WWW Wednesday – June 22, 2022

Happy Wednesday! If you’re unfamiliar with WWW Wednesday, it’s a weekly blog meme hosted by Taking on a World of Words. The three W’s are simple:

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

Current Reads

I finished a book last night so my only current read is my reread of Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I’ve only read one chapter recently but it was there last night when I finished a book late and still had a little time before bed. That’s the whole point for me so I’m calling it a win.

Recently Finished

I skipped last Wednesday because I was at a work conference so this is for 2 weeks but still, I finished 3 books. None were great but none were bad, 3 middle of the road reads for me despite all being really different from each other.

First I finished By the Book by Jasmine Guillory. This is an adult contemporary romance Beauty and the Beast retelling that is the second book in Disney’s Meant to Be series where each book is a different contemporary retelling by a different author. This one was ok. I gave it 3 stars and enjoyed pieces of it a lot but the retelling part was so forced, it was cringey. When you get a guy randomly referring to his assistance/housekeeper as “Kettle”, you’ve gone over the edge.

The I read The Fever King by Victoria Lee. The idea of this fantasy/sci-fi/dystopian YA is amazing but the execution was not there. I was confused and indifferent on most of it. I gave it 3 stars for sheer imagination but have decided after letting it sit a few days that I won’t be reading the second book in the duology.

Lastly, I finished The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar last night and sadly ended up with yet another 3 star read. There are some wonderful themes and discussions in this book but I really didn’t like the main character. She has a stupid fight with her best friends in the beginning where she is definitely in the wrong and yet she never figures it out. Throughout the book, there are multiple conflicts with people close to her and in every one the other person apologizes even if they’re in the right. I was annoyed and she was childish even for YA so I just couldn’t get behind her. That said, I am glad I read it and there are some interesting discussions on race and sexual orientation in different cultures.

Up Next

I plan to start reading my ARC of Upgrade by Blake Crouch tonight. I really enjoyed Recursion and it was a nice fast-paced and different read for me, hoping this has a similar vibe and can help me from falling into a slump that I feel like I’m standing on the edge of.