WWW Wednesday | 14/10/2020

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?

 

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is my most recently finished book. I finished it a couple of days ago and to be honest it didn't leave much of a lasting impression. I thought it was just a fairly average paranormal romance, it was cute but forgettable. I am still going to read the rest of the books in the series because I own them but I don't think it's one that I'll be holding on to after I do finish.

 

What are you currently reading?

 

I'm currently reading Joyland by Stephen King as my physical read. I've fallen ever so slightly behind with my October TBR just by how many pages I should be reading. I actually should have finished this by now but I'm still only just over 100 pages in. I am enjoying it though, I'm loving the setting and the writing although the horror aspect hasn't emerged yet. I'm hoping I can get most of the way through this today and get back on track.

 

One of Us Is Next by Karen M. McManus is my current ebook read, it's a library hold that I knew I wanted to get to in October. I have read One of Us is Lying and Two Can Keep a Secret and thought they were ok. I'm surprisingly really enjoying this one though, I think McManus's writing has improved a lot. I'm invested in the characters and the plot, I'm just hoping the ending isn't lacklustre.   

 

I also just started Daja's Book (Circle of Magic #3) by Tamora Pierce on audio. I've only listened to one chapter so I have no idea where the plot is going to go but I've been enjoying this series so far and I'm excited to continue. 

 

What do you think you'll read next?

 

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill is going to be the next book I pick up physically. I'm hoping to smash this one out in a day because it's super short and hopefully super creepy. I have seen the film but a lot of people do say the book is far better.

 

Set on the obligatory English moor, on an isolated causeway, the story has as its hero Arthur Kipps, an up-and-coming young solicitor who has come north from London to attend the funeral and settle the affairs of Mrs. Alice Drablow of Eel Marsh House. The routine formalities he anticipates give way to a tumble of events and secrets more sinister and terrifying than any nightmare: the rocking chair in the deserted nursery, the eerie sound of a pony and trap, a child's scream in the fog, and most dreadfully--and for Kipps most tragically--The Woman In Black.

 

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!

Top Ten Tuesday | Super Long Book Titles

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is  hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This Weeks Topic Is...

Super Long Book Titles and this was pretty difficult. I tried to keep it to books that are actually on my TBR and although I have a lot of books on there, it still took me a while to compile this list. I do like long book titles though, they can be a bit wordy but they're nearly always loads of fun. 

#5OnMyTBR | Historical

So, I needed something to post on monday for when I don't have any reviews to put up and I came across this series that highlights 5 books on your TBR that fit a specific prompt and I really liked the idea so I thought I'd give it a go. I don't know if I'll be participating every week but I'll probably do it when I find a prompt interesting and I have books that fit. This meme was created by E. @ Local Bee Hunter's Nook and you can find the announcement post here. Also, side note, these aren't necessarily books that I own physically but they're all on my Goodreads TBR and they'll mostly be the five most recently added. 

This Week's Prompt is...

Historical. I have quite a few historical books on my TBR so I tried to choose 5 set in different decades or eras to mix it up a bit.

 

1. The Companion by Katie Alender

 

The other orphans say Margot is lucky. Lucky to survive the horrible accident that killed her family. Lucky to have her own room because she wakes up screaming every night.

And finally, lucky to be chosen by a prestigious family to live at their remote country estate.

But it wasn't luck that made the Suttons rescue Margot from her bleak existence at the group home. Margot was hand-picked to be a companion to their silent, mysterious daughter, Agatha. At first, helping with Agatha - and getting to know her handsome older brother - seems much better than the group home. But soon, the isolated, gothic house begins playing tricks on Margot’s mind, making her question everything she believes about the Suttons... and herself.

Margot’s bad dreams may have stopped when she came to live with Agatha – but the real nightmare has just begun.   

 

This sounds like a super creepy gothic thriller and it's one I only discovered recently but it's very high on my want to read list.

 

2. Forget This Ever Happened by Cassandra Rose Clarke

 

Sometimes there's a town called Indianola.

And sometimes there isn't.

Summer, 1993. Claire has been dumped in rural Indianola, Texas, to spend her whole vacation taking care of mean, sickly Grammy. There's nothing too remarkable about Indianola: it's run-down, shabby, and stifling hot, a pin-dot on the Gulf Coast.

Well, there is one remarkable thing, she discovers. Something otherworldly.

But if you leave Indianola, you forget about it... and if you stay, you have to live with it every day.

Because there's a confluence of energies at Indianola, a fissure in time and space, a gap in reality. Nothing is as it seems. And unless Claire can figure out this town--the talkative lizards under the pecan trees; the honey-sweet but terrifying girl next door; the cute daughter of a powerful family, who would answer Claire's questions if she had any answers; the pervasive sense of history coming unspooled, like a video tape--she might never leave. 

I haven't read too many books set in the 90's but it's an era I'm really interested in (I only lived through the last four years of it!) and this sounds incredibly interesting. 

3. Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff

 

Chicago, 1954. When his father Montrose goes missing, twenty-two year old Army veteran Atticus Turner embarks on a road trip to New England to find him, accompanied by his Uncle George, publisher of The Safe Negro Travel Guide, and his childhood friend Letitia. On their journey to the manor of Mr. Braithwhite, heir to the estate that owned Atticus’s great grandmother, they encounter both mundane terrors of white America and malevolent spirits that seem straight out of the weird tales George devours.

At the manor, Atticus discovers his father in chains, held prisoner by a secret cabal named the Order of the Ancient Dawn, led by Samuel Braithwhite and his son Caleb, which has gathered to orchestrate a ritual that shockingly centers on Atticus. And his one hope of salvation may be the seed of his, and the whole Turner clan’s destruction.

I know that a tv series based on this book has just been released and I'm interested in watching it but want to read the book first of course!

4. Little Witches: Magic in Concord by Leigh Dragoon

Jo, Beth, Amy, and Meg March are four sisters living in Concord with their parents—Father, who's tending to soldiers fighting in the Civil War, and Marmee, who teaches the girls simple but effective witchcraft. The Marches have to keep their craft quiet, as there are many in Concord who see magic in a bad light—especially after things have begun disappearing. When Mr. Laurence, a witchfinder, moves in next door to investigate the missing objects, the girls fear for their livelihood. But he turns out to be a kind old man, and his grandson, Laurie, quickly befriends the Marches. As the cold winter blusters on, the girls continue their education, even as missing objects soon turn into missing people. Things take a turn for the worse when Jo and Laurie try investigating on their own, and a dangerous storm takes hold of Concord. There's powerful magic at play here—stronger than anything the Marches, or even Laurie, has ever seen before. Can they hope to defeat it? Or has the magic already become too strong for them to fight against?

This is a graphic novel based on the book Little Women by Louisa May Alcott and it sounds adorable and there's magic mixed in! I'm not overly keen on the art style, if we're going by the front cover, but I still would very much like to read it at some point.

 

5. The Wrong Kind of Woman by Sarah McCraw Crow 

   

In late 1970, Oliver Desmarais drops dead in his front yard while hanging Christmas lights. In the year that follows, his widow, Virginia, struggles to find her place on the campus of the elite New Hampshire men’s college where Oliver was a professor. While Virginia had always shared her husband’s prejudices against the four outspoken, never-married women on the faculty—dubbed the Gang of Four by their male counterparts—she now finds herself depending on them, even joining their work to bring the women’s movement to Clarendon College.

Soon, though, reports of violent protests across the country reach this sleepy New England town, stirring tensions between the fraternal establishment of Clarendon and those calling for change. As authorities attempt to tamp down “radical elements,” Virginia must decide whether she’s willing to put herself and her family at risk for a cause that had never felt like her own.

This sounds like an interesting exploration of feminism in the 70's and I think a book I would really enjoy.

Are any of these books on your TBR? If you've already read them, let me know what you thought! Leave a comment with your own #5OnMyTBR posts for me to check out! Happy Reading! 

Down The TBR Hole #5

It's my birthday today! I'm 24 and I can't believe i'm practically in my mid-20's! It's crazy but that's not the focus of today's post because we're back for another round of Down the TBR Hole! Ok, so I may or may not have added another 50 books to my TBR since my last post mostly due to the fact that I read a post that compiled all of the books being released this month and may have gone a bit crazy with the adding. So, I now have more books on my TBR then I started with so I'm definitely going to be a little tougher this week.

The rules   

1. Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
2. Order on ascending date added.
3. Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
4. Read the synopses of the books
5. Decide: keep it or should it go?

Book Review | Milkshakes For The Almost Dead by Lulu Wood

Title: Milkshakes for the Almost Dead
Author: Lulu Wood
Publication Date: 21st June 2020 by Handsome Words
Format: ebook via Kindle Unlimited
Target Audience: Young  Adult
Genre: Mystery  

Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk, Waterstones

 

Welcome to Lattering, the surprise of your summer.

In a sleepy seaside town full of secrets and lies, first love, missing girls, hot boys, psychopaths in cowboy boots and bodies on the beach, sixteen year-old Diana will make the best friends she’s ever had, during the worst summer of her life.

After her dad is arrested, scholarship student Diana is forced to move to Lattering with her crazy aunt, Vita. With no friends and two boring jobs, Diana thinks her life can’t get any worse, until the day they find a body on the beach...

 

                                                                         Rating

WWW Wednesday | 07/10/2020

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 Dread Nation by Justina Ireland last night and I really, really enjoyed it. I loved the alternate history aspect and the story progressed really well. The action was strong and this is coming from someone who doesn't normally care about zombies (never seen The Walking Dead!) but I liked how they were incorporated into the historical side. My favourite part though was Jane and Katherines friendship, they're a terrific badass team. There's some good asexual and bisexual rep in her as well.

 

What are you currently reading?

I've just started Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and this is been a quick read so far although I am only around 30 pages in. This is a partial reread for me because I think I read a third of this book like ten years ago but I never finished it. And I now own the whole series for some reason so when paranormal creature prompts came up in the readathons I'm doing I knew I had to add this and finally get to this series properly. This is a paranormal romance between a human girl and a werewolf boy and although I'm not a massive fan of paranormal romances, I do really like Maggie Stiefvaters writing so hopefully me and this book get along.

 

I also began reading Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu which is a graphic novel about a witch and a werewolf and their relationship with a few supernatural goings on thrown in. So i'm actually reading two wolfy books at the minute! Being a graphic novel, I'm already 25% in and it's already so cute and super autumnal. I love the art style and I think i'm really going to like this. 

 

What do you think you'll read next?

 

I'm picking up Joyland by Stephen King next for the Spooktober Readathon and I'm looking forward to this because I've been enjoying Stephen King's writing and this one is set in a carnival which I absolutely love but actually, beyond it's setting I don't know too much about it!   

 

Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.

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!

Top Ten Tuesday | Book Covers That Give Me Major Fall Vibes

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature that highlights ten books that all relate to a certain topic and is  hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. 

This Weeks Topic Is...

Book Covers That Give Off Major Fall Vibes and I loved this prompt! I love any excuse to showcase book covers and my favourite ones. I basically just scrolled through Goodreads for half an hour going yep, that one gives me fall vibes, yep, that one gives me fall vibes... I hope some of these make you think of Fall and the Autumn months as well!

Down The TBR Hole #4

 

The rules   

1. Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
2. Order on ascending date added.
3. Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
4. Read the synopses of the books
5. Decide: keep it or should it go?

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

I am still interested in reading this book, I haven't read any of A.S King before but I know a lot of people like her writing and she's definitely an author I want try in the future.

 

Verdict: Keep

 

 

Rival by Sara Bennet Wealer

 

You know when you just know a book is no longer pulling you in or interesting you? That's the feeling I'm getting from this book. I think I probably would have picked this up back when it was published but now I just don't see myself ever getting to it.

Verdict: Remove

Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore

 

This synopsis is give me major Buffy the Vampire Slayer vibes but I'm just worried it might turn out to be a bit cheesy? I don't know, I think I might still give this a shot.

 

Verdict: Keep

 

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

 

I definitely still want to read this book. I don't own it but I think it's one I'll be able to get from my library. So many people love Ruta Sepetys's books and I'm also really interested in reading some of her newer releases as well.

 

Verdict: Keep

 

Wake by Lisa McMann  

2000's paranormal fantasy with a generic synopsis. Sorry but no thanks...

 

Verdict: Remove

 

XVI by Julia Carr  

I remember this being one of the first books I ever bought on Kindle and my mum not being keen on me reading it because I was fourteen and there were mentions of sex in the synopsis! Well, my mum had nothing to worry about because it's been nearly ten years and I still haven't read it! It's still on my kindle though so I'll probably get around to it someday.

 

Verdict: Keep

 

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

 

The whole descendent of dragons thing sounds cool but again paranormal romance just isn't really my jam and I don't think I'd ever really pick this up on my own.

 

Verdict: Remove

 

Wicked: Witch & Curse by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguie

 

Normally witches would be totally my thing but this has got some really low ratings and some reviews mention stuff that I really don't want to read about so I think this one is going.

 

Verdict: Remove

 

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs 

I was going to give this a chance but a lot of reviews mention that this super fluffy and cutesy and I think I'm just past that stage in my reading. I think there are other mermaid centric books out there with a bit more depth.

Verdict: Remove

Life, After by Sarah Darer Littman

A lot of people have been saying this is an underrated gem and I haven't read many books that handle the topic of refugees and immigration so I'd like to pick this up in the future.

 

Verdict: Keep

 

This Week:

Kept: 5

Removed: 5 

Overall: 

 

Kept: 20

Removed: 20

 

I'm really sticking to this keeping it equal thing, huh? I'm going to try and be a little tougher next week though!