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What’s On My TBR?

BamMy to-be-read pile is a scary mountain that makes me hyperventilate every time I see it. I’ve got small hills of books all over the house and it drives Tim a little crazy. I’m pretty sure he’s not planning to set them on fire, but sometimes, when he gets home after a hard day at work, he looks at my little piles with disdain and says, “Good God, can’t you keep your books in one place?” The answer is no. No, I can’t. You see, there’s a method to my madness. The ones in my immediate vicinity are to be read immediately. Probably. That means the pile on the twin bed in my office. There’s also a pile on the coffee table in the living room. Those are next. I think. My mother says my house is a fire hazard. She doesn’t understand, either. There are also books on the headboard shelf thingey. I don’t know when I’m supposed to read those. I’ve forgotten. I recently found a Lisa Kleypas book there, though, that I completely forgot I had, and I finished it. So there. Not to mention all the books I’ve started and set down with a promise to finish later. *Sigh* I’m sitting on the twin bed right now with my computer on my lap and there are a ton of books surrounding me. Here are some of them:

[I’m on page 169 of this one. ↓]

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing — not even a smear of blood — to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundane like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

Demon Moon

Return to the sensual netherworld of Demon Angel for a startling romance of eternal love threatened by the consuming darkness of a Demon Moon…

No one would call vampire Colin Ames-Beaumont kind, but they would call him unnaturally beautiful. For two centuries his tainted blood has kept him isolated from other vampires, sustained only by his beauty and vanity—bitter comforts, since a curse has erased his mirror reflection, replacing it with a terrifying glimpse of Chaos.

Savi Murray’s insatiable curiosity had gotten her into trouble before, but she’d always escaped unscathed. Then came Colin. In the midst of Heaven, he gave her a taste of ecstasy—and of Chaos. Deadly creatures from that realm herald the return of an imprisoned nosferatu horde, and Colin and Savi’s bond is their only protection—and their only passion…



Annie Parks came to Hawaii to gather information and settle a score, not spend time handcuffed to a sexy stranger’s bed. Okay, so this particular stranger saved her from drowning after she was pitched overboard by some goons. And he’s about six feet of hard, Hawaiian muscle and gorgeous cool that’s making forgotten parts of her say, “A-lo-ha!” She needs to stay focused, but a side dish of Kane Travers is awfully tempting.

Kauai Police Chief Kane Travers is not a vacation kind of guy. So it figures that when Internal Affairs suspended him, he’d end up rescuing a sarcastic, dishonest, extremely hot redhead who is clearly hiding something. Amnesia? Yeah, right. Kane’s got half a mind to give Miss Whoever She Is something she’ll never forget. His cop senses tell him that the lady’s in deep and needs his protection. But how can he get her to tell him anything when all he wants is to take her home and do everything?

[I’m a little reluctant to read this one ↓ because the Philippines is the motherland of my peoples and I’m afraid I’d get on my high-horse if Ms. Gerard unintentionally says something I won’t like about the little brown island folks that I love so much]

Working on highly sensitive diplomatic affairs, Darcy Prescott is a natural target for terrorist kidnappers. But when she’s mysteriously plucked off a street in Manila one sultry night, Darcy’s disappearance isn’t what it seems…

The moment Special Forces soldier Ethan Garrett laid eyes on Darcy, he knew she was the woman he would marry—and he did. But when their marriage fell apart, Ethan never really recovered. Now a highly paid bodyguard, Ethan quickly slips back into combat mode when he learns of Darcy’s disappearance and calls in old favors to assemble a rogue rescue team….

Tracking Darcy all the way to the jungles of the Philippines, Ethan knows every move he makes could mean the difference between life and death. His love for Darcy burns stronger than ever. But when he learns the true reason for her abduction, it may be too late to save her—or himself…


Wealthy Lady Georgina Maitland doesn’t want a husband, though she could use a good steward to run her estates. One look at Harry Pye, and Georgina knows she’s not just dealing with a servant, but a man. Harry has known many aristocrats-including one particular nobleman who is his sworn enemy.

But Harry has never met a beautiful lady so independent, uninhibited, and eager to be in his arms. Still, it’s impossible to conduct a discreet liaison when poisoned sheep, murdered villagers, and an enraged magistrate have the county in an uproar.


With “humor and verve,” (Publishers Weekly) Cast tells the story of the mythical Venus who comes to life to help a nerdy woman find her inner goddess.

Pea Chamberlain needs a makeover-shoes, hair, clothes, make-up-if she wants to attract an ubersexy fireman. And who could better coax Pea out of her pod than the Goddess of Love, whom she invokes in a moment of desperation?

Venus works her magic on Pea, but who will help her when she falls for that same sexy fireman? Could Venus need a love makeover for herself? Check out the five-alarm heat when the Goddess of Love unexpectedly loses her heart.


When saloonkeeper Jack Murphy tries to pair up rabble-rousing suffragist Grace Crabtree with “a suitable husband” of his choosing, he’s shocked to learn that Grace has a few ideas about love herself!

Reforming the Rascal
Grace Crabtree has no need of a man. Except Morrow Creek’s reprobate saloon keeper, Jack Murphy, keeps getting in her way. She’s bewildered as to why she can’t stop thinking about his infuriatingly handsome face. So Grace will use her feminine charms to reform him-once she works out exactly what feminine charms are!

Jack’s determined to find Grace a husband who’ll keep her under control. But looking around the town, no man seems quite worthy of this spiky, tempting, glorious woman. So maybe he’ll just have to settle her hash himself…


In Gleason’s latest, she returns to the budding career of Venator Victoria Gardella, a Buffyesque vampire hunter living in an Austen-style Regency world. Having spent the last year mourning the death of her husband, slain at the hands of the vampire queen, Lilith, Victoria is desperate for revenge. Before long, she stumbles on a vampiric plot to seize Akvan’s Obelisk, a powerful artifact that will grant its controller the power to command legions of the dead. In order to foil the plan, Victoria crisscrosses Europe, teaming up with a handsome stranger along the way.

A fast-paced carnival ride of a book, the sophomore series entry (after The Rest Falls Away) hits the ground running without any introduction to Gleason’s world; for those new to the series, this volume will probably prove confusing. Those who’ve read the first title, however, won’t be disappointed: Victoria is a more determined, fleshed-out character, having grown wiser, sadder and more ambiguous about the morality of her mission. Her world, too, expands significantly in this adventure. A tense plot line and refreshingly diverse supporting characters complete the package, giving series fans plenty to sink their teeth into—and plenty more to look forward to.


The Darkangel, a vampire of astounding beauty and youth, can only summon his full power when he finds his 14th and final bride. But for Aeriel, whom he kidnaps to serve his brides, there is something about him–something beyond his obvious evil–that makes her want to save him rather than destroy him.

Supernatural, romance, adventure, and fantasy fans will find this tale riveting and will actively seek the other two books in this “Darkangel” trilogy. In the first installment, Aeriel is stolen by the icarus to be servant to him and his 13 “brides,” now soulless wraiths. As he prepares for his last bride, which will bring him the power and immortality of a vampire, his efforts are thwarted by this wisp of a girl. Rather than destroy him for his evil deeds, she wants to rescue him, for she alone sees a glimmer of goodness left in this cold, violent creature.


From Laura Kinsale comes an extraordinary medieval-set tale of consuming love and fiery passion between a dashing, dangerous assassin and the beautiful princess who stands in the way of all he’s ever desired.

Allegreto, the charismatic young assassin from For My Lady’s Heart, takes center stage in this much-anticipated follow-up by New York Times–bestselling author Laura Kinsale. Known for her compelling, complicated characters, thrilling love stories, and rich historical background, Kinsale outdoes herself in Shadowheart.

The dangerous and dashing Allegreto wants nothing more than to regain his rightful place in the rich Italian principality of Monteverde. Happily, the means to do so have just emerged — in the form of the young Lady Elena (also known as Elayne), newly discovered to be the long-lost Monteverde princess and sole heir to the kingdom. Though she is promised to his rival, Allegreto seizes her ship, takes Elena prisoner, and weds her, thus beginning their battle of wits and passion. While Elena is a naïve young woman when the book begins, by journey’s end she becomes Allegreto’s equal and, sometimes, master, reuniting the kingdom in the process.

Yep… that’s just… the tip of a really, really big iceberg. I didn’t even include my comic TBR (which is even more frightening). Scary, huh? What’s on your TBR?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 25th, 2007 at 7:43 am and is filed under Just Dionne!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

19 Responses to “What’s On My TBR?”

  1. Teddy Pig
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 7:58 am
    1

    Hmmmmmmmmmmm, welllllll, um, I guess this would be the next year pile.

    OK OK OK, The Rascal maybe if I was stuck in the bathroom and could not get out.

  2. shuzluva
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 8:07 am
    2

    THIS is your TBR? I hate you. But I’m reading…so don’t start.

  3. Teddy Pig
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:19 am
    3

    Hey, I missed that! The City of Bones looks really good.

    The Dark Angel got a big thumbs up at another review site.

  4. dl
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:21 am
    4

    I’m totally envious of people that receive ARCs. City of Bones was pretty good, had to make sure it was OK for the kids…really. I enjoyed Shadow Heart, not everybody does.

    My TBR (after I finish Coyote Dreams, the new CE Murphy)…Demon Angel by MJ Brooks, The Average Girl’s Guide To Getting Laid (e-book from LooseID) by Annie Dean, Unshapely Things by Mark Del Franco, Must Love Dragons by Stephanie Rowe, the new J.R. Ward, Jenna Starborn by Sharon Shinn, The Dead Girls’ Dance (YA) by Rachel Caine, Sexy Beast III by Kate Douglas, All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris, and some old stuff by Jennifer Ashley & Julia Quinn (I procrastinate majorly on historicals)…

    ….AND the new releases for May look really interesting…so many books, so little time…

  5. BevL (QB)
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 10:30 am
    5

    Oh God, my TBR pile is embarassing. Not just for the size of it, but for the amount of duplicates in it. And at least half are historicals that I bought long ago and never felt like reading once I discovered the really spicy stuff.

    But I think I’ve found a solution. I just ordered a dozen of those underbed storage containers- with wheels and lids, plus they stack. I’m going to organize my TBR stack into those by genre/author and keep them under my bed.

    Then I’ll take the ones I’ve read, and organize those into the rest of the bins by author/title or author/series and stack those in the attic. I’m even going to TRY to get rid of some of them. Otherwise, I’ll probably need another dozen bins. (Is it any wonder why I prefer ebooks?)

    Only my all time favorites or favorite continuing series will go into my bookcases for easy access.

    What?! Stop laughing, dammit! I AM SO gonna get them organized!

  6. Babz
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 10:34 am
    6

    I read Suzanne Brockman’s Troubleshooters series, some of which takes settings in Indonesia, my motherland. There are some cringe moments here and there, but it doesn’t really take me out of the reading experience.. And I’m not sure if it’s my tolerance with the flaw of romance books or the power of Brockman’s writing that makes me read almost all of her books i one sitting..

    My DH actually bought me a shelf. A huge ass one. Put all my books there. But the ones by the bedside, he doesn’t touch it.

  7. Eva Gale
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:53 pm
    7

    Loved Shadowheart. People freaked on her, but I thought it was great. But I’m a shameless fangirl like that.

  8. Mad
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
    8

    The better question would be what’s NOT on my TBR? LOL Right now I’m reading DIRTY by Megan Hart. I shifted/organized my TBR recently (ie: Mom is coming for a visit next week and I’d never hear the end of it if she walked into my office and saw all the books I had stacked on the table, the floor, against the wall, etc so I bought 35 gallon size bins and put them away.) I kept several close at hand to be able to grab and read when and if I get the chance (which I have a feeling will be not happening in the 2 weeks she’s here since she’s had me “preparing” for her visit by stocking the fridge and freezer….she plans to make yummy meals for us since no one can cook as great as mom). My latest additions came yesterday….got the newest Loretta Chase, the Dorothy Koomson book Karen was talking about, the newest Henley (it’s been years since I read her but this one sounds good) and a three of the Harlequin Historicals…the latest releases by Kate Bridges, Jenna Kernan & new to me author, Michelle Willingham.

  9. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
    9

    Bev said: “Is it any wonder I prefer ebooks?”

    Amen, sister. We only moved into this house like two years ago, and even with my diminished ability to purchase books in Mexico (I can’t go to the bookstore every week like I did in the states), I’ve still managed to fill up everyone of our bookcases. And we purged my book collection when I moved. I narrowed it down to ONE small box of favorites. (I know!! It was traumatic.)

    Now I’m looking for a good e-device that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. I read ebooks on my computer and my Ibook but I want something a little smaller / lighter that doesn’t cost $400. My old Palm is just too small. I read a Lynsay Sands book on it, and it was like 1000 pages, based on screen size. I’ve been checking into it, and I think I want a HP iPAQ Pocket PC of some kind. I have no idea what model number, though.

  10. BevL (QB)
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
    10

    Annie, I LOVED my Dell Axim PDA, but it hasn’t worked since IE7 was released and it’s so old that Dell doesn’t support it anymore with updates. As far as the HP iPAQ, if you’re mostly going to be reading ebooks with it, don’t worry about which model- just get the best that you can or want to afford. As long as it’s running Pocket PC/Windows Mobile 5.0 and accepts storage cards (for example, SD cards), you’ll be able to store hundreds and hundreds of ebooks. However, I believe you might have to run your Palm ebooks through some kind of converter to read them on a Pocket PC’s MSReader (lit) formats. Of course, if they are in Adobe (pdf) there shouldn’t be a problem. As for those new Sony Readers, well they have their own format (and I still remember Sony’s Betamax) and they are NOT backlit.

    Personally, I’m holding out until the price of UMPC’s comes down. They’re laptops about the size of a trade paperback. But right now, a decent one goes for $1000 up to $2400. I may break down and buy another PDA though if I have to wait too long. And it will have to be an HP iPAQ because it looks like Dell might have discontinued their Axims.

  11. Laura
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 5:00 pm
    11

    I find that I have to handle my TBR stuff just like my mulch pile. If I don’t turn it over every so often, it just rots where it is. Which is to say, if it were in storage boxes, it would never again see the light of day.
    I’ve actually just spent the last two days re-organizing my books. The keepers got weeded, and-gulp-reduced significantly. The beloved childhood books DID go into storage boxes, so the shelf space could be used for the TBRs. The TBRs got turned, so I remember what I’ve got and don’t re-buy some of them…..which I’ve done before.
    Took 6 boxes to the UBS and left with over $100, which I took directly to the–wait for it–bookstore!! Bought Stephanie Meyer’s New Moon, a Maria Isabel Pita book, Megan Hart’s Broken and a Lily Allen cd. Gail Faulkner has a new ebook at EC today, and Willa Okati has a new one at Torquere, so…… next fix for this junkie is all sorted out.

    WHEN is that new Joey Hill coming out? Every time I see that cover I have to go get an iced tea and crank the ac down.

  12. Kaitlin
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
    12

    Hi! To the Brink was my favorite so far of the Bodyguard series. She references the political aspect of the Phillipines, but from what I can remember she doesn’t in any way bring up anything that could be termed disrespectful. :)

    I’m needing to find some new books. My local Borders went out of business & I absolutely refuse to shop at the Barnes & Noble. One of the worst bookstores I’ve ever been to. Who puts fantasy & romance all together? Two totally seperate genres, thank you! Argh!

  13. Noelle
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
    13

    Erm… you do know that Cassandra Clare, in her previous Harry Potter fanfiction incarnation, was very likely a plagiarist right? The write up of it here: http://www.journalfen.net/comm...../8985.html is quite long and involved, but the evidence, in my opinion, is compelling.

  14. Ann(ie)
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
    14

    Hm, interesting. She built up a fanbase via Harry Potter fiction (that she didn’t even write herself 100%) and then became a YA author, complete with fanbase. Nice. I hope she writes these books without mining other sources.

  15. Shannon
    Posted: Apr 25th, 2007 at 9:46 pm
    15

    (Long time lurker, first-time commenter, w00t!)
    Oh, man, my TBR is freaking huge, though I’ve been on a bit of a romance slump. However, thanks to your review, The Raven Prince might just move to the TBR-really-really-soon list.

    Reading your list, though, I’m really curious about the books that seem like romantic suspence. I’ve yet to find one of those I manage to read through completely, and would love some recs of romantic suspence that didn’t involve heroines refusing the hero’s help/protection because… because… well, dammit, it’s a reason for conflict! (Oops, my pet peeves are showing. Sorry!)

  16. Kat
    Posted: Apr 26th, 2007 at 5:07 am
    16

    I just finished Shadowheart (borrowed from the library)–my first Kinsale. I’m now compelled to buy my own copy for the keeper shelf. It was that good.

  17. May
    Posted: Apr 26th, 2007 at 8:28 am
    17

    Clare’s City of Bones is reputedly very good. Debut and made the NYT list.

    I want!

    (eagerly awaits Bam’s review!)

  18. dl
    Posted: Apr 26th, 2007 at 2:30 pm
    18

    Kaitlin…local management must make a difference. My local Borders used to be excellent, but has now reversed. B&N is now much better (and has a discount card), and the Borders had definately slipped in quality…selection isn’t what it used to be, new releases aren’t shelved or even in the store, and the whole place is getting a warehouse feel to it. Interesting how attached we get to favorite bookstores.

  19. Amie Stuart
    Posted: Apr 28th, 2007 at 4:45 am
    19

    Shadow of Bones! I picked it up because HOlly Black blurbed it–sue me. I heart her! Ann Christopher’s SEX, Atlantis Rising, Hide, a couple Shelly Bradley books I picked up when she came to speak at our RWA meeting and God knows what else….it’s shameful.

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