It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
What would you do if you were destined to destroy your kingdom?
Would you fight against destiny?
Would you give in and accept your fate?
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 Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen
★★★★★ || Goodreads
I would just like to say that this duology was everything my dark little heart needed. I’m pretty sure The Faithless Hawk was even better than the first one? First, just to set your mind at ease, don’t worry, Barf is still in this one, and every bit as cantankerous and, well, catish as he always is. The old cast is also back, but with Fie occupying her new role and doing her best to, well, not die. But also not let all the other Crows die, too. I’m honestly not even sure what I can say about this that’s not a spoiler. The backstabbing and betrayal in this is just *chef’s kiss*. The romance is a far cry from the happily ever after the first book implied, which was nice. Oh, and this book introduces Khoda, who’s a treasure. More than that, I loved seeing Fie grow into her role and rise above her station and just be this big, badass force of change. Yes to aaaaall this.
The Third Sun by Victoria J. Price
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
I enjoyed this, and I absolutely loved the idea, but it felt like it really needed more polish in some ways. Well, the fantasy part did. If you’re a fan of romance, you’ll probably enjoy this one a little more, because it’s kind of destined lovers, insta-love type thing. That’s not really my trope, so the romance fell a bit flat for me. I also thought there was a lot of telling rather than showing, so it felt like I was at a distance from the story in a weird way. Sometimes I was being told things about these characters that I didn’t see, like how thoughtful or kind they were, etc, and I had to stop and think, are they? I felt the character development could have been a bit stronger. The story, though, was a fun one, and as I said, I loved the idea! I don’t read as many portal fantasies as I should, but the Chosen One trope is an old favorite of mine, and there was a lot to love in Ohinyan. The angels are great, but there’s also witches and shapeshifters and so many other creatures. Plus, who doesn’t love a who, “Sun is dying, new world is coming, ancient evil rising,” sort of plot?!
The Eternal Dusk by Victoria J. Price
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
Now that the world has been set up in the first book, I feel like this one moved a lot smoother! It seemed like the author must have been more comfortable in the second book, because there wasn’t the same problem with the telling, and the action and suspense in this was just on point. Getting to see all the magic and a greater glimpse of Ohinyan was fantastic, and I really enjoyed it! Lots of feels in this book, too. =/ The focus is also less on the romance, which also may have been a big selling point for me, since y’all know I’m not a big romance reader!
Listen, I know I said I was totally going to make progress on both Mistborn and The Birth of Agent Big Butt this week, buuuut … well, I worked overtime at the end of last week and into the weekend and was just exhausted, and Minion has started school again. Virtually, of course, which has proven to be an interesting challenge, considering everyone in this house is still working and it’s hard to make sure she’s logged on from 9 AM – 2:30 PM.
The Ruin of Kings by Jenn Lyons
Status: 2%
Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised.
Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.
Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin is not destined to save the empire.
He’s destined to destroy it.
I’m a whole … two chapters into this? So not very far, I’ll admit. Especially considering what a beast of a book it is. Still, I had read the first chapter before, and that was all it took to convince me that I absolutely had to read this series, and I stand by that. The writing style of this is conversational (indeed, it’s framed as a prisoner telling his story) and dripping with sarcasm and dark humor, which I absolutely love. So far, the world appears to be a rather dark, unforgiving one, but we’ll see when I get deeper into it.
Just two books for this upcoming week, guys! Surprise? Except these are more freaking tomes than anything else. Potential murder weapons, even, if you’re willing to put the work in … not that it would take much work with the size of these. At about 600 pages each, both The Name of All Things and The Memory of Souls will likely dominate my reading for the next week, since I’ve got a blog tour for book three next week!
I’ve been looking forward to digging into this series since the first book came out, but … well, you know what TBRs are like sometimes. I’m glad to finally have picked it up.
I’d love to read Jenn Lyons’ series someday. At least you get to binge read it, that must be fun!
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Future Fiction #87 – Cover Reveals & Newly Discovered SFF Books
I’ve heard it’s supposed to be a five-book series, maybe? Book four was just announced for May 2021. So unfortunately, I’ll still be forced to wait. But oh my gosh. Tammy. You NEED to read this series. I’m about 60% through it at this point and this is just dark epic fantasy at its core, with some irreverent, dark humor mixed in, which is a perfect blend. I think you’d like it!
I’ve heard great things about The Merciful Crow duology! I think I’ll have to pick it up at some point. I’ll just add it to my already huge TBR, ha!
Here’s my WWW Wednesday. Happy reading!
Victoria @ The Contented Reader recently posted…WWW Wednesday — August 26th, 2020
Bwahaha, I wouldn’t know anything at all about giant TBRs. *adjust slightly askew halo*
It’s definitely a duology I’d recommend reading!
Your books are tempting…and are all new to me, although I’ve been noticing them around. Enjoy! Here’s MY WWW POST
Laurel-Rain Snow recently posted…AUTHOR’S HOME PAGE
The blurb for The Ruin of Kings sounds AMAZING!
Here’s my WWW Wednesday post. Happy reading!
Natalie recently posted…Blog Tour ➤ Tempting the Prince by Christi Barth
Can 100% confirm that so far, it has lived up to the amazingness. Maybe more so, because it not only has a dragon, but this dragon is cunning and terrifying and has earned its title. So I see that as a win. xD
I have The Merciful Crow coming in a book order, I’m so excited to finally start this duology! Everyone seems to love it. I’ve also never heard of The Ruin of Kings but added it to my TBR because it sounds AMAZING.
Alex recently posted…WWW Wednesday: August 26th, 2020
Oooh, I hope you enjoy it when you get a chance to read it! The Ruin of Kings has been just fabulous so far. I’m in love. But also, if you end up liking The Merciful Crow? The Ruin of Kings will be right up your alley, too. 🙂
I’m always a bit intimated by books over 500pages so I’m impressed your tackling two 600page books!
My WWW ~ https://complexchaos.blog/2020/08/26/www-wednesday-26th-august-2020/
Elizabeth recently posted…WWW Wednesday ~ 26th August 2020
Ugh, three, actually. Because the A Chorus of Dragons series is three 600-page tomes haha. I’m so intimidated by large books, too, but I’ve been enjoying epic fantasy more and more lately, so I’ve been trying to squish more of them into my reading schedule.
You’re in the middle of quite a few big books! But I’m glad to see that all of your recent reads were all good ones. Happy reading!
Julie Anna recently posted…WWW Wednesday: 8/26/20
I am. I’m not sure why I do this to myself. x.X But hey, at least they’re good books!
Okay… I need to get The Merciful Crow now! So glad that you enjoyed it. Hehe… I really hope you get to Mistborn soon so we can discuss!! I totally get it though. I was stuck for a bit too. I’m curious about the Ruin of Kings! I look forward to your review!! 🙂
My WWW!
Leslie recently posted…W.W.W 8/26/20
I agree, you totally do! It was fantastic. xD I’m tryingggg. Not until after September 3, because I have … too many pages to read before then. I know I’ve been saying it for a while, but I will do it, darn it. I’m gonna sit down and finish Mistborn … possibly just so it’ll stop hubby from asking me about it LOL.
I definitely need to find time for the The Merciful Crow duology some time soon… It sounds brilliant. I hope you will enjoy your books this week and happy reading! Here’s my WWW.
It was fantastic! I highly recommend it. And now that the second one’s out, you don’t have to suffer through the wait for more books, which is a nice benefit of a duology. 😉
The covers are so nice especially The Ruin of Kings one. Hope you enjoy your books. Happy Reading.
Yes, the A Chorus of Dragons series has some fabulous covers! I actually think this is the least pretty of them all, which is funny because I love dragons, but they just get more and more striking as they go!
I hope you’ve continued enjoying your reading this week and good luck with those tomes! 😃