Tag: Andrew Smith

WWW Wednesday – April 17th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

 

  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) by Neal Shusterman – physical book, buddy read
  • The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston – audiobook

I’m only about 150 pages into Jade City but I’m enjoying it so far. It’s definitely one of those books that you can’t speed through, as the world is very immersive and detailed. I catch myself having to reread some paragraphs a few times until I really understand what was being said. It may take me a lot longer to finish this book than I originally planned.

I am loving Scythe. I meant to finish this past weekend but I ended being busier than I anticipated. I hope to finish it in the next couple of days though. I’m excited to see what’s going to happen next!

I just started The Lying Woods so it’s still a little early to form any opinions yet. I loved Elston’s previous novel so I have high hopes for this one as well!

What did you recently finish reading?

 

  • Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry – audiobook
  • Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy, #1) by Maria V. Snyder – audiobook

I absolutely loved Heretics Anonymous. It was really fun and I enjoyed the play of family dynamics amidst the issues going on at the Catholic school. I was surprised how well the religious discussion in the story was very nuanced, not swaying so far one way or the other. I appreciated that it wasn’t just one big hate fest, like I originally expected it to be.

I’m really surprised that no one is talking about Navigating the Stars. It’s such a unique concept, which is really appreciated since YA tends to rehash the same stories. I definitely recommend trying it out if you’re a fan of science fiction.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1) by Holly Black – physical book
  • The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James – audiobook

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – April 10th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) by Neal Shusterman – physical book, buddy read
  • Heretics Anonymous by Katie Henry – audiobook

I’ll admit that I haven’t read any of Jade City since last week. I mean to read this past weekend, but I just wasn’t in the mood. I really do plan to get some reading done in this one though in the next few days!

I started buddy reading Scythe last night and holy moly, I sped through almost 100 pages in an hour. Not a whole lost has really happened but something about the story itself and the writing just has me hooked. I even brought it to work to read during lunch (when I should have brought Jade City instead…Oops!). Something about this world that Shusterman has created is so intriguing. I cannot wait to see where this story will take me.

I only have two hours left in Heretics Anonymous and I’m enjoying this book so much. I love the story and the characters. I know I’ll be finishing this one up today and I’m really excited to see how this will end. I just want Max to have a happy ending. We must protect this sweet little cupcake at all costs!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, #2) by Julie C. Dao – audiobook
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book

I actually DNFed Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix. But since I made it through about 50% of the book, I think it should count. Let me just say, that even though I really didn’t enjoy the first book because I hated the main character so much, I still wanted to give this sequel a chance since it followed a different character… WRONG WRONG WRONG! I actually hated Jade even more. I’m pretty sure she was supposed to be 18 but she acted like she was 10. I seriously couldn’t figure out if I was reading a YA novel or a Middle Grade. Plus, the story was boring as hell. Honestly, I’m tossing Dao into the ring of authors I just can’t read.

I surprisingly enjoyed The English Wife more than I thought I would. I loved the murder mystery set in the Gilded Age. I thought it was a good idea for the author to go back and forth in time allowing us to follow the events leading up to the murder and get to know that side of the story, while also letting us follow the events afterwards as they try to solve the mystery. Also, I’m just a sucker for the “charismatic reporter” trope. I will never not love it.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy, #1) by Maria V. Snyder – audiobook
  • Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1) by Holly Black – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – April 3rd, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, #2) by Julie C. Dao – audibook
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book
  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book

I finally decided to just go ahead and finish the Rise of the Empress duology, when I was making a few exchanges on my Audible account. I wasn’t a big fan of the first novel but with this sequel following Jade, I thought I’d give it a chance. It’s interesting so far but I find Jade to be kind of a dud. She’s too timid and lacks much of a personality, but maybe that’ll change as I get further into the story.

I’m not too far into The English Wife yet, but I’m already pulled into the intrigue of the story. I love how the murder mystery is being explored. I’m a sucker for historical fiction and the Gilded Age setting is wonderful. I can’t wait to see how the story plays out.

I haven’t gotten but a few pages into Jade City so I haven’t formed any sort of opinion on it yet. I’m just excited to finally be reading it!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga, #1) by Kiersten White – physical book, RTC
  • Honor Bound (The Honors, #2) by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre – physical book, RTC
  • Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – audiobook, REVIEW
  • The Beautiful Strangers by Camille Di Maio – audiobook

I got through quite a few books this past week and that’s never a bad thing. I really enjoyed all of these for the most part. I was a little disappointed with The Beautiful Strangers and it only ended up being an average forgettable read for me. The rest were all great, especially Honor Bound and Daisy Jones & The Six.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy, #1) by Maria V. Snyder – audiobook
  • Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1) by Holly Black – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

 

My April TBR

I didn’t get to all of the books I wanted to read in March, so there will be a bit of an overflow into this month’s TBR. But I think that’s alright, because I really want to get to these books soon rather than continue to push them aside until later. So yes, my TBR this month is once again a bit ambitious but I’m alright with it. Let’s kick some reading ass in April!

My TBR

  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Kingdom of the Blazing Phoenix (Rise of the Empress, #2) by Julie C. Dao – audiobook, currently listening
  • The Mirk and Midnight Hour by Jane Nickerson – physical book
  • The Game of Love and Death by Martha Brockenbrough – physical book
  • Navigating the Stars (Sentinels of the Galaxy, #1) by Maria V. Snyder – audiobook
  • And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga, #1) by Kiersten White – physical book, currently buddy reading
  • Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1) by Holly Black – physical book
  • Lifel1k3 (Lifelike, #1) by Jay Kristoff
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book, currently reading
  • Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) by Neal Shusterman – physical book, buddy read
  • The Lying Woods by Ashley Elston – audiobook

This may look like a really extensive TBR, but with 3 of these being audiobooks which I can speed through pretty quickly, I’m not too worried about it. I think I have a really good mix of genres as well this month which will help me from getting too bored as well. I think I was actually starting to get burned out on fantasy last month, so this mix should help fix that problem somewhat.

What do you plan to read during April? Do you have a set TBR or are you a mood reader? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think about them?

WWW Wednesday – March 20th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms, #6) by Morgan Rhodes – physical book
  • Fawkes by Nadine Brandes – audiobook
  • And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga, #1) by Kiersten White – physical book, buddy read

I’m finally making progress with Immortal Reign after a busy weekend. I should have it finished before Friday if I can keep up this pace. Fingers crossed….

I just started listening to Fawkes yesterday and am loving it so far! I love how Brandes is retelling this historical event and combining it with magic and fantastical elements. I can’t wait to find out how this will all end. Will the gunpowder go off? I guess I’ll find out soon enough!

Currently buddy reading And I Darken with Geronimo Reads and am really enjoying it so far. Lada is such a little badass and I love seeing how her mind is constantly moving. I’m not sure what to expect with how White rewrites history. It’s going to be exciting!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo – audiobook, 5/5 Stars
  • Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison – audiobook, 3/5 Stars

I really loved The Night Tiger. It was so different from anything else I’d ever read and I loved the mix of Chinese mythology and historical fiction. I wasn’t expecting it to turn into a murder mystery, which only added to the plot tension. I highly recommend this book to everyone!

Whiskey When We’re Dry was an interesting story, if a little slow to really get into the plot. This was my first western book in a way, and I probably shouldn’t have dived back into the genre with literary fiction. It was a little too dry (HA!) and lacked as much action as I was hoping for.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – March 13th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison – audiobook
  • Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms, #6) by Morgan Rhodes – physical book
  • The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo – audiobook

I’ve finally put a dent in Whiskey When We’re Dry. The story has finally started picking up plot-wise and the tension has definitely amped up a bit. I should finish it within the next day or so.

I haven’t been reading much of Immortal Reign but I definitely plan to finish it by this weekend. It’s very exciting and engaging, I just got a little sidetracked by my other reads and also watching Black Sails on Amazon Prime, haha. I have a thing for pirates, what can I say?!

The Night Tiger has been such a surprising delight! I love the learning more about Chinese mythology and how it’s woven throughout the story, especially in regards to the mystery. And the mystery!! It keeps pulling me back in, as I can’t way to find out what’s going to happen next and find out how it will all end. I highly recommend this book, especially the audiobook that’s read by the author.

What did you recently finish reading?

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  • Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) – physical book, buddy read

This book was interesting. It wasn’t quite what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it overall. My favorite part of the book was Mr. Burns and he was honestly what kept pulling me back into the book. It did seem to drag a bit in the middle but I thought the ending was really fun. I do plan to continue with the series and find out what will happen next after that cliffhanger.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

My March TBR

Here I go again by not posting my monthly TBR with already one week down in the month… Eh, who cares. I have no qualms about being completely unorganized and never planning ahead more than a day or two with my blog posts. Seriously, how do those of you who have blog posts scheduled like a month in advance?!! Tell me your ways, pretty please!

My TBR

  • Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison – audiobook, currently listening
  • Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) by Sylain Neuvel – physical book, currently buddy reading with Britt @ Geronimo Reads
  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • The Night Tiger by Yangsze Choo – audiobook
  • And I Darken (The Conqueror’s Saga, #1) by Kiersten White – physical book, buddy read
  • Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms, #6) by Morgan Rhodes – physical book, currently reading
  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book
  • Tithe (Modern Faerie Tales, #1) by Holly Black – physical book
  • Honor Bound (The Honors, #2) by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre – physical book
  • Lifel1k3 (Lifelike, #1) by Jay Kristoff

I’m being very brave with my TBR this month but I really want to go for it! I feel like I can get through it, especially with some of these exciting books which I can just see myself speeding through. I plan on mixing more genres other than YA into my reading for the rest of the year and I think this month’s choices are a good way to ease myself into it.

What books do you plan on reading this month? Have you read any of the books on my list? Have you changed up your reading habits or plan to this year?

WWW Wednesday – March 6th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison – audiobook
  • Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms, #6) by Morgan Rhodes – physical book
  • Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) – physical book, buddy read

I haven’t really listened to any of Whiskey When We’re Dry lately. It’s such a slow moving story, that I don’t push myself to really listen to it during the day. It’s kind of been temporarily replaced by the What Should I Read Next? podcast… Oops!

I just started Immortal Reign last night but didn’t get very far into it as it was The Bachelor Women Tell All episode and yeahhhhh, you know how it. Haha! But I am really excited for this series finale!

Sleeping Giants is definitely not what I expected. So many strange and weird things have been going on that I definitely wasn’t prepared for. I think my favorite part of this story is the characters. They’re so different and every single one is entertaining in their own way, especially the mysterious interviewer.

What did you recently finish reading?

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  • The Fever King (Feverwake, #1) by Victoria Lee – eARC, review to come

I really enjoyed this book. It was very addictive and super engaging from start to finish. And while I really liked the characters, they were also all very morally ambiguous which made me both love them and also want to smack them at some point or another.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • The English Wife by Lauren Willig – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – February 27th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison – audiobook
  • The Fever King (Feverwake, #1) by Victoria Lee – eARC
  • Sleeping Giants (Themis Files, #1) – physical book, buddy read

I’m going really slow with Whiskey When We’re Dry as it’s a literary fiction and that makes for a much slower read, even as an audiobook. I’m doing a buddy read of Sleeping Giants with my friend, Britt @ Geronimo Reads. We are going slow with it as well, reading 50 pages at a time. It’s really interesting so far and I’m definitely excited to see where this story is going to go next. I’m a little over a quarter way through The Fever King and I’m pretty obsessed so far. I love this dystopian/fantasy futuristic version of the United State. I also like how there’s an air of mystery to the entire plot that just makes it so hard for me to put down this book. Sooo good!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • Bloodwitch (The Witchlands, #3) by Susan Dennard – physical book, review scheduled
  • Pride by Ibi Zoboi – physical ARC, review to come

Let me go ahead get this off my chest…. Pride just wasn’t very good. I really enjoyed how Zoboi weaved modern themes like class and gentrification into this retelling of Pride and Prejudice, but the characters were not good. Zuri is just a bitchy version of Elizabeth Bennett and her only redeeming quality was her loyalty to her family. She is definitely not someone I’d want to be friends with. I really just wanted to slap her the entire book and really took away any enjoyment I was getting from the story.

Bloodwitch was a great installment in The Witchlands series. The only issue I had was that due to the two years time lapse since the previous book, I remembered almost zero percent of the plot which made it hard for me to really get into the story from the beginning. Luckily, it was full of action and PLENTY of our fave, Aeduan. I’m really hoping the finale comes out next year or I will freaking riot!

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms, #6) by Morgan Rhodes – physical book
  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC
  • Jade City (The Green Bone Saga, #1) by Fonda Lee – physical book

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!

WWW Wednesday – February 20th, 2019

Welcome to WWW Wednesday which is currently being hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. It’s really just a place to do little update on what all you’ve been reading lately. Anyone is welcome to join, just leave a link to your post in the comments and be sure to give the appropriate credit to Sam!

The Three W’s are:

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

What are you currently reading?

  • Whiskey When We’re Dry by John Larison – audiobook
  • Bloodwitch (The Witchlands, #3) by Susan Dennard – physical book

I’m still in the first chapter of Whiskey When We’re Dry so I don’t have an opinion on this one yet. It’s a literary fiction Western which I expect will may it more of a slower listen than my usual historical fiction audiobooks.

Okay, I’m 100 pages into Bloodwitch and it’s making me realize that I should’ve reread the first two books in the series before picking this one up. Two years is a long time between releases and I remember absolutely NOTHING from the previous books. I mean I vaguely remember bits an pieces, but that’s about it. I do remember that I love Aeduan so I can’t complain that he has such a big part in this one.

What did you recently finish reading?

  • A Curse So Dark and Lonely (A Curse Do Dark and Lonely, #1) by Brigid Kemmerer – physical book, review scheduled
  • Reign of Mist (The Oremere Chronicles, #2) by Helen Scheuerer – audiobook

I super enjoyed A Curse So Dark and Lonely. It was a really unique spin on the original fairytale, with some pretty kickass characters. I’m really glad that we’re getting a sequel to the story because there is so much more to explore in this world. I can’t wait to see what will happen next!

Reign of Mist was a really good follow up to the first book. I loved seeing all of the characters come together in different ways, each bringing a new perspective to the war that is brewing. Bleak is still my fave character and Swinton is growing on me as well. I really have no idea what will happen in the next book!

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Immortal Reign (Falling Kingdoms, #6) by Morgan Rhodes – physical book
  • Pride by Ibi Zoboi – physical ARC
  • Rabbit & Robot by Andrew Smith – physical ARC

Still trying to work my way through all of my BookCon 2018 ARCs. If I can knock out two more this month, I will feel a whole lot better about myself. And of course it’s time for me to finish the Falling Kingdoms series. I’ve been putting it off because I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to these characters but I think it’s finally time. I just really want a happily ever after for Magnus…

What are you currently reading? What books did you finish this week? What are you planning on reading next? Have you read any of the books on my list? If so, what did you think of them? Leave a link to your WWW Wednesday post in the comments below!