What Are You Reading Wednesday (July 7, 2021)

It’s time again to ask ourselves the three W’s:
What would you do if someone offered you a house for a dollar?
Would you move in anyway, knowing its dark history?
Would you lose yourself to the darkness of the place?

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.

                   

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
This book would be great for fans of Rick Riordan and that type of adventure series. It’s a portal fantasy set in India, which is a really rich, unique setting that I absolutely loved! It tackles themes like sibling rivalry and bonds, family secrets, and personal growth and understanding. I loved the magic of the world Rea finds herself transported to. She starts the book as a bit of a brat, but that’s all part of her arc (and honestly, what twelve-year-old isn’t bratty at times?!). I think kids will find this one really relatable and fun. I sure loved portal fantasy at that age!

Questland by Carrie Vaughn

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
So. Much. Nerdy. Goodness. If you’re a nerd of any kind, you will appreciate this book. I had so much fun with it. For some reason, when I read the blurb, I was thinking virtual reality gone wrong, but it’s not. It’s got a very Jurassic Park feel, but for gamers, which I really appreciate. Like Jurassic Park, things go wrong . . . but also, I’d love to see more books in this series. I mean, hey, JP made it work, right? I 100% absolutely want to revisit this island!

Josephine Against the Sea by Shakirah Bourne (review will go up on 7/9)

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
I haven’t decided how the heck I’m going to review this one. I love the Caribbean mythology that’s woven into this! It’s a middle grade book about love and loss and healing, which are some of my favorite middle grade themes of all. I especially loved the way Josephine struggles with herself and her relationship with her father, which she doesn’t want to change, and her memories of her mother, who died suddenly several years before this book takes place. I don’t want to say too much here, so you’ll just have to check out my review later this week. 😉

The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass (review will go up on 7/14)

★★★★☆ || Goodreads
Following with the creepy reading vibe I seem to be in lately, I picked up Jake Livingston and couldn’t put it down. It was spooky and angsty and all sorts of fun to read! I love paranormal fiction, and Douglass did a great job with creating something unique. The only real hiccup was I think the author tried to do a little too much and didn’t quite bring each subplot to full fruition because of it. That being said, the book brings to light some really important things about mental health!

Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

★★★☆☆ || Goodreads
I wanted to love this one, and I did … for a while. Rating this was hard because it was somewhere between a three and a four for me. Ultimately, there was a scene around 58% in that knocked an entire star off for me. Not only was it unnecessary, but it perpetuated harmful stereotypes. Then, as if that scene wasn’t bad enough, it doubled-down on that idea and revisited it as a threat several more times. I also didn’t love the ending, although I did love all the plot twists and never quite knowing what to expect. When all is said and done, I have no idea yet how I’m going to review this, but I do know that Wendig is a fantastic writer. Which is why I picked up his next book right after finishing this, even though this one maybe wasn’t quite my cup of tea.

Case Closed, Vols. 22 – 24 by Gosho Aoyama

★★★★★ || Goodreads
Continuing on my attempt to read all this manga, I have finally made it to volume 25 on this. There are so many more books in this series, which is really good and also slightly overwhelming. It’s an ongoing series, though, so that’s sort of to be expected. Still loving it, as always. I’m really not as concerned with the big, overarching plot right now. I’m just really enjoying the short, episodic mysteries and seeing the characters work together and grow.

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig
Status: 27%

A family returns to their hometown—and to the dark past that haunts them still—in this masterpiece of literary horror by the New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers.

Long ago, Nathan lived in a house in the country with his abusive father—and has never told his family what happened there.

Long ago, Maddie was a little girl making dolls in her bedroom when she saw something she shouldn’t have—and is trying to remember that lost trauma by making haunting sculptures.

Long ago, something sinister, something hungry, walked in the tunnels and the mountains and the coal mines of their hometown in rural Pennsylvania.

Now, Nate and Maddie Graves are married, and they have moved back to their hometown with their son, Oliver.

And now what happened long ago is happening again . . . and it is happening to Oliver. He meets a strange boy who becomes his best friend, a boy with secrets of his own and a taste for dark magic.

This dark magic puts them at the heart of a battle of good versus evil and a fight for the soul of the family—and perhaps for all of the world. But the Graves family has a secret weapon in this battle: their love for one another.

I’m not too far into this so far, but I’m loving it already! I actually thought this was a shorter book, since I just flew through the first quarter of it. When I went to mark it on Goodreads, I was surprised to see it’s almost 550 pages!

I’ve been on a horror kick lately, for whatever reason. It’s just the mood I’m in. Boy does this one deliver the creeps, though. Wendig does a really good job of creating a spooky atmosphere, and I am loving it. Definitely giving me chills when I read it. I stayed up late last night because I just didn’t want to put it down.

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Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton
Status: 54%

One pet crow fights to save humanity from an apocalypse in this uniquely hilarious debut from a genre-bending literary author.

S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle’s wild crows (those idiots), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®.

Then Big Jim’s eyeball falls out of his head, and S.T. starts to feel like something isn’t quite right. His most tried-and-true remedies–from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim’s loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis–fail to cure Big Jim’s debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he discovers that the neighbors are devouring each other and the local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of dangerous new predators roaming Seattle. Humanity’s extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a foul-mouthed crow whose knowledge of the world around him comes from his TV-watching education.

Hollow Kingdom is a humorous, big-hearted, and boundlessly beautiful romp through the apocalypse and the world that comes after, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero.

Not gonna lie, I’m struggling a little with this one just because I’m really not in the mood for humor. Which is a phrase I never in my life thought I’d utter. This book is funny, though, in that sort of tongue-in-cheek, dark humor sense, which is my absolute favorite. I’m not generally a fan of animal perspectives, but Buxton is just nailing it here. I would love to read more books like this. S.T., the main protagonist, is a crow raised by humans, so he’s got qualities of both. Buxton creates a really rich animal world around S.T. while still being true to his animal roots, in a way I didn’t think was possible!

I’m also really not a fan of zombie books, but this one does a great job of delivering an apocalyptic hellscape but from the point of view of the animals. Which is an entirely unique perspective that I’m really enjoying. So even though I’m in sort of a reading slump for this type of book, it doesn’t mean I’m enjoying it less. Just means it’s probably going to take a little longer to get through.

   

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity and Christopher J. Baldwin

I actually technically already started this one, but just barely. I’m interested in it so far (though the eGalley shows up blurry on my screen, so I haven’t been able to read much of it at a time because it gives me a headache). This one’s kind of dark and funny. It reminds me of a cleaner version of Disenchantment (though that may just be because my brother-in-law has started watching that, so it’s on my brain lately). Still, I think it should be a quick, fun read.

Tidepool by Nicole Willson

I’m in a horror kick, and this isn’t quite horror but it’s dark fantasy. So it’s almost there. I’ve been looking forward to this one since I heard about it. Corpses washing ashore always sounds like a fun time, doesn’t it?! I love dark secrets and murder mysteries, especially in a fantasy setting. So I’m looking forward to this one!

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments below!

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