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 kind of juggling three books at the moment which is not going particularly well as I almost always focus on one and completely neglect at least one of the other two but the physical book I’m reading, The Fireman by Joe Hill, is such a big book I can’t face carting it around with me (my bag is heavy enough).

I started it on Friday last week and have only managed around 100 pages so far but what I’ve read has been really good. It takes the usual typical apocalypse type story and flips it around to ask the question what if you were one of the “bad guys”, the one who is infected with the horrible highly contagious disease that’s going to kill you? What would you do to stay alive, and what if you found out you were pregnant?

The ebook I’m making a lot more progress on is another horror,  Charlotte Says by Alex Bell. I’ve just been in the mood for a good creepy horror story so when I spotted this on NetGalley I couldn’t resist requesting (I’m saying nothing about the number of books on my shelf). I only read the author’s previous book in the series during the week (more below) but thought I’d take a chance and I’m so glad I did as it’s just the creepy type of horror story I love.

The third book I have on the go is the audio of the final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, Mockingjay. I’ve been gradually working my way through the series this year and started on this last week. It’s been a long time since I read the books so it’s been great to listen to them. My memory of the films is fresher so I’ve been surprised by all of the little differences.

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Recently Finished

I had a bit of a busy weekend (Edinburgh Book Festival!!!) but did end up spending quite a lot of time on trains or hanging around stations so I managed to finish three books this week. The first of these was The Accident by S.D. Monaghan which I’d received from NetGalley. It’s a thriller about a man who catches his wife cheating on him and decides to confront the other man, leading to “The Accident”.

I haven’t had a chance to write a proper review but thought this was a really good thriller. It certainly starts incredibly well and really hooks you in (yep I shouted at the characters for doing silly things) but I did feel like it dipped in the middle with one or two too many flashbacks slowing the pace down. There are plenty of cliffhanger chapter endings which do keep you reading and it does pick up again towards the end so definitely an enjoyable read.

The second book finished this week was also a thriller but this time of the YA variety. Another NetGalley pick, The Treatment by C.L. Taylor is about a girl who receives a note from her brother that suggests the reform school he has been sent to is less about reform and more about brainwashing. When no one believes her she’s forced to take matters into her own hands and infiltrate the school to get to her brother.

I think this is Taylor’s first YA story and it’s a pretty good attempt. It’s definitely very readable and I finished the whole story in a few hours. I would have liked something a bit more invasion of the body snatchers and I do think some things were a little too convenient but it certainly kept me engrossed.

The third and final book finished this week was Frozen Charlotte by Alex Bell. It’s a very creepy YA horror story about a girl, Sophie, who goes to stay with distant relatives who live in an old schoolhouse on the Isle of Skye. There are some tiny little dolls that might be evil, characters with issues, strange noises and visions and just lots of general spookiness. I do think there were some issues with the writing (it’s lacking a little subtlety and depth) but it did creep me out which is probably the most important thing.

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Reading Next

I have a few more book events coming up over the next week so may not have a lot of reading time but if I manage to finish my current reads I think I’m going to try and pick up either The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey or ARC of Invictus by Ryan Graudin. There is a possibility I will be looking for something completely different so may end up picking up The Break by Marian Keyes or A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland.

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 Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 just started reading The Accident by S.D. Monaghan yesterday and I’m already around a third of the way through and absolutely loving it. Despite supposedly having a NetGalley request ban in place I couldn’t really resist this one. It’s a thriller about a man who discovers his wife cheating on him and accidentally kills the other man (it’s in the blurb so not a spoiler). It’s one of those books where I really want to shout at the characters for doing silly things (as obv’s I know better how you go about covering up a murder).

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Recently Finished

I managed to get myself back on track with my reading this week and finished three of the books on my TBR. First up was Yesterday by Felicia Yap which I’d received from NetGalley. I was really excited about this story set in an alternate reality where the majority of the population can’t remember any further back than yesterday. I’ve always been fascinated by stories about memory and I liked the idea that this was building in a murder mystery. Unfortunately it didn’t quite work for me and I found it a bit of a struggle. I almost gave up on it a few times but managed to stick with it and it did pick up towards the end. You can read my full review here.

The second book read was Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff. I have to confess I hadn’t heard of this book or even the author until I saw that she was coming to the Edinburgh Book Festival and doing a session with Alwyn Hamilton on strong female characters in YA. Needless to say I couldn’t resist buying this, the first book in her Red Abbey trilogy.

It’s a YA fantasy about a girl named Maresi who is a novice in the Red Abbey. The Red Abbey is a kind of sanctuary for girls and men are forbidden from setting foot on the Island where it’s based. When a new novice arrives however she is pursued by the men who abused her and the Sisters and novices have to stand together against them.

It’s a great story (albeit a little slow in the beginning), with a very strong feminist message but the real highlight for me was definitely the world building.

The third and final book finished was Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy. Landy is another author I’m hoping to see at the book festival so I wanted to read at least one of his books and given I feel like I’m heading for a slump this seemed perfect. It’s probably more middle grade (it’s about a 12 year old girl who teams up with a sorcerer/detective/skeleton) but it’s easy reading and really funny. I found myself giggling away as I was reading so I doubt this’ll be the last book in the series I read.

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Reading Next

This coming weekend I’m going to a few events at the book festival (have I mentioned that 🙂 ) so there are a few final books I’m hoping to squeeze in if I get a chance, The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey and either The Fireman or NOS 4R2 by Joe Hill. I also managed to get my hands on ARCs of Charlotte Says by Alex Bell and Invictus by Ryan Graudin so may try to at least start one of them.

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 Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 took a major detour from my reading plan last week (more below) but I’m back on track and currently reading Yesterday by Felicia Yap. This popped up on NetGalley and as soon as I heard it was about memory I couldn’t resist requesting. I’m not sure why but I find stories about amnesia and anything to do with memories absolutely fascinating.

At the moment I’m around 20% through and have to admit I’m not entirely convinced about the combination of murder mystery and alternate reality.

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Recently Finished

So it’s safe to say I went a little bit off track with my reading last week and decided to just read whatever I felt like (it was bound to happen eventually). I seem to have been reading a lot of thrillers and YA fantasy so I needed something completely different. It was also way too tempting having  Artemis by Andy Weir sitting on my NetGalley shelf.

I haven’t read The Martian but it’s definitely one of my favourite films. I get the feeling that Artemis is another book that would work incredibly well as a film. The story is set in a city on the moon (Artemis) and follows smuggler Jazz as she attempts to pull off a major heist. It’s a very clever book with a main character who may not be wholly likeable (she’s rude, morally grey and alienates everyone) but is brilliant fun to read. It’s too early for a review but I’d definitely recommend.

After Artemis, which did require a bit of concentration (it’s kind of techie), I felt the need for a bit of romance and a story that would let me more or less just turn my brain off. I’ve been participating in a group challenge on GoodReads and a few of my teammates recommended Ilona Andrews so as I already had Burn for Me it seemed like a good idea. Unfortunately it was possibly too good an idea as I blasted my way through both it and the second book in the trilogy White Hot. I do have a tendency to get addicted to paranormal romances.

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Reading Next

I’ve really got to get back on track with my NetGalley reads and I have a few more book signings coming up so next up will probably be The Scandal by Fredrik Backman or Maresi by Maria Turtschaninoff. I’ve also been very tempted to finally pick up Now I Rise by Kiersten White. I bought it a few weeks ago but haven’t had a chance to read it yet and I really, really want to.

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 Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 Artemis by Andy Weir at the weekend. I received an ARC of this from NetGalley and it’s not due for release for a couple of months but despite having a big list of other books I should be reading I just couldn’t resist.

I haven’t read The Martian (although I love the film) so I can’t compare but I’m really enjoying this story of a smuggler who lives in a city on the moon. It has a really good mix of science and humour and methinks there’s going to be a heist.

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Recently Finished

I’ve been making great progress with my reading this week and managed to finish three books. The first of these was We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I think I read this from cover to cover in more or less a day. It was just so addictive that once I started I couldn’t put it down. It felt very unique to me and was completely different from what I was expecting. I know a lot of people haven’t liked it but I think it’s just one of those Marmite books (you’ll love it or hate it). It is a book you’re best going in blind to so I’m not reviewing it but I did rate 4.5 stars.

The second book finished was psychological thriller Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker. I read and really enjoyed the authors previous book All Is Not Forgotten so couldn’t resist requesting this when it popped up on NetGalley. This time the story is about two sisters who go missing and then three years later one of them returns. It’s up to psychiatrist Dr Abby Winter to figure out why both girls disappeared and find the missing girl. Like the author’s previous book this is an intelligent thriller which feels like there is some real research behind it. I did think it lost a little bit of the tension in the middle but definitely an interesting read.

The third and final book finished this week was Wing Jones by Katherine Webber. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this as based on the reviews and blurb I wasn’t sure whether it was a contemporary or fantasy. I can confirm now that I’ve read it however that it is mostly contemporary with a little bit of fantasy. Mostly it’s a coming of age story which is really strong on family relationships and has some very diverse characters. Definitely one I’d recommend.

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Reading Next

I posted an update on my progress with the Summer TBR Wipeout challenge hosted by Candid Cover on Monday which included my August TBR so my reads will almost definitely be coming from there.

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’m going to see E. Lockhart and Katherine Webber this evening straight from work so may be a little slow in replying or visiting blogs so apologies in advance. I will get there eventually.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 We Were Liars by e. lockhart yesterday and it’s so addictive I’m already around 70% of the way through. I feel like this is one of those books that everyone has read but me. I don’t know why I haven’t picked it up before now. It’s been sitting on my kindle for ages but I just don’t think I’ve been in the right mood. I am however going to see the author in Glasgow next week so I kind of felt like I should read at least one of her books 🙂

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Recently Finished

It was a super busy week at work for me unfortunately (everyone bar me is on holiday) so only two books finished, This Savage Song  and Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab. Schwab also has an author event next week in Edinburgh so it gave me the excuse I needed to just sit and binge read both books in her Monsters of Verity Duology.

It’s been a while since I’ve sat down and just read a whole series so it was great to be able to do that with these. I do kind of wish I’d picked them up a little bit sooner as I stumbled across some spoilers for the ending (why do people do this???) which put a bit of a dent in my enjoyment. I have to say therefore that while I do think Schwab has created a wonderful world and some memorable characters I preferred her Shades of Magic series.

 

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Reading Next

As well as Victoria Schwab and E. Lockhart I’m also going to see Katherine Webber (she’s interviewing E. Lockhart) so I plan on reading Wing Jones over the weekend. I’ve heard some really great things about this book (mostly from one particular blogger) so I’m very excited to finally be reading it.

I suspect after that I’ll be totally YA’d out so I plan on flipping back to my NetGalley shelf and picking up either Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker or Yesterday by Felicia Yap. I do also have How to Stop Time by Matt Haig though and it’s proving very difficult to resist. I’m kind of hoping it’s an instruction manual so that I can actually make it through my TBR 🙂

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 Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab yesterday and while I’m only around 15% in I am absolutely loving it. This is one of those books I’ve had lurking on my Kindle forever (ok probably around a year) so it’s good to be finally starting it, although I had reached the stage where I was a little bit scared to read it in case it didn’t live up to expectations. It’s Schwab though so I’m sure I’ll be fine (and pretty much all I’ve heard has been good).

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Recently Finished

Three books finished this week, the first of which was Daughter of the Burning City by Amanda Foody. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the Summer so I was very lucky to receive an ARC from NetGalley. It’s a murder mystery set in a magical carnival. It’s quite dark which I loved and the author has truly created a wonderful world with some very diverse characters. There are however some pacing issues and I did feel like maybe there was too much crammed in but I did enjoy it. You can read my full review here.

I wandered off my reading plan with my second book this week. I’ve been a big fan of Kirsty Greenwood for a while so when I saw she had a new book out, Big Sexy Love I couldn’t resist. I was also in the mood for a rom com as I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy, horror and thrillers recently and this was perfect. It was just so funny, sweet and heartbreaking. I laughed a lot, I ugly cried and it just made me feel so good. Greenwood is a seriously under-rated author and I’d definitely recommend all rom com fans read this (and all of her other books). Reminded me a bit of Sophie Kinsella’s best works (Shopaholic, Got Your Number).

The third and final book finished was The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond. I started it on Sunday morning and found it very difficult to put down. It’s about a newly married couple who are offered the chance to join an exclusive and mysterious group known as the pact. The goal of the pact is to keep marriages happy and intact and all members are required to follow a set of rules. A lot of the rules seem sensible but the penalties for even relatively minor infringements are fairly severe.

I found this a totally addictive read. It’s all told from the point of view of the husband and his voice is instantly likable which definitely helps. The tension really builds throughout and I did find myself reading it at 3am one morning. Hopefully my review will be up later this week.

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Reading Next

Next up I think I’ll continue with Schwab’s Monsters of Verity duology with Our Dark Duet. If I manage to read it before coming across any spoilers it will be a miracle. Honestly I wandered onto a GoodReads thread “Chat to Victoria Schwab” and it was littered with spoilers (why do people do this???). Anyway I also got my hands on There’s Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins and Artemis by Andy Weir last week so despite having a whole reading plan I may pick one of them up.

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 Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 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.  

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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.

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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!!!

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 on Kathy Reichs newest book Two Nights on Monday morning but haven’t made a lot of progress as my train buddy is back and he expects me to talk to him rather than sit reading on our commute 🙂 It does seem a bit cliched (troubled PI trying to deal with their demons by helping others) but I don’t mind that provided it’s done well and there have been some nice one liners which are always good.

I haven’t made a huge amount of progress on my audio book Attack of the 50ft. Women by Catherine Mayer, mostly because I haven’t been doing much driving and when I have there has either been someone else in the car or I’ve been using the satnav (satnav and audio books are a bad combination. I have however made quite a bit of progress on Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. It’s a big heavy hardback so I’m only really reading at weekends and evenings but only around 150 30 pages left so should finish in the next couple of days tonight.

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Recently Finished

This has been a pretty good week for me with three books finished and most of them very enjoyable. The first of these was  The Bed and Breakfast on the Beach by Kat French. It’s a light and fluffy summer read about three thirty something women who, when their lives go a bit pear shaped, end up buying a B&B on a little known Greek Island. It’s a nice read and perfect for lying on the beach or beside the pool. I’m not sure having three separate storylines worked for me (I would have preferred the focus on just one) but I loved the way the author depicted the island and the locals. You can read my full review here.

After the Bed and Breakfast on the beach I abandoned my original plan of reading a thriller next and decided on Ginny Moon by Benjamin Ludwig. I’d received this a couple of months ago but put off reading it as it was a little out of my comfort zone, as the whole story is told from the pov of autistic, 14 year old Ginny. I knew I’d either love it or hate it and thankfully it was the former. Considering this is the author’s first book it is truly incredible. It’s completely unique, addictive, frustrating, funny and a little bit heartbreaking. Definitely one I’d recommend.

The third book finished, When Dimple met Rishi by Sandhya Menon, is one that had been sitting on my Amazon wishlist for ages but I was lucky enough to get from NetGalley. I think I possibly built this up a bit too much as while I did enjoy it, I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. It is quite a cute read but it wanders into “afternoon special” at times and Dimple is not the most likeable of characters. I do have to applaud it however for bringing some cultural diversity into a YA contemporary romance. How accurate its depiction of Indian culture is I have no idea (I suspect not completely based on some of the reviews I’ve seen) but it definitely made a change.

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Reading Next

I think my reading next list is more or less the same as last week’s due to my wandering off course so I plan to read one of the following.

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below. I may be a little bit slow in responding and visiting everyone’s posts this week as internet on my phone isn’t working so apologies in advance.

I will also be dragging my poor cat to the vet this evening to get him checked out after an asthma attack at the weekend 😦

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!

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 The Bed and Breakfast on the Beach by Kitty French on Friday and I suspect I will probably finish it today. It’s a romantic comedy about three thirty something year old women who, needing a change, buy a Bed and Breakfast on a secluded Greek Island. I received this from NetGalley and it’s proving to be perfect summer reading. Definitely one for the beach or beside the pool.

Not much progress with Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare or Attack of the 50ft. Women by Catherine Mayer. I’m not very good at juggling a few books at the same time so my focus has been on my ebooks.

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Recently Finished

Another relatively slow reading week for me with only two books finished. The first of these was thriller Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine which I received free through Kindle First. It’s about a woman who’s forced to go into hiding with her children after she discovers her husband of many years was actually a serial killer.

I really, really liked this book. It has the feel of quite a traditional who dunnit but brought right up to date with internet trolls, social media etc. It definitely kept me guessing (which is rare with the number of murder mysteries I’ve read/watched) and I really liked main character Gwen/Gina which I did not expect. You can read my review here.

The second book finished this week was romance The Foxe and the Hound by R.S. Grey. Grey’s books are a fairly recent discovery for me but they are fast becoming my go to when I’m looking for something light, funny and steamy to get me out of a reading funk. This one is possibly my favourite so far. A clumsy mess of a heroine with a giant out of control puppy and an attractive vet make it my perfect read. I think I read the whole thing with a smile on my face.

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Reading Next

Not sure what I’m in the mood for next but given my recent light and fluffy spree I think it’ll be something a bit more serious. Possibly one of the following.

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below and I’ll respond when I can.

Happy Wednesday Everyone!!!