It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
Would you inject magical blood to gain powers?
What powers would you hope to get?
Would you be a superhero or a villain?
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.
I missed last week’s WWW because … Christmas. And now this week it’s 2020 already?! When did that happen? Guess that’s what I get for missing a post.
But I guess happy 2020, everyone? It’s a fresh year, and I’m already way too excited for all the upcoming books. But for now, let’s get down to what I’ve read in the past two weeks.
Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
What to even say about this book? It was such a roller coaster ride of ups and downs. On the one hand, this book is creepy as hell and HOLY HECK I LOVE IT. Definitely spooked me out in the best possible ways. I rushed through the book a heck of a lot quicker than I expected, given its size, because I wanted to know what happened. But there were a lot of downsides to me. For one, this is Christian horror, and I feel like there was some misleading marketing going on here. I don’t mind Christian fiction, but I don’t like being lied to, and I hate books that end up preachy, which this was. The last 300 or so pages feel like a really long, uncomfortable sermon for so many reasons. It was also way longer than it needed to be. The book definitely could have been pared down and felt more immediate and suspenseful. And then there’s the writing. It’s repetitive. The entire novel is written mostly in short, punctuated sentences. It feels choppy. The main characters for sure don’t sound or act like seven-year-olds. Would I recommend this book? Ehhh … if you’re into Christian fiction, yes, because I think you’d get the most out of this. I enjoyed most of the book, but the ending was so blah that it felt like a disappointing way to end what started as an exciting read.
F*ck Your Diet: And Other Things My Thighs Tell Me by Chloé Hilliard
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
This was part memoir, part social commentary. It wasn’t quite as funny as I’d expected, but there were still moments I laughed out loud. There were more facts than I expected. I went in thinking it’d be more about Hilliard’s experience in life and struggle with food, but I was pleasantly surprised that she delved even deeper into society’s struggle with food and body image and sexuality. I’ll admit that, at times, it felt extremely random jumping from one topic to another, but I enjoyed the journey all the same. There were things that made me uncomfortable reading (like the chapter on sex, which I’m going to admit I only skimmed), but … I’m pretty sure that was sort of her point? I kinda failed that test. Oops? Oh man did I find so much of this relatable, though.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
★★★★★ || Goodreads
OMG. GUYS. I’ve been pretty vocal about the fact that I picked this up because Leelynn @ Sometimes Leelynn Reads recommended it (I mean, the fact that I saw other positive reviews didn’t hurt, either), and SHE WAS SO RIGHT. Why did I ever doubt her? Like she’s ever wrong. Pfft. I confess that I’ve never been very fond of Beauty and the Beast. But this retelling? Everything I was hoping for and then some. A damsel in distress who takes matters into her own hands, who fights for her freedom, who doesn’t let her cerebral palsy define her. A prince who has learned his lesson but also lost all hope. A loyal and mysterious body guard. A magesmith who’s dark and sadistic. And dark this book is, guys. Wonderfully so. If you haven’t read this yet, you definitely should.
A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
Sooo … I didn’t love this one as much as the first one, and that sort of breaks my heart. Especially since I picked it up right after the high of the first. This book focuses on Grey, which is fabulous. I liked him in the first book and wanted to know more. The problem was that there’s no Rhen and Harper. Like, hardly at all. The entire book is about Grey and Lia Mara, neither of whom felt like they had a strong enough character to carry the book. Lia Mara struck me as a discount Harper, except her whole “struggle” was that she was too nice and wasn’t as vicious and callous as her mother and sister. Essentially, she was complaining it was so hard being a Mary Sue. I predicted most of the plot ahead of time. The good parts, though? Jake and Noah play a bigger role in this book, and that’s fun. We also get a bigger glimpse of the world, introducing a new race known as scravers, and I love it. Plus … magic! I enjoyed the way it’s shown and expanded on.
The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
Did I pick this up solely because of the author? Why, yes, yes I did. I was expecting something a bit funnier and more whimsical, given the author. This wasn’t bad, but it felt dry. I’d say it’s more for younger MG, because the plot had almost no real conflict and it was mostly about friendship, which is cool. I was just thinking this would be more action-adventurey. There were some really cute jokes, though, and I did enjoy the friendship aspect. Plus, there are some cute pages that show you how to do some magic tricks (tongue-in-cheek, of course).
Reviews Posted This Week
Infinity Son by Adam Silvera
Status: 48%
Balancing epic and intensely personal stakes, bestselling author Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son is a gritty, fast-paced adventure about two brothers caught up in a magical war generations in the making.
Growing up in New York, brothers Emil and Brighton always idolized the Spell Walkers—a vigilante group sworn to rid the world of specters. While the Spell Walkers and other celestials are born with powers, specters take them, violently stealing the essence of endangered magical creatures.
Brighton wishes he had a power so he could join the fray. Emil just wants the fighting to stop. The cycle of violence has taken a toll, making it harder for anyone with a power to live peacefully and openly. In this climate of fear, a gang of specters has been growing bolder by the day.
Then, in a brawl after a protest, Emil manifests a power of his own—one that puts him right at the heart of the conflict and sets him up to be the heroic Spell Walker Brighton always wanted to be.
Brotherhood, love, and loyalty will be put to the test, and no one will escape the fight unscathed.
Okay, first, I still can’t believe I got this ARC? Um, what? But second … OMG SUPERHEROES! Yeeeees. <3 I mean, it’s still YA and not adult, but I’m really not very picky about this.
If you’ve seen any reviews about this so far, I fall in line with the biggest complaint everyone else seems to have: lack of world-building. I want to love this world so much, but it’s just so confusing, and it doesn’t feel well explained. It’s basically modern Earth plus magic, with a warped history, obviously, to accommodate magic. Oh, and magical beasts! Did I mention the phoenixes? Because there’s those, too. Be still, my fangirl heart.
So far, there’s been a good bit of action, which is exciting. There’s a reluctant hero, which is one of my favorite kind. Is this a mind-blowing read so far? No. But I’m sure enjoying it, and I can see it being really popular for young YA readers.
For #ARCApocalypse, I’ve decided to start off the new year with a group buddy read of The God Game, which I’m super excited about. It’s supposed to be a week long, but let’s be honest, I’ll probably finish it in a few days. Especially if it’s as good as it sounds.
My New Year’s Resolution (or one of them, at least) is to stay ahead of my ARCs in 2020 so I actually release my reviews on time. *gasp* Sorcery, I know. I’m super excited about all these 2020 releases, though, so I’m fine with it. That means that up next will be Burn the Dark, which is a horror action-adventure and it just sounds like something I really need in my life.
Then, many thanks to Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight for sending me her ARC of Black Girl Unlimited to continue on my goal of reading more diverse books this year. Listen, I’m always here for wizards. I’m sort of interested to see how this magic ends up mixing with a real-world setting.
Can’t wait to see what you think of Burn the Dark! And mouth shut till you finish IS lol
Now I have to go return Imaginary Friend. -_- I don’t like disappointing endings and it is too long. I picked it up because I sent it to David although I doubt he will read it. But Christian freaky. I figure if he did read it the worst he could do is hit me unconscious with the brick. Whatev. I’ll exchange it for something else and there’s always something else. lol
… oh nooo. Wait, is mouth shut a good thing or a bad thing?! You have to tell me at least which way it’s swinging now that you said iiiiit!
Dang, I’m sorry. D: Yeah, it was a bit of a disappointing way to end a 700-page investment, for sure, which is such a shame, because the first half or so of the book was so freaking good.
I dont have to tell you anything. Lol there are still nooks and crannies of my mind you apparently havent found the key to. And actually if you see my WWW you’ll laugh about my being all mr mysterious. Because. Me.
You have to tell me everythiiiiing. I could pry, but … I’m a little nervous to wander around this place without a guide. Or protection.
I thought you had gargoyles to protect you?? Lol
The gargoyles are ornamental. Guard duty wasn’t in their contracts.
[…] too excited. I need to reign it in just a bit. But it is sooooooooooooo hard to do! Especially when Sam slides into my twitter DM’s and just happens to ask if I’ve happen to have heard about […]
I had no idea that Neil Patrick Harris had published a book. From the cover I would have expected it to be more whimsical too. Happy reading this week! ❤️
I didn’t either until I stumbled across it shelving books at the library! I love my job, but also, who knew there were so many interesting books I haven’t heard of yet?! What gives?
It was fun and heavy on the magic, which was good, but definitely not what I would describe as whimsical, so that was a bit disappointing. I’m debating if I really want to try the second book or not, but I know sometimes first books are hard.
I recently finished The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. It has rich world building (even the idioms are based on things that exist in the world), and the magic is beautiful and lends to epic battles. I’m still in my book hangover phase, so I haven’t found my next read yet.
I hope to stay ahead on ARCs in 2020 too. I always find a way to fall behind, but maybe if I get an early start…one can hope!
I absolutely KNOW I’m going to love The Way of Kings when I read it. But I also know that it takes forever for me to read a Sanderson book, because I love it so much that I want to savor it. I might just make it a goal this year to read one Sanderson book a month until I catch up LOL.
That’s my plan! I’ve already got a good jump on my January ARCs, so, you know, starting the year off right. 😉 I can’t remember if I’ve seen you, but have you joined #ARCApocalypse? It’s hosted by Destiny @ Howling Libraries, and if you haven’t heard of it, you should maybe check it out!
YAY I’m so glad to see that you loved ACSDAL but a little sad to see that you didn’t enjoy AHSFAB as much 😭 I’m really curious now! I haven’t read anyone’s thoughts on the book yet until now, but I LOVED Grey and was totally rooting for him in ACSDAL so maybe I’ll feel differently about the sequel? All I know is that I’m HELLA excited for it. But maybe should tamp down my excitement 😂 Looks like you’re set for some awesome books already this month! Hope you enjoy all of these reads, Sammie! Happy new year and happy reading 🥳
Oh my gosh, Dini, I don’t even knoooow. I should be posting my review for AHSFAB next week. Or maybe this week. Depends on how long it takes me to be able to pull my thoughts on it together. I’m still so torn. I thought I would love Grey in the second, but I just … didn’t as much. I liked him, for the most part, but it wasn’t love. My opinion seems to be a veeeery unpopular one, so you’ll probably be fine LOL.
I’m sorry you read so many mediocre books this week! I didn’t know either that Imaginary Friend was Christian fiction. I can imagine it would have been nice to know that before you started it. I hope the first week of the new year brings a bunch of great reads! 🙂
Hey, you can’t win every week. Definitely feel like it’s nice to know these things before you pick up a book!
I’m reading The God Game right now and it’s a lot of fun! Definitely a quick read and I’m getting lost in the story and flying through pages pretty quickly😁 Happy New Year, Sammie!
I picked it up today, and I’m already 25% of the way through. xD I can’t stop reading it haha. I’ve just been introduced to the actual game, so it may be a little early to say this, but I sort of want this in real life?
That’s about where I am! Now back to reading😁
Enjoy your reading!
I’m currently reading children of virtue and vengeance!
(www.evelynreads.com)
Oooh, I noticed that was released recently. How are you liking it?
So far so good!
After your assessment of Imaginary Friend here I’m probably going to pass on reading it after all. Not a genre/reading experience I’m interested in at all, especially for the page investment.
I didn’t do a WWW this week (taking a small break), but might I interest you in my top 5 post instead? I hope you’re having a wonderful New Years.
https://musewithmeblog.com/2019/12/31/top-5-books-i-read-in-2019/
Yeah, I totally understand that. It wasn’t quite what I expected, which is a shame. I do hope maybe he’ll write more along those lines, though. He did a good job with the horror aspect.
You had me at CP – I’ve added A Curse So Dark & Lonely to my TBR. Also, I had the exact same thoughts about The Magic Misfits. It was just fine and occasionally funny.
And, obviously, teleportation would be my #1 superpower. So convenient….
Molly https://silverbuttonbooks.com/2020/01/02/www-wednesday-january-1-2020/
I hope you love it! I went in with reservations and it just blew me out of the water.
Have you read Magic Misfits #2? I’m still debating whether I want to read it or not. Teleportation would be soooo nice.
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