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:

1. What did you read last?
2. What are you currently reading?
3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

An Education in Malice by S. T. Gibson – 4⭐ – I loved this dark, sapphic vampire story. The dark academia vibes were perfection, and I liked how the vampire/companion relationship was used as a metaphor for the more toxic aspects of academic training. The characters and relationships were toxic AF, and it was a lot of fun to see how the obsessions played out. You can find all my thoughts in my review, but I definitely recommend this one!

Us, Et Cetera by Kit Vincent – 4⭐ – This was such a depressing and heartbreaking story, but in the best way possible because it was also hopeful and incredibly adorable. I’m not sure how that even makes sense, but somehow this book pulled it off. The main character, Eke, was an android working as a servant for a rich family. Although truthfully, servant is probably too kind of a word because they treated Eke horribly. He had the most adorable personality, and I loved seeing his AI become sentient in real-time. I honestly could have just read a whole book of following Eke through his routine while adoring his friendships with plants and fish. The book took an even darker turn, though, and eventually it became a race for Eke’s very existence. The plot of the book felt really uneven, almost as if the first and second halves should have been two different stories. The rest of the characters didn’t come to life for me the way Eke did either, and the world-building, while interesting, left a lot to be desired. I also think it is important to note that hopelessness and suicidal ideation/attempts were a large part of Eke’s story. Overall, I liked the book and do recommend it just for people to get to meet Eke. Just make sure the sensitive content is something you can handle because it had me in tears multiple times.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert – 4.75⭐ – I had so much fun reading this book. I was laughing out loud quite often. I appreciated the chronic disability representation, and I liked how its impacts on the relationship were addressed. Red and Chloe were both a mess, and I enjoyed getting to know them. The only thing I didn’t love was the final conflict. It sprung up way too suddenly and intensely, and I wish more time had been spent on the two of them working through their issues together. It felt a bit slapped on at the end. I’m still really looking forward to the rest of the books in this series.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson – 4.5 ⭐ – This was a beautiful exploration of love, masculinity, and the Black experience and how those three things collide to impact relationships. I think the writing style in this one will determine whether people enjoy it. The second-person perspective took some getting used to, and I found myself needing to re-read some parts to get a sense of what was happening. I still really loved this book despite those difficulties, though, because the emotion was just so raw and honest.

What are you currently reading?

Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli (73%) – I’m loving this story so far. It has tons of intrigue, and I’m really enjoying the cat and mouse back and forth between the two main characters. I also really like that both characters have important and understandable reasons for their actions even though they are on opposite sides of the conflict. It makes it hard to decide who to root for when I like and respect them both. lol.

Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles (12%) – I’m only a couple of chapters into this one, but I’m enjoying it so far. I feel so sorry for Will. It seems like he’s been dragged into a real mess that he has nothing to do with. I’m also super suspicious of Kim… His quick offer to help makes me think there is an ulterior motive.

Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust (21%) – I didn’t have a chance to pick this one up this week. Maybe next week…

What will you read next?

Evergreen by Devin Greenlee, The Phoenix Bride by Natasha Siegel, Skater Boy by Anthony Nerada

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!