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:
- What are you currently reading?
- What did you recently finish reading?
- 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
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon
The lovely Lindsay @bookboodle won two tickets to “An Evening with Joanna Cannon” at Waterstones in Birmingham and invited me to be her plus one! 🙂 So, of course, I had to get the book and I’m now desperately trying to finish it before the event tonight!
The blurb: England, 1976.
Mrs Creasy is missing and The Avenue is alive with whispers. As the summer shimmers endlessly on, ten-year-olds Grace and Tilly decide to take matters into their own hands.
And as the cul-de-sac starts giving up its secrets, the amateur detectives will find much more than they imagined…
2. The last books I read
A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2) by V.E. Schwab
I am so pleased to report that the 2nd book in the Shades of Magic series was excellent. Not quite as good as Book 1 – A Darker Shade of Magic – but then that was mostly because it was the 2nd book in a trilogy. And if that made no sense, please read my full review where I think I explain myself a bit better.
The blurb: Four months have passed since the shadow stone fell into Kell’s possession. Four months since his path crossed with Delilah Bard. Four months since Rhy was wounded and the Dane twins fell, and the stone was cast with Holland’s dying body through the rift, and into Black London.
In many ways, things have almost returned to normal, though Rhy is more sober, and Kell is now plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, Kell is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila, who disappeared from the docks like she always meant to do. As Red London finalizes preparations for the Element Games—an extravagant international competition of magic, meant to entertain and keep healthy the ties between neighboring countries—a certain pirate ship draws closer, carrying old friends back into port.
But while Red London is caught up in the pageantry and thrills of the Games, another London is coming back to life, and those who were thought to be forever gone have returned. After all, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning, and so it seems Black London has risen again—meaning that another London must fall.
AND
The House of Silk (Sherlock Holmes #1) by Antony Horowitz
I thought Anthony Horowitz’s new Sherlock story was very good indeed. Here’s my review. I have the sequel already and I’m looking forward to it.
The blurb: In freezing London, November 1890, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson receive a man unnerved by a scarred-face stalker with piercing eyes. A conspiracy reaches to the Boston criminal underworld. The whispered phrase ‘the House of Silk’ hints at a deadly foe. Authorized by Doyle’s estate.
3. What I’ll read next
The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig
The release of A Gathering of Shadows left me so discombobulated (any excuse to use that word!) that I managed to forget I’d read a couple of chapters of this when my copy of AGOS arrived. I got it from Netgalley a while ago…
The blurb: Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.
As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.
But the end to it all looms closer every day.
Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.
For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.
She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.
Or she could disappear.
AND
I Hunt Killers (Jasper Dent #1) by Barry Lyga
Yes, yes I know. I should be reading this by now… but stuff happens. This week. Honest!
The blurb: What if the world’s worst serial killer…was your dad?
Jasper “Jazz” Dent is a likable teenager. A charmer, one might say.
But he’s also the son of the world’s most infamous serial killer, and for Dear Old Dad, Take Your Son to Work Day was year-round. Jazz has witnessed crime scenes the way cops wish they could—from the criminal’s point of view.
And now bodies are piling up in Lobo’s Nod.
In an effort to clear his name, Jazz joins the police in a hunt for a new serial killer. But Jazz has a secret—could he be more like his father than anyone knows?
Have you read/are reading any of these? What are you reading? Let me know! 🙂
This week I found time for some not-baking. I made chocolate honeycomb squares. Delicious and definitely for those with sweet teeth.
Claire Huston / Art and Soul
Glad to hear you enjoyed AGOS. I’m trying to avoid reading anything about it till I read it for myself so am staying away from your review for the moment 🙂
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Thanks for my new word of the day 😀 I’m sure it’ll look awesome in one of my assignments. It’s gonna take a few tries before I can pronounce it right, though!
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep sounds entertaining. Good luck finishing it before tonight 🙂
Here is my week in books: https://chocolatenwafflesblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/this-week-in-books-march-2nd-2016/
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There are some words you just can’t use enough (even if they are fiendishly difficult to spell!).
The Trouble with Goats and Sheep gets better as it goes. I think I’ll be scrambling to finish it on the train on the way to the event 🙂
I’ll check out your post now!
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Oh you’re so organised! I don’t even have a copy of Goats & Sheep let alone read any ha ha! I’ll be buying one this evening. I hope you’ve enjoyed it. A member of my book group read it and said it was just ok. Each to their own I guess….
Thanks for visiting my WWW – http://bookboodle.co.uk/2016/03/02/www-wednesday-march-2nd
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You’ll be pleased to hear that it’s better than just ok. The writing is amazing but it takes ages to really hook you. Worth sticking with it though. See you later 🙂
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THE HOUSE OF SILK is in my TBR…hope you enjoy it! 🙂
here is my list – https://dreamzandclouds.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/this-week-in-books-vol-8/
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The House of Silk was very good. So good, I already have the sequel!
I’ll check out your post now 🙂
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really? I will have to check it soon then, its been quite some time I read Sherlock 🙂
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I’m very envious of you and BookBoodle going to a Joanna Cannon event tonight – I hope you both have the best time. I’ll be eagerly looking out for blog posts or tweets about it afterwards. 🙂 My husband got me The Trouble with Goats and Sheep for my birthday but I’m struggling to read hardbacks at the moment (they’re too heavy for me to hold) so it’s still sitting unread on my bookcase – I’m tempted to buy the kindle book so I can start reading asap!
Those chocolate honeycomb squares look delicious! I’m now craving chocolate… 🙂
Here’s my week in books:
https://rathertoofondofbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/www-wednesday-2nd-march/
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I’m so lucky that Lindsay won the tickets and then asked me to be her plus one! This will be my first author event 🙂
I’ve nearly finished the book. It’s going to be a tough one to review because while the writing is superb, it takes a long time to grip you. In fact, it’s 400 ish pages and I wasn’t gripped until around page 250. I’m not sure a lot of readers would stick with it.
Hopefully will provide an update on how the event went along with my review!
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How exciting, I really hope you have a brilliant time.
Oh really? Books like that are so much harder to review. I might hold off starting it a while longer then if it takes time to grip you as at the moment I need books to really grab me straight away or my mind wanders.
I’ll look forward to reading your review 🙂
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Checked out your review and it seems this new Sherlock Holmes book might just be what I need. Apart from the whole 3 page explaining thing 😂😂
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I hope so! It was a good mystery and the style was exactly like Conan Doyle’s. I love a good Sherlock adventure! 🙂
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I need to get my hands on A darker shade of magic. I have heard nothing but excellent things about it! 🙂 NEED IT!
Happy reading! ❤
Here's my www :https://sparklingbooks.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/www-wednesday-getting-off-this-slump/
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You do! It’s brilliant! 🙂
I’ll check out you post now…
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I’m still really excited for you to read I Hunt Killers! It’s just such a unique book!!
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I’m so sad it keeps slipping down my list. I’ve been struggling to get to it for months now 🙂 But I’m going to finish The Trouble with Goats and Sheep tonight so hopefully I can start Jasper Dent tomorrow!
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I totally get that though. There’s a few books on my shelves I’ve been meaning to get to for a while that I haven’t yet.
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I’m so eager to read the Shade of Magic series. I’m still waiting in vain for my ADSOM copy. 😦 I’m too late. Haha! I can’t wait for your review about The Girl From Everywhere. I’ve seen it in bookstagram. 🙂
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The good thing about getting to ADSOM a little late is that you don’t have to wait for the sequel (which is also very good!).
I’ve seen a lot of positive reviews of The Girl from Everywhere and I like time travel books so I’m looking forward to it 🙂
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Hi Claire! I have a good news. I received the ADSOM last night. Yey! I will read it after my 2nd book for read-a-thon. 🙂
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I can’t wait to read AGOS. I’m trying to avoid reading blurbs and reviews because I’m afraid of spoilers.:D And those chocolate honeycomb squares look so yummy ♥
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Thank you! Those chocolate squares were all gone in less than 48 hours 🙂
That’s one of the reasons I read AGOS so quickly… I was so worried about spoilers.
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I really think I need to read A Darker Shade of Magic again! Seeing so much AGOS has me wanting to jump back into that world. I hope you enjoy The Girl from Everywhere! Here’s my post. Happy reading!
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I re-read ADSOM before reading AGOS and I think it helped. Also, it was just fun to re-read it!
I’ll check out your post now 🙂
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I can’t wait to read your reviews for your next ups. I see those two everywhere! Happy Wednesday!
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Thank you! Reviewing The Trouble with Goats and Sheep may be a little tricky… such brilliant writing, but then the story isn’t that gripping.
Happy Wednesday 🙂
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I hate it when that happens.
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I still have yet to finish AGOS, last week I got hit with the incoming of a reading slump so I had to put it down until I reached a point where I felt like reading again.
I cant wait to hear your thoughts on The Girl from Everywhere, I love that time travel seems to be having a big impact on some recent YA books
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AGOS is very long, so a break might help.
I love time travel stories and I’m really looking forward to this one! 🙂
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The House of Silk Sounds good and so does A Gathering of Shadows. I still need to read A Darker Shade of Magic. It’s been on my TBR for a while. Hopefully I’ll get to it soon.
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A Darker Shade of Magic is great and you can read it safe in the knowledge that the sequel is also excellent 🙂
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Yay!
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I’ve been seeing so many talk about A Gathering of Shadows. It makes me think I should give Schwab another chance. I tried reading Vicious recently, and it just wasn’t for me. Perhaps my luck will be better next time round if I ever pick this book up! Also, interested to check out I Hunt Killers. Title says it all.
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A Darker Shade of Magic and A Gathering of Shadows are very different to Vicious (which is more sci-fi than fantasy) so it could be worth giving a try.
I could start I Hunt Killers tonight, but I think I’m going to wait until tomorrow because I’ve been told it’s difficult to put down and I need to get some sleep 🙂
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The Trouble with Goats and Sheep sounds really interesting! I’ve never heard of it before until now. I’ve always been interested in I Hunt Killers. I’ve heard it’s a YA version of Dexter lol. Great post! I found ya over on Larkin’s blog. New follower here! 🙂
My 1st WWW: http://geronimoreads.blogspot.com/2016/03/www-wednesday-1.html
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Thank you!
I’ll try and post a review of The Trouble with Goats and Sheep tomorrow. It’s really good.
I hope I Hunt Killers is YA Dexter because I really enjoyed that show 🙂
I’ll check out your post now!
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I’m really intrigued by I Hunt Killers!
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Me too! Apparently they’re highly addictive and I’m planning on starting it tomorrow rather than tonight in case I can’t sleep 🙂
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I’ve heard so much about The Trouble With Goats and Sheep which sounds great – I do hope you and Lindsay have a brilliant evening 🙂 I don’t think you have one book here today that I wouldn’t happily pick up so have a great reading week!
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It was a great evening. Joanna Cannon was lovely and it was nice to hear her talk so eloquently about her book and publishing experience. Positive review up tomorrow (hopefully… bar disasters!).
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So so so excited about a Gathering of Shadows- glad you enjoyed it!
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It was great! The only downer was how obvious it was that we were going to be left on a tremendously painful cliffhanger – argh!!
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oh no!! I don’t know how I’m going to cope with that!!
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So glad to hear ‘A Gathering of Shadows’ lived up to your expectations! I agree that 2nd novels can be the slog of a trilogy but I do sometimes enjoy them. Though it’s rare; sometimes. As long as Schwab kept the tension going, I’ll be happy. Happy reading and thanks for participating in WWW Wednesday!
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It was very good, particularly for the middle book of a trilogy which is always a difficult balancing act. Book 3 is set to be fantastic!
Thank you and happy reading 🙂
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Ooh, something Sherlock related? I’m in! The House of Silk sounds like an amazing book! I also have The Girl From Everywhere in my Netgalley library to read. It sounds like such a good story. Thanks for sharing and happy Wednesday!
My WWW Wednesday post is here…
https://themeaningofwrittenwords.wordpress.com/2016/03/02/www-wednesday-march-2/
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The House of Silk is very good and if you’re already a Sherlock fan then I think you’ll enjoy it! I’m also instantly drawn to anything Holmes-Watson related 🙂
Thank you for visiting and happy reading!
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I love Sherlock. Haha, have you seen any of the BBC TV series. It’s my favorite show alongside Doctor Who.
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I’m slightly obsessed with the BBC update – it’s brilliant! 🙂
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Yes it is! I just wish they would hurry up with the next season!
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I hope you’ll enjoy I Hunt Killers! 😀 I’m looking forward to start A Darker Shade Of Magic soon and I’ve added both The House Of Silk and The Girl From Everywhere to my wishlist as well. Happy reading!
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I made the huge mistake of starting I Hunt Killers at 11 pm. It’s now 12.45 am and I don’t want to stop reading. Why didn’t I listen to the warnings?! Haha! 🙂
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Haha I know the feeling! Once I started reading the first chapter I was hooked. The sequels are pretty much the same as well, although the first book is still my absolute favorite.
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I Hunt Killers is on my TBR, too, but pretty far down as I try to get through all the books I have out from the library. And The Girl From Everywhere sounds really cool. I’ll look forward to your review!
Thanks for visiting my WWW post, and happy reading.
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I went to the library on Tuesday just to look at children’s books for my son. And then somehow left with 3 books for me! I think I have a problem… 🙂
Thanks and happy reading!
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Omg I seriously can’t wait to read A Gathering of Shadows!! ADSOM was so good. The Girl From Everywhere is on my TBR, so I’ll be looking forward to what you think of it! ❤️
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AGOS is very very good! The only problem with having read it so fast and so soon after publication is now there’s a long wait for the third book 🙂
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The Girl From Everywhere is on my TBR too–I look forward to reading your review 🙂 Happy Reading!
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I’ve only seen one review where the reader didn’t enjoy it, so I’m going in with positive expectations 🙂
Happy reading!
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Really interested to hear your thoughts about The Girl From Everywhere. Hopefully it works for you!
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It was good fun. But important not to over think the time travel component 🙂
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I love child detective stories! Maybe because I thought myself a right Harriet the Spy, but whatever. As for A Gathering of Shadows, it looks scary! *runs away* I have to add The Girl from Everywhere to my list!
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I had a Nancy Drew period when I wanted to to be her! 🙂 The Girl From Everywhere is good fun – I hope you enjoy it.
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