It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
What if the world’s air was being destroyed little by little?
What if the world was about to end in nine months?
Would you spend your last days with family … or doing what you’ve always dreamed?
Wait, no, that’s not right. We ask these three W’s:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
Which books will you read next?
WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
It’s been two weeks (again!) since my last update. School ends next week, so I’m hoping I can get back to it regularly! For now, here are the books I read in the past two weeks.
The Helm of Midnight by Marina J. Lostetter
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
This was a really fun read! If you’re a fan of dark fantasy, this one will definitely be for you. It’s a high fantasy world that introduces a serial killer into the mix. The magic in this world is really interesting, and I’m super curious to spend some more time there. Parts of this book definitely dragged, but Lostetter creates a world that is incredibly interesting and fills it with characters that are fun to follow and root for.
Eye of the Sh*t Storm by Jackson Ford
★★★★★ || Goodreads
Book three in the Frost Files absolutely delivers on the promise made by the first three books. It’s packed full of action and adventure, with bigger-than-life scenarios, gangs, drugs, and superpowers. Teagan is back as a wonderfully relatable narrator whose sarcasm game is absolutely on point. Her commentary absolutely cracks me up. Make no mistake about it, though, this book tackles a lot of serious and emotional issues, including doubts faced by all the team, personal struggles, and an overall narrative about healing after natural disasters. If you haven’t started this series yet, I highly recommend you do! It’s one of my favorites.
Wolfsong by T.J. Klune
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I didn’t enjoy this as much as the other Klune books I’ve read thus far, though I confess that I’m not really a alpha/beta/omega werewolf fan. Actually, I think this is my first book in that genre. There are things about this book that were kind of weird, and the pacing was a little wonky. It was a long book, and there were sometimes stretches where it felt like nothing really happened. That being said, Klune’s an expert on relatable, lovable characters, and this book is no exception. The sibling bonds in this are *chef’s kiss*, along with the found family. There were so many scenes that had me cracking up and laughing out loud. While I didn’t love this, Klune’s writing ability is undeniable, and I’ll definitely be continuing the series, though I’m not sure where it’ll go from here.
Fitz and Cleo by Jonathan Stutzman & Heather Fox
★★★★★ || Goodreads
This is an early reader book, and I normally don’t read, review, or count these on my Goodreads challenge. I wanted to make sure to highlight this one, though, because oh my gosh it was so funny! I read it with Minion, and it was a little under her age, but who can resist ghost siblings who adopt a cat (even though one of them doesn’t want to)? And the cat is very much a cat. This cracked us both up, and we laughed the entire time we read it! Perfect for any reluctant readers you might know.
The Last Fallen Star by Graci Kim (review will be posted 5/6)
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
I didn’t love this as much as other Rick Riordan Presents books, and I can’t quite put my finger on why yet. I’ve been sort of stewing it over and thinking on it. The Korean folklore is really interesting, and I love that the protagonist was adopted! It’s such important representation in fiction, especially for kids. There were parts that just really dragged for me, and there were a lot of deus ex machinas, in a way that really stood out to me. I especially wasn’t fond of one part where a side character basically creates a Tindr for ghosts (conveniently called Ghostr) just to solve their current problem of needing to find a certain spirit, and it was all so easy and convenient. I also really wanted a little more development of the world and the mythology, rather than jumping from one thing to another in a rather episodic way.
Willa of the Wood by Robert Beatty
★★☆☆☆ || Goodreads
Oh, this book. It has such a cute cover and has won so many awards, so where did I go wrong? I just … didn’t love it? First, I was surprised by how violent it was, with really no breaks or moments of levity. It was so dang dark, which I’m used to in adult books but I don’t expect from middle grade. When it’s not humans being injured/killed, it’s a constant reminder that humans build with the carcasses of trees and slaughter them by the hundreds, complete with graphic details of dead animals killed by felling trees, etc. I like dark fantasy, but it was too dark for my tastes. It also felt like nothing really happened. The book dragged a bit. What I will say, though, is that Beatty has a lovely writing style. I just don’t think this was the book for me.
Willa of Dark Hollow by Robert Beatty
★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
This sequel actually improved on most of the complaints I had with the first book. It’s still violent, but there are at least brief moments of levity and beauty, which does wonders to offset things. The violence also takes on a sinister, creepy vibe, which makes this feel a bit like horror, which is cool. There were still some fairly graphic violent scenes, so I would definitely recommend it for older, more mature middle grade readers.
The Startup Squad #1 – 3 by Brian Weisfeld & Nicole C. Kear
★★★★☆ || Goodreads
This book series is just too stinking cute. I can’t wait to get a set for my library to start throwing it at children! It’d be okay for boys, but it seems really geared towards girls. The whole gist is that it’s a group of young girls (all with diverse backgrounds and personalities) who come together to start businesses. That’s why they’re the Startup Squad. In the meantime, there’s also plot points about friendship, compromise, family, and all sorts of good stuff. Of course, the startups never go quite as they expected, so it’s always a learning experience for them as they work out what went wrong and how they can do better. What I really appreciated is that the girls don’t always “win” whatever it is they set out to do, but they find a way to succeed and take a win away from it anyway, even if they don’t end up being the best at whatever. It’s such an important lesson! Even though these books are definitely written to send a message, they don’t beat a reader over the head with it. They’re subtle and fun to read, and I think kids would love them!
Things to Do Before the End of the World by Emily Barr
Status: 47%
One minute you’re walking in the park, hiding from a party. Then you discover that the next nine months will probably be your last. Everyone’s last. You realise that you happen to be alive at the time when your species becomes extinct.
You have to decide whether to go with it meekly like you usually do, or to do something brave, to live your last months with all the energy and bravery you can muster, to rage against the dying of the light.
Olivia struggles to live her real life as fully as she wants to. She plans out conversations and events in her head but actually doing them and interacting with other people is hard. When the news breaks that humans have done such damage to the earth that there’s only nine months of safe air left everybody makes bucket lists and starts living their best lives – everyone, that is, but Olivia who is still struggling to figure out who she wants to be.
Then out of the blue comes contact from a long-lost cousin Olivia didn’t even know exsisted. Natasha is everything Olivia wants to be and more. And as the girls meet up for their last summer on earth Olivia finds Natasha’s ease and self-confidence having a effect on her. But what if Natasha isn’t everything she first appears to be . . . ?
This is for an upcoming TheWriteReads blog tour. It’s not quite what I expected. I love apocalyptic, doomsday work, but this is more of a coming-of-age contemporary book that’s really a character study. The apocalypse is really just a convenient backdrop. Not exactly my thing. So it’s been a little slow going. However, there’s starting to be hints that things aren’t quite what they seem, so hopefully it’ll pick up soon! It seems like shenanigans are happening.
Have Sword, Will Travel by Garth Nix
Status: 44%
It is strange enough that Odo and Eleanor have stumbled upon a sword in a dried-up river outside their village. It is even stranger that Odo is able to remove it from where it’s buried. And it’s REMARKABLY strange when the sword starts to talk.
Odo and Eleanor have unearthed Biter, a famous fighter from earlier times. By finding Biter, Odo instantly becomes a knight — a role he is exquisitely unsuited for. Eleanor, however, would make a PERFECT knight — but she’s not the one with the sword.
Finding Biter is only the start — boy, girl, and sword must soon go on a quest to save their kingdom from threats in both human and dragon form, in this new fantasy triumph from Garth Nix and Sean Williams.
This is my current audiobook read, after dropping my last one because I had a hard time following it. I can’t remember who recommended this one to me now? Someone said talking sword and that’s all it takes these days. I’m having a ridiculous amount of fun with this story. I feel Odo and his reluctance for adventure and knightdom in my soul. What a hassle, right? Biter, the talking sword, is hilarious. I think the narrator does a fabulous job on this one, and I really enjoy the different voices! When I finish this one, I’ll probably pick up the next book as my next audiobook read.
Last Gate of the Emperor
New book by Kwame Mbalia! Woot woot! I love his Tristan Strong series, so when I heard he was working on something else, I definitely jumped on it. I was first in line for this from my library, so I got it pretty quickly. I’m impressed. This sounds like it’ll be a really fun, interesting read.
Swordheart
I’m pretty sure Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recommended this one? I think? I was told I should read all of T. Kingfisher’s books in general by her, at the very least, and this is one of them! I’m also pretty sure someone told me it had a talking sword, and I seem to be on a talking sword kick lately. I’m hoping to be able to finish this before my loan from the library expires, so we’ll see if I’m able to make it!
The House of Always
Book four of one of my favorite series! It’s a chunker just like the rest. Am I emotionally prepared for this next step in the saga? No, I most likely am not. Especially after the last book. Things aren’t looking good. Still, this is one of my most anticipated releases for this year, so heck yes am I excited to finally get to pick it up!
What are you reading this week? Share in the comments below!
Wow, you finished a lot of books! I am curious about them all, and your current read, Things To Do Before the End of the World, has really captured my interest.
Thanks for sharing, and here’s MY WWW POST
Laurel-Rain Snow recently posted…AUTHOR’S HOME PAGE
Yeah, but it’s definitely deceiving, because it was a couple weeks’ worth of reads. xD It looks like more than it was.
Have Sword Will Travel is going on my tbr right now! Thanks!
It is SO MUCH FUN. I hope you enjoy it! If you can get the audiobook, it was well worth it. I decided to listen to the second one on audiobook, too, because the first was so well done.
I love the covers for the Willa books — but no way would I have expected them to be dark, looking at those covers.
Nicole @ BookWyrm Knits recently posted…Top Ten Tuesday ~ (Quotes From) My Ten Most Recent Reads
They are extremely gorgeous covers, and I can confirm they look great on bookshelves together. xD I was really surprised by how dark they were, too. Not necessarily a bad thing, but definitely unexpected.