WWW WEDNESDAY – 5th May 2021

I haven’t posted my WWW Wednesday reads for two weeks – just because I hadn’t read enough to change up what I was writing about.

However, in the last three weeks, I have read some wonderful books, two of which are self-published, and one was an ARC from NetGalley.

For those of you who don’t know – WWW Wednesday is about telling everyone:

• What you’ve read
• What you’re reading
• What you’re reading next

This is a blog challenge hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Word and is lots of fun to take part in. So, without further ado – these are the books that have been in my booky world these last few weeks.

What I’ve Read

A unique and interesting novella. My full review will tell you more, however if you like literary books, or have ever dabbled in Russian or East European literature, give this a go. As you can imagine from that description, the prose is beautiful. Also the characterisation is brilliant and set in a rather unique SFF world.

Novella review: Tower of Mud and Straw by Yaroslav Barsukov

This novel from Chistopher Buehlman had me completely enraptured. My full (and spoiler free) review is on my blog, but needless to say – I loved this book. Fantastical, magical, and often hilarious, I can’t wait to talk to more people who have read it. I also can’t wait to read the sequel. While it worked as a standalone, there is certainly enough there for another book in the same world.

Book review – The Blacktongue Thief

Just finished this book last night – full review to come.

What I will say is that this was a solid debut novel with a great magical system, great characters, and some very immersive writing, especially when describing the cold and a dangerous journey over a perilous mountain pass.

Currently Reading

BOOK CLUB

This is my book club read which I’m doing with the Fantology discord. We are only reading one chapter a week (the book is made up of six chapters) and I’m already half way through the first chapter, so I hopefully will be ready for our book club chat on Saturday.

I’m loving it so far. Easiest 150 pages I’ve read in a long time. Samantha Shannon is blurring the line between literary and fantasy writing. Her style is sparse and beautiful and whisks the reader along at speed.

The world is Tudor-esque – reminding me a little of the Elizabethan court in the late 16th century, only with added dragons. 🐉

OWN READ

Now that I’ve finished Cold From the North, I’m reading this. I LOVED the first book in the series. I’m about 30% through this one now. It started a little slower than The Emperors Blades, however I am loving that Adare is a more prominent character this time. Also the pace has just picked up for Valyn and Kaden and I’m hoping that the story can match the first book. There has been a lot of interesting mythology and history discussed in this book too.

READALONG

I know – I’m still on Deadhouse Gates – however, I’m making headway. I’m determined to have started reading Memories of Ice by the next time I do one of these posts!

Reading Next

I tried to organise my TBR at the start of this month so that I know what I’m reading next. Check it out here if you’re interested – https://shaunalawless.com/2021/04/28/tbr-may-june-2021/

Now that I’ve done that, I know that these are my next reads.

KINDLE

This book was a SPFBO finalist and I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book. I’m very intrigued by the concept and also love the cover.

HARDBACK

This is the last book in the Unhewn Throne trilogy – and then I have been approved to read the next book in a new trilogy by Brian Staveley on NetGalley – which looks and sounds amazing. I may possibly put all other reads on hold to get through this series quickly, as I want to have my reviews out before the new book is launched in July.

That’s all from me for this week – if you’ve read any of these books, let me know! And if you’ve enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog below!