WWW Wednesday 28th September 2016

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

Crooked Kingdom

I’m being a little ambitious here. As I’m preparing this post today (on Tuesday), my copy hasn’t actually arrived yet but since the release date is today and it’s been out for delivery for a few hours now I’m positive that it’ll arrive in time for me to start this tomorrow (… on Wednesday). I was hoping it would arrive before I left for work today, but no such luck 😦

Since I haven’t started it yet (*ahem*) I can’t say what it’s like, only that I’m expecting great things 🙂

Update: IT’S HERE!! 😀

Blurb:

Kaz Brekker and his crew have just pulled off a heist so daring even they didn’t think they’d survive. But instead of divvying up a fat reward, they’re right back to fighting for their lives. Double-crossed and left crippled by the kidnapping of a valuable team member, the crew is low on resources, allies, and hope. As powerful forces from around the world descend on Ketterdam to root out the secrets of the dangerous drug known as jurda parem, old rivals and new enemies emerge to challenge Kaz’s cunning and test the team’s fragile loyalties. A war will be waged on the city’s dark and twisting streets―a battle for revenge and redemption that will decide the fate of magic in the Grisha world.

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What I recently finished reading

Outliers: The Shape of Things to Come

I’m getting a little ahead of myself here, too. I haven’t finished this yet but only have ten pages left to go, so I’m confident that by the time this posts I’ll have finished it 🙂

It’s a collection of short stories from a variety of writers, so there are a few different styles in this. The short stories are all interesting and it’s presented immensely well – some as letters, some as newspaper articles, and the work that has gone into this is evident through the graphics alone!

My full review will follow in a few weeks – or, if you follow me on Goodreads, in a few days hopefully 🙂

Blurb:

We’ve been keeping an eye on these subjects for a while.

A simple glance couldn’t tell you the extraordinary things these anomalies, these gifted individuals we call Outliers are truly capable of. And those differences often find them on the wrong side of families, friends and the law.

Most wish only to hide from persecution or from being studied. But more emerge with every passing year, and it is becoming harder and harder to keep them secret. Worse, many don’t want to be hidden and have begun to gang together to obtain power, wealth and control.

Gathered here are reports and dossiers from AURA, the United States’ Agency of Unusual Resource Acquisitions. Our task is the extra-judicial monitoring and containment of Outlier-related incidents, and keeping the chaos to a minimum for the sake of national security.

But the job is getting more difficult every day, and if the past is any warning…
—Adam Zimmerman, Director of AURA

Includes several pieces of flash fiction, as well as the four short stories:
FUBAR by Jonathan Ward
For a Fistful of Diamonds by A. R. Aston
The Falcon by Jonathan Ward
The Beast in the Beauty by James Fadeley

Also featuring characters and factions developed by Alec McQuay and Robbie MacNiven, and illustrations and artwork by Manuel Mesones.

Good Omens

I really wanted to love this, but sadly we just didn’t click I love Neil Gaiman, and I love Terry Pratchett, but for some reason I didn’t get into Good Omens. The weird thing is that I can see all the reasons why I should love this – it’s funny, the writing flows smoothly and is easy to follow, it questions the definitions of good and evil – but I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.

Blurb:

According to the Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter – the world’s only totally reliable guide to the future – the world will end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just after tea…

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What I think I’ll read next

I’ve got two books I’m really looking forward to!

The Raven Boys

I won The Raven Boys in a giveaway a little while ago, and think I’ve waited long enough! The cover alone makes me want to read it, so I’m excited to finally get to it.

Blurb:

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue never sees them–until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks to her.

His name is Gansey, a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul whose emotions range from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She doesn’t believe in true love, and never thought this would be a problem. But as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Also…

The Last Day of Captain Lincoln

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review from the author, and am really looking forward to it. It’s been on my tbr list for a little while, so being asked if I’d like a free copy to review made my day! Yes, please!

Blurb:

Captain Lincoln’s last day is the hardest day of his life.

An old, onetime Captain of the interstellar spaceship USNAS Hope Eternal, Lincoln always knew that this day would come. For just as birthdays are carefully planned, so are deaths. And although he must reckon with his fate, this is not a somber story. It is a tale of love and sacrifice, told in the context of the most advanced civilization ever to exist—a society that has taken to the stars in an effort to save all that is best in humanity.

Follow Lincoln through his internal struggles, his joy in having lived, and his journey to peace.

The End is just the beginning.

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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!