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?

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Currently Reading

Yet again I’m a little bit all over the place with my currently reading list and somehow seem to be partway through four books. I am not good at juggling multiple books however so I think my focus is going to be on The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton which I received from the publisher via NetGalley. So far I’ve literally only read the first chapter (well maybe two depending on when you’re reading this) so it’s a little too early to tell. I had no idea when I requested it that it’s a retelling of King Lear (despite the clue in the title). I’m really hoping you don’t need to know anything about the play to fully appreciate this as I don’t. It’s possibly the Shakespeare play I know least about.

The other two books I’m partway through are Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen and Sherlock Holmes story, The Sign of Four. I just kept seeing Northanger Abbey everywhere and it is my fave Austen so I couldn’t resist a re read and as for Holmes, I’ve been slowly working my way through the collection and this one fit a challenge.

On audio I’m still listening to The Sweetest Burn, the second in the Broken Destiny series by Jeaniene Frost. I do love Jeaniene Frost but this book just isn’t working for me the way they usually do. The main character is a bit moany, and has a tendency to get a touch hysterical every time someone tries to kill her (which is a lot) so it’s getting on my nerves (some people are just total drama queen’s honestly!!) I will however persevere to find out how it ends, although I think there may be a book 3 still to come.

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Recently Finished

Hmm, I thought I’d read more but just checking back and it looks like I’ve finished three books this week, or really two as I’d technically already finished the first of the three, The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West last week. Given one of the other books finished was PS I Like You I think I can admit to a bit of a Kasie West Reading Fest over the last couple of weeks. They are not the most original plot wise but there’s just something completely addictive about them, and they’re just such easy and fun reading. I’ve been tempted to do a bulk review post, rating and ranking them, but my fave so far has to be The Distance Between Us (mostly because of all the creepy doll jokes).

The other book finished this week was The Seven (or 7 ½ if you’re in the US) Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and boy was this a book and a half. I will be posting a review probably this weekend or early next week but I can say now that it’s getting a full five stars. It’s like a mix between a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery with some Quantum Leap/Groundhog Day thrown in. I very much liked the writing and how vivid and atmospheric the whole thing was but most of all I loved the complexity and originality of the story. I finished it very late on Sunday night and am still pondering various aspects a few days later. I do wonder though if this is what’s making it so difficult for me to start something new.

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Reading Next

I’m not going to list anything here just now as I’m planning to post my Spring TBR in the next day or two with all of my upcoming reads, including a few ARCs I’m very excited about.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

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?

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Currently Reading

I did technically finish The Fill-In Boyfriend by Kasie West last night but I haven’t really started anything else yet so lets just pretend I’m still reading it. I’ve had this on my Amazon wishlist for a while and finally it appeared on Overdrive so I couldn’t resist picking it up. I’m a big fan of the pretend relationship turning into real feelings plot and West just does it so well. Main character Gia is maybe not the most likeable, particularly in the beginning but she did grow on me and there were plenty of other brilliant and funny characters to make up for her, plus the romance was kinda sweet.

Unfortunately the book I was listening to, The Black Witch by Laurie Forest, returned itself to the library and someone else had a hold so it seems I’m going to have to wait a bit for it. I have however managed to get my hands on The Sweetest Burn by Jeaniene Frost which is the second in the Broken Destiny series. I’m not as keen on this as on the author’s other books (the MC gets on my nerves) but it has been giving me a giggle.

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Recently Finished

It’s been another busy week for me as I’m hoping to put my flat on the market and looking for a new house. This has unfortunately required a big clear out and a lot of cleaning. I have however managed to finish three books this week, the first of which was The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross. I received this from NetGalley and have to confess with the mixed reviews I was a little wary going in. I did however end up enjoying it much more than I expected. I’ve been a little down on YA and YA fantasy at the moment but this restored a little bit of the love. It has a few pacing issues but I did like the author’s writing and will be looking out for a sequel. You can read my full review here.

Because I clearly don’t have enough books on my TBR mountain, I decided after finishing Queen’s Rising to have a look around on Overdrive and, lo and behold, my library have gotten a load of new books in. All reading plans therefore went straight out of the window and I decided to read The Distance Between Us by Kasie West. The only other Kasie West I’d read was On the Fence and while I enjoyed it I hadn’t massively loved it. This however, I did love mostly due to main character Caymen’s sense of humour. I found myself cracking up laughing on the train (little bit embarrassing) and could not put it down. There were a couple of parts that bugged me and the ending seemed a little too sudden but overall this was just such a fun read.

Speaking of fun reads, I needed something to distract me while cleaning (I hate cleaning) so couldn’t resist listening to the audio book of Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller which I also found on Overdrive (I love my library). I think I probably would have preferred to read this (and am thinking about doing this anyway) as I didn’t give it as much attention as it deserved but I did really love it and can’t wait to get my hands on the sequel.

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Reading Next

Two of the books that have been on my wishlist forever, Eliza and her Monsters and Girls Made of Snow and Glass also appeared on Overdrive this week so I think they will probably be my next reads. I also have a couple of NetGalley ARCs I’m hoping to get to soon, The Exact Opposite of Okay and The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. I’m actually planning to read Seven Deaths as part of a structured group read on GoodReads’ Nothing But Reading Challenges Group which starts on the 16th. We are a little light on numbers for the discussion so if anyone is interested in joining you can find it here.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

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?

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Currently Reading

I picked up The Queen’s Rising by Rebecca Ross on Monday morning but haven’t made a huge amount of progress on it so far. This is one of those titles that NetGalley tempted me with and I couldn’t resist despite being a little bit down on YA at the moment. I’m starting to wonder if I’ve hit some particular age where I’m too old for it, although my Mum’s 70 and she likes her YA fantasy and sci fi. It’s probably more likely that I’m just reading too much of it and it’s all becoming a bit samey. Ah well, maybe this will surprise me. I’m keeping everything crossed.

No progress in the past week on the audio of The Black Witch by Laurie Forest. I have been stuck inside for pretty much the last week so no driving which is when I usually listen to my audios. I’ve also been feeling pretty anxious, about everything and nothing, so I’ve found my mind wandering a lot and have been having trouble concentrating. Focusing on an audio is just not happening.

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Recently Finished

I had last week off work and ended up trapped indoors by snowmageddon (seriously there were 6 inches which apparently is enough to bring Scotland to a standstill) so I did quite a bit of reading (and snow shoveling) and finished four books.

The first of these was A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. This was my pick for RL book club and I think it was a brilliant choice even if I do say so myself. Such an emotional read, I think yet again I cried my way through about half of it and at the most unexpected parts. I adored Ove, he’s such a lovable grump and his interactions with the boisterous family who move in next door are hilarious. I was kind of worried it was going to have a sad ending but without saying whether it was or wasn’t, it was absolutely perfect.

The second book finished was  Wye: A Zombie Novel by Jack Croxall. This was one of those semi random picks from kindle unlimited and turned out to be a pretty interesting story. It’s told in the form of a journal written by Wye (Theadora) as she travels across England after the zombie apocalypse has killed all of her family and friends. All is not as it seems however and even from the beginning it is clear that Wye is not the most reliable of narrators. This wasn’t without its flaws, it’s a little bit slow in places and I found the jumps back and forward in time confusing as there are no headers or dates, but it’s an intriguing story and I’d read more from this author.

After Wye I was in the mood for something a bit more positive and uplifting and picked up The Truth About Alice by Jennifer Mathieu, an ARC I’d received via NetGalley. I was expecting this to be similar to Moxie which left me feeling all fired up but unfortunately this turned out to have the opposite effect. It’s about the damage rumors can do to a reputation, slut shaming and what lengths people will go to to be part of the popular crowd so it depressed the hell out of me. None of the characters are particularly likable (maybe one) so it was difficult to care about them or what the truth about Alice was.

The final book finished was thriller, Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris which I also received from NetGalley. This was one of those completely addictive reads. I swear every chapter ends with some kind of cliffhanger or teaser of what’s to come so you have to keep reading (damn you B A Paris). I ended up reading the whole thing, cover to cover, on Sunday. I probably should have been cleaning or writing up this weeks blog posts but that just didn’t happen. Needless to say I’m writing this late on Tuesday night.

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Reading Next

I’ve managed to get my NetGalley shelf down over the last couple of weeks so I would like to reduce it even further by reading Skin Deep by Liz Nugent and The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven. I’m also way too excited about the Shatter Me series finally being available on Amazon. I received the first book from NetGalley and pre-ordered the remaining books as soon as I finished it. I’m thinking it may be time for a full on series binge this weekend starting with Unravel Me.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

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?

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Currently Reading

I had to put my next RL book club book, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, on hold for a bit while I finished off a couple of ARC’s but I picked it up again yesterday morning and I don’t think I’ve put it down since. There is just something I love about Backman’s writing and Ove could be one of my all time favorite characters. He’s just such a grump, always insisting that no one does things properly but he secretly has a heart of gold. I think I’ve spent the past 24 hours alternating between laughing and crying. I am crossing everything that this has a happy ending as I don’t think I could take the alternative.

Speaking of books I suspect may not have a happy ending I’m also reading Wye: A Zombie Novel by Jack Croxall. I picked up X: A Short Story by the author last week because it fit a challenge and it seemed promising so I wanted to read more. I’ve also just been in the mood for a zombie story. I find the human behavior in these types of stories so fascinating.

Finally, on audio, I started listening to The Black Witch by Laurie Forest at the weekend. I’d put a hold on this at the library and completely forgot about it, so was surprised to get the notification it was in. It seems to be quite a long one (around 16 hours) and I’m only a couple of hours in so it’s pretty early days but I do think this could be good. I have some suspicions that it may be a little tropey and possibly slow (hardly anything has happened in 2 hours) but hopefully I’ll still enjoy it.

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Recently Finished

Things have thankfully calmed down at work and I’ve had a few days off so I’m finally starting to get back into my reading. I am still struggling to decide what I want to read but I am at least finishing the books I’m starting rather than abandoning them after a few pages (or at least most of them).

The first book finished this week was The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey and I even managed to get a review up. This was one of those books I’d been wanting to read for ages but hadn’t been able to squeeze it in and, if you’ve read the Girl with all the Gifts, you’ll know it was probably not going to be a quick and easy read. I’m not sure I would say The Boy on the Bridge was quite as good but it is worth reading to get answers to a lot questions. It also has an absolutely incredible ending which on its own bumped my rating up at least half a star.

Because I’m an idiot, the next book I picked up after the traumatic ending of The Boy on the Bridge was The Last Laugh by Tracy Bloom. I have no idea what I was thinking as this was yet another emotional read, it’s about a 45 year old woman who is diagnosed with a terminal illness and discovers her husband is cheating on her (fun times!!!). Thankfully though while I did cry for a large proportion of the story there were quite a few laughs too. This is my second or third book by Bloom and I do like her writing, I flew threw the whole story in more or less a day. You can read my full review here.

The third and final book finished this week was The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin, which I listened to on audio. I have to confess I listened to the last couple of hours on double time (I don’t recommend this) because I had to get it finished by a specific time for a challenge. Unfortunately as a result I didn’t get to appreciate the ending which I’m sorry about as I was finding it fascinating. This is the one and only book by LeGuin I’ve read, it’s probably not something I would have sought out, but I enjoyed it so much more than I expected. Hopefully I can pick up some of her other books soon.

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Reading Next

Pretty much all of my reads over the last couple of weeks have been rather emotional so I’m feeling a bit fragile. I think I therefore need something more up beat and happy, or possibly super dark and violent, just not another sob fest. I do have a few rapidly approaching ARC publication dates so I’m leaning towards The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu or Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris. I’m also going to see Holly Black and Alwyn Hamilton at the end of March so I may go for one of their books.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

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?

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Currently Reading

I finally made a start on The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey at the weekend and while I haven’t made a huge amount of progress with it, I’m around the 20% mark, I’m really enjoying it. This is one of those books that I’ve been wanting to read for ages but kept putting off because it never seemed like the right time. I absolutely loved the previous book in the series, The Girl with all the Gifts, and I think this has the potential to be just as good. It certainly has an interesting cast of characters.

I also picked up my next book club book, A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman, from the library last night and needless to say I couldn’t resist starting it immediately. As I’m writing this I’ve literally read only the first two chapters but I’m already in love. There’s something very easy about Backman’s writing and Ove is my kind of character (I’m also a bit of a grump). This was actually my pick for book club so I’m keeping everything crossed that everyone enjoys it. My last choice, More Than This by Patrick Ness, got a bit of a mixed reaction but I’ve heard nothing but great things about this one and I loved Backman’s latest book Beartown.

On audio, I’m making good progress on The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K Le Guin. I probably would never have picked this up if it wasn’t for the reading challenge I’m currently participating in but I’m glad to have had the push. I’ve never read anything by LeGuin, and I often struggle with sci fi, so I was a little wary going in but I am finding it such a fascinating and engaging story. If someone could explain the title to me though that would be great, I thought a lathe was a woodwork machine.

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Recently Finished

My reading has been all over the place again this week, lots of starting and abandoning books and reading super short stories to fit challenge tasks. I did however manage to finish two books.

The first of these was The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. This was a book I was ridiculously excited about and it did not disappoint. It’s just such a fun and cute read about two young men on a tour of Europe. It is possibly a little bit tropey but it’s packed full of action and a lot of their adventures were unexpected. I can’t wait for the next book in the series, The Ladies Guide to Petticoats and Piracy.

The second book finished was yet another fairytale retelling (I have an addiction), Bellamy and the Brute by Alicia Michaels. As you can probably tell from the title it’s a Beauty and the Beast type story and I really enjoyed it. I wouldn’t necessarily say it was great, it’s not one that’ll stay with me, but it had it’s moments. There are elements of gothic horror about it and it has some truly creepy sections but I don’t think the author goes far enough and it becomes a little scooby doo (they would’ve gotten away with it if it wasn’t for those meddlin kids).

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Reading Next

One of the team challenges I’ve been taking part in ends on Monday night so that should free me up to read pretty much whatever I want. I have loved being pushed out of my comfort zone but I have to admit I’m looking forward to being able to read more of what I want. I do have a lot of ARCs sitting on my shelf (I’ve lost my 80% 😦 ) so I do need to focus on them but they’re all books I’ve been looking forward to so it’s not exactly a hardship 🙂

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading ❤

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?

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Currently Reading

I’m a little bit all over the place with my reading again, I think I’ve read the first few pages of I don’t know how many books then changed my mind. I have however finally settled on The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. I’ve been desperate to read this ever since I first heard about it but had been starting to get a little worried it wouldn’t live up to expectations. I only started it this morning but I’m already loving it. If only I didn’t have to go to work and could just stay in bed all day reading.

The other book I’m kinda reading at the moment is Brave by Rose McGowan. I say kinda because I started it but after reading around 15-20% I parked it. I’d picked it up out of curiosity after hearing so much about it but I’m not sure it’s for me, or at least not at the moment. It seems like it’ll be an fascinating read but the tone is just so angry and so anti men (and the whole of Hollywood) that I don’t think I’m in the right mood for it. I can understand why McGowan is so angry but right now I need something a bit more positive and happy.

On audio, I’ve somehow started listening to 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I’ve seen the TV series, read the book, so I suppose I may as well complete the trifecta by listening to it too. Honestly I was just hunting for something short and easy on Overdrive and this popped up. It does work really well as an audio as they have different narrators for Clay and Hannah so it’s almost like a conversation at times. I’m not sure if I’ll finish this as I have another audio I should probably be starting and really, I’m pretty sure I know the story.

 

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Recently Finished

I’ve been working flat out since Christmas so it’s safe to say that I’m reaching the tired and grumpy stage and am finding it harder and harder to concentrate on pretty much anything. It’s definitely affecting how much I read and also the type of book I’m picking up but I have managed to finish three books.

The first of these, The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare, was a book I’d received from Netgalley and was a really easy and fun read. It’s historical romance and is a Beauty and the Beast type story. A Duke left horribly scarred from his time at war convinces a poor seamstress to marry him so he can have an heir to his title and property. They bicker, they tease each other and they flirt a lot so it’s very funny and pretty steamy. Perfect for my mood.

The second book finished, Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi. was also pretty heavy on the romance but that’s not why I loved it. This is a series I’ve been trying to find for ages but I don’t think has been available in the UK (or at least I could never see it anywhere). It’s a dystopian about a girl who’s been locked up in prison alone for 264 days because her touch is lethal, and then she gets a new cell mate.

The style of this is very unusual and actually there’s a warning from the publisher at the start so you know it’s deliberate. MC Juliette is a little unbalanced after being alone for so long so she repeats, she counts, she loses her way in the middle of sentences. I know a lot of people have complained about it but I loved it. It was when it became more coherent and normal that it lost it a little for me. I am however looking forward to reading the rest of the series. Just need to wait till it’s released in March.

The third and final book finished this week was Grey by E.L. James. Shameful confession time, I actually kinda liked Fifty Shades. It’s wrong in so many ways but for some reason I found it addictive reading. Grey is the Midnight Sun of the series and tells Fifty Shades from Christian’s side. Not entirely sure we needed to hear his side but it does give a bit more of his history. No doubt I’ll read Darker at some point but I have no plans to rush out and buy it 🙂

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Reading Next

I have a few fast approaching publication dates for ARCs I haven’t read yet so I’m thinking I should probably make them my priority. I also need to try and find a book by an author who died this year for a challenge so I think I’m going to try an Ursula K Le Guin. I’m not a big sci fi fan though so not sure how I’ll fare.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading and Happy Valentines Day ❤

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?

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Currently Reading

I received an email ages ago from NetGalley saying Tessa Dare’s latest book The Duchess Deal was available for request and being unable to resist temptation I requested then totally forgot about it. Needless to say I received notification during the week that my request had been approved and being on the hunt for some light and fun reading couldn’t resist giving it a try and I have to admit it’s been just what I’ve been needing. It’s a historical romance and has a Beauty and the Beast type plot and it’s absolutely hilarious. I don’t know if it’s just my weird mood but I can’t remember the last time a book made me laugh so much.

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Recently Finished

The weather was pretty good at the weekend and I had some family events and a book signing so it’s been a bit of a slower reading week for me. I did however manage to finish two books, the first of which was Force of Nature by Jane Harper which I received from NetGalley. This is the second in the Aaron Falk series although it could probably be read as a standalone (but I do recommend the first book The Dry).

I am definitely going to be looking out for more in this series as I loved this book as much if not more than The Dry. This time the story’s about five women who head out on a corporate retreat but only four of them make it back. As Falk has a connection to the missing woman he becomes involved in the investigation. This is an absolutely riveting read and yet again it’s the setting and characters that are the stars. It’s another rather slow paced story but has so much tension it’s completely addictive.

The second book finished, The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton, was also a NetGalley pick and one of my most anticipated books of the year. I have to admit I found it a little slow in the beginning and I began to have my doubts about all of the hype around it but by around a third of the way through I was hooked. The world building and descriptions are absolutely brilliant and I found this world where beauty is all important to be fascinating. The plot is not necessarily the most original, you could see a lot of things coming but I did like all of the power plays and back stabbing. I’m hoping to get a full review up this week.

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Reading Next

I’m currently juggling three team reading challenges (why do I do this to myself) which is restricting my reading choices at the moment but I have a couple of ARCs and a couple of library books which I’m really excited about and need to sneak in somehow. Most exciting of all is that I found The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue on Overdrive. I have been desperate to read this since I first heard about it, I just hope I haven’t built it up too much.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below.

Happy Reading!!

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?

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Currently Reading

My reading is a bit all over the place at the moment, I keep starting books then changing my mind so technically I’m probably partway through about five. My main focus at the moment is however on Force of Nature by Jane Harper which I received from NetGalley. I started it on Monday and unlike the other books I’ve started since the weekend it’s definitely holding my attention. It’s the follow up to The Dry (although it could be read as a standalone) and I think may turn out to be even better.

Still no progress on Frankenstein I’m afraid. I wandered off and started listening to something else over the weekend so this was put on hold.

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Recently Finished

The team reading challenge I’m participating in is still playing havoc with my reading plans at the moment, which is proving to be both good and bad. I’m finally getting the push to read those books that have been on my TBR for years but the timing is not always right for my mood and I have found myself having to rush them at times to meet a deadline. I have however finished x books this week which is pretty impressive for me.

The first book finished this week was Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu (technically I finished it last Wednesday but I’m still counting it). This was one of those books I’d bought ages ago but had been putting off due to all of the hype around it. I’m always super wary of hyped books (particularly YA contemporary) as they often disappoint, but this was one of the exceptions.

It’s not perfect (I wouldn’t say it was a five star read) but I did find myself really enjoying it and think I read the whole thing it a couple of days. It’s about the girls in a school who get fed up being treated as second class citizens and decide to take action. It’s got a really strong feminist message but doesn’t get preachy so one I would recommend all YA’s read (girls and boys).

The next book finished, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, was all about the boys. Two 15 year old Mexican-American boys in fact, Aristotle and Dante, who become friends and discover some unexpected truths about themselves and the world around them. Unpopular opinion time, I didn’t love this. It may just have been that I was in the wrong mood for it (I’ve been working 60 hour weeks, totally stressed and still not completely free of that virus) and didn’t have much empathy for two teenage boys moaning about not fitting in / no one understanding them but the style didn’t really work for me either. It just seemed too episodic, jumping from one scene to the next with no real story (or point). I could appreciate a lot of the writing but sorry I just didn’t enjoy it.

The third book finished was RL bookclub book The Dry by Jane Harper and at long last we finally have a book club pick I really enjoyed. This is a murder mystery set in small town Australia during a drought. It’s not a fast paced or particularly original story but what I really loved was the sense of atmosphere the author created. It reminded me a little bit of Tana French’s stories where the focus is less on the murder or the action and more on the community and the detectives. I think this is going to be a new favourite series for me.

The fourth and final book finished this week was the audiobook of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This was a bit of a random pick to fit a challenge task but I’m glad to have listened to it. I saw another reviewer describe it as a fable and I think that word describes it perfectly. I did really enjoy this, it’s not very long and has quite a simple story but does make you think. The one thing that I didn’t like about it is the way it portrays women. There are almost no women and those there are seem to be there solely as love interests or as an interference to the hero’s personal legend.

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Reading Next

I’m going to see Pierce Brown at his Glasgow book tour stop tomorrow so I had been hoping to read Iron Gold before then but realistically that is never going to happen. I do still want to read it though so hoping to pick up at the weekend. I also have a couple of ARCs which are due to be published in February, The Belles and The Last Laugh so hopefully I’ll make a start on them too.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below. I may be a little slow responding this week again due to work pressures but I’ll get there eventually.

Happy Reading!!

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?

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Currently Reading

I started reading Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu on Monday morning and I’m very nearly finished it already, it’s such an easy and enjoyable read. I do love books with feminist themes but have to confess I did have my doubts over whether this book was as good as a lot of the reviews made out. It has however really impressed me and also made me pretty angry about the way the girls in the school are treated. I do think it’s maybe a little exaggerated (or at least I hope it is) but it’s certainly very relevant and has made me think about behaviors and attitudes I’ve experienced.

No progress on my current audiobook Frankenstein I’m afraid. I haven’t really driven anywhere in the last week and I mostly listen in the car. This one seems to be taking forever but I’m determined to finish it.

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Recently Finished

Work is still completely crazy at the moment and to make matters worse we’ve had a lot of snow which has been making getting anywhere a bit of a nightmare. Needless to say I haven’t been managing to read as much as I would like. I have however finished three books this week, the first of which was an ARC of The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert. Wow I really loved this book. Considering how completely exhausted and stressed I’ve been it managed to hold my attention and I actually found myself getting lost in it at times. It’s a story about stories and has some Alice in Wonderland type elements to it but it’s really creepy and dark. I’m hoping to have my review up tomorrow but failing that it’ll be up at the weekend.

The second book finished, The Deal by Elle Kennedy was a reread for me. It fit a challenge and it’s a book I really love so I couldn’t resist. It’s just so funny and sweet and I love the relationship between Garret and Hannah. Their banter and flirting just makes me smile so much.

The third and final book finished, They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera was probably a bit less of a fun read but I did really love it. It’s one of those books I bought when it first came out but kept putting off because it didn’t feel like the right time. It ended up fitting a challenge though (orange cover) so it gave me the push I needed to brave it. The title does suggest it may not have the happiest of endings but I kept hoping throughout that it was wrong. I absolutely adored MC Mateo and wanted him to have a happily ever after. I’m not saying what does happen but yep this book pretty much broke my heart. My review went up on Sunday and you can find it here.

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Reading Next

My reading is still being driven by the Cutthroat Book Club team challenge I’m taking part in at the moment. This is probably one of the most restrictive team challenges I’ve ever taken part in but I have to admit that it’s pushing me to read a lot of the books from my backlist which is no bad thing.

Next up though will probably be The Dry which is my next book club book (the meeting is the 1st so I really need to make a start) followed by The Belles which is an ARC that’s due out at the start of February too. I also want to pick up Iron Gold by Pierce Brown as I’m going to see him when he comes to Glasgow next Thursday on the Red Rising book tour.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below. I may be a little slow responding this week again due to work pressures but I’ll get there eventually.

Happy Reading!!

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 The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert at the weekend but haven’t had much reading time so not a huge amount of progress. What I have read I’ve been really enjoying, it’s a kind of Alice in Wonderland themed story so a little bit strange and confusing but in the best possible way.

On audio I’m still listening to Frankenstein, narrated by Dan Stevens and have actually managed to make a bit of progress. I think I’m about half way through but I’m just not in the right mood for it and it’s kind of annoying me at the moment.

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Recently Finished

I’m finally feeling a lot better but unfortunately this is my super busy time at work so I’ve been struggling to fit in much time for reading (or blogging). I have however managed to finish two books this week. The first of these was  It Only Happens in the Movies by Holly Bourne. I bought this a while ago and after reading and loving How Do You Like Me Now I was very excited about it. Unfortunately however it didn’t quite live up to expectations. It is brilliantly written, and very real in its portrayal of a teenage relationship but I suspect I just read it at a time when I was looking for a bit more fantasy and happily ever after. This had some funny moments but for the most part left me feeling a bit down.

The second book finished Ready to Were by Robyn Peterman was a reread that I needed for a challenge but I very much enjoyed it. It’s very short at around 170 pages but it’s quite a fun story about a werewolf who has to return to the island where she grew up to investigate some disappearances. That all sounds pretty straightforward and serious but it’s really not. She has a cross dressing gay vampire best friend, a Grandmother who dresses inappropriately and can beat her up and an alpha were ex who doesn’t want her anywhere near the case.

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Reading Next

I’m still probably going to be picking my reads based on what fits various team challenges for the next month or so but I am hoping to get to the following books at some point. A few are ARC’s, one is a library book due back and the other is my next real life book club book.

Have you read any of the books on my list this week? Any others you’d recommend? As always please feel free to leave comments and links below. I may be a little slow responding this week due to work pressures but I’ll get there eventually.

Happy Reading!!