It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
Would you learn blood magic?
Would you pledge yourself to a god?
Would you seek to become one?
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.
A Time of Dread by John Gwynne
★★★★★ || Goodreads
Okay, so, first thing about this book: it’s freaking gory. Surprisingly so. Even more surprising is that usually stuff like that turns my stomach, but I did okay with it here. Once I got into the world, it was like … yeah, okay, I guess that’s life. Or … death? You know what I mean. This world was so easy to get into, though, and Gwynne does a wonderful job of constructing it so the reader feels like they’re there. There’s some twists and turns (several fairly predictable ones), but I fell hard for these (very gray) characters and just enjoyed taking the journey with them.
A Time of Blood by John Gwynne
★★★★★ || Goodreads
If the first book was gory, this ramps it up, because now there’s a war going on. More than in the first book. Truths have been found out, the past come to light, and now people have to kind of accept their new role in things, which was fun. This book had a marvelous sense of belonging, of learning who you want to be and where you want to be. There’s a female mad scientist, which I so appreciated (even if I didn’t like her character), because yay for equal opportunity to be an evil psychopath everyone hates. You know, I’m actually finding there’s not a whole lot I can say about this one without spoiling the first one, sooo … just read them?
After She Wrote Him by Sulari Gentill
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
I’ll be honest and say that I loved 98% of this book, and the last 2% completely flopped for me. This is very much a me thing. See, it’s got an open ending where nothing is wrapped up or explained. That part’s left to the reader to draw conclusions. I absolutely hate this sort of ending when the work is of such a speculative nature. No, I want a concrete answer, darn it! If I wanted to draw my own conclusions about the entire novel, I would’ve just written my own novel. The premise of this book was super interesting, though. A man writes a woman, who is writing the man. The two overlap, each thinking they’re writing the other, but who’s really writing whom? (mild spoiler: you don’t know, because … nothing is ever revealed, so if you’re going in hoping for an answer … forget it). The writing was very engaging, though, and the switch between stories felt natural. I definitely got caught up in this one, which made the open ending that much more crushing for me.
A Time of Courage by John Gwynne
Status: pg 250/670
Heroes shall rise and fall, the earth shall be stained red, and the fate of the Banished Lands will be decided once and for all in A Time of Courage, the final book in acclaimed fantasy author John Gwynne’s Of Blood and Bone trilogy.
The demon king Asroth has been freed from his iron prison. Now, alongside his dark bride Fritha, he plans to conquer the whole of the Banished Lands.
In the shadows of Forn Forest, Riv and the surviving Ben-Elim desperately search for a way to unite those who remain against Asroth’s vast army.
Far in the west, Drem is with the Order of the Bright Star, besieged by a demon horde. Their fragile defenses are on the brink of shattering, but they know that it is better to fight and die than to live without hope.
And across the Banished Lands, armies are heading south, to settle ancient grudges and decide the fate of humanity.
Sooo … all hell’s broken loose in book three, as you do, and I have suffered massive heart attacks all ready, because I fear for these precious characters and I will not see them slain, okay?! Don’t make me pick up a sword myself, because I’ll do it. And probably regret it, but still.
I haven’t had as much time to read lately as I’d like (then again, I’d like all the time to read, so maybe I’m just unrealistic), but I’m trying to get through this. I must find out how this ends. I’m so freaking invested in this world. I have a feeling that by the time I finish this series, I’m going to have to go back and read The Faithful and the Fallen series, even though that’s totally backwards. I’m okay with it.
Ruthless Gods by Emily Duncan
Status: 10%
Darkness never works alone…
Nadya doesn’t trust her magic anymore. Serefin is fighting off a voice in his head that doesn’t belong to him. Malachiasz is at war with who–and what–he’s become.
As their group is continually torn apart, the girl, the prince, and the monster find their fates irrevocably intertwined. They’re pieces on a board, being orchestrated by someone… or something. The voices that Serefin hears in the darkness, the ones that Nadya believes are her gods, the ones that Malachiasz is desperate to meet—those voices want a stake in the world, and they refuse to stay quiet any longer.
I’ve doubled down on marrying Serefin. I’ve graciously agreed to share custody with Dini @ DiniPandaReads, since she was nice enough to agree to buddy read this with me and listen to me shouting. I feel like it’s the least I could do.
I’m not that far into the book so far, but I’m already loving it. I missed these characters. Even though it’s only been a week. It was clearly far too long. The whole tone so far has been dark and foreboding, which makes me all eager and excited for what’s going to happen.
Look, I put books here, but really … I have no freaking clue. I’m behind on ARCs again (no surprise there), because for some reason I thought COVID-19 meant I’d have more free time, not less. I was clearly silly, and I have regrets.
I’ve got two blog tours coming up. I’m 100% convinced that They Went Left will probably break my heart, but eh, it’s totally worth it. I’ve also got the tour for Eden coming up, which I’m excited for. I really enjoyed Tim Lebbon’s short story in the Cursed anthology I reviewed, so I’m eager to check out some of his full-length work.
Next week will start the group read of Artificial Condition on Annemieke’s Murderbot Readalong, culminating in the release of the first full-length novel of the series, and I couldn’t be more excited. I loved the first book when I read it, and I figure this is a great opportunity to read the rest!
Beyond that … I don’t know what I’m going to read?! Life is confusing right now, and decisions are hard under the best of circumstances. I’ve had a lot of heavy fantasy lately, which isn’t a bad thing, but I’m thinking if I still feel like a little break, I might go with something lighter like The Wolf of Cape Fen or The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires, both of which I’ve really been looking forward to.
I really enjoyed Eden! It was fast paced and pretty horrific in places. And I wish I had time to join the Murderbot read along, I’m still a little behind😬
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I figure I can make time for Murderbot, because I’ve been wanting to read it and they’re just novellas. I’ll squeeze it in. I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed Eden! I saw your review pop up, but I’m waiting until I finish reading it to check out your review.
Now I’m super curious about that John Gwynne series… it sounds intense!
It was very intense, but also quite a ride! I had a lot of fun with it, even though I’m not usually one for war books.
ooh looks like you just finished some great reads (two 5 stars reads in fact 😉 ) I haven’t read Wicked Saints yet although I do own a copy… and now I keep seeing that everyone is reading Ruthless Gods *oops*
Great post and Happy reading!
I don’t know what’s with all the five-star reads this year. I don’t feel like I’ve become more lenient? But soooo many good reads so far this year.
Ha, Ruthless Gods releasing is what convinced me I finally had to read the first book, considering I bought it a year ago when it released. xD
Yay Murderbot! I’m re-reading them all because I love Murderbot so much. Hopefully I’ll be able to leave the house and go out to get my preordered copy of Network Effect from my local book store when it releases on May 5th!
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Oh, man. I was lucky enough to get an ARC of it, but … that would really suck if you weren’t able to get your copy when it released. D:
You have saved me from She Wrote Him. I only like those open ended “what really happened” endings if I have people to talk to about it. Do we have that now….NO! I can’t do anymore zoom social get togethers!
Sorry. Sorry. I’m calm now. Anyway, thanks for the warning on that book. I might have lost it.
Here is my WWW: http://silverbuttonbooks.com/2020/04/08/www-wednesday-april-8-2020/
Ahhh, yeah, that’s really a bummer. It’s definitely the sort of book that would maybe be better for a book club read, because then you can discuss it and speculate together. I think it’d make a really good book club read, actually.
I had never heard anything about Murderbot, but now I’m seeing it everywhere. It comes highly recommended. And I would love to hear what you think about The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. (We must shorten that name, though.) I forced myself not to request it, but I’m anxious to hear what others think! 🙂 Hang in there! It is a confusing time. I haven’t been reading much at all, but I’ve been blogging more, so I’ll take it.
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That’s because everyone’s gearing up for the first full-length Murderbot novel, which is coming out next month. :3
I definitely think we need to shorten it. xD I just keep calling it The Southern Book Club, which is still wordy but not quite as wordy haha.
It’s always so tricky to pick out books beforehand, right? I always struggle with that one too. I mean, when I finished my cr the book I’m gonna read next is probably something totally different than what I put on that list here.
When they left looks interesting but right now I definitely don’t have the mindset to get my heart broken. I can not deal with that right now, OKAY? I just need all the fluffy middlegrade at the moment. At once. Stirred not shaken. And an olive. Meh, make that three olives.
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I always view the “upcoming reads” list as highly optimistic. xD Because like you said, what I intend to read next and what I actually read next isn’t always quite in sync haha.
That’s totally fair. I know a lot of people who are leaning more towards light, fluffy reads right now. Me? I’ve somehow fallen back on even darker reads. xD I’m obviously broken haha.
Sammie, I am pleased to see you have continued to enjoy John Gwynne’s dark fantasy series, even with all that blood and gore! I have kept my reading nice and light to easily escape the current, troubling times.
Here’s my WWW post: https://thebookwormchronicles.wordpress.com/2020/04/08/www-wednesday-8th-april-2020/ 🙂
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I’ve noticed a lot of people doing that lately, so you’re definitely not alone in that!
I need to read that Emily Duncan series, STAT lol it looks so good.
If you like dark, stabby books of betrayal, then yes. Yes, this one is for you. xD I’m really enjoying it.