WWW Wednesday - 2nd October / September wrap-up

Hi booklovers

"Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!"

I found this on Nadine's blog.

The Three Ws are: 

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading

I picked up Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson a couple of days ago. It's really nice to be back in the Mistborn universe. I'm on page 127 and I'm loving the humour in this :-)

This is one of the trilogies I want to finish before the end of 2019.

Recently finished

At the very beginning of September I finished Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. This book was my least favourite of the trilogy because I was very confused while reading it. I gave it 3.75 stars.

Another finished trilogy to check off my list :-)

I also finished The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks. I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to continue with the series.

I gave this 4.5 stars.

The third book I finished in September was one of my most anticipated releases of 2019: Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff. I was scared going into this because I'd seen some very heavy reactions to the ending and I also didn't want the story to end. It was an emotional read (although, I didn't get emotional over the same chapter that most of the other readers did :-) ) but I loved it. I love how Jay used a lot of sarcasm to mock all the criticism about his writing style. He definitely doesn't take himself serious.

This is a trilogy I'll definitely reread in the future.

A very definite 5 star read.

The last book I read in September was The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. I wanted to read something completely different after finishing DD, so I went for this.

Phew, this book paints such a scary image of the future (I knew what to expect since I've already watched the first two seasons of the tv-show).

It's a well-written book, but the format is a bit difficult sometimes because it jumps 'timelines' quite frequently.

I'm a bit sorry that I didn't read this before watching the show, because there are quite a few differences between the book and the show :-s

I'll definitely pick up The Testaments.

I gave this 4 stars. Alternating between the physical and the audiobook (narrated by the actress who plays Offred in the tv-show) made it a quicker read.

What's next?

I don't really do TBRs, so picking my next read(s) pretty much always depends on my mood.

Here are some of the possible choices: Valour by John Gwynne, The Broken Eye by Brent Weeks, Northern Lights by Philip Pullman or Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell.

What are you currently reading, have you recently finished or will you pick up next? Tell me in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

WWW Wednesday - 28th August / August wrap-up

Hi booklovers

"Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!"

I found this on Nadine's blog.

The Three Ws are: 

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading

Being on a mission to actually finish the trilogies/series that I start, I picked up Emperor of Thorns by Mark Lawrence.

I've reviewed both books 1 and 2 (click on the numbers to go to the reviews).

I'm currently on page 270 and I'm enjoying it (at least this time I know that '5 years earlier' means that the whole chapter is set in the past) but I'm not sure where the story is going.

Recently finished

At the beginning of August I finished Malice by John Gwynne. I enjoyed it a lot and you can find my review here.

After all those big fantasy books I was in the mood for some quicker reads so I picked up Getting Down and Hooking Up by Helena Hunting. I really enjoyed both with HU being my favourite of the Shacking Up series so far. Lexington is just so cute, caring and sexy AF.

After that I started and finished my reread of Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff. I still absolutely love this book and I'm not ready for this story to end.

I also decided to reread Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell because I finally want to continue with the series. I loved this just as much as the first time around and I'm very much looking forward to reading book two: Knight's Shadow.

Then I picked up I Flipping Love You, book three in the Shacking Up series. I enjoyed this, but not as much as Hooking Up.

The last book I finished was Aurora Rising by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. I liked it, but didn't love it. I had very high hopes for this one since The Illuminae Files is one my favourite trilogies. I think I might have compared it a little too much to those books. I'm curious enough to continue on with the next book, though.

What's next?

In September Darkdawn by Jay Kristoff comes out, so I'll be reading that as soon as it arrives :-)

I also want to pick up Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell, maybe after I finish Emperor of Thorns, we'll see.

Oh, btw, I kind of gave up on my NEWTs, I just wasn't feeling it. I have completed a couple of prompts, but not that many. Ah well, maybe I'll do better next year.

How's your reading been this month? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

WWW Wednesday July 24th - Readathon Updates

Hi booklovers

"Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!"

I found this on Nadine's blog.

The Three Ws are: 

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading

This is the fourth week of both the MedievalAThon and the IronTomeAThon.

I finally started Malice by John Gwynne.

I tried to read this a couple of years ago, but I found it too confusing and I couldn't invest enough time in it to fully immerse myself into the story, so I put it down. But I definitely wanted to give it another try. So, this week I decided to pick it up again. 

I'm only 90 pages in and it's going very slow because my copy has very small print and I don't have the audiobook for this one (I can't find it anywhere :-s ). It's also a story that has a lot of characters. I'm writing down all the character names, just so I can keep track of them. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it before the end of the month/readathons *crosses fingers*.

This one would award me the rank of Queen for the MedievalAThon and get me some leggings. For the IronTomeAThon I would count it towards King's Landing (and then I would use King of Thorns for Asshai). This would also grant me 628 points.

Recently finished

Last week I finished King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence. At first I didn't really know how I felt about it. I didn't feel as connected to Jorg as I did in Prince of Thorns. But I let it sink in a bit and I wrote a review about it. While writing that review I realised I did really enjoy it.

I became a knight with a crown *LOL* in the MedievalAThon. This goes towards the prompt of Asshai for the IronTomeAThon and I earned 597 points.

Because I felt like my reading was going so slow, I decided to pick up a graphic novel. I have read Alax + Ada and Girls by the Luna Brothers. Last week I went to Brugge and I visited a comicbook store and they recommended The Sword, so I bought the first two volumes.

I picked up The Sword Volume 1 to help me get a cloak and the rank of countess for the MedievalAThon.

I really enjoyed this. I really like the artwork, it's very 'calm'. It's also very similar to the artwork of their other graphic novels.

This awards me 100 points for the IronTomeAthon. (Graphic Novels only count for 100 points with a maximum of 5 graphic novels.)

I immediately picked up Volume 2 and this got me a sword and the rank of princess for the MedievalAThon and it again awarded me 100 points for the IronTomeAThon.

I'm definitely going to pick up the next two volumes very soon.

What's next?

Malice will probably keep me occupied until the end of the readathons so I'm not 100% sure yet what I'll pick up afterwards.

I'm going to take my N.E.W.T.s in August (you can find my tentative TBR here) and I think I'm going to start with my reread of Godsgrave by Jay Kristoff.

How's your reading going? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

WWW Wednesday July 17th - Readathon updates

Hi booklovers

"Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!"

I found this on Nadine's blog.

The Three Ws are: 

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading

This is the third week of both the MedievalAThon and the IronTomeAThon.

On Monday I started King of Thorns by Mark Lawrence and I'm currently on page 306 out of 597. 

I feel so slow because it took me nearly 20 chapters before I realised that when it says 'Four years earlier' the entire chapter is a flashback and when it says 'Wedding Day' it is the present day *insert face palm emoji here*.

Now that I've figured it out, I'm actually enjoying the book a lot more!

I'm alternating between listening to the audiobook and reading the physical copy.

This goes towards the prompt of King's Landing for the IronTomeAThon and the prompt that will earn me a crown in the MedievalAThon and grant me the rank of knight (meaning I've read three books).

This is only the second book I'm reading for the IronTomeAThon.

Recently finished

The first book I read for both readathons was Nevernight by Jay Kristoff. 

This is the second time I've read this and it is still a very solid 5 star read. I'm rereading NN and Godsgrave in preparation for the release of Darkdawn in September. I'm going to want to read that one as soon as it comes out, even though I know my heart is will be ripped to pieces and I'll probably suffer from a major bookhangover.

I love this book, it's dark, it's gritty, it's graphic and it has tons of humour. And even though I knew what would happen towards the end it still got to me big time!

MedievalAThon: I earned the rank of peasant and my daggers with this book.

IronTomeAThon: Oldtown + 428 points.

Because I knew nothing fantasy related would live up to NN immediately after finishing it, I decided to pick up a contemporary NA story: Masquerade by Nyrae Dawn. 

I enjoyed it and it was just what I needed to not go into into a reading slump. This is the final book in the Games trilogy and we follow Maddox, Layne's (the MC from the second book) brother. All three books are companion novels with appearances of the characters from the previous books. Since this is the third one, I can't say much more about the plot. What I can say is that both MC's have their pasts haunting them and they need to find ways to deal with it. This one leans heavily on the one-night-stand turning into something more trope. It was the right balance between angst, drama and sexy times (without the sexual content being too graphic).

Then I read my second book for the Medievalathon, Legendary by Stephanie Garber. 

Even though this is also a reread it took me much longer to finish than I'd anticipated :-s I also didn't enjoy it as much as the first time around. I think my reading tastes have changed a lot over the last two years. This makes me fear for Finale, the last book in the trilogy. I've chosen that one for the prompt to earn me a cape, but I'm not sure if I'll be picking it up this month.

MedievalAThon: I earned the rank of squire and a breastplate with this one.

IronTomeAThon: nothing because this is YA.

What's next?

I still have a few books I want to read for both readathons, but I'm not sure which one I'll be picking up. Here are some of the most likely ones:

The Blinding Knife by Brent Weeks.

Malice by John Gwynne.

Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames.

Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell.

Any suggestions on what I should pick up first? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies

WWW Wednesday - May 29th / May wrap-up

Hi booklovers

I know I'm posting this two days late, but this can serve as my May wrap-up as well.

"Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!"

I found this on Nadine's blog.

The Three Ws are: 

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently reading:

It's been almost a month since I posted my last WWW Wednesday post.

I'm currently reading The Black Prism by Brent Weeks.

I've had The Way of Shadows by Brent Weeks on my TBR for ages and on my last visit to Waterstones and Sterling Books I bought The Black Prism after hearing Nadine rave about this series. Last week this one was calling out to me so I decided to pick it up (even though I had just finished a chunker of a fantasy book). 

It took me a while to get into the story and at one point I was very confused, but now I'm really enjoying it. I have the next two days off, so I hope I'll be able to read a good chunk of this.

I also started listening to Limited Wish by Mark Lawrence, the sequel to One Word Kill.

I really enjoyed One Word Kill and luckily the sequel came out yesterday. The third book comes out before the end of the year.

Recently finished:

Since my last post, I managed to finish 

Brieven van Marie by Lize Feryn

This was a great addition to the first book (Marie's Diary) and the tv-series. This one takes place after the war has ended and Marie writes letters to her unborn child. It was very touching and heart-breaking at times.

Spellslinger by Sebastien de Castell

This one took a very long time before the story really kicked off. I still enjoyed it and I will be continuing with the series. I still need to post my review for this :-/

3.75 stars

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

I loved this almost as much as the original trilogy, even it's very different in a lot of ways. I loved the characters and the Sherlock Holmes-esque vibes. Again, I still need to post my review.

These were all books I finished in April. You can check out my O.W.L.s wrap-up to see what else I read in the month of April.

In the month of May I finished two books:

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

This was a perfect conclusion to this wonderful trilogy. Even though this book is 900 pages I never got bored or confused. 

I'll be posting a series review of this trilogy hopefully soon.

One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence

This book was such a wonderful trip back to the decade of my childhood. I listened to this on audio and it was performed really well. Another review that is hopefully coming soon :-)

What's next?

As I'm still making my way through two books, I have absolutely no idea what I'll be picking up next. I'm hoping to read Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson in June, but other than that, I have no idea.

I've been thinking about doing a second round of the TBR readathon that Irina hosted last year, to help me pick my next read(s).

If you're interested, you can check out my TBR and wrap-up posts.

Have you read any of these books or are you planning to read any of them? Let me know in the comments.

Bye for now

Annelies