that will push the definition of “human.”

This extraordinary work explores the amazing possibilities of genetic manipulation and life extension, as well as the ethical quandaries that will arise with these advances. The results range from the heavenly to the monstrous. Deeply thoughtful, poignant, horrifying, and action-packed, Arwen Elys Dayton’s Stronger, Faster, and More Beautiful is groundbreaking in both form and substance.

This one was sent to me for review and I never got around to it, much to my shame. I’ve actually heard good things about this book but I don’t think i’m going to get around to it so I’ll let someone else have a go with it. PURGE

Winds of Fate by Mercedes Lackey

Lackey, who has enchanted readers since the publication of her first novel, Arrows of the Queen in 1987, scores another hit with the paperback release of the first book in an exciting new series. High magic had been lost to Valdemar when Vanyel gave his life to save his kingdom from destruction by the dark sorceries. Now it falls to Elspeth — Herald, heir to the throne — to take up the challenge and seek a mentor who will awaken her mage abilities.

 

 

So my friend gave me their entire Valdemar collection a while back and I haven’t gotten around to reading them. I did mention one of the series within this series here before on TBR shelf cleanup, but I’m including the rest of the entirety here because I don’t feel like talking about Valdemar for five or more posts lol. I have this one and ten other Valdemar books. Some of them I might let go (I have been briefed by my friends on which are must reads and which are ‘weaker’ in the series. KEEP – for now

That’s all for now! This brings my total count to:

Keep	Purge	Undecided
256	89	39

Got a couple of more purges this time, even though I have a lot in my keep pile again. Still feel great about my progress! 🙂  What do you think about my choices here? Anything you’d do differently? Leave a note in the comments, I’d love to chat!