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 Between the Blade and the Heart on Christmas Eve but have to admit I’m struggling a bit as I just can’t seem to get into it. I’m considering DNF’ing as there are a lot of more appealing books on my shelf but I think I’m going to try and push through and just get it finished.

I’m technically also still reading The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, technically because I don’t think I’ve read a single page since last week. I haven’t been in the right mood for it so I went off and read a few other books instead.

On audio I’m listening to The Monster Collection and am currently partway through Frankenstein. I haven’t been driving much over the week so not a huge amount of progress but I am really enjoying it.

Recently Finished

I’ve been doing a lot of reading since finishing up work for the holidays on Thursday so even with family stuff I’ve somehow managed to finish three books. The first of these was When It’s Real by Erin Watt. This is one of those books I bought a while ago and have been trying to find the time to read.

As things were starting to get to me a bit last week I thought it would be the perfect book to distract me and calm me down and this was so right. I found it difficult to put down and found myself flying through the pages. It’s not a wholly original story but it’s still a fun read. My only issue was the main characters ages. Maybe I’m getting old and bitter but I struggle with 17 year olds meeting the love of their lives.

I was in the mood for more romance after When It’s Real so when Truth or Beard popped up for free on Amazon I couldn’t resist. I’d heard so many great things about this series I had high expectations and I did enjoy it. I just didn’t quite love it as much as I hoped I would.

There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s funny, fast paced and has two very likeable main characters with real chemistry but it just didn’t wow me. I do think it could maybe have been a bit shorter and sharper but it was enjoyable.

The final book finished this week was Not If I Save You First by Ally Carter which I’d received from NetGalley. This was my first Ally Carter and I loved it so much I’ve already been off hunting for some of her other books.

It’s about the daughter of a secret service agent who was best friends with the presidents son until something happened and her father decided to move them to the middle of nowhere in Alaska. When the president’s son Logan is sent to stay with them and gets himself in trouble she has to decide whether to save him.

It’s not out for a few months so too early for a full review (unless you wander over to Goodreads) but it’s really funny and the main character Maddie is fabulous.

Reading Next

Looking at the publication dates of some of the ARCs I have I think I should probably be picking up Everless or Sourdough next but all plans are kind of out the window until after the holidays so we’ll see what I feel like. There are quite a few books I own which I’ve been keen to read for months and haven’t gotten to so I may pick them up instead. I really want a book I can get lost in so happy to take recommendations.

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?

Currently Reading

I discovered that another of the books on my NetGalley shelf, The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin, is due for publication earlier than I thought it was so I thought I should make a start on it. It’s very early days but I have to admit I’m already having doubts about it. I get the feeling this is more literary fiction and far less exciting than the blurb led me to believe (or maybe I just didn’t read it properly). So far it’s kind of reminding me of The Rules of Magic, and not in a good way. Siblings growing up and trying to find their way with a prophesy weighing down on them. Oh well, maybe it’ll surprise me.

I’m also still listening to The Monster Collection on audio. I finished the first of the three stories (see below) and have moved on to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein which is read by Dan Stevens.

Recently Finished

Three books finished this week the first of which was The Last Romeo by Justin Myers which was an ARC I received from NetGalley. It’s about a 34 year old guy who after breaking up with his long term boyfriend starts using dating apps and documenting his experiences on a blog. It all gets a bit out of control however when one of his dates turns out to be someone very famous.

I had mixed feelings about this book. There’s a lot to like about it, great writing, a very real story and some interesting issues but I didn’t love it as much as I thought I would. I think maybe it hit a little close to home for me and I found it a little depressing.

The second book finished was the first story in The Monster Collection, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. It’s a bit shocking that I’m only now reading this as I’ve seen and read so many adaptations. It was a lot different to what I was expecting, I’d no idea it was predominantly told from the pov of one of Jekyll’s friends. I did really love it and it’s perfect for this time of year.

The third and final book finished this week was The Cruel Prince by Holly Black. This was another ARC from NetGalley and my first Holly Black book and I absolutely loved it. It’s set in Faerie and features all different types of fae folk. It’s deliciously dark and twisted with some fairly full on violence, think Game of Thrones. No one is who they appear to be and you can never be sure what their true intentions are. Basically my favorite type of story. The only bad thing about it is that I now have a bit of a wait for the next book.

Reading Next

If I survive The Immortalists which I suspect is going to be a heavy read I think I’m going to need something a little bit lighter. The Cruel Prince has put me in the mood for a bit more fantasy so maybe Everless or Furyborn. I also received a copy of Sourdough by Robin Sloan from ReadersFirst so I might be tempted to pick it up instead. I’ve already read the first couple of chapters and think it could be quite a fun and quirky read.

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 and if I don’t post again in the coming week Happy Holidays!

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 a couple of books over the last few days as I couldn’t make my mind up what to read. I picked up The Girl Who Saved Christmas by Matt Haig first as I thought it would be nice to read a holiday themed book but I’m just not in the right mood so I also started The Last Romeo by Justin Myers. It’s very early on for both of them, I’m less than 10% in, but so far so good.

I also started a new audiobook during the week, The Monster Collection. It’s a collection of three classic gothic tales, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (read by Richard Armitage), Frankenstein (read by Dan Stevens) and Dracula (read by Greg Wise). I’m currently around halfway through Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and loving it.

Recently Finished

Two books finished this week, the first of which was Everything is Lies by Helen Callaghan which I’d received from NetGalley. I really enjoyed Callaghan’s first book Dear Amy so was excited to see what she would follow it up with and it didn’t disappoint. I did think the balance of the two time periods that feature in the story was a little off but it’s a very addictive read with an engaging storyline and a few twists that took me by surprise. Definitely one for all thriller readers to keep an eye out for.

The second book finished was Still Me by Jojo Moyes, the third book in her Me Before You series. I’d been a little wary of more books in this series but I’m really glad we got this one. Me Before You is probably one of my all time favorites and while After You was incredibly sad I found so much I could relate to in it about the process of grieving someone you loved. It was therefore so good to see Lou finally starting to move forward with her life. The story is a little on the slow side and it’s less of an emotional rollercoaster than the previous books but I think it’s a fitting conclusion to Lou’s story.

Reading Next

I seem to be reading a lot of contemporary or thrillers at the moment so it’s probably about time for a little bit of fantasy. I have a few ARCs I was hoping to get to soon The Cruel Prince, Everless and Furyborn but I just haven’t been in a fantasy mood. Hopefully once things quieten down at work that’ll change.

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?

Currently Reading

I started Everything is Lies by Helen Callaghan at the end of last week but had to park it to read a book for book club but now I’m back focused on it again. I loved the author’s previous book Dear Amy so I was very happy to be offered an ARC of this. It’s a thriller about a woman who discovers her parents after a suspected attempted murder / suicide. She doesn’t believe it and begins to dig into their past discovering that there’s a lot of things she didn’t know about her mother.

I’m around two thirds of the way through this as of this morning and am really enjoying it. Because it is an e-ARC there are some formatting issues (there are sections out of order) which mean I’m losing the flow a bit it’s still a really tense and engaging read.

Recently Finished

Three books finished this week, the first of which was Goodbye, Perfect by Sara Barnard. As always I loved Barnard’s writing and it’s a very readable book but I had a general uneasiness about the student teacher relationship featured in the story. Thankfully it’s not the MC who gets involved with her teacher (it’s her best friend) but I still found it a little bit uncomfortable to read.

I did love the complexity of the characters and I was also very happy to see some under represented characters and issues featured, I just wish there had been a little more focus on them and a little less on that icky relationship.

The second book finished was The Muse by Jessie Burton. This was this month’s real life book club book and consequently not one I probably would have picked myself. It does have a very pretty cover and, being the superficial person I am, I was tempted by that but was a little put off by the historical fiction thing.

I did find it a bit of a struggle in the beginning, it’s very heavy on descriptions and one character has an odd accent that appears and vanishes but I did find myself becoming sucked in to the story. I wouldn’t necessarily say I liked any of the characters but there was something intriguing about it and I am happy I read it.

The third and final book finished this week was La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman. I have a physical copy of this but due to lack of time I ended up getting the CD’s from the library and listening it to in the car. As a result I think it’s taken me almost four weeks to finish it which probably stopped me becoming fully invested in the story. I did like it a lot and Michael Sheen does a brilliant job as narrator but I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. I didn’t fully connect with any of the characters and therefore wasn’t really emotionally engaged which for me is necessary for something to be a five star read. Maybe my views would have been different if I’d read it.

Reading Next

I found out last Friday that I’ve won an advance proof of Still Me by Jojo Moyes so I’m ridiculously excited and watching my letterbox for possibly the best book mail ever. If it appears I will be abandoning whatever I’m reading and picking it up immediately. Failing that I think I will probably be looking for a light and fluffy romance. December is unfortunately a super busy month at work for me so I don’t think I’ll be able to focus on anything more complex. I’m thinking either When It’s Real or It Only Happens in the Movies (I have a suspicion the latter may not be that light and fluffy).

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!!!