The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

I started  Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire yesterday and I literally haven’t been able to put it down since. There’s something wrong with the version I have as words and whole sections are repeated but there’s just something about it that has me completely hooked at the moment. At the start I thought it was going to  be the usual good girl meets a bad boy, they fight a bit but then can’t resist their attraction (which so far is kind of true) but it’s starting to feel a bit darker. I can’t wait to find out how it ends and suspect I will be forgoing some sleep 🙂

Recently Finished

I’ve been very lucky this week and somehow managed to end up reading a lot of really good books.

The first of these was All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker which I received from NetGalley. It’s a psychological thriller about the effects the horrific rape of a teenage girl have on a family and a community. It’s a little slow at the start and the narrator comes across as a bit arrogant but it’s intelligent, well written and by the end totally enthralling. You can read my full review here.

The second book finished was Melody Bittersweet and the Girls’ Ghostbusting Agency by Kitty French. This couldn’t be more different from All Is Not Forgotten if it tried. It’s a fun and lighthearted story about Melody Bittersweet who decides to put her ability to see dead people to good use by starting a Ghostbusting agency. It’s full of quirky characters, a bit of romance, the odd ghost and lots of laughs. I loved it and you can read more in my review.

The next book read was The Deviants by C.J. Skuse. I received this is an ARC from NetGalley and couldn’t resist reading it straight away even though it’s not due out until the end of September. It’s about a group of friends who’ve drifted apart after a tragedy but get back together to get revenge on a bully. It’s too early for me to post a review but I will say that I absolutely loved this book. I was expecting it to be good but I wasn’t expecting it to break my heart a little.

Also this week I finished my audio book  Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost. It’s the fourth in the Night Huntress series and could possibly be my favourite so far. These audio books are going to get me in so much trouble as they are completely addictive and absolutely hilarious. Anyone who spots me listening to them must think I’m a complete lunatic.

The final book finished this week was Paper and Fire by Rachel Caine, which is the second in the Great Library series. It’s a story about libraries and books so it’s pretty much a dead cert that I’ll love it. In this series libraries pretty much run the world and have more power than any government or religion but power corrupts. It’s a fun, fast paced read but it finished on a cliffhanger so I’m left waiting for the next one….again.

Reading Next

Yet again it’s been another week where I’ve read literally none of the books on my reading next list. With my tendency to wander off plan I’m starting to think I shouldn’t bother. Anyway, it seems likely that I’ll read one or more of the following:

• A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby – My brother loaned me this a few years ago but I’ve never read it (although I watched the film on Sunday night). It just so happens to fit a challenge I’m doing so that seems a good reason to finally pick it up.
• This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost – There’s no way I can resist the next book in the Night Huntress series and I managed to find it on Overdrive so I’m good to go.
• The Loney by Andrew Michael Hurley – I spied this at the library a couple of weeks ago and couldn’t resist.
• The Paris Secret by Karen Swan – This will probably be my next NetGalley read as I love Karen Swan (and Paris) and haven’t had a chance to read as yet.

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below. I’m a little slow in replying at the moment as work is manic but I’ll get there eventually 🙂

Happy Wednesday everyone.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

I’m still working my way through All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker which I started over a week ago. It’s quite unusual for me to take so long to finish a book but I put it on hold over the weekend while I read a couple of other books. I’m just over the halfway point and I have to admit there were a couple of times I was tempted to give up altogether on it.

I think the problem I’m having with it is the narrator, who is a psychiatrist and sort of independent observer. He does raise some fascinating points and ideas but I’m feeling slightly distanced from the story and the emotion. From the reviews I’ve read however I suspect that may be about to change.

After a bit of a break I’m also back listening to audio books in the car again. Unsurprisingly I’m listening to the fourth book in Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series, Destined for an Early Grave. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve had a bit of a break but this is shaping up to be my favourite in the series so far.

Recently Finished

It’s been a slightly manic and emotional week at work, my boss left, my assistant got married and I had a run in with someone and spent the rest of the day crying in the toilets. Needless to say I haven’t managed to read as much or what I planned.

Thankfully I did manage to finish Time after Time by Hannah McKinnon which describes itself as a cross between sliding doors and groundhog day. The main character relives the same day over and over but with a different one of her ex boyfriends who could have been the one. Personally I kind of found the whole thing a bit boring but it seems to get loads of great reviews so it may just have been the mood I was in.

As I was in need of a bit of cheering up after my horrible week (and Time after Time) I reverted to one of my favourite happy books Cinder & Ella by Kelly Oram. As you can probably guess from the title it’s a YA contemporary retelling of Cinderella. I’ve read a lot of retellings but this could actually be my all time favourite. There’s just something about it. It makes me cry, it makes me angry and most of all it makes me smile.

The next book started and finished over the weekend was The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa. It’s the second in the Iron Fey series which is about a 16 year old girl Meghan who discovers she has a magical connection. I read the first book in this series a while ago and wasn’t too keen but having since read and loved the three books in the Talon series and The Immortal Rules I thought I’d give it another try. While this one is better than the first book it’s still nowhere near as good as the author’s more recent books. For various reasons I don’t like the main character and the plot is a little too obvious and contrived. I’d recommend you give this a pass and read Talon instead.

The final book finished this week was 3:46am by Nick Pirog. It’s the fifth book in the Henry Bins series which is about a man (Henry Bins) who suffers from a rare medical condition (Henry Bins) which means he’s only awake for 1 hour a day (from 3am to 4am). At around 120 pages, it’s safe to say it’s a quick read but it is a great read. The author has such a great imagination and a fantastic sense of humour.

Reading Next

As I’m writing this I’ve realised that this weeks reading next list is exactly the same as last weeks as I read absolutely nothing from it. I will definitely get back on track this week however with, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, and Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie M Holmberg which I received from NetGalley. This is of course assuming I don’t buy too many books in Amazon’s sale. I’ve already bought November 9 by Colleen Hoover and An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir.

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

Happy Wednesday everyone.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

My life has been slightly taken over by a team reading challenge on GoodReads at the moment so that seems to be determining what books I pick up more than anything else. I actually have two books on the go at the moment although I have to admit one is getting a little bit more of my attention than the other.

The one that’s probably getting more attention at the moment is Time after Time by Hannah McKinnon. It’s about a woman who’s feeling a bit fed up with life (work, her husband) and starts to wonder what life would be like if she’d stayed with one of her ex boyfriends and never met her husband. Then one day she gets to find out as she somehow ends up in a different reality where she ended up with a different man. I think I’m liking the concept of this book a little more than the execution. I do love a what if / alternate reality type story but finding it a little on the slow side.

The second book I’m reading is All is Not Forgotten by Wendy Walker which I requested from NetGalley after spotting it on someone else’s blog (sorry I can’t remember who’s). This is more of a memory loss (or to be more accurate removal) type book, another concept that I find fascinating. Very early days but I am very much enjoying the writing style.

Recently Finished

Slightly less books finished this week than last as I’m back at work and had a few evening events to attend.

The first book finished was  Splintered by A.G. Howard which is based on Alice in Wonderland (it follows one of Alice’s descendants). I’d been looking out for this book for a while so was dead chuffed to find it on Overdrive. Reviews for this seem to be very polarized and whether you like it or hate it seems to come down to whether you find the way mental illness and it’s treatment is portrayed as offensive. In some ways it probably is (someone is locked in a padded cell in a straight-jacket and nurses wander around with syringes full of drugs in their pockets) but I think if you can get past that it’s quite an enjoyable read. Hopefully I’ll post a full review soon. 

Second book, Princess of the Midnight Ball, was also a retelling, this time of the Grimms Twelve Dancing Princesses. Not a story I know particularly well although I’ve come across references to it in other retellings. I was a little bit disappointed in this as despite some very favourable reviews I kind of just found it ok. It’s almost instantly forgettable, none of the characters are that likeable and there’s a bit too much of the insta love going on for me.

The third and final book finished this week was One Hot Summer by Kat French. I bought this a few weeks ago as I absolutely love Kat (and her alter ego Kitty) and have been looking for an excuse to read it (instead of my many ARCs and library books) for a while. Kat does write fantastic chick lit with very swoon worthy men so I knew I’d enjoy it and I did.

Reading Next

As I’m midway through a challenge I actually have a fair idea what books I’m going to be reading over the next week or two. These include, Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire, Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent, Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet by Charlie M Holmberg and My Husband’s Wife by Jane Corry. Not sure what the order will be yet.

Have you read any of the books above or have any other book you’d recommend? Leave comments and links below. I’ll apologize in advance as I may be a bit slow in responding as I have meetings all day but I will get there eventually 🙂

Happy Wednesday everyone.

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

Here’s this weeks WWW.

Currently Reading

I started Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver a couple of days ago which is a YA mystery/thriller about two sisters. I’m around the halfway point at the moment and while I’m liking the writing I have to admit I’m not finding it as gripping as I hoped it would be.

I had previously read the author’s debut novel Before I Fall and after a slightly rocky start ended up absolutely loving it so I’m hoping that this will be the same. I am liking that it includes newspaper clips, photographs and diary entries but it’s jumping around in time which I’m finding a little confusing.

Recently Finished

The first book finished last week was  Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton. I was reading this as part of a group read but it’d been one I’d been looking forward to for a while due mostly to the absolutely beautiful cover. It’s YA fantasy, set in the desert and follows a girl, Amani, who goes on the run to escape the life that’s been mapped out for her.

I really wanted to love this and based on the synopsis I should have but while I didn’t dislike it in anyway I found it just sort of OK. I liked the main characters but I thought the world was a little bit confusing. Too many different places (towns, countries), too many characters who were introduced only to disappear a few pages later and too much terminology. I suspect this is mostly a me thing.

The other book finished this week was The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin which I could possibly be one of the last people ever to read. It’s another YA book (I seem to be on a bit of a spree at the moment) about a girl Mara who wakes up in hospital with no idea how she got there. She was in an accident that killed her friends but remembers nothing about it.

I liked this book a lot. Hopefully I’ll get a review up soon but I loved how it kept you guessing throughout. I like a story where you’re not sure what’s real and what’s not. I also liked the main characters which always helps.

Reading Next

I think my reading next list will be pretty similar to last weeks as I still want to read The Girl with All The Gifts by M.R. Carey which I got from the library and Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick which is an ARC from NetGalley. I also managed to get my hands on Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Abertalli. It’s been on my desperately want to read list for a while.

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

Happy Wednesday everyone.