The WWW Wednesday 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?
Currently Reading
I started reading Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody late on Monday night but I’ve been trying to catch up on a lot of other stuff so only really made it to chapter 3 despite loving what I’ve read so far. It’s a YA fantasy about a girl who works in a travelling circus/city as an illusion worker. She can create illusions that others can see, feel and touch and uses this ability to create something of a family for herself, and then one of her family is murdered.
It is early days but the writing so far has been brilliant and it’s a lot darker than I was expecting.
Recently Finished
I’ve had another really great reading week with three books finished, the first of which was Close Enough to Touch by Colleen Oakley. I really enjoyed this story about a woman who is allergic to other people and a man who’s struggling to connect with his children. As you can probably tell it’s quite a quirky story but it’s very sweet, funny and occasionally heartbreaking. Jubilee was a wonderful character and, with her love of books and knowledge of random facts, was a joy to read. My only slight niggle was that the ending felt a little bit rushed. Other than that would definitely recommend.
The second book finished was Roar by Cora Carmack, a YA fantasy about a world where storms are the enemy and only the Stormlings can control them. With her lineage main character Princess Aurora is supposed to be one of the most powerful Stormlings but in reality has absolutely no abilities. To avoid an arranged marriage she fakes her own kidnapping and runs off with a group of stormhunters to try and find some powers of her own.
This was an easy and quick read and I loved the idea of the storm magic and even the world the author created but unfortunately there wasn’t enough to make it stand out from all of the other YA fantasies. Not helped by the fact it has all the usual tropes, journey/training, love triangle, insta love etc.
The final book read this week was The Rome Affair by Karen Swan which I received from NetGalley. I like Karen Swan’s books but have to admit was a little worried initially that it was going to be a rehash of her previous book The Paris Secret. However while there are some similarities, European city setting, secrets from the past being revealed while there’s a romance brewing in the present, I found it a very compelling read. I think I sat for about 6 hours straight unable to put it down. I loved the Rome setting but it also has flashbacks to the life of an American socialite in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s which made for some truly addictive reading. I should have a proper review up this week but would definitely recommend.
Reading Next
By some miracle I’m still sticking to the list I posted for Candid Cover’s Summer TBR Wipeout challenge (here) so based on release dates, author events etc I think my next reads will be one or more of the following:
My list is feeling a little YA fantasy heavy though so I may sneak a wee horror in there somewhere.
As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.
Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!
A Bookish Life 
I love your comment that you might sneak in a wee horror in there… Too much of one thing can get a bit samey, can’t it? Sounds like good fun summer reading, I rather like the sound of the one set in Rome.
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Definitely. I have a Joe Hill sitting waiting and Stephanie Perkins new book so very tempted to pick one of them up. The Rome Affair was really good. I’m hoping to get the review up later today.
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I like the sound of The Rome Affair as I’ve seen it mentioned by other bloggers (plus I’m off to Rome in a few months). If you fancy trying another book with a European setting – in this case Paris – involving secrets, I can recommend These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper.
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I loved the Rome setting. I was there last year and the book is set pretty much in the area I was staying so it was easy to visualise. Thanks for the recommendation. I love Paris too so will need to check it out.
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I can see your view on the tropes in Roar: I have not read much in the YA fantasy vein much recently so I in fact enjoyed the familiar elements of the genre.
We must be on opposite genre trends because my summer reading this round has been a lot of dark thmes/Gothic fiction with a sprinkling of fantasy. I do notice that at times I am more attracted to some “types” of books versus others.
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I think it was all of the YA fantasy I’ve been reading lately that was at least partly to blame but there was still something a bit off about it that I can’t quite put my finger on. It just didn’t engage me at all for some reason.
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I really enjoyed The Night Circus, so The Daughter of the Burning City sounds right up my street. I like that it has a murder-mystery element to it. I think it sets it apart a bit from other YA fantasies.
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I still haven’t read The Night Circus but I’ve heard it compared to it a lot. I was a bit surprised by the murder mystery element and not 100% convinced bumping off your main characters is the way to go but we’ll see.
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Daughter of the Burning City sounds like a really intriguing concept . . and I like a bit of dark!
Here is my WWW Wednesday post: https://hersforthereadingsite.wordpress.com/2017/07/12/w-w-w-wednesday-july-12-2017/
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Yeah, there’s murder, prostitution, stealing and lots of lies so it’s definitely dark. I’m loving it
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The Rome Affair looks tempting….and I have The Marriage Pact to read before the end of the month. I’m looking forward to it, as I love the author. Enjoy your week, and here’s MY WWW POST
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Would definitely recommend The Rome Affair. Swan is a favourite author but I enjoyed even more than I expected.
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I’m glad you’re liking Daughter of the Burning City so far – I also have the ARC and I’m hoping to start it soon.
Here’s my WWW
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I’m sorry Roar didn’t live up to your expectations. I’ve been hearing that a lot lately. I hope your next read is amazing!
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I hope you will enjoy both Now I Rise and This Savage Song! And it’s a shame Roar doesn’t live up to expectations. I hope you will enjoy your books this week and happy reading!
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Thanks. I think I was in the wrong mood for Roar and possibly just a bit YA fantasy’d out.
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It’s one of the reasons I’ve been trying to stay away from the genre… I’m hoping to read enough ‘different’ books this month so I can pick up my fantasy reads again in August. 😉
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