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.

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Currently Reading

Today is real life book club day so I’m no doubt still frantically reading this month’s pick The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery (I wrote this post yesterday). I’m currently around page 100 of 320 and it’s fairly safe to say I’m struggling. I really want to like it as I really like the person who picked it but honestly it’s heavy going. It’s very wordy with a lot of philosophy thrown in to the mix which I have absolutely no interest in so can’t be bothered reading. Yet again I am probably going to be the only one at book club who didn’t love the book.

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Recently Finished

I was pretty much doing everything possible to try and avoid starting The Elegance of the Hedgehog so it’s been a slightly slower reading week for me again with only two books finished.

The first of these was What Light by Jay Asher which is a YA contemporary about a 16 year old girl, Sierra, whose family grow and sell Christmas trees. Most of the year she’s in Oregon where the farm is but for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas the whole family relocate to California to sell the trees. This year in California Sierra meets a boy, Caleb, with a troubled past but she sees something in him that makes her want to take a chance despite the odds being stacked against them.

I think I was expecting something a bit heavier but this is a very sweet and funny romance that’s perfect for Christmas. It does have the familiar good girl, bad boy with issues theme but it’s done exceptionally well, is very mature and I liked it a lot. You can read my full review here

The second book finished this week was Love You to Death by Caroline Mitchell. This was another NetGalley request and again had that happy Christmassy feel (ok maybe not happy, more murdery). It’s a police procedural about the hunt for a killer who’s targeting women who’ve given a child up for adoption. I had a bit of a shaky start with this but by the mid point I was completely hooked. The attraction was probably more the main character DS Ruby Preston and her history rather than the hunt for the killer but it’s definitely a series I’ll keep reading. I’m hoping to get a review up later this week.

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Reading Next

The team reading challenge I was participating in on GoodReads is now finished so, while I’ll miss it, I think I’m going to make the most of not having to read as many books as possible or that fit some strange task. I’m therefore leaving my reading next open. I think I’m going to slow down a bit, catch up on reviews and maybe find a book I’ve been wanting to read for ages but didn’t want to rush.

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.

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Currently Reading

I’m almost finished The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon which I received from NetGalley.  It’s a contemporary YA romance about two teenagers, Daniel and Natasha who come from very different backgrounds but meet by chance (or is it fate?) on the day where Daniel has an admission interview for a college he doesn’t really want to go to and Natasha is facing deportation. They have nothing in common but could change each others life.

As it’s set in New York and is about a couple of teenagers I have to admit I did a lot of comparing to Dash and Lily at the start which was completely unfair. It does have it’s cutesy moments but deals a lot more with cultural differences, racism and bigotry. Now that I’m further into the story I’m loving it a lot.

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Recently Finished

It’s been a bit of a mixed week for me with a fantastic book, a truly terrible read and something decidedly average.

First up was The Score by Elle Kennedy which is the third book in her Off Campus series. It’s a new adult romance about a girl who after breaking up with her long term boyfriend gets involved with a bad boy hockey player. It was an ok read but I didn’t think there was anything particularly stand out about it. Thankfully having just finished Heartless by Marissa Meyer and suffering from a major book hangover it was exactly what I needed.

After The Score I still didn’t want to start anything good so picked up The Swarm by Christopher Pearson (basically it fit a challenge I was doing). It’s a horror story with swarms of mutant bugs attacking people everywhere. I’d describe it as the worst book ever written but I suspect that would just encourage more people to read it 🙂 It’s like a bad B movie or a teenage boy trying to come up with the most over the top gory book ever. Unfortunately it’s not even so bad it’s kind of good. It’s just bad.

The final book of the week was the one that I’ve been looking forward to for what feels like forever, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo. It’s the follow up to Six of Crows and is a mixture of young adult fantasy and a clever heist story. I absolutely love Bardugo’s writing, there is something about it that draws you in, but the highlight for me was the relationship between the characters and all the little moments of humor.

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Reading Next

Not 100% sure at the moment but I think my plan is still to read Love You to Death by Caroline Mitchell and What Light by Jay Asher next. I received both from NetGalley and am really excited about them as they sound really good in very different ways. I also have my next real life book club read to make a start on, The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. I haven’t been massively impressed with the book club choices so far but have higher hopes for this one.

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.

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Currently Reading

I just finished Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares about five minutes before starting this post but as I’m still basking in a post book glow (and haven’t started my next book yet) I thought I’d leave it in my currently reading. It’s a YA contemporary romance set over Christmas in New York and I am absolutely loving it. It is just so funny and cute, the characters are very likeable (Dash in particular) and it makes me smile. Expect a big gushy review soon as this is definitely going on my happy book list and possibly all time favorites list.

No progress with Grim this week as I’ve been busy reading other books. As it’s a collection of short stories I suspect this is one I’ll dip in and out of over a long period of time.

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Recently Finished

First book finished over the last week was Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. Enjoyable sci fi book but not one of my favorites and probably not one I’d be rushing to read again. It was just that little bit too sci fi and too geeky for me.

The next book read was Dark Water by Robert Bryndza which I received from NetGalley. It’s the third in the DCI Erika Frost series and I was so excited to get it I couldn’t resist picking up straight away. Unfortunately I fear I was too excited about it as it didn’t quite meet my expectations. I found the MC to be a little too emotional and the writing seemed a bit stilted for some reason. It was still enjoyable but not as much as the previous book in the series. That may just be me though. Full review coming soon.

The third book finished over the course of the weekend was  Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas, the fifth in the Throne of Glass series. This is another book that I was ridiculously excited about reading but unfortunately ended up feeling a little bit let down by. I did enjoy it, particularly the second half, but it doesn’t quite live up to previous books in the series. I think it’s maybe just a case of it becoming too big and epic and losing a little bit of the emotional connection that I need to make a book great. Again, a full spoiler free review is coming soon.

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Reading Next

Still a couple of books carried forward from last week, Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee Ahdieh so hoping to get to them soon. However I did get The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily, which is a follow up to Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares, from NetGalley so I think that will be up first.

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.

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Currently Reading

I started What Remains of Me by Alison Gaylin yesterday so I’m around the 20% mark at the moment. This is a psychological thriller I received from NetGalley about a 17 year old girl who shoots and kills an Oscar nominated Hollywood director. She’s sent to jail but 30 years later and five years after she’s released her father in law is found dead in a similar manner. Her past comes back to haunt her as she becomes the prime suspect. The story jumps back and forward in time telling the story of the events leading up to the first murder and the investigation of the second.

While it is early days I have to say that I am enjoying the authors writing style. There’s something very engaging and slightly addictive about it. If I had one criticism it’s that I’m finding the jumping back and forward in time a little confusing.

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Recently Finished

Another diverse mix of books read this week with the first one finished, Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett. While I usually stick to fiction there was something about this that appealed when I spied it on NetGalley. It’s probably the first one of these types of books I’ve ever managed to finish so that’s definitely a big plus. It manages to deal with serious issues in quite a light hearted way and the structure of it makes it easy to dip in and out. You can read my full review here.

The second book I finished during the week, All She Ever Wished For by Claudia Carroll, was another NetGalley pick (I’m determined to get my shelf down). Due to my own total ignorance and failure to read the blurb properly I thought this was a Christmas book and was a little disappointed to find it wasn’t. It’s Claudia Carroll so it is a pretty good read but I have read better from her. I think I just didn’t quite connect with any of the characters. Again, I’ve written a full review (I was definitely on a roll this week)

The next book read was Settling the Score by R.S. Gray which is a new adult, sports romance. I pretty much just spotted this on Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited and thought why the heck not. I’ve liked other books by this author and I do love sports romances. This one is the first in a series set at the Olympics in Rio and tells the story of a British swimmer and American Soccer (football for those of us in Europe) player. I thought it was ok rather than anything spectacularly great. For me it was let down by a lack of detail around the sports. I’m not convinced the author knows anything about them (I mean she didn’t even attempt to explain the offside rule).

Fourth and final book this week was the quick read, Seduced by a Pirate by Eloisa James. Mostly chosen because it worked for a challenge, it’s a fun and quirky little novella about a Viscount who runs out on his new bride on their wedding night and ends up becoming a pirate (as you do). When he finally returns 14 years later he finds his wife and her three children (???) aren’t exactly thrilled to see him.

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Reading Next

Another week and Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas is still on my reading next list. I currently have the ebook and the paperback from the library and expect a hardback in the next couple of days so I really have no excuse.

My book buying/ borrowing/ requesting spree continued with a vengeance this week (my credit card is getting worn out) so I picked up another few books I really, really want to read soon.

Hopefully arriving today (please, please, please) are hardback copies of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo and The Wrath and the Dawn by Renee  Ahdieh. I am ridiculously excited about both as I have been waiting for Crooked Kingdom pretty much since finishing Six of Crows and The Wrath and the Dawn has been on my wish list forever. I had to get hardbacks though as I put together a new bookcase at the weekend and need to fill it with something 🙂

From NetGalley I also received The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden (honestly I saw that cover and read “inspired by Russian fairytales” and couldn’t resist) and The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

I think I may be in book overload. So many books so little time…

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.

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Currently Reading

I still seem to be going through a little bit of an odd reading phase at the moment, with my choices being somewhat random rather than the books I have lined up on my list.

What’s especially unusual this week is that I’m currently reading a non fiction book. I think non fiction typically reminds me too much of all those text books I was forced to read at school and University but when I spotted Feminist Fight Club by Jessica Bennett on NetGalley I couldn’t resist.

I am kind of fascinated by feminist issues and this offers advice on identifying and fighting sexism in the modern day office environment. It’s a little bit American at times but is pretty funny with some advice that I think will come in handy.

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Recently Finished

Last week I was midway through Double Black by Ali Dean, the second book in the Stark Springs Academy series about an elite winter sports school. I’d become slightly addicted to this series so I wasn’t long in finishing both this and the final book in the trilogy Black Ice. It had quite a good mix of competitive sports and high school drama so was the light read that I was just in the right mood for. I’m not sure books two and three were as good as the first one but still enjoyed them.

I then went off in a slightly different reading direction with Elizabeth Darcy of Pemberley by Maggi J Coxon. As you can probably guess by the title it’s a sequel to Pride and Prejudice but what made it a little bit different is that it’s in the form of letters between all of the main characters. I did enjoy it but the letter format does create a little bit of emotional distance from the hatches, matches and dispatches.

The fourth book finished this week was Miracle on 5th Avenue by Sarah Morgan which I requested and received from NetGalley. Yep, I’ve started my Christmas reading early this year. I do love a good Christmas book and I love Sarah Morgan and this is definitely one of her best. It’s sweet, funny and romantic. It’s a little early for a review but expect one soon.

The final book of the week, Love to Hate You by Anna Premoli, was a bit of a random choice from Amazon. As you can possibly guess from the title and cover it’s chick lit. It’s set in the tax consultancy department of a bank (I didn’t know they had them) and is about two co workers who absolutely hate each other but are forced to work together on a project. There is however a fine line between love and hate.

At the start of this book I have to admit I hated it to the extent I was already planning my big ranty review once I’d finished but bizarrely around the halfway point I got a little bit addicted and couldn’t stop reading. In general I would say I enjoyed the non office based bits.

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Reading Next

Needless to say Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas is still on my reading next list. It will happen soon as it’s driving me nuts steering clear of social media to avoid spoilers.

The one thing that may stop me is that I went on a bit of a book buying spree over the weekend and also requested a few more books from NetGalley. There are too many books to list them all (I have no shelf control) but the ones I can’t wait to read are The Ice Lands by Steinar Bragi (I’m snow and ice obsessed at the moment), Unwind by Neal Shusterman, The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and the Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch.

In other exciting news this week I also managed to get tickets to go see Leigh Bardugo and Rainbow Rowell when they tour the UK together at the end of October. Can’t wait. If anyone is interested in attending any of the events in London, Dublin, Manchester or Edinburgh you can find details on the Worlds Collide Tour webpage here

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.

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Currently Reading

I’ve developed a weird book addiction to the Stark Springs Academy series by Ali Dean this week. I read the first book in the series, Black Diamond at the start of the week and moved straight on to the second book Double Black yesterday. I’m almost finished so will no doubt be picking up the third book shortly. It’s a YA series and mixes the usual high school drama, teen romance type story with competitive winter sports. I absolutely love sports and underdog type stories so I’m very much enjoying it.

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Recently Finished

It’s been another slightly odd reading week for me as yet again I wandered off from my plan and ended up picking up some very different books, mostly because they worked for a team reading challenge.

I did manage to finish Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire which I was reading last week. It’s a sequel to  Beautiful Disaster which is a new adult contemporary romance but rather than picking up where Beautiful Disaster finishes it retells the story from the point of view of the main male character. As a result I didn’t enjoy as much as the first book, you know what’s going to happen, but it was an easy read which is pretty much what I was looking for.

The second book finished was Chasing Spring by R.S Grey which is more of a young adult contemporary romance. Honestly I picked this up because it had the word “Spring” in the title and had some decent reviews but I ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected to. The only slight warning I would give on it is that there’s quite a bit of under age drinking and drug use so may not be suitable for really young adults or parents who worry about what their kids get up to when they’re out with their friends 🙂

My next book, Grimm’s Fairy Stories by the Brothers Grimm, was a bit of a random choice. I was looking around for something quick to read, spotted it and thought why not. I read a lot of fairytale retellings but in the majority of cases I’ve never actually read the original story so it was definitely an eye opener. They are classic stories for a reason but I have to say there are some oddities, particularly with the endings. There were also quite a few stories I’d never come across before, some of which I can understand why.

Fourth book of the week was Switching Hour by Robyn Peterman, which at not much over 100 pages was a really quick read I blitzed my way through on Saturday morning. I do love Robyn Peterman as her stories are always funny and very steamy but they are becoming a little bit on the repetitive side. I think I’ve maybe just read too many of them.

Touch Me Not by Apryl Baker, was the next book finished. It’s another new adult contemporary romance (seems to have been a bit of a trend this week) about a girl who’s afraid of being touched and makes a deal with the campus manwhore (the books description not mine) to help her get over it. It was quite a funny, lighthearted read but there were a few plot points that I thought were a little unnecessary and distracting. It’s a bit of a new genre for Apryl so considering that she did a pretty good job but I’m mostly just waiting on the next Ghost Files book.

I also managed to make a small dent in my NetGalley shelf this week by reading the Immortal Writers by Jill Bowers. It’s not out for a couple of months yet so waiting till closer to the time to post a review but that’s probably not a bad thing as I’m not too sure what to make of it. I thought the storyline was a lot of fun and there are some really great moments but bits of it are just bad as far as the writing goes. Hopefully there is still some editing to go and it’ll all get sorted as it has the potential to be a really great read.

The final book of the week was Black Diamond by Ali Dean which was my surprise love of the week. I’d never heard of it but came across it by random on Amazon Unlimited. It’s about a 17 year old girl who gets a scholarship to an elite ski academy but has some difficulty fitting in to the regime. If you like books about mean girls, bullying and high school class system it’s a great read. For me the definite highlight was the skiing. I have this bizarre love of sports books and it’s pretty edge of your seat stuff at some of the races.

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Reading Next

I picked up Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas last week but still haven’t started it yet (other than the first few pages). I’ve been waiting till I have a bit of free time and am in the right frame of mind for it (basically not stressed or tired). I want to take my time and enjoy it rather than reading it because I feel pressured to get through it before coming across spoilers. I also have that slight fear that it won’t be as good as the previous books in the series.

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.

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Currently Reading

I’m a bit all over the place with my reading at the moment as I’ve just come off a series binge (more on that below) and think I may have a bit of a book hangover. I don’t really know what I want to read so am half heartedly reading two books which is probably not fair on them but I don’t want to start anything I really want to read.

The first book I’m around halfway through is Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire which is the follow up to Beautiful Disaster. I say follow up but it’s essentially the same story told from the pov of the male main character Travis. It’s a light and enjoyable read but nothing spectacularly great.

The second book I started but didn’t get very far with is Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner which I received from NetGalley. It’s a detective story that seems to get compared to Kate Atkinson and Tana French so should be perfect for me. I’ve kind of parked it though as I’m not in the right frame of mind for it at the moment. Maybe once I finish Walking Disaster I’ll go back to it.

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Recently Finished

First book finished this week was The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I really don’t read enough classics and this is one that I’d somehow never read before. It’s not the happiest of stories (it depressed the hell out of me) and I’m not sure there was a character I liked but I did enjoy the writing style. It’s definitely inspired me to try reading more out of my comfort zone.

After the Great Gatsby it’s safe to say my whole reading plan such as it was went out the window. I’m playing book Bingo on GoodReads at the moment as part of a team challenge so that’s very much influencing what books I read.

Needing something with electronic equipment on the cover, the second book read was Attachments by Rainbow Rowell. While I have to admit I haven’t read a lot of Rainbow Rowell books absolutely every one I have picked up has been brilliant. I don’t know how she does it but she creates these extremely likeable and realistic characters and very sweet and funny stories. Attachments is kind of classed as chick lit rather than her usual YA but it was just as good. My main criticism it that it was just too funny. It kept making me laugh when I was reading it on the train which is never good.

The final two books read, and the reason for my current slump, were Red Queen and Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard. I’d sworn I wasn’t going to read any YA fantasy or science fiction until after I read Empire of Storms but I’ve had Red Queen on my kindle for a while and managed to get Glass Sword from the library a few weeks ago so when they fit a challenge I couldn’t resist.

I’m probably one of the last people to read this series but it’s really, really good. It does have elements that are familiar from other stories like Hunger Games, Red Rising etc and yep there is a love triangle (actually make that a quadrangle) but it’s very readable and totally addictive. The only bad thing is that now I have to wait till February for the next book 🙂

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Reading Next

When I got up this morning (it’s Tuesday night as I’m writing this) Empire of Storms by Sarah J Maas was sitting waiting for me on my kindle so I think I will be reading that next. I’m giving it a little bit of time so I can get over Red Queen but pretty sure I’ll be making a start this weekend.

I will of course be avoiding all social media, reviews and anything else that may contain spoilers in the meantime.

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

Happy Wednesday everyone.