We’ve all done it. Pre-ordered books, rushed out on release day, stalked our Kindles at midnight waiting for a book. A book that we were so excited for that we took pictures of it. Told all our friends about it. Some of us (*cough*) might have even carried it around with us for a month or two. The only thing we DIDN’T DO…read it.
Why?
Who knows…maybe you were currently reading something else. Maybe you had hit your 4 books at a time quota and adding one more would have made your brain implode. Maybe you were just too afraid of your unrealistic expectations. It’s a toss up, but the fact of the matter is…you NEVER read the book you practically hyperventilated over.
If you are anything like me, you have a TBR the size of a small (or in my case large) country, and truth be told…you are totally ok with that. The more books the merrier, am I right? But what happened to THAT BOOK?
I’ll tell you what happened…it got buried.
To make you feel a little better, I’ve decided to make a list of the 10 books I can’t believe I haven’t read. 10 books that I spent my (husband’s) hard earned cash on only to forget about it…for years. *hangs head in shame.*
So let’s play a game of:
I’LL SHOW YOU MINE IF YOU SHOW ME YOURS.
Get your TBR’s ready people. It’s time for a confessional.
10 Books I Can’t Believe…I Haven’t Read
#1 The Broken Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Days waiting on TBR: 1555 day OR 4 years, 3 months, 2 days
4 years! Ouch. That one hurts. I was such a huge fan of Jemisin’s “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms” (which, if I’m remembering correctly, I claimed it “knocked me out of my Mortal Instruments slump”) that I immediately put its follow up on a pre-order list. Better yet, I pre-ordered book 3 as well without having read the 2nd. Am I crazy? Probably, but I can still remember how fantastic book 1 was soooo…I’m not sorry. Just, really really behind.
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist In the city of Shadow, beneath the World Tree, alleyways shimmer with magic and godlings live hidden among mortalkind. Oree Shoth, a blind artist, takes in a homeless man who glows like a living sun to her strange sight. This act of kindness engulfs Oree in a nightmarish conspiracy. Someone, somehow, is murdering godlings, leaving their desecrated bodies all over the city.
Oree’s peculiar guest is at the heart of it, his presence putting her in mortal danger — but is it him the killers want, or Oree? And is the earthly power of the Arameri king their ultimate goal, or have they set their sights on the Lord of Night himself?
#2 The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley
Days waiting on TBR: 1527 day OR 4 years, 2 months, 4 days
Ok, so admittedly… this is not much better. It seems that 4 years ago might have been a tough time for me. Reading wise. (*shakes fist in air* So many books!! So little time!!) To make matters worse, despite the fact that I have yet to read this book (that again, I pre-ordered 4 months before it’s release) I quote it. A LOT. How you ask? Easy…Goodreads is a quote collectors mecca. Here’s to hoping that at some point in the next 4 years 3 months and 4 days I’ll be able to knock out this beauty.
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist In the spring of 1708, an invading Jacobite fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown.
Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors and starts to write.
But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory, making her the only living person who knows the truth-the ultimate betrayal-that happened all those years ago, and that knowledge comes very close to destroying her…
#3 The Hangman’s Daughter
Days waiting on TBR: 1353 day OR 3 years, 8 months, 12 days
Ok, 3 years…this is getting a little better. Well, maybe not so much. Not only do I own Oliver Potzch’s incredibly popular 1st novel in this series, BUT I also own the other 3. (The Dark Monk, The Beggar King & The Poisoned Pilgrim.) That makes 4 books in total (stemming from this first book) that I have purchased with gleeful exuberance but have yet to read. I wish I had a brilliant excuse, but alas…it chalks up to me just sucking. That’s right folks. I suck. I should have read these by now. *sigh*
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist A historical thriller set in Germany, 1660: When a dying boy is pulled from the river with a mark crudely tattooed on his shoulder, hangman Jakob Kuisl is called upon to investigate whether witchcraft is at play in his small Bavarian town. Whispers and dark memories of witch trials and the women burned at the stake just seventy years earlier still haunt the streets of Schongau. When more children disappear and an orphan boy is found dead—marked by the same tattoo—the mounting hysteria threatens to erupt into chaos.
Before the unrest forces him to torture and execute the very woman who aided in the birth of his children, Jakob must unravel the truth. With the help of his clever daughter, Magdelena, and Simon, the university-educated son of the town’s physician, Jakob discovers that a devil is indeed loose in Schongau. But it may be too late to prevent bloodshed.
A brilliantly detailed, fast-paced historical thriller, The Hangman’s Daughter is the first novel from German television screenwriter Oliver Pötzsch, a descendent of the Kuisls, a famous Bavarian executioner clan.
#4 Bound by Shannon Mayer
Days waiting on TBR: 661 days OR 1 years, 9 months, 21 days
I’m just gonna throw this out there. The fact that I haven’t read this book yet kinda pisses me off. I DEVOURED “Sundered” (the first novel in this series.) I thought it was such an original take on “zombies” that I convinced (at the very least) 40 of my Kindle-ites to purchase it. I was a “Sundered” loving freak of nature. Which led me to (naturally) purchase it’s sequel. So why is it still sitting unread on my Kindle? Probably because I didn’t remember it was there. Until just now. (*moves it to the top of the list*)
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist They were promised weight loss, the cure for Cancer, Parkinson’s Disease and infertility; they were promised hope. The side effects were anything but hopeful. Mara faces seemingly insurmountable obstacles and adversities as she works feverishly to free Sebastian from the holds which bind him. Her refusal to abandon him, and his refusal to let her slip away, keep them fighting to be reunited. Fears escalate and dangers destroy their beliefs, but they cling to their love and find strength in each other even when separated. Mara and Sebastian manage to face each act of violence, each tragedy, and terrifying sight with a strength which won’t bend to any confrontation. #5 White Space by Ilsa J Bick Days waiting on TBR: 359 days OR 11 months, 25 days If that wasn’t enough to make you pull your hair out, try this on for size. I have so many books that I actually FORGOT that I had gotten a ARC of White Space in the mail a few months before it’s release. (My shelves are pretty intense. I’m almost certain you could lose a small child in them. So a book? Adios!) Anywho, when release day came (and I noticed WS on my Tuesday Newbies post) I lost it. And by “lost it” I mean begged like a spoiled teenager until my husband relented and purchased it for me. In hindsight, maybe I owe him an apology. (Or better yet, what he doesn’t know won’t kill him.) This one is pretty high up on my TBR now. Maybe you’ll even see a review of it sometime in the next month. Fingers crossed. Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist In the tradition of Memento and Inception comes a thrilling and scary young adult novel about blurred reality where characters in a story find that a deadly and horrifying world exists in the space between the written lines. #6 Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce Days waiting on TBR: 1704 days OR 4 years, 7 months, 29 days Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris–the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She’s determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls’ bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett’s only friend–but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they’ve worked for? #7 The Dog Stars by Peter Heller Days waiting on TBR: 912 days OR 2 years, 5 months, 29 days Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist Hig somehow survived the flu pandemic that killed everyone he knows. Now his wife is gone, his friends are dead, and he lives in the hangar of a small abandoned airport with his dog, Jasper, and a mercurial, gun-toting misanthrope named Bangley. #8 Alice in Zombieland Days waiting on TBR: 863 days OR 2 years, 4 months, 11 days Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist She won’t rest until she’s sent every walking corpse back to its grave. Forever. Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone. Her father was right. The monsters are real…. To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies…. I wish I could go back and do a thousand things differently. #9 Entwined by Heather Dixon Days waiting on TBR: 1409 days OR 3 years, 10 months, 7 days Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist Come and mend your broken hearts here. In this retelling of the classic tale “The Twelve Dancing Princesses,” the eldest princess must fight to save her family—and her heart—from an ancient dark magic within the palace walls. “Full of mystery, lush settings, and fully orbed characters, Dixon’s debut is both suspenseful and rewarding.”—ALA Booklist Just when Azalea should feel that everything is before her—beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing—it’s taken away. All of it. And Azalea is trapped. The Keeper understands. He’s trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. So he extends an invitation. Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest, but there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late. #10 Meridian by Josin McQuein Days waiting on TBR: 254 days OR 8 months, 9 days First off, Meridian is the sequel to “Arclight” which I loved with the passion of a thousand Christian Gray fans. There was NO WAY I wasn’t going to purchase it. But, as fate would have it…I was on a mission trip (covered head to toe in paint and the sweat of 100 teenagers) when it was released. But that didn’t stop me. No! Hell hath no fury like a woman who can’t get the book she wants. I was unable to get it on my kindle (because there was no wifi. Boo!) and so I had to resort to other measures. One night while my charges were eating dinner I snuck out. (Ok, I didn’t really sneak out. I said I had to hit up a store for lady issues. Same thing right?) I hauled booty to the closest store and grabbed a copy. Success! Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to read it right away since I had houses to paint. When I finally got home a few days later I was exhausted and wanted to do nothing but sleep. The book made it as far as my night stand, where it has sat…for two years…with roughly 7 books piled on top of it. My plan is to read it next month. That is, if I can get my copy of Arclight back first. I need to reread it before I pick up Meridian, and I’m not really sure which random teenager I loaned it to. (*scratches chin*) Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist Marina thought that she had solved all of the Arclight’s mysteries. She had found her own history—that she was one of the Fade, that she never should have been human. She knows that the Fade who surround the Arclight don’t want to be the humans’ enemies at all. She knows that the leader of those inside the Arc, Honoria Whit, never told the whole truth. But there is so much more that Marina is just discovering. There are more survivors out there. Only Marina—and her friends, all of whom have connections to the Fade they’d never known about—can lead her people to them. But there are also darker dangers, things that even the Fade fear. And Marina slowly realizes she may never have been “cured,” after all. The sequel to Arclight, Meridian is an intense, action-packed page-turner about the lines we draw between right and wrong, light and dark . . . and the way nothing is ever that black and white. Well there you have it, the 10 books I just HAD TO HAVE, but have yet to read. What about YOU? Do you have any books that have been gracing your TBR for 4 or more years? Please share!
In the grand scheme of things, 359 days isn’t all that long. BUT “White Space” boasts a special sort of rediculousness on my TBR for various reasons. Reason #1 – I own 3 different copies of this book. A kindle copy, an ARC copy, and a hardback copy that I actually got signed last year when I met Ilsa. Crazy right?
Seventeen-year-old Emma Lindsay has problems: a head full of metal, no parents, a crazy artist for a guardian whom a stroke has turned into a vegetable, and all those times when she blinks away, dropping into other lives so ghostly and surreal it’s as if the story of her life bleeds into theirs. But one thing Emma has never doubted is that she’s real.
Then she writes “White Space,” a story about these kids stranded in a spooky house during a blizzard.
Unfortunately, “White Space” turns out to be a dead ringer for part of an unfinished novel by a long-dead writer. The manuscript, which she’s never seen, is a loopy Matrix meets Inkheart story in which characters fall out of different books and jump off the page. Thing is, when Emma blinks, she might be doing the same and, before long, she’s dropped into the very story she thought she’d written. Trapped in a weird, snow-choked valley, Emma meets other kids with dark secrets and strange abilities: Eric, Casey, Bode, Rima, and a very special little girl, Lizzie. What they discover is that they–and Emma–may be nothing more than characters written into being from an alternative universe for a very specific purpose.
Now what they must uncover is why they’ve been brought to this place–a world between the lines where parallel realities are created and destroyed and nightmares are written–before someone pens their end.
Oh the dreaded 4 again. 4 years! You will be the death of me! Grr. I love fairy tale retellings, so when Sisters Red was first released back in 2010 I was quick to grab it up. And, since I was determined to read it quickly..it graced the VERY TOP of my TBR for a few months. Then, I started reading the Stephanie Plum series and all was lost. Sisters Red slowly dropped (one book at a time) to the bottom of my list and was quickly forgotten. BUT (and this is the kicker.) Though I haven’t read Sisters Red, I HAVE read Pearce’s other 3 fairy tale novels: Fathomless, Cold Spell and Sweetly. Go figure. 
For a while, you couldn’t walk into a bookstore without seeing Heller’s “The Dog Stars” and like the rest of the literary masses, I bought into the hype. On release day (after visiting not one but 3 books stores looking for something else) I finally succumbed to peer pressure and plopped it into my bag. I was stoked. I even remember calling my dad and telling him all about it. However, a few days later…I remember putting it on a shelf so one of my kids didn’t screw up the binding and 2 years later, it’s still there. Only now it’s covered with dust and the faint smell of rejection. Poor sad book. You deserved so much better.
But when a random transmission beams through the radio of his 1956 Cessna, the voice ignites a hope deep inside him that a better life exists outside their tightly controlled perimeter. Risking everything, he flies past his point of no return and follows its static-broken trail, only to find something that is both better and worse than anything he could ever hope for.
The fact that I have yet to read “Alice in Zombieland” is sad on so many levels that it’s almost embarrassing. Let’s start with the fact that I actually drove 4 hours to rub noses with Gena Showalter at the release party for THIS VERY BOOK! Not to mention that I spent 3 hours at a convention the following month passing out Alice in Zombieland bookmarks to potential fans. Add the fact that I am a rabid Alice (anything) fan and I think zombies are pretty much the best thing on the planet and what you have is a big ole pile of Misty is a raging idiot. There is ZERO reason for having not read this book yet. Especially considering I own the entire series. And before you ask, NOPE! It’s not buried behind a mountain of other novels, it’s pretty much front and center in front of my face every day. I have no excuse. I am ashamed. I’m going to go sit in the corner for a while and think about what I have done.
I’d tell my sister no.
I’d never beg my mother to talk to my dad.
I’d zip my lips and swallow those hateful words.
Or, barring all of that, I’d hug my sister, my mom and my dad one last time.
Cards on the table? I first purchased Entwined because I thought the cover was pretty. I know! I know! You aren’t supposed to judge a book by the cover. (Sue me!) But after getting it, and then reading the synopsis again, I was super excited to read it. Instead…I obsessed about the dress on the cover. Engaged in one or two pathetic monologues about how I could never pull off a dress like that, and then proceeded to move on. I came back to it a few times with every intention of reading it, but something else always caught my eye. Like a kid with ADD. Looking at it again (3 years later) I’ve noticed that it has spectacular reviews. Maybe I should pop a pill and just start the freaking book. 
254 days really isn’t that long, but the story behind my outlandish need to purchase Meridian is.
Here are my ten with the dates I bought them. 🙁
Game of Thrones Box Set, George Martin, 8/12/11
Graceling, Kristin Cashore, 12/21/11
Die for Me, Amy Plum, 5/2/12
Legend, Marie Lu, 12/18/12
Blood Red Road, Moira Young, 3/12/13
The Bronze Horseman, Paullina Simons, 5/9/13
Falling Into You, Jasinda Wilder, 5/10/13
World of Shell and Bone, Adriana Ryan, 5/12/13
Undeniable, Madeline Sheehan, 5/23/13
Ten Tiny Breaths, K.A. Tucker, 8/17/13.
OMG!!!! I have read every single book on your list. And they are ALL must reads. 🙂
I say move The Bronze Horseman to the front of your TBR and go from there. That series is freaking brilliant. A total disaster to read because you will ugly cry and try to burn the book (or your kindle) but TOTALLY worth it.
It is really nice to know I’m not the only one that purchases books and then never reads them. Welcome to the club.