WWW Wednesday | 10/09/2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

WWW Wednesday | 09/04/2025

 

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I read Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar within a few hours on Sunday and really enjoyed it. Surprising considering this was a random library pick and I wasn't too sure if I was even going to read it before returning it but I'm so glad I gave it a chance. This was a dark, gritty crime novel set in the world of jazz that explores the life of a black gangster during the 30s-60s era and I thought it was very well written. 

What are you currently reading?

I'm about 25% in to Confessions by Catherine Airey which is told across three timelines/generations of women in one family in New York and Ireland. I'm loving this one, I love Airey's writing and the plot is extremely interesting as well. It's the book I'm reaching for the most at the moment.

I also just started The Burial Plot by Elizabeth McNeal which is set in Victorian London about a woman who pretends to be a lady's maid and end up working for a mysterious, wealthy family. I'm only 50 pages in but it's very good so far and I'm excited for the plot to kick in. I also need to finish it before Saturday when my books are being returned to the library! 

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm trying to read more backlist titles that have been sitting on my shelf for years so The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder is next up on my TBR. I got this when I was a teenager and firmly in my YA contemporary era but it's still one that sounds interesting plus it's also on my 25 in 25 list that I'm slacking on. 

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

 

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!     

WWW Wednesday | 04/02/2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Pick the Lock by A.S. King last night and I'm not totally sure I liked it all that much. I settled on a 2.5 rating cause I initially liked the whole metaphor for domestic abuse that the author was going for but the more I read the more it was just too confusing. The random opera snippets didn't do anything for me and then there was the whole rat thing?? Dunno but I would like to still try more stuff from this author.

What are you currently reading?

I'm just about to start Rouge by Mona Awad as I'm writing this so I don't have anything to report. I grabbed this at the library cause I've wanted to try this author for a while.

What do you think you'll read next?

I want to finally finish The Hunger Games trilogy this month so Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins is next on my list. 

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans—except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay—no matter what the personal cost.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!  

WWW Wednesday | 29/01/2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

WWW Wednesday | 22/01/2025

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

What did you recently finish reading?

WWW Wednesday | 24/01/2024

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

WWW Wednesday | 07/09/2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

 

What did you recently finish reading?

The Killing Code by Ellie Marney was such a fun read! I love that this was an historical mystery set during World War II about female codebreakers hunting a serial killer. The premise works really well, the mystery is well done and I loved the group of girls who use their skills to track down the murderer. Look out for my review closer to the release date. 

What are you currently reading?

It's taking me a while to get through House of Fiction by Phyliss Richardson. It's a chunky non-fiction about famous literary houses and where the author's got their inspiration from. The content is fairly interesting but it is slow and therefore I'm not reaching for it as much as I should be. Hoping to get the majority of it read this weekend. 

I picked up The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente on Monday and was immediately intrigued by the whimsical (and slightly odd) writing style. It feels very Alice in Wonderland and whilst I'm only around 50 pages in, I am excited to continue. 

I've taken a pause with listening to audiobooks on my commute for the minute and instead I've been getting my Kindle out on the train. I've started Elsewhere Girls by Emily Gale & Nova Weetman as it's a Netgalley book that I chose at random from the read now section. Two aspiring swimmers, one from present-day Sydney and the other from 1908, find they've swapped lives and must contend with the challenges of trying to get home. I like body-swapping books and hopefully this is also a fun read.

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm hoping to start on Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus in the next few days. This had a ton of buzz recently so looking forward to this one. 

Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.

But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.

    

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

WWW Wednesday | 10/08/2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

 

What did you recently finish reading?

I finished Whistle in the Dark by Emma Healey yesterday, a sort of literary mystery about a woman who's daughter goes missing for four days but upon her return refuses to talk about what happened as well as exhibiting some strange behaviour. I thought this was good, I enjoyed the writing and the overall atmosphere of it. It doesn't get as dark as I initially thought it would and it's slow but an interesting look at the relationship between mothers and daughters. 

What are you currently reading?

After finishing the 1963 radio dramatisation of The Hobbit, I decided to move on to the Andy Serkis narrated versions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy starting with The Fellowship of the Ring. Look, the audiobooks are looong so even though I've been listening to it on and off since the middle of July, I'm still only 44% in. Andy Serkis is just so captivating as a narrator though and I'm really enjoying it.  

I really should be focusing more time on Beguiled by Cyla Panin as I need to read it for a blog tour coming up at the end of the month, I'm just finding it hard to find time for it. It's building up nicely though, I'm 10% in and enjoying the fairy tale feel of it. I was always going to be intrigued about a weaver who makes a deal with a Bean-Nighe meaning she waves beautiful dresses but sacrifices a drop of blood each time. But these deals never end well...

A library pick that I know next to nothing about! On Midnight Beach by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick explores the summer of 1976 in Ireland where a dolphin is found at a local cove and four friends find themselves caught up in the frenzy. I've literally only read the prologue so don't have much to go on just yet. 

What do you think you'll read next?

Another library book that I picked at random is Who is Tom Ditto? by Danny Wallace. No idea what this book is about but seems like it could be a fun, upbeat read. 

Tom got a note from his girlfriend. It says she hasn't left him, but she's gone.

But where the hell is she? When is she coming back? And what is Tom supposed to do in the meantime?

With each new clue to Hayley’s whereabouts, Tom is forced to question whether he truly knows his girlfriend at all. Because who is Hayley really, anyway? Who is this other strange girl following him?

And who, for that matter, is Tom Ditto?

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

WWW Wednesday | 22/06/2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

 

What did you recently finish reading?

I really haven't been reading much this month so the last thing I finished was the audiobook for A Manual for Heartache by Cathy Rentzenbrink which was a super short listen at around 2 hours. This was a memoir/self-help book that examined grief and mental health building on the author's tragedy of losing her younger brother when she was a teenager. This was moving and had a lot of emotional moments. I related a lot to the content and overall it gave me a lot of useful ways of handling my own anxiety and depression. 

What are you currently reading?

I'm plodding through Gullstruck Island by Frances Hardinge. Annoyingly, it's just not hooking me even though I'm not actually disliking it or anything. I'm finding a lot of the characters and the worldbuilding confusing and hard to follow at times although I am less then 100 pages in. A normal person would probably DNF but I do like Hardinge's writing and the premise was so intriguing to me originally. I'm gonna stick with it and hopefully feel like picking it up a bit more.       

I'm listening to the BBC radio dramatization of the Agatha Raisin mysteries, a British cozy mystery series. I'm actually really enjoying it too. The murders are pretty standard and there's not much to them but it has such a good voice cast and I'm loving the bluntness of the main character. I've had to stop myself from laughing out loud on the train! I'm also reading the first book alongside it (although the audiobook is already onto the fifth or sixth by now) and I'm actually preferring the condensed version, the book itself doesn't have the snappy wit that I like. 

I've started We Made It All Up by Margot Harrison as I've got the blog tour coming up next month. I signed up because I really liked the sound of a YA thriller about the death of the town golden boy and all of these secrets coming to light. The beginning has already hooked me and I'm liking the alternating chapters between the before and after Joss's death. I'm 25% in and excited to keep going. 

What do you think you'll read next?

I really want to watch the new BBC adaptation that just came out but obviously being me, I have to read the source material first. I really enjoyed Dolly Alderton's fiction debut so I'm excited to delve into her memoir; Everything I Know About Love. It seems like it'll be poignant and relatable. 

When it comes to the trials and triumphs of becoming a grown up, journalist and former Sunday Times dating columnist Dolly Alderton has seen and tried it all. In her memoir, she vividly recounts falling in love, wrestling with self-sabotage, finding a job, throwing a socially disastrous Rod-Stewart themed house party, getting drunk, getting dumped, realising that Ivan from the corner shop is the only man you've ever been able to rely on, and finding that that your mates are always there at the end of every messy night out. It's a book about bad dates, good friends and - above all else - about recognising that you and you alone are enough.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

WWW Wednesday | 27/04/2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

 

What did you recently finish reading?

I loved The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud so much! A little bit of wild west, a little dystopia and a dash of fantasy, it all came together so well. It was such a fun adventure story with witty characters and action around every corner. It's only my second 5 star read of the year so far and it deserves every one of those stars. I can't wait for the sequel to be released in June.

What are you currently reading?

I started Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth on Monday, not got too far into it but I'm already not sure about it if I'm honest. We're basically following this woman in her mid-30's who is struggling with adulthood. I'm just not keen on Jenny (the MC) and her personality. She's so focused on social media and how she's perceived and the way she goes about things is just odd. But maybe that's the point 🤷. Let's just hope it picks up. 

Still working my way through Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard although I need to get myself in gear if I want to have it read and reviewed by the time the blog tour rolls around. The plot is interesting (two girls fake their deaths and make an escape to start a new life) but I'm just not feeling the intrigue yet. Fingers crossed that the second half cranks up the anticipation. 

I just started The Black Book of Secrets by F.E. Higgins yesterday as my new audiobook as I wanted something fun and mysterious but still light and I thought this ticked all those boxes. A boy becomes an apprentice to a pawnbroker who swaps cash for secrets, just sounds like a fun time. I'm a bit annoyed with myself though as I've listened to about an hour and yet my mind was wandering most of the time so I'm already a bit lost. Might have to go back and relisten to some chapters... 😬    

What do you think you'll read next?

I'm planning on doing a reread of one of my childhood favourites next as I recently bought a copy second hand. I adored Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale as a preteen so I'm hoping to still enjoy it as much as I did then. 

A short holiday with his mother turns out very differently for Joe than he could have imagined when he left home. Soon he is embroiled in a world of witchcraft, a world where the kind and innocent witches of Britain are facing a wicked foe. Can Joe and his young friend Twiggy put an end to the cunning plot, or will they, like their witchy friends, find the baffling mystery too hard to solve?

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

WWW Wednesday | 20/04/2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

 

What did you recently finish reading?

 

I finished Gallant by V.E. Schwab at the weekend and it was a creepy, atmospheric read with an interesting premise and of course, Schwab's beautiful writing. It wasn't a perfect book, I think I was unintentionally comparing it to Addie LaRue which was one of my favourite books of 2021 and I just didn't get the same amazed feeling after reading it. It was definitely enjoyable and I really liked how it was told, it just didn't astound me. 

What are you currently reading?

The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud has been such a thrilling, action packed adventure so far and I'm loving it! I'm almost halfway through and it's such fun, Scarlett and Albert have such a brilliant relationship where they've kind of been thrown together by circumstance and Scarlett isn't thrilled about it but Albert's just happy to be on the journey. It feels dystopian but we're starting to delve into the fantasy side of things now. It's been an exciting read so far and I'm looking forward to reading on.    

Dead End Girls by Wendy Heard is my main eBook at the moment as it's an arc for a book tour I'm participating on in early May. Two girls faking their deaths and going on the run just sounded really interesting to me. I'm only around 35% in so we've just started to get into the thick of the plot. I'll be interested to see if my interest will be sustained as YA thrillers are a bit hit or miss for me sometimes. 

Currently listening to Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay as my audiobook of choice. It's really interesting to listen to and there's a lot of commentary on pop culture and how feminism is viewed in the media, in particular women of colour. Roxane Gay has a really passionate voice and her emotions really come through in her writing. Some essays have definitely been more interesting then others e.g. The Hunger Games & her thoughts on The Help but others haven't stuck as clearly in my head. I have just over an hour left so gonna knock it out by the end of the week. 

Lastly (phew!) I'm reading In An Instant by Suzanne Redfearn on my kindle although it's only in the last couple of days that I've found the motivation to read it consistently. I've had some time to myself at work/been on my lunch break by myself so I've just whipped out my kindle to get some reading done. I'm kinda sad that I neglected this so much though at the beginning as I'm really enjoying it the more and more I read. The way this has examined human nature in the wake and aftermath of a fatal car crash and the implications it means for the survivors has been really poignant and devastating. I have 25% left and looking forward to see how it wraps up. 

What do you think you'll read next?

Next up is another library borrow, I picked Adults by Emma Jane Unsworth up cause I enjoyed Ghosts by Dolly Alderton and it was giving me similar vibes from the synopsis. This hasn't got as many good reviews but I'm going in open-minded. 

Jenny McLaine is an adult. Supposedly. At thirty-five she owns her own house, writes for a cool magazine and has hilarious friends just a message away.

But the thing is:

• She can’t actually afford her house since her criminally sexy ex-boyfriend Art left,

• her best friend Kelly is clearly trying to break up with her,

• she's so frazzled trying to keep up with everything you can practically hear her nerves jangling,

• she spends all day online-stalking women with beautiful lives as her career goes down the drain.

And now her mother has appeared on her doorstep, unbidden, to save the day…

Is Jenny ready to grow up and save herself this time?

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!

WWW Wednesday | 22/12/2021

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Taking On a World of Words that highlights three questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you'll read next?

 

What did you recently finish reading?

 

The Bone Garden by Heather Kassner was a super quick fantasy/horror for middle grade readers that I whizzed through. It had such a readable quality with short, digestible chapters and a fun mystery to solve. Some aspects were solved too easily and the stakes didn't feel quite high enough at times but there was plenty to enjoy. 

 

What are you currently reading?

I'm a little ways in to The Vanishing Stair by Maureen Johnson, the sequel to Truly Devious. I haven't really been picking it up over the last few days but I am off for the next week and a half so I'm hoping to get more reading done. I loved Truly Devious and although some people aren't keen on the rest of the series, I'm excited to see where the mystery goes.  

 

I'm also reading The Christmas Killer by Alex Pine as I was in the mood for another thriller but of course it's December so why not make it festive?! This one doesn't have the best reviews but I was intrigued by the whole 'twelve days, twelve murders' plot so hopefully it doesn't disappoint too much. 

What do you think you'll read next?

 

Continuing with my festive reads, I bought In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren a few months a go from a charity shop and have been saving it for the Christmas period. I'm very excited to start it and can't wait for some holiday romance with a groundhog day twist. 

 

It’s the most wonderful time of the year…but not for Maelyn Jones. She’s living with her parents, hates her going-nowhere job, and has just made a romantic error of epic proportions.

But perhaps worst of all, this is the last Christmas Mae will be at her favorite place in the world—the snowy Utah cabin where she and her family have spent every holiday since she was born, along with two other beloved families. Mentally melting down as she drives away from the cabin for the final time, Mae throws out what she thinks is a simple plea to the universe: Please. Show me what will make me happy.

The next thing she knows, tires screech and metal collides, everything goes black. But when Mae gasps awake…she’s on an airplane bound for Utah, where she begins the same holiday all over again. With one hilarious disaster after another sending her back to the plane, Mae must figure out how to break free of the strange time loop—and finally get her true love under the mistletoe.   

 

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What are you currently reading and hoping to pick up next? Leave a comment or link your own WWW Wednesdays below for me to check out!