WWW Wednesday // 3.8.17

Hey, y’all! Sorry I’ve been a little sparse with the book reviews lately, but life happens, and reading is (unfortunately) not always my #1 priority. To alleviate my time between reviews, I decided I’m going to jump on the meme train! WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @Taking On A World Of Words, where I have to answer three simple questions: what am I currently reading, what I have recently read, and what I want to read soon. I did this for the first time last week and really enjoy this meme, as I am always reading multiple books at once and queueing my next choices right on my nightstand. So, here we go!

What am I currently reading?

      

• Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2) by Leigh Bardugo: I loved the first installment in this series, as I did Bardugo’s previous Grisha Trilogy series. Pretty much right after I set down Six of Crows, I vehemently searched to see which library was the closest to me and had a copy of the book available. The one right by my house had it, which I believe to be pure destiny. I am excited to see how Kaz’s Dreg crew figures out how to save their missing member and their money at the same time.
• Outlander (Outlander #1) by Diana Gabaldon: Good historical fiction is the bane of my existence – and by bane, I mean its biggest blessing. I’ve had multiple people recommend this book to me, although I am definitely beginning to see the beginning of what others don’t like about it: mentions into domestic abuse. So, definitely be warned if that triggers you; I am willing to keep reading the book to see if that improves, and because Gabaldon is an incredibly talented writer who transports the reader with Claire to the Scottish Highlands.
• Sabriel (Abhorsen #1) by Garth Nix: This is another YA fantasy novel series that I’ve had people recommending to me left and right, and I’ve just never had enough drive to pick it up. My understanding is that it is about a girl descended from a powerful sorcerer who can help prevent ghosts from haunting this world, but who struggles with her powers especially as her father and mentor disappear. I’m only about three chapters in and I’m already kind of lost, as it seems to be a complex new world and I’ve received little to no explanation of what’s going on. I hope this improves throughout the story.

What did I recently finish reading?

      

• The Rose Society (The Young Elites #2) by Marie Lu: Okay, so disclaimer – I don’t like Adelina, nor have I ever, and I think that really hurts the rating of this book since most of the book was just following her around and being angsty bordering on psychotic. I really learned to love the Daggers in the first book, and they’re basically never mentioned in this book; even the new characters in this novel are rarely mentioned, with the story focusing on Adelina almost the entire time. The plot seemed to take longer than it needed to, while the battle at the end seemed too rushed and easy. All of the humor and joy and strength that I liked about the first book is completely lost in the unnecessary darkness of the second. Considering how much I loved its predecessor, I was extremely let down by this book. Rating: 3 / 5 stars, review coming soon.
• When the Night Comes by Favel Parrett: This is another book that I had to read and evaluate for potential use in the University of Florida’s 2017 Common Reading Program for first year students and faculty. When I finished reading this book and met with the rest of the group, I automatically said no, absolutely not. Although Parrett’s style of writing is interesting, as it sometimes almost comes across as poetry, I’m still not really sure what this book is supposed to be about. The back makes me believe that the main character, Isla, is going to suffer some loss or face some turning point in her life… but I don’t think that ever really happens? I honestly am still confused. Rating: 1.5/5 stars, review coming soon.
• Cress (Lunar Chronicles #3) by Marissa Meyer: This is still one of my favorite series to date, because it is a truly unique idea. Although retelling fairytales isn’t anything new, the world that Meyer creates by the addition of the Lunar aliens and the combination of the different fairytales is incredibly interesting. Additionally, Meyer’s stories are fast-paced and entertaining on every page; there is humor and heartbreak, battle scenes and lengthy dialogues, and always the question of who is actually on the right side of things. Cress is a continuation of this and I love Cress as a character; I think she might actually be my favorite character out of the three heroines we’ve met so far, but we’ll have to see where Winter takes all of them next. Rating: 4/5 stars, review coming soon.

What do I think I’ll read next?

      

• The Book of Life (All Souls Trilogy #3) by Deborah Harkness: This is a series that although it started off a little rough and I definitely still have some large transgressions with it, I’ve grown to love it in a very begrudging manner. This is the finale to a series in which a powerful witch named Diana works alongside vampires (including her husband), demons, and humans alike to determine the origin of the supernatural beings and find out why they seem to be decreasing in number. I’m butchering the explanation of this, but the plot line is only part of this book; Harkness is an incredible writer and is immensely intelligent, so her books are a bit of a more challenging but entertaining read than most.
• Passenger (Passenger #1) by Alexandra Bracken: This is one of those books I’ve been seeing all over the Internet in the last year or so, and I decided to give it a try. Also, it sounds incredibly sic-fi, which is my kind of thing. After tragedy strikes, Etta finds herself transported from the world she knows into a different one, forced across time and space to find a long-lost object at the behest of a family she’s never known. This sounds so incredibly interesting and promising, and I am very excited to start this book and check it out.
• The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick: This book has been at the tippy-top of my reading list ever since Amazon started a TV series based off of it more than a year ago, but it has continuously been pushed back down by other books. I’ve been in a historical fiction kick, especially alternative history fiction, recently, so this seemed perfect to finally pick it up.  I’m incredibly excited as my minor in school is in history and World War II specifically, so to see the aftermath of a world in which the Axis Powers won instead of the Allies is interesting indeed.