It’s WWW Wednesday time.
The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.
To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish reading?
- What do you think you’ll read next?
So here’s my W’s for the week.
Currently Reading
I’m continuing on my mission to get my list of ARC’s down so at the moment I’m reading The Sign of One by Eugene Lambert. I’m around the 20% mark and so far not too sure about it. It’s a young adult dystopian so should be right up my street but there is something about it that’s a little off and I can’t put my finger on it just yet. It kind of seems a little bit similar to the first book in the Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness but isn’t quite doing it as well.
I also have a new audio book this week, Storm Front by Jim Butcher (I couldn’t get the next Harry Potter book). I’ve heard a few people recommend it as the narration is supposed to be very good (James Marsters aka Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Worryingly I still haven’t actually read the synopsis but it seems to be about a wizard in Chicago who consults for the police and finds missing objects. So far it’s ok but it’s very early days.
Recently Finished
I feel like I haven’t read as much as usual this week but despite that I have managed to finish three books.
The first of these was Jane Steele by Lyndsay Faye which I had literally just started last Wednesday. I’d requested this from NetGalley as soon as I heard it was a retelling of one of my favourite books, Jane Eyre. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly a retelling as the main character refers to the novel regularly but the stories are fairly similar. The big exception to this is that Ms Steele seems to end up killing quite a few people.
The language is pretty similar to that in Jane Eyre which is why I think it took me a bit longer to read but I have to say that I absolutely loved this book. So much so that I think I’m going to have to go out and buy a physical copy to keep. I’m struggling a little to write a suitably glowing review but hopefully should have one up this week.
In addition to Jane Steele, I also finished the audio book of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling. I had said I wasn’t in any rush to finish as I was loving the narration so much but it turns out I should have been as I’d gotten it from the library and it returned itself with still an hour left to go. I ended up having to switch to the e book.
The final book of the week, and which I read most of on Monday night, was The Heir by Kiera Cass. This is the fourth in the Selection series but is set some 20 years after the original trilogy. This time it’s daughter and future Queen Eadlyn who has the task of finding a husband from 35 potential candidates. I’ve always been very critical of the first three books and had decided I wasn’t going to continue with the series but when I saw this in the library I couldn’t resist.
I will admit I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. The main character is still quite annoying but so far there isn’t the awful love triangle and endless indecision that drove me crazy in the first three. The biggest problem is it ended on a cliffhanger so now I’ll need to get my hands on the next one in May.
Reading Next
Believe it or not I actually made a list a few nights ago of what I’m planning to read over the next few weeks. I have a pile of library books and a lot of ARC’s to read by certain dates so I really thought I should get organised. Whether I stick to the plan is a whole other question.
In terms of ARCs I think my next read will be chick lit novel Who’s That Girl by Mhairi McFarlane. I’ve previously read a couple of books by this author so couldn’t resist this when I saw it on NetGalley. After that I have Riverkeep by Martin Stewart which is a young adult fantasy and sounds like a bit of a road trip, self discovery type story so should be good.
On the library book side I’m hoping to get stuck into Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare this weekend. It’s due back next week so it’s now or never. I’ve seen a lot of good reviews for it so I’m looking forward to it.
All in all I’m hoping for a good week. Have you read any of these? What would you recommend? Let me know in the comment box below (and feel free to leave links to your WWW) 🙂
A Bookish Life 
Chamber of Secrets is my favourite of the HP books. I’ve been seeing Jane Steele everywhere, I’m probably going to have to pick it up someone. And i love the cover for River Keep, I’ll have to go look it up now.
Here’s my post this week: https://keysandopenmind.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/www-and-wippet-wednesday-06-april-2016/
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I felt the same as you about the Selection trilogy – I didn’t think they were all that good but I kept reading until the end. I’d decided not to bother with The Heir but after reading your thoughts I might grab a copy, I’ll possibly wait until nearer the next book’s release to read it though with you saying there’s a big cliffhanger as I really hate having to wait to find out what happens! Hope you enjoy the books you’re planning to read this week. I quite like the sound of Who’s That Girl?
Here’s my WWW / TWiB post:
https://rathertoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/www-wednesdays-5-april-2016/
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Views of The Heir do seem to vary. I’ve seen some people say the MC is worse than America. She is vain and very self centered but I’m hopeful she’ll learn the error of her ways and at least she seems to make decisions. The highlight for me was watching the guys compete. I’m so jealous 🙂
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Oh dear. Anything that reminds you of Patrick Ness’ books is likely to come off badly in the comparison.
I’m glad you enjoyed Jane Steele because it sounds like good fun. I always wished Jane could have got some decent revenge on the Reid family! 🙂
Here’s my WWW: https://clairehuston.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/www-wednesday-6th-april-2016/
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I suspect I’ve just read too many similar books and am just feeling a bit been there, read that.
Jane Steele was not quite what I expected. I thought there was actually something quite sweet about it. Maybe I’m weird though 🙂
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Riverkeep sounds like an adventure. I am tempted to read The Selection series these days, particularly because I always see it displayed on bookstores like some glimmering gem. I’ve always imagined it as something like the bachelorette but with teenagers.
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Haven’t seen the bachelorette so can’t comment but there is certainly some fierce competition. The covers are attractive but I found the first three books a little frustrating. I was very close to giving up midway through book 2.
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I think I read something similar before. It’s a middle-grade book called Princess Academy and it was quite amusing.
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I have to see whether my library has Jane Steele. Sounds like something I would like hehe. Happy reading! https://ireadboooks.wordpress.com/2016/04/06/www-wednesday-april-6-2016/
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Definitely a book I’d recommend mostly because there were so many bits I recognised from Jane Eyre which I love. Some bits are word for word but with roles reversed.
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Your TBR list looks a lot mine although I don’t have ARC’s just a bunch of books from the library that need to be returned soon.Happy reading and I hope you enjoy your next books.
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I seem to have massively over committed myself this month but what’s new 🙂
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I’m definitely going to try and get a copy of Jane Steele soon! It sounds like a really good read. 😀 And I hope your current reads get better later on. Happy reading!
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I loved it. I don’t particularly dislike the Sign of One just not living it. I suspect it’s struggling to live up to the other great books I’ve read recently.
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Ah, getting caught in auto-return is the worst! I hope you get the third HP soon. It wasn’t my favorite, but so many people seem to prefer it to all the others. Happy reading and thanks for participating in WWW Wednesday!
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Easter holidays here at the moment so there seems to be a wait list for every HP 😦
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Aha the pull of The Selection series is kind of hard to resist! Even if the books weren’t amazing, lol. I found The Heir to be quite an easy read, and enjoyable enough when I read it. Though Eadlyn was such a brat, aghhh. Still looking forward to the next book though!
OH and let me, just take a moment to breathe before I fangirl over Lady Midnight. I loved reading that book SO MUCH!! I really can’t wait to see what you think of it! ❤
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I’ve been a little put off by how huge it is but I’ve seen loads of great reviews. Hopefully will get it read this weekend.
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I hope that you enjoy Lady Midnight — I absolutely loved this book. You can tell how much Cassandra Clare’s writing style has improved exponentially from the early days of City of Bones. I hope that you have a fabulous weekend with this little beauty 🙂
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Thanks. I’ve always loved her writing. I just struggled a little with the Infernal devices but I think that was more the steampunk thing. Mechanical monsters are somehow not that scary (and a bit Dr Who). I’m hopeful I’ll like this as it’s more contemporary.
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I have heard such excellent things about Jane Steele! I am not sure if I can handle the writing style though because reading Jane Eyre was a bit of a pain for me.
And omg yes those Harry Potter audiobook by Stephen Fry is like sweet music to my ears. I am up to Book 6 now but I don’t want to finish it D: Cos I want to keep listening forever.
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I am so glad that you enjoyed The Heir! It is one of my favourites. 🙂
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