It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
What happens when the dragons awaken?
Who is the mysterious woman in the night?
Who is trying to kill the queen?
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.
The Whisper Man by Alex North
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I don’t read a whole lot of thrillers, but guys, this one was really good! I’m a real sucker for stories that involve creepy rhymes that kids know and adults seem to ignore (because adults are silly). The overall plot itself was fairly predictable. I mean, just from the synopsis, you can pretty well guess what’s going to happen. However, it’s the little plot twists and surprises that really carry this book. Plus, North does a fantastic job of crafting a creepy, chilling atmosphere.
The Sign of Nine by G.S. Denning
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I confess that I didn’t like this book as much as book three, but I wasn’t particularly disappointed, either! Like the rest of the series, this was funny and fun, and it introduced more fantasy creatures than I think the other books? It was a nice surprise getting to see more of the supernatural. Holmes, of course, is his normal self, but Watson is more conflicted in this book, and who can blame him? Life with Warlock Holmes isn’t particularly easy. I have to say that one of my favorite additions is a character who basically serves the same function as Kenny from South Park. Which is to say he dies. Often and in varied ways. Only to be brought back, of course. I loved all the different unexpected ways it happened, and I giggled every time. Poor guy.
A Hero Born by Jin Yong
DNF @ 17% || Goodreads
So … I tried this. First, I want say that it was pitched as a Chinese Lord of the Rings, which is why I picked it up, but in some instances I’ve seen it compared to Game of Thrones … and no. It’s not like either. I feel like this is a disservice to this novel, because Eastern literature, especially classic Eastern literature, is not like Western literature, classic or otherwise. It sets up entirely unmet expectations. What this is, however, is a classic example of wuxia, and I did enjoy the different styles of fighting. The fight scenes weren’t particularly exciting or engaging, but they were easy to follow. The translation was also better than I expected! The prose flowed well enough, especially compared to some Chinese or Japanese translations I’ve read, and it didn’t feel really choppy. In the end, though, this one just wasn’t for me. There wasn’t enough plot to keep me interested, and there were too many characters and too much happening without explanations. I just had trouble following it and realized that I just didn’t care. After about the fourth time one of the female characters contemplates suicide because it’s the only thing she can really do, I decided to just DNF it. I’m no stranger to helpless leads, but this one was just too much for me.
Reviews Posted This Week
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon
Status: 7%
A world divided.
A queendom without an heir.
An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for a thousand years. Still unwed, Queen Sabran the Ninth must conceive a daughter to protect her realm from destruction—but assassins are getting closer to her door.
Ead Duryan is an outsider at court. Though she has risen to the position of lady-in-waiting, she is loyal to a hidden society of mages. Ead keeps a watchful eye on Sabran, secretly protecting her with forbidden magic.
Across the dark sea, Tané has trained all her life to be a dragonrider, but is forced to make a choice that could see her life unravel.
Meanwhile, the divided East and West refuse to parley, and forces of chaos are rising from their sleep.
I’m just going to warn you now that this book will probably be on my currently reading for a while, because it’s freaking long. This is a group read with Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads, Dini @ DiniPandaReads, Haley @ The Caffeinated Reader, Hannah (@asillustratedby), and Merril (@natural_wizard). I know these lovely ladies will keep me at it, and honestly, this book seems so much less daunting when reading it as a group!
I’ve only just barely started this (chapter 2, actually), but I’m enjoying it so far. There’s already some mystery, stabbiness, and DRAGONS. Especially dragons. I think I’m going to really like this one.
I haven’t started it yet, but I do plan on starting Steel Crow Saga today, since I’m expecting The Priory of the Orange Tree to be a bit of a long, slow read.
I’m still really feeling this dystopia thing, so I’m so excited for the chance to read Verify, which was comped to Scythe by Neal Shusterman (and I’m sure you all know how I feel about that one by now! *insert fangirl flails here*). It’s also giving me low-key Giver vibes, so I can’t wait to pick it up!
I’ve started seeing some reviews coming out about The Bone Ships, and I couldn’t be more excited for this one, too. First of all, DRAGONS! As Leelynn has so graciously described me before, I am a dragon ho, and quite proud of it. I will read all the dragon books, please and thank you.
WOAH BACK THE SYTHEDOM UP. I have an ARC of Verify and to be perfectly honest I have been dreading like the plague though I’m not sure why. I dont remember that comparison happening…. damn it. I’m already in the middle of SCS and Bone Houses… oh hell it’s short… here we go.
Thank you!
I DON’T KNOW, BUT I SWEAR I SAW IT ON EDELWEISS OR SOMETHING AND DIDN’T TOTALLY MAKE IT UP. I’m, like, 95% sure it wasn’t a figment of my imagination. Especially since I specifically mentioned that when I requested the ARC on Edelweiss and nobody called me looney. xD But yeeees, I can’t wait to hear what you think of it now! I so hope it lives up to it. I feel like I haven’t read a lot of great dystopia this year, even though I had every intention of it, and that’s disappointing.
Yeah those are some big shoes to fill. I peaked at GR and it isnt doing well. I did read another book she wrote- Time Bomb. It is basically the middle school entry of This is Where it Ends. I’m wondering if i go in with the mindset of knowing to not expect an older YA book itll make a difference
Yeah, I saw that it wasn’t super high on Goodreads, but at the same time, I’ve had books rated 4* on Goodreads that I DNF’d, so I take that rating with a grain of salt. xD I’m planning on going in without expectations the best I can.
Good idea… you know for my strick rule about reading reviews before writing mine, I need to apply the same about scanning goodreads before choosing what book to read next. I never had an option over the summer because the summer Fling was such a tight schedule. And now this whole mood thing has me out of sorts so when I feel like I’m having a hard time getting started I scan my choices in GR, which really is an ass backwards way to do it. The only thing it can accomplish is discouraging you out of books you were psyched to read. Thx!
I will confess that I do sometimes before reading ARCs, just to get an initial atmosphere for it. And then I know whether I should lower my expectations. Honestly, though, if I’m unsure about a book, I like to go and look at my Goodreads friends and how they’ve rated it, because I usually have an idea about where my tastes stand versus theirs. xD It’s cheating, but at least it gives me an idea of what to expect!
Oh I don’t think it is cheating or anything like that… for me I think it is even more about building up my voice and self-esteem. I don’t tend to trust myself. So if I see too many reviews or hear too many other thoughts I doubt myself or start thinking WTF am I even doing this for. So I try not to. I did with Unpregnant just because it was such an important topic and I thought the context of what others were saying was important. So I wrote my review and then looked. And I’m really glad I did because I talked about it, in the review.
I try not to look at reviews because I feel like I end up parroting them instead of just speaking my own thoughts. So pretty similar to what you said. Even if I liked a book and didn’t realize something, if I read too many reviews beforehand, I might be like, “Oh, yeah. You know, I hadn’t noticed that, but they’re right.” It’s a little disingenuous if I like the book slightly less in retrospect just because of other’s comments, so I try not to look until after my review is written.
You’ve pitched a tent in my head again, haven’t you?
I’m thinking of making something a bit more permanent at this point. Maybe a little cabin sort by the lake? I’m not sure what’s in the water, but I’m sure it’ll be fine as long as I don’t get too close. 😉
Sweetheart you know I watch American Horror Story, right? There is a dark side up in that head of mine where My Chemical Romance resides by Gerard is a pussycat, really lol
I want to to pontificate with you on the dystopian letdown you just said but Nyquil is keeping me from thinking coherently about that genre releases this year
I love dragons too, but weirdly I’m far more taken in by the title The Bone Ships. How literal we talking here? Whose bones? How big is a bone ship? I require more skeletal information. I look forward to reading your thoughts on it, in any case. Have a great week!
https://musewithmeblog.com/2019/09/11/www-wednesday-september-11-2019/
Well, the summary says ships made out of dragon bones, so … you can have your dragons and sail them, too!
I’m dying to read Steel Crow Saga and The Bone Ships! I need more days in the month to get to everything though😁
Right? Wouldn’t that be nice? If someone could work on that, I’d appreciate it.
Bone Ships and Priory? Dragon ho is a hilarious description! 😂
So very accurate, too. But yes, I want aaaaaall the dragon books lately. And if I can read two dragon books at once, it’s like I’ve died and gone to heaven! With dragons! xD
I love the original Sherlock Holmes stories, how does Warlock Holmes compare?
It’s a comedy parody of them, so it’s like Sherlock Holmes + magic + humor. The parody semi follows the main plot, with some sub-plots added in, and little comedic and magical twists to make it unique. I wouldn’t go in expecting the gravitas of Holmes or a proper mystery. The magic is really in the humor and just craziness of it.
Okay I might give a go, thanks!
Hope you enjoy it! It’s one of my go-to fun series when I just want something quirky and light.
aaaah i’ve heard so many great things about the whisper man!!! verify looks pretty great i’m going to have to add that to my tbr
You should definitely read The Whisper Man next month if you can! It’d make a great Halloween read. 😉
A long book can be a good thing if you’re loving the story. Enjoy your dragons! 🙂
So very true! And usually I DO enjoy them. I just get intimidated by the size of it going in, because I’m silly. xD
You’re the second person I’ve seen who loved The Whisper Man – and also the second person who DNFed A Hero Born. That doesn’t bode well for the book. I’ve had Steel Crow Saga in my TBR for longer than I care to admit. Happy Reading, Sammie!
Yeah, I spoke to someone before I picked it up who had DNFed it, also, I honestly think it’s the marketing. It was not a smart decision, because if you’re going in expecting LotR or GoT, yeah, you’re going to be disappointed. It’s definitely got its own merits, and I KNOW there’s a good market out there fort his particular thing, but I felt like the comp titles just were not a good choice.
I am on a waiting list for The Whisper Man at my library. Can’t wait to read your review!!
Hope you get to read it soon! It was a good one. 🙂 Perfect reading for this time of year.
Glad you enjoyed The Whisper Man. I’ve been hearing a lot about that book lately. I’ll have to check it out! Have a great week of reading!
I hope you do! Perfect fall creepy reading. Enjoy!
The Priory of the Orange Tree sounds so good, I hope you enjoy it! I’ve heard a lot of good things. The Whisper Man sounds really interesting too, I’ll have to check it out. Happy reading. 😀
Thanks! I’m enjoying Priory so far. There’s just a loooot of characters. Gosh. I’d definitely recommend The Whisper Man! Hope you enjoy it. 🙂
I haven’t read any of the books you’ve mentioned here… There’s just too many books out there! Whoa! When Death Takes Something from You Give It Back sounds interesting to me, though! On my TBR now.
I totally agree, too many books and not enough time! It was definitely a powerful poetry collection. I hope you enjoy it when you get a chance to read it!
I really hope so!😊
I remember requesting The Whisper Man on Netgalley but was denied. I really liked its cover and the blurb seemed interesting. Glad you liked it. 🙂
NetGalley denials are a bummer. If your library has it, though, I’d definitely recommend picking it up. That’s where I read mine, and it was so worth it. :3
Sadly, libraries here in the Philippines are worse than Netgalley denials. maybe because I’m living in a third-world country but I think the only good library here is our National library but of course I haven’t seen others but the local library in my town, it’s just 15 minutes away from where I live but I don’t visit it. Just once and the experience almost made me cry. The scarcity of books is immense, especially their fiction section. I went there last year but their most recent books were 50 shades of Gray and Percy Jackson. It’s really, really sad.
So I thought I would donate some of my books, because of course, my own shelves look better, (i’ve been collecting since I was a kid) I have a lot and wanted to donate them BUT oh my God, the staffs there, from my experience talking to them, they’re not even readers and I hesitated. It’s so sad.
Awww man, that’s just really sad. =/ I want to be rich just so I can build random libraries in places that don’t have them. And then fund them, like you do, so they can stay open. Our library is tiny, but luckily, they do get new books regularly. I mean, not as many as I’d like and often not ones I’m interested, but I’ve been told the library isn’t all about me, and that’s unfortunate. xD
That was really sweet of you to try to donate your books, though. I just can’t fathom library staff that doesn’t read, though, at least to some extent. That just boggles my mind.
If only we really can be that rich, right. The world needs more libraries. As for the library staffs, I guess they’re just local government or town employees who got stuck/ assigned in the town library. It’s really sad. And I almost ask if I can workfor them but I’m busy writing my novel. 🙂
Well, sure, that comes first. You can always suggest them hiring you after you finish your novel. 😉
Yeah, I definitely will . 🙂 🙂
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