WWW Wednesday: 27th January 2016

January 27, 2016January 26, 2016 Ali@abookishlife12 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

After reading the first couple of chapters I had to put Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness on hold as I needed to read a couple of library books that had to be returned. As it’s a physical book and I can’t really transport it around with me I’ve also decided that I want to wait till this weekend to read the rest when I can properly focus on it. I can’t wait to find out how it all ends.

In the meantime I’m currently reading You and Me Always by Jill Mansell. Jill Mansell has always been one of my favourite chick lit authors so I was very excited to get an ARC of her latest book. I’m around the 75% mark at the moment and, while I had my doubts about it at the start (I think mostly due to the book I just finished), I’m enjoying it a lot more now and finding it difficult to put down.

Recently Finished

I’m still going through a mad busy phase at work at the moment so have been slipping a little bit in terms of reading and posting reviews but I did manage to finish a couple of books last week.

The first book which I took my Teaser from yesterday was After You by Jojo Moyes. It’s the follow up to Me Before You which I absolutely loved so I was a little bit worried about reading it. Thankfully though it’s been a while since I read Me Before You so my memory of exactly what happened was a little shaky and I found this a really great book. It’s mostly about grieving and moving on so it’s not a happy story but it was definitely one of those books that my thoughts kept wandering to when I wasn’t reading it (driving to the stables, doing housework, cooking…). I ended up finishing the whole thing in a day so would definitely recommend.

I also read Robyn Hood: A Girl’s Tale and it sequel Fight for Freedom by KM Shea. I do like K.M. Shea books as they’re based on fairytales or myths and always have strong female characters who don’t spend all of their time obsessing over boys which makes a nice change in YA. This series was along the same lines and did give me a few laughs but I have to admit to getting frustrated with the number of mistakes (words repeated, wrong words, wrong spellings etc). It’s nothing a bit of proof reading wouldn’t fix so began to drive me nuts as it destroyed the flow of the story.

Reading Next

In the unlikely event I finish the books I’m currently reading, my mission is to finish some of the ARCs I’ve had for far too long or which are due for release over the next few weeks. I think the priorities will be The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (which is way overdue and has been in my reading next for a while), Black Widow by Chris Brookmyre (who I love and haven’t read any of his books in ages) and What Would Lizzy Bennet Do? by Katie Oliver (which I randomly picked because of the Pride and Prejudice connection).

Again there’s a fair chance I won’t read any of these but something completely different. I’m a bit of a mood reader so find it difficult to plan.

Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

WWW Wednesday: 20th January 2016

January 20, 2016January 19, 2016 Ali@abookishlife18 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I just started Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness on Monday so haven’t had a chance to read more than the first few chapters. It’s the final part of the Chaos Walking trilogy and I can’t wait to find out how it all ends. I’ve never read any books by Patrick Ness before this series but I get the feeling from what I’ve read so far that anything could happen. I think it will be epic.

As Monsters of Men is a physical book I’m also reading an ebook, Robyn Hood, A Girl’s Tale by K.M. Shea, on my commute. I love K.M. Shea books, they are always nice and easy little reads that make me laugh. I’m around a quarter of the way through so far and I’m loving the reluctant heroine Robyn who has been bossed into becoming an outlaw by BFF Marian.

Recently Finished

The weather hasn’t been particularly great over the last week so that’s given me a great excuse to stay in and read. I suppose I could have cleaned and caught up on all the little jobs needing doing around the house but where’s the fun in that? Anyway, all the extra reading time meant that I managed to finish three books.

The first book was The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness, the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. I was a little concerned that it wouldn’t be as good as The Knife of Never Letting Go but I needn’t have worried as it was incredible. I sometimes find it hard to believe that these are children’s books as they deal with so many big themes. I haven’t posted a review yet as I’m planning to do a review of the full trilogy once I finish.

The second book I read during the week was My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis. It was a sweet romance set in a ski resort in the Rockies. First time I’ve read a book by this author and I will probably be reading more as it did make me smile a lot. You can read my full review here.

The final book of the week was Him by Sarina Bowen and Elle Kennedy. It’s book of the month in one of my GoodRead’s groups but I probably would have read it at some point regardless as it’s my kind of story. I will hopefully post a review at the weekend but if you like LGBT romances with some seriously steamy scenes I’d definitely recommend. I was supposed to read it over a week and finished it in a day 🙂

Reading Next

After I finish my current reads I’m planning to make a start on After You by Jojo Moyes. I’m a big fan of Jojo Moyes and loved Me Before You. I’ve been a little worried about whether it will live up to expectations but hoping that as it’s been a while since I read Me Before You I’ll enjoy it.

After that I’m hoping to make a dent in some of the ARC’s I’ve received over the last few weeks. I think the priorities will be The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman (which is way overdue) and You and Me Always by Jill Mansell.

Knowing me though I’ll probably wander off and read something completely different. My New Year’s resolution of not buying any new books until I’ve reduced my TBR has been a total flop and I think I’ve bought 5 or 6 books over the last week (oops!) so I have plenty of choices.

Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

WWW Wednesday: 13th January 2016

January 13, 2016January 12, 2016 Ali@abookishlife21 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’m working a lot of hours at the moment (January is always my busy time) so it’s a bit of a struggle to get much reading done at the moment. I did however manage to start The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness at the weekend. It’s the second in the Chaos Walking trilogy and I’m liking it a lot. It doesn’t hurt that you get to hear the thoughts of the horse the main character Todd is riding (seems very true to me).

As The Ask and the Answer is a physical book and not particularly light I also have an ebook on the go. I’m trying to catch up on some of my ARC’s so am reading My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis. Again, the second in the series although have to admit I haven’t read the first. I’m enjoying it a lot more than I thought. It’s a nice light read with quite a few laughs and a lot of romance.

Recently Finished

I finally managed to finish My True Love Gave to Me at the end of last week. It’s a nice collection of holiday themed YA short stories. Don’t know why it took me so long as for the most part I found them great reads (there were a few exceptions). Haven’t had a chance to post a review yet but there should be one up over the next week.

After that I had a bit of a reading blitz over the weekend. I needed to wind down from a horrible week and the first proper snow of the winter had arrived so it seemed like a good excuse to just relax and read. I managed to read Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen on Friday night (may possibly have stayed up till 1am to finish). I do like Tess’s writing and it was a quick enough read but I thought genre was a bit confused and there wasn’t enough depth to the characters to make me feel what I should have.

Saturday’s read of Knight and Stay by Kitty French was also a fairly good, light read. It was the second in the trilogy but kind of finished one of the storylines started in Knight and Play. I’m looking forward to reading the final book at some point over the next few weeks.

Reading Next

I think once I finish The Ask and the Answer I’ll go on to read the final book in the series, Monsters of Men. There is no way I’ll be able to stop until I know how it all ends. I tend to be a little bit obsessive when it comes to a series of books. I can’t stop reading until I finish them all.

After that I’m planning to read After You by Jojo Moyes. I managed to find it in the library but gave it to my Mum to read first. She has finally returned it to me so I’m looking forward to getting stuck in. I loved Me Before You and Jojo Moyes is one of my favourite authors so I have high hopes. I just really hope I’m not disappointed (although my Mum says it’s good).

I’m hoping this will be a good reading month. Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

WWW Wednesday: 6th January 2016

January 6, 2016January 5, 2016 Ali@abookishlife16 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’m a little bit between books at the moment as I’m suffering from a serious book hangover. To tide me over until I’m ready for a proper book I’m still working my way through My True Love Gave to Me, a series of short stories by YA authors.

I started it a few weeks ago but for some reason it seems to be taking me forever to read. Nothing against the book (a lot of the stories I’ve read have been great) I just struggle a bit with short stories. You’re just getting into a story when it comes to an end and you’re on to the next one. They do tend to be a good way to find new authors so no doubt it will result in an increased TBR pile 🙂

Recently Finished

My younger brother was getting married last week so between that, Christmas and New Year things have been a bit hectic. I kind of missed my WWW Wednesday post (I was too busy burning up the dance floor) but I did manage to squeeze in quite a bit of reading.

First up I read A Christmas Carol to get me in the holiday spirit. Twas my very first Dickens and found I enjoyed it. For some reason I’ve always been a little scared of his writing but found it quite accessible. Someone recommended Great Expectations to me so this has encouraged me to give it a read.

After A Christmas Carol I moved on to The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. Haven’t quite gotten around to posting a review but I thought it was a great book. The narrative style is pretty unique and I think puts a lot of people off but I thought it was some of the best world building I’ve come across and I liked the characters (particularly Manchee).

Unfortunately my third book, The Perfect Match by Katie Fforde, was less of a success. Katie Fforde is one of my favourite authors but there were just too many things about the main character and plot which wound me up. You can see my full slightly ranty review here.

Things picked up a little with the next story I read, Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick. It’s a YA thriller and is an ok read. It’s quite easy going and has an interesting plot. I just didn’t think there was anything to make it stand out.

Last up and the book that’s left me with the most humongous book hangover is A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab. This was a book of the month on GoodReads and I’d seen some great reviews so broke my new year’s resolution to buy it. I’m so glad I did. It’s a bit early to say this but I think it could be one of my favourite reads of the year.

Reading Next

Since breaking my no book buying resolution (on the 2nd January…oops) I’ve had a bit of a splurge so I have quite a few choices for my next reads. I think my plan though is to read Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen which I’m due to return to the library next week. I love Tess so looking forward to it although I’m expecting something a bit different from the Rizzoli and Isles series.

After Tess I’m moving on to another of my favourite authors, Jojo Moyes, with the book After You. I loved Me Before You and a lot of Jojo’s other stories so I have high hopes. I just really hope I’m not disappointed.

In the unlikely event I finish those books I’m planning to read the rest of Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking Series. The Knife of Never Letting Go finished on a bit of a cliffhanger so I can’t wait to find out what happens next in The Ask and the Answer.

I’m hoping this will be a good reading month. Have you read any of the books above? Do you have any recommendations?

WWW Wednesday: 23rd December 2015

December 23, 2015 Ali@abookishlife10 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I thought that as Christmas is coming I should start to get in the spirit of things so I’m currently reading A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. While I’ve seen a few TV and film adaptations, this is my first reading of the original. It’s also my first Dicken’s book. I’m only around a quarter of the way through (the ghost of Marley has just appeared) but I’m really enjoying it. All of the characters feel so real and so well described.

Recently Finished

I’ve been reading a lot this week so have finished a few books. The first of which was The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. Quite enjoyed it but didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. You can find my full review here.

After the Invisible Library I abandoned my original reading plan yet again and decided to read Knight and Play by Kitty French. I really like Kitty French, she is turning into my go to author when I’m looking for something fun and a little bit smutty. For what I was looking for it certainly disappoint although I have to admit I got a little bored with all of the erotic scenes (it was almost every page).

I also couldn’t resist reading Carry On by Rainbow Rowell over the weekend. I’d been planning on saving it for Christmas but after reading so many good reviews I couldn’t hold out any longer. I have to say all of the good reviews are totally justified. I loved it. I’m kind of hoping there will be a sequel.

Finally, I also read The Paper Swan by Laylah Attar. It was a book of the month in one of my GoodRead groups so wasn’t something I would necessarily have picked for myself but found it a really engaging read. Once I started I don’t think I put it down (other than when I was at work). I finished it pretty late last night so haven’t had a chance to write a review but should have one up soon.

Reading Next

I’m starting to think that I should stop saying what I’m planning to read next as I never seem to stick to it. However this time I am determined to read at least a couple of the books I had from last week, Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick and The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I’m far too excited about both of them to hold out any longer.

I also got overly excited this week when I got home to find that Pan MacMillan had sent me an advance copy of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard. I read the first few chapters a couple of weeks ago and have been desperate to read the rest. It’s also very pretty so there is no way I’ll be able to resist (I can’t find a picture but will photo for my review).

Overall it looks like I have some great books lined up for the Christmas period. Have you read any of them or have you been saving a book for the holidays?

WWW Wednesday: 16th December 2015

December 16, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I completely abandoned my planned reading list from last week and am currently reading The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman. It’s a mixture of steampunk, fantasy, science fiction and a detective story. Reminds me a little bit of Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series. Slightly undecided about whether I’m enjoying it or not. I like the writing but it is a little bit slow and the narrator seems kind of detached from events.

I’m also still reading My True Love Gave to Me, a collection of holiday related short stories. I have to admit I haven’t managed to get very far with it so can’t comment on how good or bad.

Recently Finished

It’s been another slow week for reading unfortunately but I did manage to finish Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden. I found this book hard work and ended up having to make a concerted effort to just finish it.

Haven’t had a chance to post a full review but I’m probably not going to be giving it a good rating. I didn’t particularly like any of the characters and wasn’t too keen on the writing. I do seem to be in the minority on this so maybe I was just in the wrong frame of mind when I read it.

Reading Next

I only have 3 days of work left so think I’ll be embarking on a reading binge from Saturday. As I’m almost finished the Invisible Library I think I may just carry on and read the next in the series The Masked City which I received as an ARC from NetGalley.

I also have a big pile of library books which I’d like to make a start on including Dangerous Lies, The Marble Collector and The Knife of Never Letting Go. I do have a few other books I’ve been saving but I think I’ll hang on to them as a Christmas treat to myself.

If you have any other suggestions or if you’ve read any of these leave a comment below.

Happy Wednesday all.

WWW Wednesday: 9th December 2015

December 9, 2015December 8, 2015 Ali@abookishlife16 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

Unfortunately I seem to have gotten a little bit stuck on Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden. Last week I was at 25% and have now reached around the 40% mark. I’m so tempted to give up but am determined to finish. I think the main problems are that I don’t really like any of the characters and it’s not particularly scary. Maybe the second half will be better.

My chances of finishing Dead Ringers is also being reduced dramatically by the fact that I’ve started reading My True Love Gave to Me. It’s a selection of holiday themed short stories by young adult authors. Just started but I’m very excited as there are some great author’s stories included.

Recently Finished

It’s been a slow week as far as reading goes so only finished one book this time, Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. It’s the second in the Infernal Devices Series and while I wasn’t mad keen on the first in the series I thought I’d give it a try. I didn’t hate it but I have to admit I still prefer the Mortal Instruments series. Hopefully I should be able to post a review in the next couple of days.

Reading Next

As I’ve been really busy and stressed at work I’ve been resorting to my usual coping mechanism of acquiring books. Thankfully there wasn’t too much damage to my bank balance as most came from the local library or NetGalley.

From NetGalley I managed to get my hands on My Kind of Wonderful by Jill Shalvis and You and Me, Always by Jill Mansell so think I’m going to try one of them next. I feel like it’s time for a switch to chick lit. I also found Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick in the library so may squeeze that in somewhere.

If you have any other suggestions or if you’ve read any of these leave a comment below.

Happy Wednesday all.

WWW Wednesday: 2 December 2015

December 2, 2015 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’m still going through a bit of a horror phase and have recently started reading Dead Ringers by Christopher Golden. As you can possibly tell from the title it’s supposed to be a creepy story about an invasion of doppelgangers. I’m only around the 25% mark but so far I’m not overly impressed. I’ll stick with it and hope it gets better as I think it may be my mood rather than the story or writing.

I’ve also started reading Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare which is the second in the Infernal Devices series. I do love Cassandra Clare’s writing style but wasn’t as keen on Infernal Devices as I was on the Mortal Instruments. I’m hopeful however that the series improves.

Recently Finished

I’ve had a very busy week so I haven’t had much time to post any reviews but I have managed to finish a couple of books. I read Six of Crows as part of a group read on GoodReads. It took me a little bit of time to connect to it but by the mid point I was totally hooked. I love the world and characters Leigh Bardugo creates as they feel so unique yet real.

I also managed to sneak in Endeavor which was book 6 in KM Shea’s King Arthur and her Knights series. This has to be one of my favourite series and I read this instalment in a couple of hours with a smile on my face the whole time.

Finally, I read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. This was the first story by this author I’ve read and found it fascinating and so emotional. It’s left me with a bit of a book hangover and I think may be part of the reason I’m struggling with my current reads.

Reading Next

I still have a few library books lurking that need to be read over the next couple of days and I really want to read The Rosie Project before I have to return it. I noticed in my last visit that they have The Rosie Effect so if all goes well I may pick that up next time.

I also bought Carry On by Rainbow Rowell and have sneakily read the first few pages despite already having another couple of books on the go. So tempted to keep reading but need to resist till I finish the others. I prefer to read one book at a time.

If you have any other suggestions or if you’ve read any of these leave a comment below.

Happy Wednesday all.

WWW Wednesday: 25 November 2015

November 25, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I started reading Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo yesterday and, while it’s still early days, I’m enjoying it so far. I read the Grisha trilogy at the start of the year and really liked it so it’s nice to be back in that world again. Just need to get used to the new characters.

I’m also kind of re reading Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. I spotted it on kindle unlimited and couldn’t resist. I’ve watched the films many times but it has been a long time since I read the book. It’s strange but nice.

Recently Finished

It’s been a slightly slower reading week for me as I was forced to return to work or have no money to buy books. I did however finish Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. This was my first book by this author and I had slightly mixed feelings about it which you can read about here.

I also read the extended extract of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard which I received from NetGalley. I’ll be posting a sneak peek soon but it definitely has the potential to be big next year.

Finally, as predicted, I couldn’t resist reading Northwoods by Bill Schweigart which I also received from NetGalley. It’s the follow up to The Beast of Barcroft and takes the horror up a notch. I’m not supposed to review till nearer the release date of February but I definitely recommend the series to anyone who likes Stephen King or James Herbert books.

Reading Next

I have a huge big pile of library books which are due back in just over a week so should really be reading them. It seems unlikely I’ll get through them all in that time but I’m hoping to read The Rosie Project and Delirium.

I also have an ARC of Dead Ringers which I should probably already have read (I think it may have been published) so hopefully I can squeeze it in somewhere too.

If you have any other suggestions or if you’ve read any of these leave a comment below.

Happy Wednesday all.

WWW Wednesday – 18th November 2015

November 18, 2015November 17, 2015 Ali@abookishlife13 Comments

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?

So here’s my W’s for the week.

Currently Reading

I’ve just started reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. This is my first book by this author which is ridiculous as I’ve been hearing great things for a long time. Only a few chapters in but so far so good.

I’m also reading an extended extract of Truthwitch by Susan Dennard which I received from NetGalley. This is a book with a lot of buzz around it and from the few chapters I’ve seen so far this buzz seems well deserved. It’s due for release on 5th January 2016 and I’ve already added to my Amazon wish list.

Recently Finished

It’s been a really good week for books this week. I finished the remaining books in KM Shea’s King Arthur series, Embittered, Embark and Enlighten. I love KM Shea books they are always fun, easy reads, with strong female characters. You can find my review of the series here.

I also finally got to read Winter by Marissa Meyer. It’s safe to say I’d been waiting for this for a while. It is an epic conclusion to the series and I loved it. Only downside, nowhere near enough Cress and Thorne. Haven’t had a chance to post a review yet but it should be coming soon.

Reading Next

I still have a stack of library books lurking around the flat that I really should read before they are due to be returned but realistically I know I won’t get to them this week as I’m participating in a group read of Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. This is another book I’ve been desperate to read for a while but had been hoping the price would come down. It hasn’t but I’m going to cave and get it anyway.

I should also be working my way through some of the ARC’s that are due for publication over the next couple of weeks but I think I’m probably going to be bad and read Northwoods by Bill Schweigart. It’s also an ARC from NetGalley but isn’t due to be published till February 2016. I just can’t resist starting it now as it’s the follow up to The Beast of Barcroft which reignited my love of horror.

If you have any other suggestions or if you’ve read any of these leave a comment below.

Happy Wednesday all.