WWW Wednesday : 11th November 2015

November 11, 2015November 11, 2015 Ali@abookishlife11 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.

The three W’s are:

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 (not very) patiently waiting on the release of Winter so I’ve been putting off starting anything too heavy. To get me in the right frame of mind however I am currently working my way through KM Shea’s King Arthur series. It follows young American girl Britt Arthurs who is pulled into the past by Merlin when the real Arthur runs off with a shepherdess. Merlin gets her to impersonate Arthur (a 15 year old boy) to try to bring the Kingdom together. It’s a fun, easy read like all of KM Shea’s books so I’m finding it quite addictive. At this very moment I’m midway through Embittered which is book 3 of 5. Lancelot has finally arrived and Britt is off in search of a round table.

Recently Finished

I’ve been on holiday from work for the last week so I’ve managed to finish a few books. As well as the first two books in the King Arthur series, Enthroned and Enchanted, I also finished the two books I was midway through last week, The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Schweigart and What Might Have Been by Matt Dunn. I was pleasantly surprised by the Beast of Barcroft which is a monster lurking in the woods type of story. It reminded me of the horror stories I used to read in my late teens. You can find my full review here.

Matt Dunn’s What Might Have Been was also quite an engaging story but in a completely different way. I haven’t had a chance to write a review as yet but it’s about a guy trying to win back the girl he thinks he’s in love with. It’s quite unusual to find a good chick lit book written by a man but it definitely gives it a unique slant and it’s a very humorous read.

On the more traditional chick lit side I completely devoured Meet Me in Manhattan by Claudia Carroll. I had no idea before I started that it was Christmas story so it was a nice surprise. It’s romantic, funny and has a couple of very unexpected twists that set it apart from the usual type of Christmas romance. The highlights for me though were the descriptions of New York in the snow. It’s somewhere I’ve never been and now desperately want to visit. Click here for my full review.

Finally this week I also read Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick. Another slightly creepy tale but of the young adult variety so not too scary. First book by this author and it’s made me hopeful for her series Hush Hush which is currently lurking on my kindle. You can find my review here.

Reading Next

I’m sure you will be totally unsurprised to learn that Winter will be my next read. Can’t wait until it’s out tomorrow. I have it pre-ordered so it should be there waiting for me on my kindle when I get up and I suspect that will be me for the rest of the day.

After that I think I’ll be in need of something completely different and following a trip to the library I have quite a few options available. I managed to get my hands on The Rosie Project, The Shock of the Fall, The Perfect Match and Before I Fall. They are all physical books so I should really try to read them before I go back to work and have to carry them on the train.

Not sure which to go for first so if you’ve read any of them and have a recommendation let me know.

Happy Wednesday all.

WWW Wednesday : 28th October 2015

October 28, 2015October 28, 2015 Ali@abookishlife7 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.

WWW Wednesday The three W’s are:

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 was feeling the need for something a bit spooky so based on a recommendation I started reading Ellie Jordan, Ghost Trapper by J.L. Bryan this morning. It’s a haunted house story so I’m hoping for lots of creepy goings on. I’ve only read a couple of chapters so no ghosts as yet but I’m liking the writing style. Slightly worryingly it’s the first in a series so there is a fair possibility I’ll end up reading the lot.

Recently Finished

Over the last week I’ve managed to finish a couple of books. The first was The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood. For the most part I really enjoyed it. It definitely made me laugh a lot. I have a feeling though that it’s one of those books that is more or less instantly forgettable.

For once I also read one of the books I had planned as my next read, Blonde Eskimo, and posted my review here yesterday. As I predicted it was probably not the right book for me. I don’t know if it’s just one YA fantasy too many or if it was just meant for readers a lot younger than me but didn’t really enjoy it too much.

Reading Next

I’m planning to continue my spooky themed reading over the Halloween weekend and have just received The Beast of Barcroft by Bill Shweigart via NetGalley. Have never read anything by this author but I like the cover and quite fancy a creature feature. I am a little worried as it tells you the beast eats the main character’s dog but I plan to skim that bit.

I’m also still trying to convince myself to read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It’s been lurking on my kindle for a while but I keep putting it off based on the mixed reviews it seems to get. If I don’t go for that I may switch back to Love, Death and Tea or try a classic such as Dracula or Frankenstein. Not sure yet.

Does anyone have any recommendations or ideas for Halloween reads?

WWW Wednesday – 21st October

October 21, 2015October 21, 2015 Ali@abookishlife6 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Unfortunately I missed last week as I’d been ill and hadn’t had a chance to actually read anything but I’m so excited to be taking part again.

WWW Wednesday The three W’s are:

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 23343303

At the moment I’m working my way through The Vintage Guide to Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood. It’s a light and fluffy romance about a girl who doesn’t do love and romance but is convinced to follow the rules in a “get a man” guide book from the 1950’s. Finding it really funny which is proving difficult as far as reading on my commute goes. I’m back to using my hand to cover my mouth so I won’t actually laugh out loud.

Recently Finished

Over the last week or so I’ve been doing quite well and have finished a few books. After reading Know Not Why by Hannah Johnson last week I couldn’t resist the follow up novella Toil and Trouble. It’s set at Halloween so seemed an appropriate read for October. Unfortunately little bit disappointed in it as it switched from first to third person and nothing much happened.

After that I was looking for a bit more romance so read How to Lose a Bachelor by Anna Banks which I’d received as an ARC. OK read but nothing special. I then switched back to my usual genre of YA fantasy and read The Jewel by Amy Ewing. First in a series but not sure I’ll be rushing to read the sequel. It seemed quite formulaic and as if the author was dragging out what could have been one story into a series. I think it may actually have put me off YA fantasy altogether for a while.

Reading Next

Next I need to start working my way through some of the ARC books I have sitting around and which are kind of overdue. I think first up will be Blonde Eskimo by Kirsten Hunt although I’m a little bit unsure about it. The reviews seem to be a bit mixed so I have a feeling it will be a love or hate type story.

I have however been distracted by Love, Death and Tea by Will Once which sounds like it could be an interesting read. It’s a story from the point of view of a zombie so should definitely fit my love of the weird and unusual stories. Also another one that should fit in with the Halloween theme.

WWW Wednesday – 7 October 2015

October 7, 2015October 7, 2015 Ali@abookishlife5 Comments

It’s WWW Wednesday time.

The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. This is my second week taking part and am really enjoying it. It’s great to do a round up of the books I’ve been reading and to get some recommendations from other blogs.

WWW Wednesday The three W’s are:

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 seem to have managed to catch the cold at the weekend and am having a mad busy week at work so I have been bookless for the last couple of days. What I tend to do when I’m feeling sorry for myself or stressed is to pick up one of the books that lurks at the side of my bed. These include A Girls Guide to Kissing Frogs, I’ve Got Your Number, How Hard Can It Be and Jane Eyre. All girly, fairly romantic, in some cases funny and books I’ve read so many times I can just start reading at any point and be sucked in. Perfect.

Recently Finished

I finished Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes last week. Really good re telling of Peter Pan with quite a dark twist. Peter Pan was a creepy character and Neverland was not the happy cheery place from the Disney film. Even poor Tink was a bit of a pathetic creature. Unfortunately it finished on a cliffhanger so have to wait who knows how long for the next in the series. Definitely one I’d recommend though.

I also came across a great book review for know not why on mud and stars which convinced me I really needed to read it. Bought it on Saturday morning was finished by Saturday evening as I couldn’t put it down. One of the funniest stories I’ve read in while and definitely one to keep close at hand for when you’re in need of cheering up. I’ve been re reading bits on and off for the last couple of days. Hasn’t cured my cold but it’s still making me laugh.

Reading Next

I went on a bit of a mad book buying spree on Friday, Amazon is a dangerous place when there’s a sale on and you’ve just been paid. Needless to say the TBR collection on my kindle has now increased by 5 books. I bought Matched, Legend, The Night Circus, I Am Number Four and The Black House. I should probably be reading one of the other books I’ve had lurking for a while but so tempted to try one of these instead. What’s slightly worrying though is that 4 of the 5 are the first in a series and I’m incapable of starting series without finishing it. Hmm decisions, decisions…

What do you think? What should I start next?

WWW Wednesday – 30 September 2015

September 30, 2015September 30, 2015 Ali@abookishlife4 Comments

Yesterday I participated in my very first book tag so I’ve decided to keep trying new things and am taking on my very first meme. I’ve seen the WWW Wednesday meme popping up a lot and it looks fun so thought I’d give it a go. The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.

WWW Wednesday The three W’s are:

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

Yesterday I started Wendy Darling by Colleen Oakes. As you may have noticed I’m a big fan of fairytale re-tellings so when I spotted this new version of Peter Pan I couldn’t resist. I read Neverland by Anna Katmore back in April so this is my second Peter Pan book this year. This one however seems much more of a classic re-telling than Neverland which put a bit of a twist on the characters. Really enjoying it so far, finding it quite dark and sinister. Peter is kind of giving me the creeps but then I think there is something a bit odd about a boy who doesn’t want to grow up and seems to want to collect little boys.

If you look to the widgets on the right you will also see I’m currently reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I started this a few weeks ago got about half way through and came to a stop. Not sure I will ever actually manage to finish it. I’m obviously not that effective.

Recently Finished

My most recent read is Genie by Kitty French. Kitty French is the other pen name of Kat French who wrote one of my favourite books this year, The Piano Man Project.

This is a little more X rated than the Piano Man Project but I thought it was a great read. She’s a burlesque dancer and he’s the owner of a chain of gyms who wants to buy the theatre where she works and hates “strippers”. There are a lot of arguments and an undeniable attraction between the two of them. I’ll post a proper review soon but it’s definitely one I’d recommend if you like an erotic romance (and who doesn’t).

If nothing else don’t you just love the cover.

Reading Next

This is actually the hardest question for me as I usually don’t make up my mind till the very last possible moment. I currently have 103 books on my kindle TBR shelf so there are no shortage of options. It will no doubt depend on whether I feel like something light and funny or if I want something a bit darker.

I really, really want to read A Court of Thorns & Roses by Sarah J Maas but feel I should take a break for a month or so to recover from the last two books in the throne of glass series. I think therefore the most likely candidates for next read are either 3:34am by Nick Pirog or What Could Possibly Go Wrong by Jodi Taylor. Both are continuations of a series I love and are likely to be slightly silly reads.