Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. 

This week's theme for Top Ten Tuesday asked us to come up with a list of books that we have owned but haven't read since before we started blogging. Mariela and I have only been blogging for about 2 years now, so this was sadly a little too easy for us! We need to be better about our TBR piles, but with so many new books coming out every week, it's impossible to stay caught up!

Mariela mentioned scrolling through past orders on Amazon, so we even were able to see the exact dates that we bought these books. 

Purchased January 31, 2014

When Rose was twelve, her mother and stepfather went out for dinner and never came back. Now seventeen, she lives with her grandmother and goes to school in London. She’s always wondered about her stepbrother, Joshua, whom she only lived with briefly and who was also relocated after their parents’ disappearance. When Rose and Joshua meet again, they find they have much in common, including a desire to uncover the mystery surrounding their parents’ disappearance . . . and a mutual attraction to each other. But when Rose witnesses the murders of not one but two of her classmates, she must uncover who is behind these violent crimes. And when she and Joshua discover that a much larger conspiracy is underway, both of their lives will be in danger. From international bestseller Anne Cassidy, this first in a fastpaced and romantic new mystery series will keep readers guessing. 

Purchased January 31, 2014 

Andrew Dare is a werewolf. He’s the enforcer for the Roanoke pack, and responsible for capturing or killing any Were intruders in Roanoke’s territory. But the lone Were he’s tracking doesn’t smell or act like anyone he’s ever encountered. And when he catches her, it doesn’t get any better. She’s beautiful, she’s crazy, and someone has tortured her by injecting silver into her veins. She says her name is Silver, and that she’s lost her wild self and can’t shift any more.

The packs in North America have a live-and-let-live attitude, and try not to overlap with each other. But Silver represents a terrible threat to every Were on the continent. 

Andrew and Silver will join forces to track down this menace while discovering their own power and their passion for each other.

Purchased May 13, 2014

Enter an epic fantasy world that echoes with the thunder of muskets and the clang of steel—but where the real battle is against a subtle and sinister magic....

Captain Marcus d’Ivoire, commander of one of the Vordanai empire’s colonial garrisons, was resigned to serving out his days in a sleepy, remote outpost. But that was before a rebellion upended his life. And once the powder smoke settled, he was left in charge of a demoralized force clinging tenuously to a small fortress at the edge of the desert.

To flee from her past, Winter Ihernglass masqueraded as a man and enlisted as a ranker in the Vordanai Colonials, hoping only to avoid notice. But when chance sees her promoted to command, she must win the hearts of her men and lead them into battle against impossible odds.

The fates of both these soldiers and all the men they lead depend on the newly arrived Colonel Janus bet Vhalnich, who has been sent by the ailing king to restore order. His military genius seems to know no bounds, and under his command, Marcus and Winter can feel the tide turning. But their allegiance will be tested as they begin to suspect that the enigmatic Janus’s ambitions extend beyond the battlefield and into the realm of the supernatural—a realm with the power to ignite a meteoric rise, reshape the known world, and change the lives of everyone in its path.

Purchased January 6, 2014

 3 seconds left to live. Once the countdown starts, it cannot be stopped. 

2 pawns thrown into a brutal underground reality game. 

Kira Jordan survived her family's murder and months on plague-devastated city streets with hard-won savvy and a low-level psi ability. She figures she can handle anything. Until she wakes up in a barren room, chained next to the notorious Rogan Ellis. 

1 reason Kira will never, ever trust Rogan. Even though both their lives depend on it. 

Their every move is controlled and televised for a vicious exclusive audience. And as Kira's psi skill unexpectedly grows and Rogan's secrets prove evermore deadly, Kira's only chance of survival is to risk trusting him as much as her instincts. Even if that means running head-on into the one trap she can't escape. 

GAME OVER

Purchased February 4, 2014

He was pretty sure that if he said “Boo” she’d jump from the car regardless of how fast he was going. He offered up a slight smile. He couldn’t blame her really, he was aware that he could be a tad… intimidating, perhaps even overbearing at times. Okay, that was just bullshit he was intimidating most all of the time. He couldn’t help it really, it came with the territory. It was hard not to be threatening when you were a Guardian or more officially if you preferred to throw down titles which he didn’t – Vampire Guardian Assassin. He did kill people for a living. Granted they were evil, but he threw badass attitude around on a nightly basis because that’s what assholes he exterminated understood. He looked over at Jamie, so small and fragile, her injured hand lying in her lap, the other tucked up close to the door latch. As if... 

Jamie felt relief when he pulled the Jaguar up beside her house and killed the engine. She fumbled at the door until the mysterious tall dark and oh so handsome vampire slowly leaned his bulk across her and opened it for her. “Thanks,” she said softly, feeling suddenly warm all over at his sudden nearness and like an idiot because she couldn’t open the door herself. “I’ve never been in such a fancy car before.” He enjoyed the flush he’d brought so easily to her cheeks. “You’re welcome.” Oh my gawd he has a voice to die for. It was all she could do to not look over her shoulder like a teenager with a crush to make sure he was following her. You don’t know how right you may be little girl.

This week's topic came with perfect timing. I recently got a new desk for my birthday, and if you've seen my bedroom, you would know how absolutely insane it is that I would think I could fit a desk in there. I own a lot of books. I don't say that to brag, it's just a fact. Poor impulse control combined with hoarder tendencies ensure that every single free space in my bedroom is occupied by a bookshelf. Heck, my headboard is really just three IKEA bookshelves pushed together. 

I babble about all of this so that you know that when I say I got a desk, you will appreciate my insanity and understand that this required A LOT of reshuffling of furniture to get it to fit. And when you have to move bookshelves, you of course have to take all of the books off. This gave me an up close and personal view of a lot of my books, which made this week so much easier! 

So, to make it more challenging, I decided to only list books that not only have I not read them, I literally have no memory of purchasing them! Even though a brief perusal of my Amazon past orders show that I did, in fact, buy them all myself.

Purchased December 3, 2010

OK, I'll admit that I kind of vaguely recall looking at this book before and thinking that it sounded good. But when I pulled it down from my shelves, the cover seriously didn't ring any bells! I can be forgiven, since I bought it almost 6 years ago though, right? No? Damn. 

Indigo Springs is a sleepy town where things seem pretty normal . . . until Astrid's father dies and she moves into his house. She discovers that for many years her father had been accessing the magic that flowed, literally, in a blue stream beneath the earth, leaking into his house. When she starts to use the liquid "vitagua" to enchant everyday items, the results seem innocent enough: a "'chanted" watch becomes a charm that means you're always in the right place at the right time; a "'chanted" pendant enables the wearer to convince anyone of anything . . .

But as events in Indigo Springs unfold and the true potential of vitagua is revealed, Astrid and her friends unwittingly embark on a journey fraught with power, change, and a future too devastating to contemplate. Friends become enemies and enemies become friends as Astrid discovers secrets from her shrouded childhood that will lead her to a destiny stranger than she could have imagined . . .

 

Purchased July 2, 2012

This one is really bad, because as you can see, it's the second book in the series. Do I own the first book? Psh, I have no idea. Did I know it was a sequel when I bought it? Again, your guess is as good as mine.

 In the sequel to Sword of Fire and Sea, Vidarian Rulorat faces the consequences of opening the gate between worlds. Elemental magic is awakening across the planet after centuries of dormancy, bringing with it magically-powered wonders including flying ships and ancient automata; empires leap into war over long disputed territory as their technologies shift; the spirit of his oldest friend, Ruby—killed in the immediate aftermath of the gate’s opening—is trapped inside one of the gems used to open the gate; and Ariadel, his one great love, isn’t speaking to him. Called into service by the desperate young emperor of Alorea, Vidarian must lead sky ships in a war against the neighboring southern empire, train the demoralized imperial Sky Knights to ride beasts that now shapeshift, master his own amplified elemental magic, and win back Ariadel—all without losing his mind. 

Compounding his task is a political minefield laid by the Alorean Import Company, which may or may not be fomenting war across the planet, and a shapeshifter that bonds to Vidarian during his early attempts to subdue the rogue bird-like seridi—a wolf pup that will prove to be the fabled bridge between sky and earth magics, an electricity elemental that takes the shape of a dragon upon maturity: the lance of earth and sky.

 Purchased June 25, 2012

I actually do own this book and its sequel, which I only know because they were sitting next to each other on the shelf. Which seriously almost never happens. We move A LOT, and when you have around 3,000 books, it's just too exhausting to try and organize them every year or so. Hopefully my next move will be my last for a really long time, so I will be able to get my collection in order.

For seventeen-year-old Candra Lowell, senior year is supposed to be the time of her life. It’s not supposed to include being shipped off to her aunt and uncle’s house for 'her own good'. Whatever that means. There’s only bad news from this experience—when she learns she’ll go from human to werewolf in a few months. Complete with an inherited unique power. 

At her aunt and uncle's house, Candra is plagued with nightmares of a whispering forest and glowing eyes, and a shadowy figure, who issues a warning—she needs to leave town. Candra tries to dismiss the haunting images, but when the shadowy figure appears outside of her home, Candra realizes she should've obeyed. 

Candra learns the meaning of the stalker’s warnings when she discovers she’s the new favorite target of a rival pack. She isn't just a werewolf—she's a werewolf in the middle of a feud that makes the Montagues and Capulets look like best friends. She’s also made a mess of things by falling for her sworn enemy. Worse, the rival pack wants the power Candra will receive on her eighteenth birthday. To protect her family and friends, Candra can’t run or hide; she must face her foes, even if it means death.

 Purchased July 13, 2012

Apparently 2012 was a big year for me with books. When I read the back of this book as I was cleaning, it seriously rang zero bells. A girl who explodes every few years? Why haven't I read this yet? 

Every three years, Amber Hopkins explodes. Okay, not a blown-to-smithereens explosion, but whatever it is always hurts like hell and leaves her life a shambles. She’s already worked her way through five foster placements, and she’s doing whatever she can to avoid getting blasted into a sixth.

As her eighteenth birthday approaches and she feels the strange and powerful energy building, disaster looms. When the inevitable explosion occurs, her life gets its biggest shakeup yet. She’ll not only learn how her fellow foster and best friend, Gabriel, really feels about her, but she’ll discover that she isn’t really without family.

To top it all off, she’ll finally find out why she’s having the power surges: she isn’t entirely human.

Amber must Become, transitioning to another plane of existence and risking the loss of the most important relationship she’s ever had. Her choice will impact the future of an entire race of beings, and will pit her against an enemy that will prey upon her doubt to try and take her very life.

Kind of makes the explosions now seem like a cakewalk.

Purchased June 26, 2012

Zero memory of this book.  

Seventeen-year old princess, Clara Williamson, lives an old-fashioned existence in a biosphere of the future.

When her sadistic mother, Queen Ada, betroths her to an abusive prince of a neighboring sphere, Clara determines to escape Outside, where savages roam free.

Clara escapes tyranny only to discover the savages are not the only people who survived the cataclysmic events of one hundred forty years prior.

Once Outside, Clara finds herself trapped, unable to return to the abusive life of the sphere while facing certain danger Outside.

Can Clara find love and freedom with the peril that threatens to consume her?