WWW Wednesday 17th August 2016

Apologies for being MIA last week! I had so much to do that, while I had this post lined up and more or less (definitely less) drafted, I didn’t have the time to finish it. Honestly, it completely slipped my mind until Wednesday. I’ll post every two weeks as always from this week on, rather than resume my usual schedule and post again next week. I still don’t read enough for that level of commitment.

This meme is hosted by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. A similar meme, This Week in Books is hosted by Lipsyy Lost and Found.

Why not join in? Just answer the following three questions in a post and then put a link to that post in the comments over at Taking on a World of Words.

This meme will be categorised together with my book reviews. All links will get you to the book’s Goodreads listing, as always 🙂

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What I’m currently reading

I, Robot

My SO chose this one as my next read, and since I’d been meaning to read sci-fi for a while this seemed like a good place to start! I’m just over half-way through it now and am really enjoying it, although I’m definitely enjoying some of the short stories more than others. Overall this is a really nice introduction to the genre for me, and I can easily see why Asimov is considered one of the Masters of sci-fi.

It’s made me excited to read more and delve deeper into the genre, so I’d call that a success 🙂

Blurb:

The classic collection of robot stories from the master of the genre. One of the Voyager Classics collection, now I, Robot is a major Fox movie starring Will Smith. In these stories Isaac Asimov creates the Three Laws of Robotics and ushers in the Robot Age. When Earth is ruled by master-machines, when robots often seem more human than mankind, the Three Laws ensure that humans remain superior and the robots are kept in their rightful place. But an insane telepathic robot results from a production error; a robot assembled in space logically deduces its superiority to non-rational humanity; and when machines serve mankind rather than individual humans, the machine’s idea of what is good for society may itself contravene the sacred Three Laws… Amazing and timeless robot stories from the greatest science fiction writer of all time.

And…

This Savage Song

This will be my third read by Schwab, and I’m really looking forward to it. If you’ve seen my reviews of ADSoM and AGoS, you’ll know that I enjoyed them while also feeling oddly meh about them, so if this book manages to excite me it’d already be a step up! Because I’m focusing on I, Robot I’m not very far into it yet and I only started it on Monday, but so far it’s interesting. I’m looking forward to seeing how it continues.

Blurb:

There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

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What I recently finished reading

Hell’s Teeth

I found Hell’s Teeth via social media. Because it was my first read by the author I had no expectations, and it blew those out of the water 😛

Hell’s Teeth had everything for me. It had fantastic lore about the world, which didn’t feel forced on the reader, it had an amazing character I wanted to succeed (or at least not die by the fangs of a mad vampire) and, best of all if you ask me, it had sarcasm! I don’t often find books that speak the same dialect of sarcasm as I do, but this one nailed it. It was tense, it was funny, and it was refreshing in that it didn’t have a romantic relationship, which would only have seemed forced in the setting.

My full review will follow next week, so keep an eye out!

Blurb:

New Oxford.

A third of the human population has been lost.

The wars came, and they created a monster. The Pale, a subhuman, vampire-like drone. Then they lost control.

In the thirty years that followed, humankind sought to rebuild itself within the walls of New Oxford.

But society had become fractured – humans now lived incongruously among Genetic Others, themselves a group of many subspecies.

The most dangerous of them all: the vampires.

Somehow, these groups have managed a peaceful co-existence under the controlling government influence of the Cabal. But that is all about to change…

When Phoebe Harkness receives a phone call in the middle of the night, things take a turn to the horrifying. Her supervisor at Blue Lab One, a high-security research facility, has gone missing.

And all that is left behind: her teeth.

Dr Harkness now finds herself in a race against time to stop further bloodshed and uncover the mystery behind the victims of this horrific crime. She must navigate the dark underworld of the vampire community, without becoming someone’s prey herself…

But she is not alone – on her side, against all odds, is another vampire. Together they must fight for answers before it’s too late…

Hell’s Teeth is the gripping first instalment of the urban gothic Phoebe Harkness series. It follows the young doctor as she stalks through the corrupt dystopia of New Oxford.

And…

Awaken

I must sound like I’m finding all my books via Instagram these days! Awaken was recommended to me by several people, so naturally I decided to give it a go. I won’t go into detail now because the full review will be out tomorrow, but if urban fantasy is your genre then I urge you to try this one! If you need more convincing, keep an eye out for the review 🙂

Blurb:

SOME PEOPLE AREN’T DESTINED TO BE ORDINARY.
With a special gift held close to her heart, it was always going to be hard for Sophia Woodville to live an ordinary life.
As a 20 year old nursing grad, she thought she had her future all sorted.
However, destiny was about to intervene.
Her secret was not so secret. The gift she possessed was just a hint of something far beyond her wildest imagination.
Sophia will be pulled, kicking and screaming, into an unseen, ancient world that challenges all that she thought to be true of herself, her family and the origins of humanity.
Original sin, forbidden love and her life in constant danger.
Will Sophia survive this dark twist of fate?
Will the devil be her saviour?
Will an Angel be her downfall?

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What I think I’ll read next

Just this once, the choice is easy!

Witch Infernal

I know I said I’d wait with buying new books until I’ve as good as finished my current tbr pile, but I don’t want to wait for this one. I loved the first two books so much, and can’t wait to see how the story is going to continue. I have high hopes for Witch Infernal, so this was an easy choice for me.

We’ll be back to my usual indecisiveness next week, I’m sure.

Blurb:

The city’s been quiet since Evie and her friends closed the hellmouth. The lycans and Sidhe are on their best behaviour, the witches haven’t been heard from, and Evie should be enjoying the break.

Evelyn Hawke wasn’t made for the quiet life. She’s bored.

Luckily for her, things start going wrong, and she’s expected to fix everyone else’s problems. A trio of celestials task Evie and her friends with the job of tracking down the witch who opened the hellmouth and putting an end to her. Little do they know that the witch has big plans and a far-reaching influence.

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Have you read any of these and would like to chat about it? I look forward to hearing from you if you do – just leave a comment below and we can get this book club started!