It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
What would your special ability be, if you had one?
Would you use it for good?
Would you be the villain of your own story?

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.

   

This Eternity of Masks and Shadows by Karsten Knight
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
Sooo … diverse pantheons of gods running amok on Earth. Good premise, yeah? There were definitely parts of this that I felt fell down a little, but I got into the book early on and just didn’t want to stop. I actually learned of new gods I hadn’t heard of, and I promptly looked them up, which I loved. Also got to see some of my favorites given some page time, which was super cool. This book’s strength is really, first, in the personalities of the gods (if you enjoy dark characters and dark humor, anyway) and the action and mystery.

Night of the Dragon by Julie Kagawa
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
Listen. Guys. Y’all warned me about this one, and I went in prepared. Really, I did. But it still got me, darn it. Ugh. Not gonna lie, there were definitely things that annoyed me about this (like Daisuke’s repetition of wanting a noble death, ad nauseum), and there were some very clear deus ex machina that made me roll my eyes. But these were also feel good things, even if they were hella corny, so I’m still a little torn there. Overall, this was a pretty solid way to end the series, and now I’m sad that there won’t be any more.

A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians by H. G. Parry
Status: 30%

It is the Age of Enlightenment — of new and magical political movements, from the necromancer Robespierre calling for revolution in France to the weather mage Toussaint L’Ouverture leading the slaves of Haiti in their fight for freedom, to the bold new Prime Minister William Pitt weighing the legalization of magic among commoners in Britain and abolition throughout its colonies overseas.

But amidst all of the upheaval of the early modern world, there is an unknown force inciting all of human civilization into violent conflict. And it will require the combined efforts of revolutionaries, magicians, and abolitionists to unmask this hidden enemy before the whole world falls to darkness and chaos.

This book is still here, and I haven’t gotten as far as I’d hoped to. It really just hasn’t picked up for me, unfortunately. I feel like someone who’s more into history would probably appreciate it more. I do love historical fiction, and I love political plays, but this feels a lot like magical nonfiction. There’s not a lot happening other than political discussions and rehashing major events in history so far. I’m determined not to DNF it, but I’m really hoping it’ll pick up sooner rather than later.

The Faith Machine by Tone Milazzo
Status: 11%

Welcome to the dangerous, clandestine world of ESPionage. Welcome to The Strip, where operatives on the fringe command teams of ‘Cards’: Agents cursed with subtle, specialized, and sometimes sloppy psychic powers. Dr Ken Park, Korean-American psychologist and spy, dares to lead six of these Cards. Together, they tackle esoteric threats the Department of Homeland Security cannot.

Park takes his team to Africa to retrieve the Faith Machine. Built by the Soviets to turn prayers into suffering, the psychotronic device fell into the hands of a demented warlord. Tragically, the mission fails and the madman slaughters hundreds of innocents while the machine burns.

They return to the States in disgrace, and into an ambush by the mysterious and brutal Casemen. Cut off from command and each other, the scattered agents rush to their safe house in the west. While spy agencies from around the world want retribution for the catastrophe in Africa. Park’s team outplays enemies left and right, while uncovering the true threat. There’s another Faith Machine, one destined to bring hell on earth.

I’ve only just started this, but I’m definitely enjoying it so far! Actually, one of the characters is from a town not too far away from here, and I’ve never seen it mentioned in a book, so I got a huge kick out of that! So did hubby, because of course I had to share that. I’m still in the beginning, where it’s gathering the team, but I do love this team so far! Everyone has “cards,” which are basically abilities, but also … other things. It was a nice juxtaposition. There’s schizophrenia, PTSD, a TBI, and just all sorts of trauma, because these abilities they have, for the most part, didn’t come easy and were unlocked by tragic life circumstances, which I thought was so interesting! I’m just getting to where it’s ramping up, so I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I actually decided to read this now because of my next current read, which it was comped to the first book of this series when I was offered an eARC, which is …

Random Sh*t Flying Through The Air by Jackson Ford
Status: 5%

Teagan Frost’s life is finally back on track. Her role working for the government as a psychokinetic operative is going well and she might even be on course for convincing her crush to go out with her. But, little does she know, that sh*t is about to hit the fan . . .

A young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles – home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can’t stop him, the entire city – and the rest of California – could be wiped off the map.

I’ve only just started this, too, as you can tell, but … oh my gosh. I HAVE SO MISSED TEAGAN. *cries happy tears* The very first chapter I read with her, I immediately fell in love with her all over again. I’m not really sure what’ll come up, but the new obstacle that’s presented itself is … interesting. I’ve been waiting for this book foreverrrr now, so I’m really excited to finally get to pick it up!

           

I’m just totally throwing out what I had last week because … I’m a fickle beast? I don’t know.

I actually should be starting Sorcery of Thorns today, because it’s a buddy read with Keri @ Are You My Book, and I am so excited for this. If we’re all being honest (and I think we can be, because we’re all friends here … except for you, Sharon), I should’ve read this book a looong time ago, because I got it for Christmas last year and was dying to read it. Nothing’s changed about that, at least.

Also, y’all see that? That’s right, I am finally reading Mistborn. For reals. July 11 will be my 11th wedding anniversary, so I want to have this book read for that as a surprise to hubby, since he’s spent half that time trying to convince me to read the dang thing. It’s an absolute beast of a book, so I want to get through my current reads before picking this up, but that should leave plenty of time, since I whip through Brandon Sanderson books because I love them so much.

I’m part of the Middle Grade Marvels reading group (which all of you should join if you’re interested in MG books), and one of our books this month is The Jumbies, which I’ve been wanting to read for a long time, so this is the perfect excuse! I’ve got a ton of large books this month, so I’m hoping to squeeze this one in before my library loan expires in a week.

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