WWW Wednesdays #58 – July 19th

WWW Wednesdays is a weekly bookish meme formally hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm, and revived by Sam of Taking on a World of Words. This meme consists of answering the following three questions:

• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

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►What am I currently reading?◄

As I stated yesterday in my TT post, I’m still working through the second book in the Grisha trilogy, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. I’ll try to read this one more next week! I also started reading The Artifact by J.E. Lorin. I mentioned this author in my last WWW post. Lorin has only published three books, but I’ve enjoyed each and every one! Or, at least I’m enjoying The Artifact so far. Lorin’s world-building is awesome and the characters enjoyable. I’ll definitely be keeping a lookout for more by this author in the future! I’m reading another MxM book as well. This one is called The Soldati Prince by Charlie Cochet. If you’ve been reading my TT or WWW posts for a little while you may have noticed I’ve mentioned the THIRDS series by Cochet a few times. I fell in love with the THIRDS books, but this other series by her has been…meh. I’m just not enjoying it as much as the THIRDS. I may still give the second book a try though. It comes out later this year. So we’ll see.

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►What did I recently finish reading?◄

A Destiny of Dragons by T.J. Klune, the second book in the Tales From Verania series. This book FINALLY came out and I was so excited!!! I absolutely LOVED the first one, so I impatiently waited for the sequel. And it definitely did not disappoint. Granted, I still enjoyed the first one a bit more, but the second one had the same amount of humor, and we were introduced to some new characters as well. Plus, more plot! The first book was merely the beginning. In the second a larger plot began to unfold, which will most likely be concluded in the next, and last, two books. Since I believe Klune said there was only going to be four. But yes, I will now be impatiently waiting for the third book. If you’re looking for a hilarious fantasy MxM romance, give the first book a try! I also finished up reading Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh, the first book in the Flame in the Mist series. This was a fantastic read and I definitely recommend it! My review on this one can be found here. I’ve mentioned before, but I’ve been trying to stick to completed series, with the exception of a few. But this one just sounded so good, and I absolutely love Mulan (which this series is loosely based off) so I couldn’t wait to read it. I’ll also be impatiently waiting for the sequel to this series as well. I found another MxM author that I enjoy too. I read Leo Loves Aries by Anyta Sunday, the first in the Signs of Love series. This was an adorable book with some funny characters and a fun plot. I’ve read a few more by the same author and, once again, I am looking forward to the next one in this series.

 

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►What do I think I’ll read next?◄

This section is pretty much the same as it was in my last WWW post. I’ll be continuing the Grisha trilogy with the third and final book, Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo. I’ll probably also keep picking up random MxM books because that’s what my mood has been recently.

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Teaser Tuesdays #58 – July 18th

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of A Daily Rhythm. To play along just follow the rules below!

Rules:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page (I usually do a bit more than two)
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

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I am still plugging away at the second book in the Grisha trilogy, Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo. I’ve been kind of everywhere with reading recently, and unfortunately it’s taking longer than I thought to get this one read. I think I’ve mentioned before, I actually get quite a bit of reading done at one of my jobs. However, the company is having some legal issues at the moment and has closed down for the time being. Sadly, that means less reading time. And less money…of course.

My teaser:

 

【Despite its name, I loved the war room. The cartographer in me couldn’t resist the old maps wrought in animal hide and embellished in whimsical detail: the gilded lighthouse at Os Kervo, the mountain temples of the Shu, the mermaids that swam at the edges of the seas.】

–Chapter 15, page 261
(hardcover)

Reading Progress 2017

I wanted to make a quick post that ties with another post I had made late last year. I had posted ‘Books I’d Like to Read in 2017‘. That list consisted of the following books:

• Peace Talks by Jim Butcher
• The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson [X]
• A Destiny of Dragons by T.J. Klune [X]
• Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff
• The Curse of the Wendigo by Rick Yancey
• Against the Grain by Charlie Cochet [X]
• Whiskey Sour by J.A. Konrath
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo [X]
• The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater [X]
• Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

I have marked the ones I have read with a red ‘X’ next to them. I’m quite proud of myself for getting a good chunk of these books finished already. Plus, for just about all the ones I have read, I’ve gone on to read more in the series. I’ve actually already finished The Raven Cycle series and am currently reading the second book in The Grisha trilogy. Unfortunately, Peace Talks still doesn’t have a release date yet, so I’m not sure if I’ll manage to get that one read this year if it doesn’t come out. But, that’s all I really wanted to say in this post.

Happy reading! :)

Book Review – Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh

It has been well over a year since I’ve actually written a review. I know, I know. Shame on me. SHAME. But, as I’ve mentioned many times, I’m an extremely lazy person and because I’ve been doing my TT and WWW posts, I usually end up talking about the books I’m reading and pretty much say what I want to say about them. I will try my best to do better. Although that’s not really saying much…since I’m fairly sure I mentioned I was going to try to post more often this summer but not a single post got out last month…heh heh ^^; Anyway, moving on!

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Goodreads Synopsis:

The only daughter of a prominent samurai, Mariko has always known she’d been raised for one purpose and one purpose only: to marry. Never mind her cunning, which rivals that of her twin brother, Kenshin, or her skills as an accomplished alchemist. Since Mariko was not born a boy, her fate was sealed the moment she drew her first breath.

So, at just seventeen years old, Mariko is sent to the imperial palace to meet her betrothed, a man she did not choose, for the very first time. But the journey is cut short when Mariko’s convoy is viciously attacked by the Black Clan, a dangerous group of bandits who’ve been hired to kill Mariko before she reaches the palace.

The lone survivor, Mariko narrowly escapes to the woods, where she plots her revenge. Dressed as a peasant boy, she sets out to infiltrate the Black Clan and hunt down those responsible for the target on her back. Once she’s within their ranks, though, Mariko finds for the first time she’s appreciated for her intellect and abilities. She even finds herself falling in love—a love that will force her to question everything she’s ever known about her family, her purpose, and her deepest desires.

This review will be on Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh, the first book in the Flame in the Mist series. This book was released back in May. What?! I’m doing a review on a new book?! Why yes, yes I am. I know I’ve been trying to keep to completed series, but when I read the synopsis for this book I simply couldn’t wait to read it! And so here we are.

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My Rating:
4.5/5 stars

So, if you couldn’t tell by the synopsis, this book is loosely based of the story of Mulan. Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies so that is one of the reasons why I couldn’t wait to get my hands on this book. And I was not disappointed. The book centers around Mariko, a young woman considered ‘odd’ by her peers because she’s extremely curious and loves asking questions, unlike other women of the time who are meant to pretty much just do what they’re told to by men.

Mariko is shipped off to marry the bastard son of the Emperor, which she has no desire to do, but is attacked in the process. The only survivor, Mariko quickly decides it’s in her best interest to pursue her attackers and find out why they had been sent to kill her, rather then return home only to be sent right back to the palace. This is her last time to be her own woman and she’s not going to let it slip by.

Mariko is a wonderful main character. She’s intelligent, quick-thinking, and always has something to say, which gets her into a bit of trouble on occasion. She hates that she’s treated so differently because she was born a girl and it frustrates her when those around her don’t take the time to listen to what she has to say.

Her twin brother, Kenshin, is another character that pops up quite a bit. He doesn’t believe his sister to be dead, like everyone else, so his main purpose in the book is trying to find her. He is a well known samurai, known as the Dragon of Kai. He’s not someone to show all that much emotion, but a few times throughout the book we catch glimpses of what he’s really feeling, which was nice. I’m hoping to get a better overall feel of him in the next book though.

Two of my other favorite characters are Okami and Ranmaru. I won’t go into any detail about them, however, because that would probably lead to spoilers.

The world-building was fantastic. I especially enjoyed that there was fantasy mixed into the story. For the most part, Mulan is rather realistic – the only fantasy part really being Mushu – so it was nice that the author twisted the story even more to allow for some fantasy elements. There was also some romance in the mix, but nothing over-powering the plot.

The overall plot was well thought out, with a few plot twists sprinkled here and there. There are still questions that need answering, plus the ending of the book makes it so there is most definitely going to be a sequel, so I’m looking forward to reading the second book! I recommend this book to all those looking for some fantasy YA and, of course, to those who enjoy Mulan.

Happy reading! :)