WWW Wednesday 13th January 2016

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This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. A similar meme, This Week in Books is hosted by Lipsyy Lost and Found.

Why not join in? Just answer the following three questions in a post and then put a link to that post in the Comments over at Taking on a World of Words.

The questions are:

  1. What are you currently reading?
  2. What did you recently finish reading?
  3. What do you think you’ll read next?

As always, clicking on the cover image will take you to the book’s Goodreads page.

1. What I’m reading at the moment

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo book coverSo far, this is very good. I’d forgotten just how skilled a writer Bardugo is. I had issues with the Grisha trilogy, but they were mostly because I didn’t like the main character much. The characters in Six of Crows are far more my cup of tea.

The blurb: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone…

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz’s crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first.

2. The last books I read

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory book coverHooray! This was much better than The Other Queen (click for my review from back in October 2015). This was a very entertaining imagining of the Anne Boleyn-Henry VIII affair from the perspective of Anne’s younger sister, Mary. Here’s my full review.

The blurb: Two sisters competing for the greatest prize: the love of a king.

A rich and compelling novel of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue, The Other Boleyn Girl introduces a woman of extraordinary determination and desire who lived at the heart of the most exciting and glamorous court in Europe and survived by following her heart.

When Mary Boleyn comes to court as an innocent girl of fourteen, she catches the eye of Henry VIII. Dazzled, Mary falls in love with both her golden prince and her growing role as unofficial queen. However, she soon realizes just how much she is a pawn in her family’s ambitious plots as the king’s interest begins to wane and she is forced to step aside for her best friend and rival: her sister, Anne. Then Mary knows that she must defy her family and her king and take her fate into her own hands.

AND

The Masked City by Genevieve Cogman

The Masked City by Genevieve Cognman Invisible Library 2 coverLast week was a good week for returning to authors whose works I’d previously found “ok”. The Masked City improved on the first book in the series (The Invisible Library) and gives me hope for future installments. Here’s my full review.

The blurb: Librarian-spy Irene is working undercover in an alternative London when her assistant Kai goes missing. She discovers he’s been kidnapped by the fae faction and the repercussions could be fatal. Not just for Kai, but for whole worlds.

Kai’s dragon heritage means he has powerful allies, but also powerful enemies in the form of the fae. With this act of aggression, the fae are determined to trigger a war between their people – and the forces of order and chaos themselves.

Irene’s mission to save Kai and avert Armageddon will take her to a dark, alternate Venice where it’s always Carnival. Here Irene will be forced to blackmail, fast talk, and fight. Or face death.

3. What I’ll read next

Kitty’s Countryside Dream by Christie Barlow

Kitty's Countryside Dream by Christie Barlow book coverThis is my first proper ARC. I’m looking forward to a nice light read (if the cover is anything to go by!).

The blurb: New home. New life. New beginning. Love affairs can blossom in the most unlikely places…

When Kitty inherits Bluebell Lodge from her grandmother, a farm in the beautiful Staffordshire countryside, it’s time for fresh air and a fresh start. Up to her elbows in chickens and ponies, Kitty soon realises there’s an awful lot to learn about farming. Still, at least the locals seem friendly, not least her handsome neighbour Tom…

But just as Kitty is beginning to find her feet, and the possibility of love, the discovery of a long-hidden diary, by a mysterious character called Violet changes everything. Who is Violet and what is her message for Kitty? As Kitty fills in the lost pieces of her family jigsaw and discovers some shocking revelations, will her countryside dream and blossoming relationship fall to pieces? When it comes to life in the country, nothing is ever quite as it seems…

AND

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Carry On by Rainbow Rowell book coverThe last of my Christmas book presents to myself. I’ve seen mixed reviews, so I’m trying to go in without any expectations (other than: “it’s by Rainbow Rowell so the writing will be decent”).

The blurb: Simon Snow is the worst chosen one who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he sets something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here—it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On is a ghost story, a love story, a mystery and a melodrama. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story—but far, far more monsters.

Have you read/are reading any of these? What are you reading? Let me know! 🙂

Chocolate orange cups in white orange cupcake cases home made sweets

Last week I branched out into making chocolates! These are white chocolate cups filled with a swirl of orange-flavoured chocolate. Not as hard to make as you might think and certainly very easy to eat!

And, if you’ve read this far… If you could take a sec to like my Facebook page I’d be forever grateful. I’m only a few likes off being able to view “insights” which would feed my stats addiction and make me very happy 🙂

 Claire Huston / Art and Soul

 

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59 thoughts on “WWW Wednesday 13th January 2016”

    • I hope so too! I’m trying to read something other than (YA) fantasy!! 🙂 And I do enjoy women’s fiction very much although “chick-lit” and I have fallen out sometimes. So how I find it will probably depend on where on the women’s fiction scale between “chick lit lite” and Austen this falls. We’ll see. Fingers crossed though because, if nothing else, the cover is really beautiful 🙂
      Thank you for visiting too and happy reading.

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    • That might have to be my next one then 🙂 I will definitely read more of her books in future.
      Thank you for liking my Facebook page. Only 4 likes off being about to get “insights” – which is something I feel like I need all the time! 🙂
      Thanks for visiting. I’ll visit your WWW now.

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    • I’m the same with chick lit, particularly if it turns out to be chick lit “lite”. I’m keeping my fingers crossed because often they’re not my cup of tea… but then again I’ve come across some I’ve really enjoyed, so I keep trying! 🙂
      Thanks for visiting and happy reading!

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  7. Carry On is pretty good! It was much different than what I expected but in a good way. Hopefully, you’ll enjoy it too. 🙂

    Six of Crows is on my reading list! Just waiting until I have more free time since it’s very long and I want to read through it over a short period of time. Do you have the hardcover physical copy? I bought it last month, and it’s so beautiful. I spent the first ten minutes just admiring the construction, the maps, the details, the pages, and then I read the first page and made myself stop before I got sucked into the story.

    My post: https://kaywritesbooks.wordpress.com/2016/01/13/www-wednesday-january-13-2016/

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    • I have the paperback copy of Six of Crows and, even so, it’s huge and heavy. I can imagine the hardcover would be hard to read when lying in bed! I always like a book that starts with maps – it reassures me that the author knows what they’re doing 🙂
      Thanks for vising. I’ll check out your post now!

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      • Well, when you find yourself at a bookstore next, take a look at the hardcover! The pages are shiny and beautiful and almost magical. Lol. Yeah, hardcovers can be hard to read that way. I’m a lap-reader so it doesn’t bother me, but it’s so not portable. Indeed, I love maps! Referencing them as I’m reading adds to the experience of the story. 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I’m eyeing Six of Crows there. I haven’t read any of the author’s works so this should be exciting.

    Hope you enjoy Carry On! I was one of those people with the mixed reviews, but it certainly kept me awake for nights. Happy reading!

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    • Six of Crows is worth it. A long book, but once you get past the initial introductions to the characters the story whizzes by.
      I hope I enjoy Carry On! I loved all the little bits which were in Fangirl so I’m looking forward to it.
      Thanks for visiting and happy reading!

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    • I know, right? For months now it’s felt as if I was the only person in the world who hadn’t read Six of Crows. It took me a while because I wanted to read the Grisha trilogy first.
      I’m really glad you loved Carry On. Lately I’ve only seen “meh” reviews and it’s made me worry because I was really looking forward to it.
      Thanks for visiting and happy reading!

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    • Thank you! The chocolates were delicious and vanished rather too quickly. It’s always dangerous to make something morsel-sized…
      I definitely want to read more Gregory because I enjoy her writing style and love all things Tudor 🙂
      Thanks for visiting and happy reading!

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      Reply

  13. Six Of Crows, YESS!! I agree that the characters are better than in The Grisha, although I still loved that series as well. And I hope you like Carry On! It has a slow start, but as soon as Baz makes its appearance it’s hard to stop reading. 😉 Those white chocolate cups look delicious by the way! I already see them filled with ‘dulce de leche’, mmmm

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    • Ooooo… dulce de leche….mmmm…
      Sorry! Got a bit carried away there. If I were in your neck of the woods I’d be able to buy the stuff in jars ready to pipe into the cup!
      I hope I like Carry On too. I enjoyed the little snippets in Fangirl, so I think I will 🙂
      Thanks for visiting and happy reading!
      Off to dream about dulce de leche again… 😉

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      • Trust me, free access to dulce de leche sometimes isn’t the best thing in the world if you’re on a diet. 😉 It’s the first thing I miss whenever I’m on vacation (along with drinking mate).
        Carry On is similar to the fanfiction in Fangirl so I hope you do! 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  17. Glad to hear you’re enjoying Six Of Crows. It definitely has more likeable characters than the Grisha series and so far there’s less relationship drama 🙂

    Carry On is definitely worth a read. It takes a little while to get going but once it goes it’s addictive.

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  20. I’m so glad you enjoyed ‘The Other Boylen Girl!’ It’s one of my favorite Gregory books along with ‘The Virgin’s Lover’ and ‘The Queen’s Fool’ (I think that second one is right). I’ve noticed that those who read ‘Fangirl’ before ‘Carry On’ liked it more than those who didn’t. Have you read ‘Fangirl?’ Happy reading and thanks for participating in WWW Wednesday!

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  21. I am SO jealous that you’re reading Six of Crows! I have been quite literally trying to order it all day but everywhere is out of stock!
    I read the first book in the Grisha trilogy and it was just OK for me, but I didn’t see the point in reading the rest – I think it was also the characters for me that were the let down. When I heard you didn’t have to read the trilogy to read Six of Crows I was very happy.
    I hope Six of Crows doesn’t let either of us down 😀

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  22. I’ve seen mixed reviews for both Six of Crows (which I really enjoyed 😀 more so than the Grisha Trilogy as well because the main character and her love interest were never my favourites) and Carry On so I hope you enjoy them! I’ve found that it’s good to go in with next to no expectations so I hope it works out 🙂 happy reading!
    Enchanted by YA

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    • I’ve nearly finished Six of Crows and think it’s wonderful and better than the Grisha (although the writing is consistently good). I’m looking forward to a light happy read with Carry On 🙂
      Thanks for visiting and happy reading!

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  24. I’m so glad you’re getting to Carry On – it was so good. Not what I expected, but so good.
    And I totally agree with you about the Grisha trilogy. It was always Alina – and, to some extent, the other characters – that I didn’t like, to say nothing of some of the plot points. But Bardugo is a good writer and a good world-builder, so I’m glad to hear you like Six of Crows so far.
    Thanks for visiting my WWW post, and happy reading!

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