WWW Wednesdays #143 – June 28th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m actually almost done with Quirky Essays For Quirky People, an essay bundle written by Barbara Venkataraman I’ve had pending for a long time now. I’m glad I finally picked it up. I’m also still reading Final Girls by Riley Sager, an ARC I’ve been wanting to read for months now even though the hype around it did make me a bit afraid to actually start reading it. The third I haven’t actually started yet, but with a little luck I will be able to start Devastation Road by Jason Hewitt some time today. Fingers crossed, because the review is due next Monday! (And for those who wonder: I won’t mention Little Women again until I have actually started reading Part two.)

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 
My favorite part of The Merchant’s Pearl is hands down the existence of many detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the Ottoman palace and empire of that time. It was really interesting to see how things worked back then and how life was for a concubine… The pace was a bit slow, but the writing style was beautiful. I liked most of the characters as well, although some of their actions started to annoy me during the second half of the story. But that might just have been me and my aversion to anything too overly romance/drama in the first place. If you like historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy reading this one!

2. Each Little Lie by Tom Bale (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 29/06
There is no doubt I really enjoyed reading Each Little Lie even though it wasn’t as dark and intense as I would have liked. The writing style is very enjoyable to read and manages to draw you in straight away; the plot and plot twists well executed to the point that you really have no idea who is behind it all for a very long time. And while I guessed some things right, there were also a lot of things I didn’t see coming at all.

3. What To Say Next by Julie Buxbaum (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 30/06
Forget the fact that the whole contemporary romance scene normally isn’t my thing, forget the fact that this story in a way could be described as cheesy: I absolutely loved this story! Julie Buxbaum has done it again and is proving to be an exception to the rule… Because David won over my heart right from the very first chapter and is without doubt a new addition to my list of all time favorite characters. He is just so unique, adorable and well developed!

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I have a lot of ARC publish dates coming up, so unfortunately I still don’t have time for other reads… I still need to read The Lost Book Of The Grail by Charlie Lovett, an ARC that was approved a day before it was archived so naturally I didn’t get to it on time haha. I also need to read both Court Of Lions by Jane Johnson and The Stolen Girls by Patricia Gibney, although I’ll probably read the second first. What’s up with all those historical fiction ARCs publishing soon just when I’m in the mood for a good thriller?! I do want to finally read Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz some time soon though. I still can’t believe I haven’t picked up that title yet!

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

ARC REVIEW: The Merchant’s Pearl – by Amie O’Brien @merchantspearl

Title: The Merchant’s Pearl
(The Merchant’s Pearl Saga #1)
Author: Amie O’Brien
Genre: Historical Fiction, Romance
First published: July 24th 2016
Publisher: BookBaby
Finished reading: June 23rd 2017
Pages: 466

“I just wish I understood what it all means sometimes—why one person rises while the other falls? Why one set of feet must be kissed while the other’s gets stepped upon?”

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by the author in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***

I confess it took me longer than expected to finally pick up my copy of The Merchant’s Pearl. I had been saying I was going to pick it up for ages, but somehow I was afraid this historical fiction story was going to be way too heavy on the romance for me after rereading the blurb a while ago. Thankfully this was actually one of the few exceptions were I was wrong. There is no doubt that I ended up enjoying way better than I ever could have hoped for… I enjoy reading historical fiction in general and the Ottoman empire setting is without doubt well executed in The Merchant’s Pearl. The many descriptions of the palace, its surroundings and the things that happened there helped create a very vivid and rich image of how it would have been like living there as a concubine. I’m not sure if it all actually felt late 19th century, but I personally didn’t mind as those descriptions were more than enough to set the right atmosphere. I do have to say it took me a lot longer than expected to actually finish The Merchant’s Pearl. Part of it might have been me, part of it might have been the somewhat slower pace, but at 466 pages the story might possibly have felt a bit overlong… There is no doubt that I still very much enjoyed reading this story though. Especially the first half or so stood out for me, not only due to the lack of romance but also because of the dynamics between Leila and Emre. The second half had considerably more romance scenes, drama, jealousy and a few other cliches that made me enjoy the overall story slightly less than I expected after the first few chapters. Especially anything related to the drama between the concubines was a bit too much for me, although I guess this probably did happen all the time in a harem. I did like both Leila and Emre more in the first half though, as they started to get on my nerves sometimes later on in the story. Like I said, the second half had too much drama in it to my taste, but I still liked it and the descriptions stayed strong until the very end. All in all The Merchant’s Pearl is a very interesting historical fiction read that romance fans will appreciate even better than I did.

Sarai grew up as a missionary’s daughter and lived a happy life up until the day her parents are murdered when she’s eleven. The people that took her in initially sold her to the palace, where she was to be a concubine-in-waiting for the Ottoman Sultan Aziz. Now called Leila, she tries to be invisible, but one of his sons, Prince Emre, has set her eyes on her and claims her for his own. Leila never wanted this life in the first place, but now she has to compete against the other girls in his harem… And one of them seems to be determined to make her life miserable. Will Leila ever adapt to her new life?

My favorite part of The Merchant’s Pearl is hands down the existence of many detailed descriptions of the inner workings of the Ottoman palace and empire of that time. It was really interesting to see how things worked back then and how life was for a concubine… The pace was a bit slow, but the writing style was beautiful. I liked most of the characters as well, although some of their actions started to annoy me during the second half of the story. But that might just have been me and my aversion to anything too overly romance/drama in the first place. If you like historical fiction and romance, you will enjoy reading this one!

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

WWW Wednesdays #142 – June 21st

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently still reading The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien, a historical fiction ARC set in the Ottoman empire of the late 19th century. I can’t wait to dive into Each Little Lie by Tom Bale afterwards though. I have been reading less mystery/thrillers than usual this month and I’m really missing them! And after loving his other book last year, I can’t wait to read his newest story. I haven’t made progress with Little Women though, mostly because I finished part one last week and I haven’t decided yet whether to just review that part separately or read part two as well and review it as a whole. I’m not enjoying it as much as I thought I would and it’s taking longer than expected, so I’m not sure what to do…

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. The Book Of Whispers by Kimberley Starr (2/5 stars) REVIEW 
I like stories with a medieval setting and I was definitely looking forward to The Book Of Whispers, but in the end it just wasn’t for me and not just because of the demon overload. The writing style, the demon descriptions, the characters, the romance… There was a lot that unfortunately didn’t work for me and the historical setting couldn’t make up for this. The idea behind The Book Of Whispers is very original though and it must have been a lot of work to mix both elements. There is no doubt this story had a lot of potential…

2. Can’t Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon (1,5/5 stars) REVIEW
I was actually looking forward to Can’t Buy Forever as the blurb sounded quite interesting, but unfortunately I ended up having a completely different experience instead. I won’t repeat all the details I’ve mentioned above since I’ve already talked about each point extensively, but it does become clear it was far too easy to find things that didn’t work for me in the story. Was it just me or is the book to blame as well? I won’t be the judge to read the sentence, but at least I’ve put in my two cents.

3. Four Days by Jamie Campbell (3/5 stars) REVIEW
Four Days is without doubt less of a romance story and more of a road trip and sports-focused contemporary read. I really enjoyed the descriptions of the local scenery and the writing style was quite enjoyable to read. I liked the Dutch words popping up every once in a while and how sports played such an important role throughout the story. I wasn’t sure about the characters though and the steamy scenes were a huge turn off for me. But like I said before, if you don’t mind those you will probably enjoy this story a lot!

4. The Weight Of Lies by Emily Carpenter (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 22/06
I requested a copy of this story after seeing various glowing reviews and I will definitely be adding another one to the mix tomorrow. After a few mediocre reads, I finally found something again that was able to grab my full attention! I loved the Kitten chapters in between the ‘normal’ ones and the story itself is intriguing. I found myself eagerly turning the pages to try and find out what her mother was hiding and what secrets the island hides… Very good psychological thriller indeed! More in my review tomorrow. 😉

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I have more pending ARCs to get to, but luckily the pile seems a little smaller now… So I’m keeping my fingers crossed nothing interesting will come up for a while so I can get to my own books instead. 😉 I need to read The Lost Book Of The Grail by Charlie Lovett, an ARC that was approved a day before it was archived so naturally I didn’t get to it on time. xD I might read What To Say Next by Julie Buxbaum first thought because it has been calling my name ever since I was granted a copy! I also need another dose of mystery/thriller and want to pick up one of my own titles instead of an ARC just this once: Now You See Me by S.J. Bolton. Slip by David Estes is still high on my list as well.

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

Teaser Tuesdays #145 – June 20th: The Merchant’s Pearl

TEASER TUESDAYS is a weekly book meme hosted at The Purple Booker. To participate, just open the book you are currently reading to a random page, and choose two ‘teaser’ sentences from somewhere on that page. (no spoilers!)

I’ve been saying I was going to read this story next for weeks, so it was about time I finally actually picked it up… The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien is another ARC I’ve had pending for way too long. I’ve only just started it, but after loving the first two The Conqueror’s Saga books I’m looking forward to another story set in the Ottoman empire, this time in the late 19th century. I’m a bit afraid there will be too much romance to my taste… But we’ll see how things go I guess.

My teaser (1%):

“It was exactly as it had been. It was all so real… I almost believed he’d returned for me.”

What are you reading right now?

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

WWW Wednesdays #141 – June 14th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently reading The Book Of Whispers by Kimberley Starr, which I admit was mostly a cover-title obsession. I didn’t realize before that it had such a low Goodreads rating OR the fact that demons play such a big role in the story, and I don’t think this one is for me… Besides the demon overload, I’m not really connecting to the writing style or characters either. I’m about to start Can’t Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon as well; an ARC that I’ve had pending for way too long now.

I’ve also made quite some progress with the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott since last week…. And I have a question for Little Women fans out there. I got a kindle version on Amazon and I’m confused: is Little Women actually originally divided in two parts or is part two a sequel? It’s just that the ending of part one sounded so much like a real ending and part two skipped years… (Part two starts with a wedding)

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. And I Darken by Kiersten White (4/5 stars) REVIEW 
It took me a long time to finally pick up my copy of And I Darken, but I’m definitely glad I’ve done so. I’ve fallen in love with Kiersten White‘s writing style and her ability to create an extensive worldbuilding filled with excellent descriptions and an intriguing plot. And while it wasn’t the 5 star read I thought it would be after reading the first few chapters, there is no doubt a very much enjoyed reading Lada, Radu and Mehmed’s story and I can’t wait to find out what the future has in store.

2. Guilty by Laura Elliot (3/5 stars) REVIEW
Guilty has without doubt a lot of potential and the plot itself is both complex and intriguing. The pace was a bit slow though and I had a hard time connecting to the main characters. They are not exactly likeable and this made connecting to the story a lot more difficult. The development of the characters over time is interesting, although I’m not sure up to what point some actions are actually credible. In short I ended up having mixed thoughts, but I can definitely understand why the right person would love this psychological thriller. And a last random note: the plinks just sound lovely!

3. Now I Rise by Kiersten White REVIEW 15/06
Ok I’m still recovering from this one so I need some time to get my thoughts together! No rating until then, but let’s just say it was GOOD.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I really need to make a dent into my pile of ARCs so all four of these are just that… The first is The Weight Of Lies by Emily Carpenter, which I just HAD to pick up after all those glowing reviews. I also still need to read The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien… And both Each Little Lie by Tom Bale and Slip by David Estes are high on my list as well.

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

WWW Wednesdays #140 – June 7th

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m FINALLY reading And I Darken by Kiersten White, a series I’ve been looking forward to for ages and somehow never actually picked up until now. I have an ARC of the sequel waiting as well, so if I like the first book I will probably binge-read both before continuing with the next Bookouture thriller. Guilty by Laura Elliot sounds like a great read though from what I could see from the first pages, so we’ll see what happens… I’ve also made progress with the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott since last week; I’m liking it so far, although I don’t LOVE it like most people seem to do. It kind of makes me feel bad.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. Sherlock Holmes And The Nine-Dragon Sigil by Tim Symonds (4/5 stars) REVIEW 
I can always enjoy a good Sherlock Holmes retelling when well executed and that is without doubt the case with Sherlock Holmes And The Nine-Dragon Sigil. Both the setting and the descriptions are very well done and made me feel as if I were in the room along with the main characters. The outcoming might not have been all that surprising, but the plot twists are still well executed and feel very much like ‘Holmes’. All in all without doubt a very satisfying read.

2. Molly Bell And The Wishing Well by Bridget Geraghty (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW
Molly Bell And The Wishing Well is without doubt a quick read with a writing style that flows and will appear to the age group. I had some doubts about certain actions of the main characters and its credibility, but in general I really liked how this story portrayed how to deal with loss, grief and moving on after a traumatic event. The wishing well is used as part of this journey and the descriptions of the daily life on the farm will appeal to the younger readers as well.

3. The Gypsy Moth Summer by Julia Fierro (2,5/5 stars)  REVIEW
I really wanted to enjoy this story and I still think the plot itself is both rich, provoking and fascinating, but unfortunately The Gypsy Moth Summer ended up being one of those titles that just isn’t for me. Literary fiction can go either way with me in general, so that might just have been the problem here; if you enjoy the genre I would suggest still giving this story a go. That said, I couldn’t ignore the chaotic feel of the storytelling, my lack of connection to the characters, certain elements that bothered me or the fact I couldn’t warm up to the writing style.

4. The Mayfly by James Hazel (4/5 stars) REVIEW TODAY!!
There is no doubt that The Mayfly is a fascinating story that will definitely appeal to psychological thriller fans. The flashbacks and connections to the Second World War added a whole different level to what was already an intriguing plot and definitely made me appreciate this story even more. I had a few minor doubts, but those are just that: minor. The writing style and pace turned The Mayfly into a superfast read and I will be looking forward to see more of Charlie Priest in the future!

5. Love, & You by Gretchen Gomez (5/5 stars) REVIEW 08/06
It’s been days since I devoured Love, & You in record time, and I still haven’t recovered from the emotion overload. Because to say it crudely: damn, that girl can write powerful poetry! Wonderful, emotional, raw, beautiful, powerful, strong, exceptional… Trust me, I can keep the adjectives going for a long time if you let me. This poetry bundle is all about her experience with a toxic relationship and her slow recovery from it. The poems are highly personal and it really feels you get to know her a lot better through her poems.

6. Two Sisters by Kerry Wilkinson (4/5 stars) REVIEW 10/06
I always have a weak spot for a good psychological thriller and this one without doubt delivered. It’s not just another well written suspense story with an engaging writing style, but it also has a whole different level added. One of the main characters has an eating disorder and it was really interesting to see how she deals with this on a daily basis while also being exposed to very stressful situations. Lots and lots of plot twists in this one and you will definitely not see the ending coming! I’m not sure the characters are actually likeable, but I enjoyed Two Sisters anyway.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

As I said, depending on how I will enjoy And I Darken I will start reading the sequel Now I Rise straight away… Especially since the publish date is coming closer. I also want to read the ARCs The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien and Can’t Buy Forever by Susan Laffoon; both sound like interesting reads. And I WILL pick up my very first Sharon Bolton book this month as well… I’ve decided to go with the first book of her Lacey Flint series: Now You See Me.

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.

WWW Wednesdays #139 – May 31st

WWW WEDNESDAYS is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World Of Words and is all about answering the three questions below.

• WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING?

I’m currently almost done with the Reading Alley ARC Sherlock Holmes And The Nine-Dragon Sigil by Tim Symonds, a Sherlock Holmes retelling set in China which is proving to be an interesting read and just the romance-free story I needed right now. I’ve also started with the ARC The Gypsy Moth Summer by Julia Fierro, but the beginning felt a bit chaotic and I wasn’t in the mood for it… Hopefully I will like it better after having had a short break from it, especially since it’s due soon. I’ve also made progress with the classic Little Women by Louisa May Alcott; I actually think I would have finished it already by now but I had to read a few pending ARCs first.

• WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?

1. The Last Valentine by Felix Alexander (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW 
The Last Valentine isn’t just another historical romance novel. The 1930s setting in Puerto Rico is without doubt well executed and helped set the right atmosphere, but it is the whole mystery around the Labyrinth of Love Letters and other secrets and conspiracies that will keep you intrigued until the very end. The dose of (sappy) romance cliches was a bit too high for me, but I did appreciate the many quotable references to romance in general. Romance fans will most likely love this story!

2. Feel Me Fall by James Morris (4/5 stars) REVIEW
Feel Me Fall is without doubt a superfast and entertaining read. I really liked the mix of Amazon survival/adventure chapters with contemporary high school flashbacks and those set in the hospital after Emily is rescued. It’s just the right balance and makes this story that much more interesting to read. I could have done without the cliches and love triangles, but overall this is definitely a great read. The writing style is very engaging!

3. Heartborn by Terry Maggert (2,5/5 stars)  REVIEW
I can’t deny there is a lot of potential in this story, and it’s a shame the fantasy world has been described only so briefly. An extra 100 pages or so would have helped develop their world better and that would probably help enjoying this story a lot better. I also had problems with the credibility of it all, mostly due to Livvy’s reactions to so many (for her) shocking details. The final part of the story also felt a bit rushed and the ending abrupt. All in all a lot of potential, but in the end it just didn’t work for me.

4. The Serial Killer’s Daughter by Lesley Welsh (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW UP TODAY!!
Although the title The Serial Killer’s Daughter is actually sort of a spoiler of what is to come, there is no doubt that this story is a well written character-driven psychological thriller with a sublime character development. The pace is a bit slow and there might not be as much action as you would suspect there to be in a serial killer thriller, but the story is full of twists and the characters more than make up for it. You will be able to meet one for the most twisted and creepy serial killers I’ve encountered with to this date and get to know him (almost too) intimately; definitely the stuff nightmares are made from.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?

I was actually going to pick up Love, & You, a poetry bundle written by fellow book blogger (ChicNerdReads) Gretchen Gomez, last weekend but I had to read some ARCs first and didn’t want to rush it. I’ve heard so many wonderful things about it and I can’t wait to finally read it myself! I want to read And I Darken by Kiersten White soon since I have the ARC sequel coming up… And the historical fiction ARC The Merchant’s Pearl by Amie O’Brien is also on my list, as well as the ARC The Breakdown by B.A. Paris which I have been neglecting for way too long.

---

You can also find me at Goodreads. Twitter. Instagram. Facebook. Bloglovin’.