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 Weight Of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore, a title I’ve heard lots of wonderful things about and I’m definitely curious how I’ll react to the magical realism this time around. I’m also starting My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing; there’s been a lot of hype around this one so fingers crossed I won’t get an unpopular opinion review for it. 😉 Aaaand… I’m finally reading my Dutch read of the year! (Yes, don’t expect a second title as I’m struggling to finish one as it is haha.) I’ve picked the Dutch version of Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, which is a short story collection and makes it so much easier to read in small bites… I do plan on finishing it in the next two weeks or so.
WHAT DID YOU RECENTLY FINISH READING?
1. The Confectioner’s Guild by Claire Luana (3/5 stars) REVIEW
The fantasy world, the many many baking references, the mystery around Kasper’s death and Wren’s past, the existence of the Gifted… Oh yes, there were a lot of interesting ingredients in play. The Confectioner’s Guild reads quite fast at first and part of this has to do with the writing, which starts out engaging and interactive. It’s true though that things start slowing down a bit after a while and the initial flame peeters out mostly… I think a lot of it has to do with the introduction of sappy romance in the plot, which distracts from the murder conspiracy and delicious baking elements. I ended up having mixed thoughts about The Confectioner’s Guild, because while I loved certain elements, there were others that failed to convince me including the ending.
2. The Woman In Our House by Andrew Hart (3,5/5 stars) REVIEW
While I can’t deny that this story is what you call a slowburner and it took me some time to warm up to both the characters and the plot itself, things speed up as we get closer to the final reveals and the ending is without doubt intense. I did feel the story tried to incorporate too many different elements into the plot, with Oaklynn’s secrets and past, Josh’s secrets, Anna’s job and novel fragments and the home life of the Klein family among other elements fighting for the spotlight. Having to juggle all those different elements slowed down the pace and made it harder to keep track of everything, although all secrets and connections will be revealed before you reach the final page.
3. The Marriage Betrayal by Shalini Boland (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 13/06
It’s true I’m a bit biased when it comes to Shalini Boland‘s work, as I’ve been a fan ever since I had the chance to read The Girl From The Sea back in 2016. Every time I pick up a Shalini Boland story, I know I have to clear out my schedule beforehand and make sure nothing will disturb me while I read… Because it’s a garantuee I won’t be wanting to stop reading before I reach the final page if it can be helped. The Marriage Betrayal turned out to be another one of those reads. The building up is a bit slow and fans of faster psychological thrillers might struggle a bit with the first part of The Marriage Betrayal as there is more focus on the characters and mundane daily activities. I can promise you things WILL escalate and this story has quite a few shocking surprises for you lined up. And trust me, the ending will be a total shocker.
4. Queens Of Geek by Jen Wilde (4/5 stars) REVIEW 17/06
Queen Of Geek is an absolutely adorkable read. So cute! So fluffy! I love my geeky characters and you will get a whole lot of them as basically every single one of the main characters fits the description. The story is set at the Supacon convention after all, so this doesn’t come as a surprise… The setting plays a key role during the whole story and is without doubt one of the reasons this story is such a success. The characters are supereasy to like and it won’t be long before they steal your heart and run away with it. It’s true that there are quite a few cliches involved, both romantic and otherwise, but somehow the characters and story itself were able to get away with it. I did feel there were almost too many inspirational messages included (don’t get me wrong, I loved those messages and applaude positivity, but it started to come over as a bit preachy after a while). Still, I had a wonderful time reading Queens Of Geek and its characters will definitely stay with me for quite some time.
5. Wolves At The Door by Gunnar Staalesen (4,5/5 stars) BLOG TOUR REVIEW 16/06
Look out for my thoughts during my stop of the blog tour this Sunday June 16th!!
6. The Friend Who Lied by Rachel Amphlett (4,5/5 stars) REVIEW 20/06
I think most will know by now I’m a huge fan of the Kay Hunter series… So saying that I’ve been excited to see if my love for her new psychological thriller would be just as great would be an understatement. Guess what? It is! Be ready for another raving review, because The Friend Who Lied simply blew me away.
- WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU’LL READ NEXT?
I’m finally up to date with the most urgent ARCs so that means I finally get to read my own books for a while! First up is a title for a challenge: Cut And Run by Mary Burton. Then I’m finally picking up my copy of The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews, which I’m super excited about. I also want to read Us Against You by Fredrik Backman… It’s time I dive into another story by one of my favorite authors. And I’m hoping to finally get around reading my TBR jar pick The Problem With Forever by Jennifer L. Armentrout as well.
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