You are currently viewing Time to Cut Back on My TBR: Part Two

Time to Cut Back on My TBR: Part Two

22 More Books I Gave the Boot

Before you come after me with pitchforks and papercuts, yes, some of these books may be very popular but.. my TBR’s have become unmanageable and sacrifices must be made. (It’s also completely likely that some will just get added again at another time)

I’ve noticed that leaning your TBR is a lot like doing the laundry.
By the time you’ve done it all.. there’s already more piling up.
It’s a cycle that never ends.

It does make me sad to see them go but, fortunately, I can comfort myself with the fact that these books will likely end up on some of your TBR’s (if they’re not already)

Happy Reading!


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Deadly Roses by Scott Stevens

Publication date: August 19, 2020
Genre: Urban fiction, Thriller
Pages: 276

Love isn’t always champagne and roses and it’s certainly not the case in this love triangle thriller. In New York City, a dominating, abusive boyfriend is being ousted for a romantic hero, but there are deadly consequences. Step into the gang life and witness the savagery as they stop at nothing to seek revenge. You’ve heard the old saying: “Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love with girl.” Now you can add: “Girl’s gang-leader boyfriend doesn’t like the new addition.”


Dream Girl by Laura Lippman

Publication date: June 22, 2021
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Psychological thriller
Pages: 311

Aubrey, the title character of Gerry Andersen’s most successful novel, Dream Girl, is so captivating that Gerry’s readers insist she’s real. Gerry knows she exists only in his imagination. So how can Aubrey be calling Gerry, bed-bound since a freak fall? A virtual prisoner in his penthouse, Gerry is dependent on two women he barely knows: his incurious young assistant, and a dull, slow-witted night nurse.

Could the cryptic caller be one of his three ex-wives playing a vindictive trick after all these years? Or is she Margot, an ex-girlfriend who keeps trying to insinuate her way back into Gerry’s life?

And why does no one believe that the call even happened?

Isolated from the world, drowsy from medication, Gerry slips between reality and dreamlike memories: his faithless father, his devoted mother; the women who loved him, the women he loved.

Now here is Aubrey, threatening to visit him, suggesting that Gerry owes her something. Is the threat real or a sign of dementia? Which scenario would he prefer? Gerry has never been so alone, so confused – and so terrified.

And then he wakes up to another nightmare—a woman’s dead body next to his bed—and the terrifying uncertainty of whether he is responsible.


The Queen’s Assassin by Melissa de la Cruz

Publication date: February 4, 2020
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Fantasy fiction, Sword and Sorcery
Pages: 381

Caledon Holt is the kingdom’s deadliest weapon. No one alive can best him in speed, strength, or brains, which is why he’s the Hearthstone Guild’s most dangerous member. Cal is also the Queen’s Assassin, bound to her by magic and unable to leave her service until the task she’s set for him is fulfilled.

Shadow of the Honey Glade has been training all her life to join the Guild, hoping that one day she’ll become an assassin as feared and revered as Cal. But Shadow’s mother and aunts expect her to serve the crown as a lady of the Renovian Court.

When a surprise attack brings Shadow and Cal together, they’re forced to team up as assassin and apprentice. Even though Shadow’s life belongs to the court and Cal’s belongs to the queen, they cannot deny their attraction to each other. But now, with war on the horizon and true love at risk, Shadow and Cal will uncover a shocking web of lies that will change their paths forever.


Chain of Gold by Cassandra Clare
Unless it’s The Infernal Devices Series.. I can’t deal with Clare’s tendency towards angsty teen drama.

Publication date: March 3, 2020
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Historical fiction, Dark fantasy
Pages: 589

Cordelia Carstairs is a Shadowhunter, a warrior trained since childhood to battle demons. When her father is accused of a terrible crime, she and her brother travel to London in hopes of preventing the family’s ruin. Cordelia’s mother wants to marry her off, but Cordelia is determined to be a hero rather than a bride. Soon Cordelia encounters childhood friends James and Lucie Herondale and is drawn into their world of glittering ballrooms, secret assignations, and supernatural salons, where vampires and warlocks mingle with mermaids and magicians. All the while, she must hide her secret love for James, who is sworn to marry someone else.

But Cordelia’s new life is blown apart when a shocking series of demon attacks devastate London. These monsters are nothing like those Shadowhunters have fought before—these demons walk in daylight, strike down the unwary with incurable poison, and seem impossible to kill. London is immediately quarantined. Trapped in the city, Cordelia and her friends discover that their own connection to a dark legacy has gifted them with incredible powers—and forced a brutal choice that will reveal the true cruel price of being a hero.


The Tethered Soul of Easton Green by Laura C. Reden
I would have kept this one for the title alone.. but it just had to be compared to Twilight.

Publication date: March 11, 2021
Genre: Romance novel, Fantasy fiction
Pages: 314

Mediocracy defines her past.

Imminent death defines her future.

In between, there’s Easton Green.

The world turned its back on Everly Beck. At twenty-two, a matter of months is all she has left.

She wants nothing more than time, but what she really needs is a second chance.

Follow the tragic tale of a dying girl, and boy with an immortal soul. Together, they make a perfect, genre-bending paradox.


I Don’t Forgive You by Aggie Blum Thompson

Publication date: June 8, 2021
Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological fiction
Pages: 345

An accomplished photographer and the devoted mom of an adorable little boy, Allie Ross has just moved to an upscale DC suburb, the kind of place where parenting feels like a competitive sport. Allie’s desperate to make a good first impression. Then she’s framed for murder.

It all starts at a neighborhood party when a local dad corners Allie and calls her by an old, forgotten nickname from her dark past. The next day, he is found dead.

Soon, the police are knocking at her door, grilling her about a supposed Tinder relationship with the man, and pulling up texts between them. She learns quickly that she’s been hacked and someone is impersonating her online. Her reputation—socially and professionally—is at stake; even her husband starts to doubt her. As the killer closes in, Allie must reach back into a past she vowed to forget in order to learn the shocking truth of who is destroying her life.


The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin

Publication date: June 1, 2021
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Contemporary fantasy, Paranormal fiction
Pages: 386

For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, but now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic; the storms, more destructive. All hope lies with Clara, a once-in-a-generation Everwitch whose magic is tied to every season.

In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It’s wild and volatile, and the price of her magic—losing the ones she loves—is too high, despite the need to control the increasingly dangerous weather.

In Winter, the world is on the precipice of disaster. Fires burn, storms rage, and Clara accepts that she’s the only one who can make a difference.

In Spring, she falls for Sang, the witch training her. As her magic grows, so do her feelings, until she’s terrified Sang will be the next one she loses.

In Summer, Clara must choose between her power and her happiness, her duty and the people she loves…before she loses Sang, her magic, and thrusts the world into chaos.


Company Assassin by Claudia Blood

Publication date: January 15, 2021
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Science fiction, Time travel
Pages: 210

Turning eighteen in the orphanage on Kalecca means starvation for those who aren’t hired into a Family, so no one is celebrating Duff Roman’s big day.

Outside the Family compounds lies the jungle. And in the jungle lies death. And Relics—the only real currency on Planet Kalecca.

The orphans are Duff’s family, and he’s sacrificed everything to keep the orphanage running, even his chance to move on. But without him to bring in extra money, the orphans will starve under the Company’s control. Duff’s only chance to save them is to find a spot on an independent crew and hopefully find a Relic to sell.

When a seemingly chance encounter with Z, leader of the most feared independent crew, offers Duff his opportunity to score a Relic, it also gives Z a chance to relieve the guilt he feels over his past.

But a Company assassin has plans to lay waste to Duff’s future and destroy the people he cares about the most…


Dark Currents by Doug Burgess
This one I fully expect to make it back on my TBR.. I simply don’t have the time for it now and most likely won’t any time soon.

Publication date: February 2, 2021
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Crime fiction, LGBTQ+
Pages: 269

No one ever talks about what happens in Little Compton…

When David left home three years ago, he never looked back. Now, the only connection to his tiny New England hometown is his grandmother Maggie, whose mind is unraveling as she slowly succumbs to dementia. But when her best friend turns up dead and she may be the sole witness to the crime, David has no choice but to return to a place that never accepted his trans identity and only ever wanted him gone.

Maggie’s testimony is shrouded in doubt—in between moments of lucidity she talks about things that never happened, about apparitions, disappearances, and murders. But are they really only stories? After a man’s death sets off a hauntingly familiar chain of events, it seems there’s some truth to Maggie’s words.

With a body count on the rise, David begrudgingly tunes back into the rural voices of the tight-knit community to seek out the truth. And while David returns home a changed man, he finds that the ghosts of his past have waited for him. He’ll have to face them head-on before he can begin to unravel his grandmother’s story and finally put to rest the mysteries of this little town, lost in the fog.


The Duke Undone by Joanna Lowell

Publication date: April 26, 2021
Genre: Romance novel, Historical fiction
Pages: 382

When Royal Academy painting student Lucy Coover trips over a naked man passed out in an East End alley, she does the decent thing. She covers him up and fetches help. Trouble is, she can’t banish his muscular form from her dreams as easily. Compelled to capture every detail, she creates a stunning portrait but is forced to sell it when the rent comes due. What could be worse than surrendering the very picture of your desire? Meeting the man himself. 

Anthony Philby, Duke of Weston, is nobody’s muse. Upon discovering the scandalous likeness, he springs into action. His infamous family has been torn apart by shame and secrets, and he can’t afford more gossip. Even a whisper may jeopardize his inheritance and his chance at independence. His plan is simple: burn the painting, confront the artist. Or rather, it’s simple until he meets Lucy and decides to offer the bewitching young artist a devil’s bargain.  He’ll help save her foreclosed home, if she’ll help repair his family’s brutal legacy.

An irresistible passion ignites between them, but when danger strikes, Lucy and Anthony must risk everything… for a love that might destroy them both.


The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Hey, I kept Caraval on there, give me a break here.. I don’t care for circuses.

Publication date: September 13, 2011
Genre: Fantasy fiction, Romance novel
Pages: 401

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.


For Your Own Good by Samantha Downing
I have several of Downing’s books on my TBR but I think I’ll pass on this one.

Publication date: July 20, 2021
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Pages: 379

Teddy Crutcher has won Teacher of the Year at the prestigious Belmont Academy, home to the best and brightest.
 
He says his wife couldn’t be more proud—though no one has seen her in a while.
 
Teddy really can’t be bothered with a few mysterious deaths on campus that’re looking more and more like murder or with the student digging a little too deep into Teddy’s personal life. His main focus is pushing these kids to their full academic potential.  
 
All he wants is for his colleagues—and the endlessly meddlesome parents—to stay out of his way. If not, well, they’ll get what they deserve.
 
It’s really too bad that sometimes excellence can come at such a high cost.


Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Publication date: October 4, 2011
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Paranormal and Urban fantasy romance
Pages: 357

Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she’s surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.


By Mistake by Sigal Ehrlich 
I honestly don’t even know how this made it onto my TBR so the title is pretty perfect.

Publication date: January 19, 2021
Genre: New adult, Contemporary romance
Pages: 239

There’s so much going on in Anna’s life. Teaching countless hours at the studio and nurturing the three major relationships of her life – her group of tight-knit friends, all while attempting to not screw up this whole adulthood thing leaves very little time to waste on yet another dating app. At this point, a relationship is off the menu. Being “self-partnered” is more than enough.

A serious relationship has been crossed off Liam Brody’s list of goals, at least for the foreseeable future. Completing his residency and becoming a trauma surgeon is his only priority. Casual relationships, his friends, and books are the only things he’s willing to lose his precious free time to.

When an accidental email starts a deep online connection, both Liam and Anna dive in with zero concern . . . because there’s really no harm in getting close to someone who you’ll never meet in real life, right?

Wrong.

When a turn of events brings their “safe” virtual connection to an unexpected face-to-face, Anna and Liam learn their online chemistry pales in comparison to the real deal. A realization that brings along the bazillion-dollar question – what do you do when you meet The One at the most impossibly wrong time?


We Are Inevitable by Gayle Forman

Publication date: June 1, 2021
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Fiction
Pages: 288

Aaron Stein used to think books were miracles. But not anymore. Even though he spends his days working in his family’s secondhand bookstore, the only book Aaron can bear to read is one about the demise of the dinosaurs. It’s a predicament he understands all too well, now that his brother and mom are gone and his friends have deserted him, leaving Aaron and his shambolic father alone in a moldering bookstore in a crusty mountain town where no one seems to read anymore.

So when Aaron sees the opportunity to sell the store, he jumps at it, thinking this is the only way out. But he doesn’t account for Chad, a “best life” bro with a wheelchair and way too much optimism, or the town’s out-of-work lumberjacks taking on the failing shop as their pet project. And he certainly doesn’t anticipate meeting Hannah, a beautiful, brave musician who might possibly be the kind of inevitable he’s been waiting for.

All of them will help Aaron to come to terms with what he’s lost, what he’s found, who he is, and who he wants to be, and show him that destruction doesn’t inevitably lead to extinction; sometimes it leads to the creation of something entirely new.


The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

Publication date: April 28, 2020
Genre: Sibling fiction, Domestic fiction
Pages: 312

Maggie, Eliza, and Tricia Sweeney grew up as a happy threesome in the idyllic seaside town of Southport, Connecticut. But their mother’s death from cancer fifteen years ago tarnished their golden-hued memories, and the sisters drifted apart. Their one touchstone is their father, Bill Sweeney, an internationally famous literary lion and college professor universally adored by critics, publishers, and book lovers. When Bill dies unexpectedly one cool June night, his shell-shocked daughters return to their childhood home. They aren’t quite sure what the future holds without their larger-than-life father, but they do know how to throw an Irish wake to honor a man of his stature.

But as guests pay their respects and reminisce, one stranger, emboldened by whiskey, has crashed the party. It turns out that she too is a Sweeney sister.

When Washington, DC based journalist Serena Tucker had her DNA tested on a whim a few weeks earlier, she learned she had a 50% genetic match with a childhood neighbor—Maggie Sweeney of Southport, Connecticut. It seems Serena’s chilly WASP mother, Birdie, had a history with Bill Sweeney—one that has remained totally secret until now.

Once the shock wears off, questions abound. What does this mean for William’s literary legacy? Where is the unfinished memoir he’s stashed away, and what will it reveal? And how will a fourth Sweeney sister—a blond among redheads—fit into their story?


The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle
I also expect this one will find it’s way back to me at some point.

Publication date: April 6, 2021
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Thriller, Suspense
Pages: 384

Boarding school has never been more dangerous.

What if your roommate is a murderer? Or what if he’s being framed and only you can save him?

Luke Chase made history as a child when he escaped a kidnapping. Now, all he wants is to be a normal teenager. So when he sneaks out to the woods one night to drink with friends and flirt with the new British girl at school, he’s excited to feel some freedom.

Except the next morning, one of their teachers is found murdered―in the exact same spot where they had been partying. Soon, Luke’s roommate and best friend Oscar is the #1 suspect.

As the evidence and list of suspects builds, Luke attempts to use his famous survival skills to find the killer and clear Oscar’s name. But as Luke gets closer to the truth, the killer is getting closer to Luke.


Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid

Publication date: December 31, 2019
Genre: Domestic fiction, Coming-of-age story
Pages: 320

Alix Chamberlain is a woman who gets what she wants and has made a living, with her confidence-driven brand, showing other women how to do the same. So she is shocked when her babysitter, Emira Tucker, is confronted while watching the Chamberlains’ toddler one night, walking the aisles of their local high-end supermarket. The store’s security guard, seeing a young black woman out late with a white child, accuses Emira of kidnapping two-year-old Briar. A small crowd gathers, a bystander films everything, and Emira is furious and humiliated. Alix resolves to make things right.

But Emira herself is aimless, broke, and wary of Alix’s desire to help. At twenty-five, she is about to lose her health insurance and has no idea what to do with her life. When the video of Emira unearths someone from Alix’s past, both women find themselves on a crash course that will upend everything they think they know about themselves, and each other.


Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D. James
I have, at minimum, three other Pride and Prejudice retellings on my list and this one lost.

Publication date: December 6, 2011
Genre: Mystery, Historical fiction
Pages: 306

It is 1803, six years since Elizabeth and Darcy embarked on their life together at Pemberley, Darcy’s magnificent estate. Their peaceful, orderly world seems almost unassailable. Elizabeth has found her footing as the chatelaine of the great house. They have two fine sons, Fitzwilliam and Charles. Elizabeth’s sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live nearby; her father visits often; there is optimistic talk about the prospects of marriage for Darcy’s sister Georgiana. And preparations are under way for their much-anticipated annual autumn ball.
 
Then, on the eve of the ball, the patrician idyll is shattered. A coach careens up the drive carrying Lydia, Elizabeth’s disgraced sister, who with her husband, the very dubious Wickham, has been banned from Pemberley. She stumbles out of the carriage, hysterical, shrieking that Wickham has been murdered. With shocking suddenness, Pemberley is plunged into a frightening mystery.


Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

Publication date: April 7, 2020
Genre: Women’s fiction, Historical fiction
Pages: 303

The Sin Eater walks among us, unseen, unheard
Sins of our flesh become sins of Hers
Following Her to the grave, unseen, unheard
The Sin Eater Walks Among Us.

For the crime of stealing bread, fourteen-year-old May receives a life sentence: she must become a Sin Eater—a shunned woman, brutally marked, whose fate is to hear the final confessions of the dying, eat ritual foods symbolizing their sins as a funeral rite, and thereby shoulder their transgressions to grant their souls access to heaven.

Orphaned and friendless, apprenticed to an older Sin Eater who cannot speak to her, May must make her way in a dangerous and cruel world she barely understands. When a deer heart appears on the coffin of a royal governess who did not confess to the dreadful sin it represents, the older Sin Eater refuses to eat it. She is taken to prison, tortured, and killed. To avenge her death, May must find out who placed the deer heart on the coffin and why.


Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

Publication date: July 7, 2015
Genre: Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
Pages: 385

Life has never been easy for the three Campbell sisters. Jess, Courtney, and Dani live on a remote ranch in Western Canada where they work hard and try to stay out of the way of their father’s temper. One night, a fight gets out of hand and the sisters are forced to go on the run, only to get caught in an even worse nightmare when their truck breaks down in a small town. As events spiral out of control they find themselves in a horrifying situation and are left with no choice but to change their names and create new lives.

Eighteen years later, they are still trying to forget what happened that summer. But when one of the sisters goes missing, followed closely by her niece, they are pulled back into the past. And this time there’s nowhere left to run.


The Husbands by Chandler Baker
Stepford Wives was creepy enough but Stepford Husbands? No, thank you.

Publication date: August 3, 2021
Genre: Domestic fiction, Thriller, Psychological fiction
Pages: 349

To what lengths will a woman go for a little more help from her husband?

Nora Spangler is a successful attorney but when it comes to domestic life, she packs the lunches, schedules the doctor appointments, knows where the extra paper towel rolls are, and designs and orders the holiday cards. Her husband works hard, too… but why does it seem like she is always working so much harder?

When the Spanglers go house hunting in Dynasty Ranch, an exclusive suburban neighborhood, Nora meets a group of high-powered women—a tech CEO, a neurosurgeon, an award-winning therapist, a bestselling author—with enviably supportive husbands. When she agrees to help with a resident’s wrongful death case, she is pulled into the lives of the women there. She finds the air is different in Dynasty Ranch. The women aren’t hanging on by a thread.

But as the case unravels, Nora uncovers a plot that may explain the secret to having-it-all. One that’s worth killing for.


Thank you for taking a moment to check out my post!
It’s a shame. There are quite a few great books here that I just don’t have time for them right now..
Maybe you will.

Stay safe and Be well!

Which book are you the most surprised to see here?

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This Post Has 12 Comments

    1. Sheri Dye

      It’s crazy how quickly they can accumulate, isn’t it?
      I can rarely let go of physical books though.. I get super attached.

        1. Sheri Dye

          That’s really great.. but I don’t know how you’re doing it.
          You would have to pry my books out of my cold, dead hands.

  1. alwaysneedmorebooks

    It has to be done – I’m due a big sort out!

    1. Sheri Dye

      Yep.. Blogger chores. Gotta love’em. 😂

  2. Pooja G

    These books sound interesting but I definitely understand having to clear out your TBR once in a while. I always have to do that every few months otherwise my list would be never-ending lol.

    1. Sheri Dye

      How do you find anything?
      There get to be so many on mine that I just don’t know where or what anything is anymore.. but they all sound fantastic so I hate to let any go.😵‍💫

      1. Pooja G

        I have a hard time too but yeah letting some go helps lol 😥😅

        1. Sheri Dye

          I’m sorry to hear that and I’m not.
          I am sympathetic.. but it is nice to know it isn’t just me. 😳🤭

          1. Pooja G

            Haha you’re definitely not alone in this!

  3. Sheri Dye

    It feels like one of those ‘unstoppable force meets an immovable object’ kind of situations.😅

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