It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
Who’s on first?
What’s on second?
What’s the left fielder’s name?
Wait, no, that’s not right. We ask these three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @Taking on a World of Words.
Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
★★★★★ || Goodreads
THERE WAS SO MUCH TOYING WITH MY FEELS. And I don’t have many of them to start with, but I’m pretty sure a few snapped during the end of this book. I was all over the place. BUT AIDAN CAME BACK. I missed AIDAN. I’m so ready for the third book. Stuff is about to go down! All I can say is if you haven’t read this series yet, DO IT.
The Assassin’s Curse by Cassandra Rose Clarke
★★✩✩✩ || Goodreads
This book was so hard to rate, because it was enjoyable, but it wasn’t particularly satisfying. And if that makes sense to you, congratulations, you’re probably in trouble, because understanding my brain is never a good sign. The plot was interesting, and I liked Ananna as a strong, take-charge character, but there were so many gaps in … everything. It didn’t feel quite complete, and then the ending just sort of … stopped. I mean, obviously there was going to be a second book, but it would’ve been nice if there was a more natural split between the two.
The Pirate’s Wish by Cassandra Rose Clarke
★★★✩✩ || Goodreads
This second book fixed some of my gripes from the first book, but then, at the same time, added some completely new ones. In the end, this book was a better read for me. I was so caught up in the plot and wanting to see how it would end. And then end it did. Without anything really feeling wrapped up. It just didn’t feel complete. Eventually (soon, I hope), I’ll do a series review with both books and the short stories, where I’ll go into more detail.
The Manticore’s Vow by Cassandra Rose Clarke
Status: 33%
A vain assassin takes an assignment with dire consequences. An aristocratic lady fleeing her past is besieged by pirates. And a manticore princess sets out on a life-changing adventure.
The Manticore’s Vow collects three stories set in the world of Magic of Blood and Sea, all exploring the origins of some of its most memorable characters: Naji, the scarred assassin, Marjani, the pirate queen, and Ongraygeeomryn, the man-eating manticore. Explore a world of dangerous magic and thrilling adventures with this trio of gorgeous, swashbuckling tales.​
This is a book of companion short stories for The Assassin’s Curse series by Cassandra Rose Clarke. And can we talk about how gorgeous that cover is?! I have never wanted a manticore more.
So far, I’ve only read The Manticore’s Vow, and it feels a lot like the books. I enjoyed the little glimpse, but it’s still … missing something. It was meant to fill in a bit from The Pirate’s Wish about the manticore, but unfortunately, it raises more questions than it answers. I’m looking forward to learning more about Marjani and Naji, though, who seemed like promising characters in the series. Marjani was one of my favorites. :3
After reading I Have A Bad Feeling About This, I decided I needed to read more Jeff Strand. While I’m not usually a fan of situational comedy and absurdity, his characters were so darn relatable that I couldn’t help but love the book. I just happened to stumble across A Bad Day for Voodoo at my library this week and felt like I haven’t read comedy in a while, so it seems like as good a time as any to pick it up.
I enjoyed The Scarlet Pimpernel much more than I thought I would, so when I noticed the same author’s short stories were being rebundled into a collection, I jumped on it (and a big thanks to Edelweiss for the eARC). The Teahouse Detective: The Old Man in the Corner sounds like a great collection, and I need a little more mystery in my life.
The History of Soul 2065 is another eARC (from NetGalley this time). I’m a little on the fence about this one, because the idea feels a little out there, but I’m all for trying out new things. I have a feeling that I’ll either love it or hate it, and I’m really hoping for the love side of things, because it sounds really unique and interesting.
I haven’t read any books in the Illuminae series, but recently finished Aurora Rising by Kaufman and Kristoff, and it was fantastic. An easy 5 stars. https://teripolen.com/2019/05/22/www-wednesday-what-am-i-reading-amreading-25/
Ahhhh! I so need to read that! I’m excited. My library has been soooo slow with new books, and most of the ones I read, they don’t buy, even though I keep hoping. It’s looking like Aurora Rising is going to be one of those, which is okay because I’d really rather own it, anyway. xD Is that one that can be read on the Kindle, or does it have any special formatting (like the Illuminae Files) that would make it sort of hard to read in that format (since I can’t zoom in or anything)?
I have looked at The Assassin’s Curse so many times before, but from what you have said I don’t think it would be for me.
Happy reading.
I think it’s the sort of book where you really have to not think too hard about things to enjoy it. Maybe if you don’t read a lot of fantasy and you’re dipping your toes into it. I like worlds that are well defined, and that wasn’t the case here, unfortunately, which was my biggest problem with it.
I do read a lot of fantasy. I might try it if I am looking for a quick easy read but I won’t go out of my way 🙂
I never finished The Illuminae Files. I want to go back and reread so I can finish the series with it all fresh in my mind. Happy Reading!!
I highly recommend it. 😀 I think it’d be really easy to forget a lot of things if you don’t read them in succession. I can’t imagine having tried to read them as they were being released, because I would’ve forgotten so much lol.
The Teahouse Detective looks very interesting!!
Thanks!
I love those Middle Eastern looking covers. On a side note I have never even heard of a manticore before!
Oooh, the legends of them are varied, but super fun! Highly recommend reading about them. 🙂
The Teahouse Detective looks so good! I love a good, cozy mystery series. (Emphasis on the “good;” the last one I tried left me cold.) Let us know what you think of it!
I’ve found that a lot of them are hit or miss, for me, too. A lot of miss. I get so frustrated with mysteries when the solution is either so obvious that I solved it before the body cooled or so out there that I can’t fathom how XYZ could possibly be the culprit. It’s a really hard balance. For sure will let you know how it ends up being!
You’re continuing to get me feeling like I really ought to start The Illuminae Files. I’ll shelve it “to-read” for the time being, anyway. There are so many books to get to. Have a good week!
http://musewithmeblog.com/2019/05/22/www-wednesday-may-22-2019/
Oh good, then it’s working. 😀 I should give you a heads up, though, that you’ll have to suffer through at least one more mention of it, because I have the third book here to read. xD And then you’ll be freeeee. Sort of. There definitely are too many. I need to be able to read as fast as Reid from Criminal Minds.
I’ve never heard of Cassandra Rose Clarke’s book until now. The Teahouse Detective looks intriguing. Happy Reading.
I hadn’t heard of it, either, until I stumbled on it by chance. 🙂 Best sorts of discoveries, in my opinion.
Lol at the softball/baseball questions at the beginning.
Ahhh, I still need to read The Scarlet Pimpernel! I literally have a copy sitting on my shelf, but I just can’t seem to get around to it.
And holy crap, YES, that manticore is beautiful!
Actually, the questions are from a comedy skit! If you’ve never seen it before, I recommend it (you can find it right on YouTube). It’s “Who’s On First” by Abbott and Costello. Good old-fashioned comedy. :3
It was a little hard to get into, imo, but I did like The Scarlet Pimpernel eventually. It was a book club book, and I was one of the few who liked it, so I guess it’s one of those divisive ones (which I guess is common with classic books). I have a lot of books like that, those poor souls abandoned on my bookshelf. xD
Interesting! Yeah, I might go look it up.
And good to know! I’m keeping my fingers crossed I enjoy it! And yeah, classics definitely tend to lead to a lot of mixed feelings.
I’ve not heard of the Assassin’s Curse series, but I am so picky with fantasy lately that I probably should stay away. Gemina was definitely good, glad you liked it too! I am reading Wanderers by Chuck Wendig currently- I requested it because it sounded awesome (and it is!) but it is 800 pages and I am terrified of big books- how did I miss this!? But it IS really good so I am glad I am reading it! I am also picking up some shorter books on the side so I don’t lose my mind, but I am deciding on my next one right now which… is daunting. More daunting than the 800 pages hah.
I’ve found that the older I get, the more picky I am, too. Probably because I realize that my time is running out, and I can’t read all the books, for some reason? Never crossed my mind when I was a kid. xD
I’ve heard of Chuck Wendig in relation to screenplays and comics, but I didn’t know he wrote regular novels! Oooh, and it’s comped with The Stand. It sounds interesting. I’ll be looking for your review. 🙂 I hear you about the daunting books, though. The Priory of the Orange Tree has been on my radar foreverrrr now, and I thought I’d rush to read it when it was released, but … it’s 850 pages. xD And … that’s a lot. It is on $1.99 Kindle sale, so I did grab a copy. I just need to talk myself into setting aside a week to read it lol.