WWW Wednesday – March 16th, 2022

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!


Currently Reading

  • The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams – audiobook
  • Jade Legacy (Green Bone Saga, #3) by Fonda Lee – physical book

I’m less than halfway through The Reading List and I’m already in love. Books about books are always good, but something about this one actually evokes the emotions and connections you make as a reader. I can’t explain it. I haven’t even finished this one yet and I already want to recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Jade Legacy is obviously the best. At this point, I truly think Fonda Lee can do no wrong. This series is so unique and interesting and I love every second of it. My only regret is that I hadn’t done a re-read before diving into this finale. There’s so much I’ve forgotten!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2)  by Sarah J. Maas – physical book
  • Firekeeper’s Daughter  by Angeline Boulley – audiobook, buddy read
  • The Luxe (Luxe, #1)  by Anna Godbersen – physical book, buddy read, re-read
  • Steelheart (The Reckoners, #1) by Brandon Sanderson – audiobook

I’ve had a really great reading month in March so far. We can say that I’ve been too busy reading and that’s why I haven’t been posting lately, HAHA! But it’s been a bit of a mixed bag in the books I’ve picked up. I was really disappointed by House of Hollow and Stalking Jack the Ripper. I have THOUGHTS about Sky and Breath (probably unpopular ones honestly), but I did enjoy Firekeeper’s Daughter and Luxe. 

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Daughters of a Dead Empire  by Carolyn Tara O’Neil – ebook, ARC
  • Court (Crave, #4) by Tracy Wolff – physical book
  • A Tale of Magic (A Tale of Magic, #1) by Chris Colfer- 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 23rd, 2022

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!


Currently Reading

  • House of Sky and Breath (Crescent City, #2)  by Sarah J. Maas – physical book
  • Firekeeper’s Daughter  by Angeline Boulley – audiobook, buddy read
  • The Luxe (Luxe, #1)  by Anna Godbersen – physical book, buddy read

Still slowly making my way through Sky and Breath. I can’t speed read through this series, as they tend to be very dense with so much going on at once. Definitely the type of book to slowly savor, at least for me. I just started Firekeeper last night and am barely a couple of chapters into it, so not much of an opinion just yet on it. I have also started rereading Luxe. I first read this trilogy back during my freshman year of college and loved it. I don’t remember a whole lot about it, so it’ll be interesting to see how goes this time around!

What did you recently finish reading?

  • Our American Friend  by Anna Pitoniak – ebook, ARC
  • The Age of Witches  by Louisa Morgan – audiobook

I really enjoyed Our American Friend! I haven’t read any Cold War-centered fiction before (at least that I can recall), and so this was a unique perspective that I really enjoyed. I loved seeing how life could have been for those living under the Soviet regime. I definitely recommend this one if you’re in the mood for a different kind of historical fiction read.

Sadly, I cannot say I recommend Age of Witches. The story felt unnecessarily long with very slow pacing. The conflict wasn’t interesting, though I did like the characters.

What do you think you’ll read next?

  • Jade Legacy (Green Bone Saga, #3) by Fonda Lee – physical book
  • Daughters of a Dead Empire  by Carolyn Tara O’Neil – ebook, ARC
  • Court (Crave, #4) by Tracy Wolff – 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 Book Outlet Book Haul

I finally got book buying itch recently during Book Outlet’s July sale and so I finally pulled the trigger and ordered a nice little box full of goodies. If you aren’t familiar with Book Outlet, it’s an online bookseller that sells new and used book at serious discounts. They focus on selling overstock, bargain bin, etc. books so you’re always getting a really great deal. They also have special sales all of the time which lowers their crazy prices even further. I think I usually average around $7 for a brand new hardback… Yep, you read that right! The only downfall to Book Outlet is that they currently only ship to Canada and the U.S. But if you are able, I highly recommend checking them out!


Book Haul

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Hush (Hush, #1) by Dylan Farrow

I haven’t seen much on this book since its release, but I’ve had it on my radar ever since that cover was first revealed. It’s so pretty, right?!

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Layoverland  by Gabby Noone

The synopsis of this book sounds like so much fun. I am here for a little bit of purgatory!

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Seasons of the Storm (Seasons of the Storm, #1)  by Elle Cosimano

A Jack Frost retelling?? Yes, you heard that right!

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Decline and Fall  by Evelyn Waugh

This is apparently an English classic and humorous tale about 1920’s high society. I had never heard of until recently but it does sound like a lot of fun!

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Tilly and the Bookwanderers (Pages & Co., #1)  by Anna James

I have been on the biggest middle grade kick recently and this book sounds like it has everything that I love about that genre. Whimsical fun set amongst classic children’s novels coming to life sounds like the makings of a new favorite to me.

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The Girl and the Witch’s Garden  by Erin Bowman

I find Bowman to be such a good author. She had me hooked from her debut novel so I’m really excited what she can do with her first foray into middle grade.

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Pachinko  by Min Jin Lee

I feel like I’ve put off this award-winning novel for far too long.

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Vampires Never Get Old: Tales with Fresh Bite  edited by Zoraida Cordova & Natalie C. Parker

I will fully admit to still loving any story to do with vampires. I feel like there’s something that will never not be badass about those bloodsuckers. I also know that Schwab’s story is currently being filmed as a new show for Netflix, so you know I have to check out the original before it arrives!

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From Unseen Fire (Aven Cycle, #1)  by Cass Morris

I am very much into a fantastical alternate history version of Ancient Rome. Reviews say this book focuses a lot of the plot on political intrigue which makes me very excited!

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A Tale of Magic… (Tale of Magic, #1)  by Chris Colfer

Another middle grade that I’ve heard some pretty good things about!

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The Luxe (The Luxe, #1)  by Anna Godbersen

I actually read this series back when I was in high school but I don’t remember much about it except that I really enjoyed it. I plan on doing a buddy reread for it with Geronimo Reads soon to see if we both still enjoy it this second time around… Controversial Opinion (for me): I actually prefer the original covers with the dresses, as they definitely reflected the Gilded Age setting much more.

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French Exit  by Patrick DeWitt

This sounds like such a funny, weird and quirky story that would be nice palate cleanser from my usual fantasy novels. Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a novel set in Paris?

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My Calamity Jane (The Lady Janies, #3)  by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton & Jodi Meadows

I read the first book about Jane Grey but haven’t read the second one on Jane Eyre but I do own it, so I hope to pick them both up soon to finish out the series.

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The First Man in Rome (Masters of Rome, #1)  by Colleen McCullough

I’ve read some of Colleen’s other books and enjoyed them so I’m glad to pick up this one. It’s another Ancient Rome setting.. I’m sort of sensing a theme here. Haha!


What books have you recently purchased?  Have you read any of the books I just ordered?  If so, what did you think of it?

Books I’ve Removed From My TBR

I went through a previous Goodreads TBR purge a couple of years ago. However, I know I have added A LOT more books to the list since then and I just feel like I know that I’ll never get to the over 400 count of novels on there at this point. I think it’s always a good idea to go through and remove some of those books that you have lost interest in actually reading. For me, seeing such a high number of books to read is a little daunting and I don’t want to feel so much pressure from that. With that being said, I decided to go and remove some books from that list. Maybe one day I’ll get to them…


We Told Six Lies by Victoria Scott

I think that YA thrillers just don’t really shock or surprise me anymore. They’re usually pretty cliche and I figure out the “twist” or ending before I’m even halfway through the book. Except for Sadie, that book is a total gem.

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

I was originally really excited about this book, but I think over time I’ve realized how many novels I’ve already read about the Trojan War. I don’t know that this book will be able shed any new light on the myth than has already been written about, that’s including the war from the women’s point of view.

Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

There is a strong push right now in YA Asian-inspired fantasies and I am totally here for it! However, this book just doesn’t grab my attention as much as some of the other recent releases and its kind of just fallen to the wayside. I haven’t seen a whole lot of reviews on it either and so I’m going to push this one to the side for now. Maybe I’ll come back to it at some point?

When We Caught Fire by Anna Godbersen

I was super excited about this book when I first heard about it. However, most of the reviews that I’ve read since its release has definitely lowered my expectations on it. It seems like Chicago’s Great Fire (which is supposed to be where the plot is based around) barely makes an appearance and instead it’s just one big love triangle. I don’t mind love triangles, but I was really hoping for a lot of tension due to the fire…. Guess not, huh?

Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne

I usually really enjoy a good retelling, especially if it’s turned into a science fiction story. But now that I think about it, I’m not super interested in Jane Eyre retellings. Give me something else and then maybe I’ll bite!

Isle of Blood and Stone (Tower of Winds, #1) by Makiia Lucier

I’ll be honest, I don’t even know what this book is supposed to be about. Probably a good enough reason to remove it from my TBR then.

Cracked (Soul Eaters, #1) by Eliza Crewe

Yet another book that I have no idea what it’s about. I also don’t ever remember adding this one to my TBR in the first place, so there’s that as well.

A Study in Charlotte (Charlotte Holmes, #1) by Brittany Cavallaro

Apparently this is a pretty popular series that’s basically a contemporary gender-bent retelling of Sherlock Holmes. I think at this point that I’m just not interested in this series anymore. It seems like a story that I probably would feel very meh about.

The Enchanted by Rene Denfeld

I originally only got this book because PeruseProject bought it and really liked it. But I should’ve know that wouldn’t be a good enough reason as the synopsis isn’t really something that I’d usually be interested in.

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

After reading The Female of the Species, I’ve realized that McGinnis just isn’t an author that I mesh with. Her writing style is a tad annoying and I find it hard to really be drawn into her stories.


 Do you regularly clean out your TBR? Do you notice a pattern in the books that your remove? Have you read any of the books that I listed? If so, what did you think of them?

 

My Recent TBR Adds That You Might Not Have Heard Of

If you’re like me, then you’re always on the lookout for new books that you haven’t heard of to add to your Goodreads TBR shelves. In the last few months I’ve come across quite a few interesting books that have piqued my interested and just had to add them to my never-ending TBR list. And because I’m such a nice person (*wink wink, nudge nudge*), I’ve decided to share some of these recent additions in hopes that maybe you’ll find at least one that interests you as well!


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The Disasters by M.K. England

The Breakfast Club meets Guardians of the Galaxy in this YA sci-fi adventure by debut author M. K. England.

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.

But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.

On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.

They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.

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When We Caught Fire by Anna Godbersen

It’s 1871 and Emmeline Carter is poised to take Chicago’s high society by storm. Between her father’s sudden rise to wealth, and her recent engagement to Chicago’s most eligible bachelor, Emmeline has it all. But she can’t stop thinking about the life she left behind, including her childhood sweetheart, Anders Magnuson. Fiona Byrne, Emmeline’s childhood best friend, is delighted by her friend’s sudden rise to prominence, especially since it means Fiona is free to pursue Anders herself. But when Emmeline risks everything for one final fling with Anders, Fiona feels completely betrayed.

As the summer turns to fall, the city is at a tipping point: friendships are tested, hearts are broken, and the tiniest spark might set everything ablaze. Sweeping, soapy, and romantic, this is a story about an epic love triangle—one that will literally set the city ablaze, and change the lives of three childhood friends forever.

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The City of Lost Fortunes by Bryan Camp

The fate of New Orleans rests in the hands of a wayward grifter in this novel of gods, games, and monsters.

The post–Katrina New Orleans of The City of Lost Fortunes is a place haunted by its history and by the hurricane’s destruction, a place that is hoping to survive the rebuilding of its present long enough to ensure that it has a future. Street magician Jude Dubuisson is likewise burdened by his past and by the consequences of the storm, because he has a secret: the magical ability to find lost things, a gift passed down to him by the father he has never known—a father who just happens to be more than human.

Jude has been lying low since the storm, which caused so many things to be lost that it played havoc with his magic, and he is hiding from his own power, his divine former employer, and a debt owed to the Fortune god of New Orleans. But his six-year retirement ends abruptly when the Fortune god is murdered and Jude is drawn back into the world he tried so desperately to leave behind. A world full of magic, monsters, and miracles. A world where he must find out who is responsible for the Fortune god’s death, uncover the plot that threatens the city’s soul, and discover what his talent for lost things has always been trying to show him: what it means to be his father’s son.

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Mirage (Mirage, #1) by Somaiya Daud

In a star system dominated by the brutal Vathek empire, eighteen-year-old Amani is a dreamer. She dreams of what life was like before the occupation; she dreams of writing poetry like the old-world poems she adores; she dreams of receiving a sign from Dihya that one day, she, too, will have adventure, and travel beyond her isolated moon.

But when adventure comes for Amani, it is not what she expects: she is kidnapped by the regime and taken in secret to the royal palace, where she discovers that she is nearly identical to the cruel half-Vathek Princess Maram. The princess is so hated by her conquered people that she requires a body double, someone to appear in public as Maram, ready to die in her place.

As Amani is forced into her new role, she can’t help but enjoy the palace’s beauty—and her time with the princess’ fiancé, Idris. But the glitter of the royal court belies a world of violence and fear. If Amani ever wishes to see her family again, she must play the princess to perfection…because one wrong move could lead to her death.

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Always Never Yours by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

Megan Harper is the girl before. All her exes find their one true love right after dating her. It’s not a curse or anything, it’s just the way things are, and Megan refuses to waste time feeling sorry for herself. Instead, she focuses on pursuing her next fling, directing theatre, and fulfilling her dream school’s acting requirement in the smallest role possible.

But her plans quickly crumble when she’s cast as none other than Juliet–yes, that Juliet–in her high school’s production. It’s a nightmare. No–a disaster. Megan’s not an actress and she’s certainly not a Juliet. Then she meets Owen Okita, an aspiring playwright who agrees to help Megan catch the eye of a sexy stagehand in exchange for help writing his new script.

Between rehearsals and contending with her divided family, Megan begins to notice Owen–thoughtful, unconventional, and utterly unlike her exes, and wonders: shouldn’t a girl get to play the lead in her own love story?

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The Oracle Year by Charles Soule

Knowledge is power. So when an unassuming Manhattan bassist named Will Dando awakens from a dream one morning with 108 predictions about the future in his head, he rapidly finds himself the most powerful man in the world. Protecting his anonymity by calling himself the Oracle, he sets up a heavily guarded Web site with the help of his friend Hamza to selectively announce his revelations. In no time, global corporations are offering him millions for exclusive access, eager to profit from his prophecies.

He’s also making a lot of high-powered enemies, from the President of the United States and a nationally prominent televangelist to a warlord with a nuclear missile and an assassin grandmother. Legions of cyber spies are unleashed to hack the Site—as it’s come to be called—and the best manhunters money can buy are deployed not only to unmask the Oracle but to take him out of the game entirely. With only a handful of people he can trust—including a beautiful journalist—it’s all Will can do just to survive, elude exposure, and protect those he loves long enough to use his knowledge to save the world.

Delivering fast-paced adventure on a global scale as well as sharp-witted satire on our concepts of power and faith, Marvel writer Charles Soule’s audacious debut novel takes readers on a rollicking ride where it’s impossible to predict what will happen next.


What are some recent additions to your Goodreads TBR shelves? Are you interested in any of the books on my list? Have you read any of the books on my list?