Hello, everyone! It’s Wednesday! That means it is time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words. I’ll be answering the following questions:
- What did you read last?
- What are you currently reading?
- What will you read next?
What did you read last?
Blade of Dream by Daniel Abraham – 4.5⭐ – This was a great follow up to Age of Ash. It examined the same time period and events as the first book through the eyes of new characters and added so much depth to the story of Kithamar. I’m looking forward to the finale of the trilogy to see what everything has been building toward. It is sure to be epic. See all my thoughts in my review!
Jade Shards by Fonda Lee – 5⭐ – This was a collection of four short stories set within the world of the Green Bone Saga. These were so good. I was sobbing at one point. I love these characters so much, and it was such a treat to get these little glimpses of their lives before the start of the saga. There was one story about Lan and little Anden that absolutely destroyed me. Hence the sobbing. All the stories were good, though, and added great background to many of the main characters.
Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong – 3.25⭐ – This book was quite meh. The world-building was A MESS. The magic had tons of rules, at least until an exception needed to be made without any explanation. There was also very little actual information on the society and its history/context, which made the games fall a bit flat for me. I was also rolling my eyes when royals were still getting around with horses and carriages despite all the other technological innovations. The whole setting was just a weird hodgepodge that didn’t work. The body jumping magic system was interesting but underdeveloped, and the characters had fascinating backstories but didn’t make me care much about them, with the exception of one side character who stole my heart. The body jumping also felt a bit skeevy at times, especially when the characters had sex using bodies other than their own. All in all, the premise of the story had potential, but the execution was seriously lacking.
Thick as Thieves by M. J. Kuhn – 4⭐ – I enjoyed this conclusion to the Thieves duology more than I did the first book. Many of the characters were examined more deeply in this one, and new parts of the world were explored. I liked the additions to the world’s history and the lore, as well. There was plenty of action, adventure, and heists. You can find all my thoughts in my review.
Band Sinister by KJ Charles – 5⭐ – OMG. I loved this historical MM romance. After Guy’s sister breaks her leg on his neighbor’s property, they must stay with the neighbor they despise until she is well enough to move again. There’s just one small problem… Staying with the neighbor could ruin what’s left of their reputation since he’s infamous for the horrible company he keeps and the wild orgies he hosts at his home. Matters get even more complicated when Guy becomes attracted to the neighbor and love blooms. This was such an entertaining and steamy story. I loved its focus on framing consent in a super sexy way, and the classics nerd in me was squealing in delight at the Latin dirty talk. lol.
What are you currently reading?
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (75%) – I’m still working on this one and hope to finish it today. I had to put it down for a bit to finish another book for a blog tour. I am loving it, though. The story started out a bit slow, but it took the time to really let the reader get to know the characters and incrementally ratchet up the magic, mystery, and horror. I cannot wait to see how it all ends.
Dark Water Daughter by H. M. Long (9%) – I’ve barely started this one, but I loved the opening chapters.
The City of Dusk by Tara Sim (33%) – I’m still working on this re-read. I haven’t had as much time to devote to it as I’d like, but I’m still enjoying getting re-acquainted with these characters and their fascinating world.
What will you read next?
Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey, A Crooked Mark by Linda Kao, Mimic Arcanist by Shami Stovall
I hope you’ve all had a great week! What have you been reading? Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments!
I felt the same about Immortal Longings. Poor execution was definitely the problem overall.
Yeah. It was really disappointing because the premise was actually kinda cool. 😕
Great update! Immortal Longings has such a great cover it always makes me wanna pick up the book immediately but this doesn’t sound great… 🫤 You’ve got me excited to read my copy of Jade Shards though and I hadn’t heard of this KJ Charles book before but it’s going on my buy list now! It sounds so good 😍 Don’t know why I haven’t done it yet but I need to read more by this author cos I love their work! Also can’t wait to hear what you think of Mimic Arcanist (love that cover). Happy reading!
I was really disappointed that I didn’t enjoy Immortal Longings. The premise sounded so cool, and I’m a classics nerd. So, I’m always excited about retellings with characters from that time period. I just couldn’t get into it.
KJ Charles has so many great books. I hadn’t heard of this one either until Goodreads recommended it to me a week ago. The algorithm actually worked for me this time. Lol.
Band Sinister sounds really good! I need to read more historical fiction and if it has queer rep I think I’m way more likely to do that!
My WWW: https://bookbabenails.wordpress.com/2023/07/26/www-wednesday-jul-26-bookblog/
If you want queer historical romance, KJ Charles is definitely someone to check out. They have so many books, and I have yet to come across one that I didn’t enjoy. 🙂
I ended up loving Silver Nitrate, even though the beginning was pretty slow. Enjoy!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on IMMORTAL LONGINGS! Your mini review makes me really glad I skipped that particular month in my book sub. If I’d read it I’d probably also agree that it’s super skeevy that the characters have sex using other people’s bodies…ew. What turned me off about it, though, was that it’s another Cleopatra + Antony retelling (am I remembering that correctly?) and I’m not interested in Hunger Games-like books these days.
Yeah. It’s an Antony and Cleopatra retelling. That was one of the elements I actually enjoyed. Lol. I doubt you’d like this one if you don’t want the retelling or the games because that’s pretty much all it is.