Down the TBR Hole #8

This meme was created by Lia at Lost in a Story as a way to tackle the gargantuan To-Read shelves a lot of us have on Goodreads. Like other people, I’ve long ago forgotten what prompted me to add some of the books I have shelved. This meme is the perfect excuse to start taking back control…

The rules are simple:

1. Go to your Goodreads To-Read shelf.
2. Order on ascending date added.
3. Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
4. Read the synopses of the books
5. Decide: keep it or should it go?
6. Repeat every week until the entire list has been filtered (hmm, quite a few weeks then!)

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This week’s ten who need to demonstrate their worth are:

The Thread by Victoria Hislop (added 2^nd August 2013)

A beautiful and epic novel that spans nearly a hundred years, The Thread is a magnificent story of a friendship and a love that endures through the catastrophes and upheavals of the twentieth century – both natural and man-made – in the turbulent city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Victoria Hislop, internationally bestselling author of The Island and The Return, has written a wonderfully evocative and enthralling saga enriched by deep emotion and sweeping historical events, from fire to civil war to Nazi brutality and economic collapse. The Thread is historical fiction at its finest, colorful and captivating with truly unforgettable characters – a novel that brilliant captures the energy and life of this singular Greek city.

Verdict: Keep – I’ve enjoyed previous novels by Victoria Hislop that I’ve read and the setting is one I’m always drawn to having enjoyed many holidays in Greece.

Here Be Dragons (Welsh Princes #1) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

Thirteenth-century Wales is a divided country, ever at the mercy of England’s ruthless, power-hungry King John. Then Llewelyn, Prince of North Wales, secures an uneasy truce with England by marrying the English king’s beloved, illegitimate daughter, Joanna. Reluctant to wed her father’s bitter enemy, Joanna slowly grows to love her charismatic and courageous husband who dreams of uniting Wales. But as John’s attentions turn again and again to subduing Wales – and Llewelyn – Joanna must decide to which of these powerful men she owes her loyalty and love.

Verdict: Keep – I’ve really enjoyed previous novels by Sharon Kay Penman and this isn’t a period I’ve read much about.

Falls The Shadow (Welsh Princes #2) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

This is Simon de Montfort’s story – and the story of King Henry III, as weak and changeable as Montfort was brash and unbending. It is a saga of two opposing wills that would later clash in a storm of violence and betrayal, a story straight from the pages of history that brings the world of the thirteenth century completely, provocatively, and magnificently alive. Above all, this is a story of conflict and treachery, of human frailty and broken legends, a tale of pageantry and grandeur that is as unforgettable as it is real….

The Reckoning (Welsh Princes #3) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

Here, alive from the pages of history, is the compelling tale of a Celtic society ruled by Llewelyn, Prince of Wales, on a collison course with a feudal realm of Edward I. WIth this last book in the extraordinary trilogy that began with HERE BE DRAGONS and continued in FALLS THE SHADOW, Sharon Kay Penman has written a beautiful and moving conclusion to her medieval saga. For everyone who has read the earlier books in this incomparable series or ever wanted to experience the rich tapestry of British history and lore, this bold and romantic adventure must be read.

Verdict: Go – I’m taking these two together and applying my rule not to keep subsequent books in a series if I’ve not yet read the first book.

Time and Chance (Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine #2) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

It was medieval England’s immortal marriage – Eleanor of Aquitaine and Henry II, bound by passion and ambition, certain to leave a legacy of greatness. But while lust would divide them, it was friendship–and ultimately faith–that brought bloodshed into their midst. It began with Thomas Becket, Henry’s closest confidant, and his elevation to be Archbishop of Canterbury. It ended with a perceived betrayal that made a royal murder seem inevitable. Along the way were enough scheming, seductions, and scandals to topple any kingdom but their own. . . .

Devil’s Brood (Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine #2) by Sharon Kay Penman (added 7^th August 2013)

Where the second novel in the trilogy, Time And Chance, dealt with the extraordinary politics of the twelfth century, climaxing with the murder of Thomas Becket and Henry’s confrontation with the Church and self-imposed exile to Ireland, Devil’s Brood centers on the implosion of a family. And because it is a royal family whose domains span the English Channel and whose alliances encompass the Christian world, that collapse will have dire consequences. This is a story of betrayal as Henry’s three eldest sons and his wife enter into a rebellion against him, aligning themselves with his bitterest enemy, King Louis of France. But it is also the story of a great king whose brilliance forged an empire but whose personal blind spots led him into the most serious mistake of his life.

Verdict: Go – OK, OK, so I was clearly having a Sharon Kay Penman moment.  I have the first book in the trilogy further up my To-Read shelf. Again, I’m going to take these two together and apply my rule not to keep subsequent books in a series if I’ve not yet read the first book.

HHhH by Laurent Binet (added 10 August 2013)

Two men have been enlisted to kill the head of the Gestapo. This is Operation Anthropoid, Prague, 1942: two Czechoslovakian parachutists sent on a daring mission by London to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich, chief of the Nazi secret services, ‘the hangman of Prague’, ‘the blond beast’, ‘the most dangerous man in the Third Reich’. His boss is Heinrich Himmler but everyone in the SS says ‘Himmler’s brain is called Heydrich’, which in German spells HHhH.  All the characters in HHhH are real. All the events depicted are true. But alongside the nerve-shredding preparations for the attack runs another story: when you are a novelist writing about real people, how do you resist the temptation to make things up? HHhH is a panorama of the Third Reich told through the life of one outstandingly brutal man, a story of unbearable heroism and loyalty, revenge and betrayal. It is improbably entertaining and electrifyingly modern, a moving and shattering work of fiction.

Verdict: Keep – I’ve heard so much about this novel and I actually have a copy on my Kindle so it stays.

Lady of the English by Elizabeth Chadwick (added 17^th August 2013)

Two very different women are linked by destiny and the struggle for the English crown. Matilda, daughter of Henry I, is determined to win back her crown from Stephen, the usurper king. Adeliza, Henry’s widowed queen and Matilda’s stepmother, is now married to William D’Albini, a warrior of the opposition. Both women are strong and prepared to stand firm for what they know is right. But in a world where a man’s word is law, how can Adeliza obey her husband while supporting Matilda, the rightful queen? And for Matilda pride comes before a fall …What price for a crown? What does it cost to be ‘Lady of the English’?

Verdict: Keep – I’ll be honest and say I’ve had mixed feelings about previous novels I’ve read by Elizabeth Chadwick but I’m intrigued by the characters in this one so I’ll give it a chance. (By the way, why is it the models on these covers always look so modern, not convincingly of the period?)

Shadows and Strongholds (FitzWarin #1) by Elizabeth Chadwick (added 17^th August 2013)

England, 1148. Ten-year-old Brunin FitzWarin is an awkward misfit in his own family. A quiet child, he is tormented by his brothers and loathed by his powerful and autocratic grandmother. In an attempt to encourage Brunin’s development, his father sends him to be fostered in the household of Joscelin de Dinan, Lord of Ludlow. Here Brunin will learn knightly arts, but before he can succeed, he must overcome the deep-seated doubts that hold him back.

Hawise, the youngest daughter of Lord Joscelin, soon forms a strong friendship with Brunin. Family loyalties mean that her father, with the young Brunin as his squire, must aid Prince Henry of Anjou in his battle with King Stephen for the English crown. Meanwhile, Ludlow itself comes under threat from Joscelin’s rival, Gilbert de Lacy. As the war for the crown rages, and de Lacy becomes more assertive in his claims for Ludlow, Brunin and Hawise are drawn into each other’s arms. Now Brunin must defeat the shadows of his childhood and put to use all that he has learned. As the pressure on Ludlow intensifies and a new Welsh threat emerges against his own family’s lands, Brunin must confront the future head on, or fail on all counts….

Verdict: Go – Bearing in mind my comments on the previous book, this one has to really pique my interest to retain its place. It sounds like the romance element may be uppermost so I’ll pass on this one.

The Forever Queen (Saxon #2) by Helen Hollick (added 17^th August 2013)

Saxon England, 1002. Not only is Æthelred a failure as King, but his young bride, Emma of Normandy, soon discovers he is even worse as a husband. When the Danish Vikings, led by Swein Forkbeard and his son, Cnut, cause a maelstrom of chaos, Emma, as Queen, must take control if the Kingdom-and her crown-are to be salvaged. Smarter than history remembers, and stronger than the foreign invaders who threaten England’s shores, Emma risks everything on a gamble that could either fulfill her ambitions and dreams or destroy her completely. Emma, the Queen of Saxon England, comes to life through the exquisite writing of Helen Hollick, who shows in this epic tale how one of the most compelling and vivid heroines in English history stood tall through a turbulent fifty-year reign of proud determination, tragic despair, and triumph over treachery.

Verdict: Go – You’ll have gathered by now that I’m attracted to historical fiction featuring prominent female characters. But it’s the second in a series and I haven’t read the first – I haven’t even got it on my To Read shelf – so it goes.

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The Result: 4 kept, 6 dumped. I have been positively ruthless! Do you agree with my choices? Have I dumped any books you would have kept or vice versa?