Leslie and I are planning three group reads in the coming months! Find more details on Leslie’s page or at the end of this post!
Hello, hello and welcome back to another episode of WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:
- What did you read last?
- What are you currently reading?
- What will you read next?
Last week I was in work hell, so I didn’t have much energy or brain space to read much. Kind of surprised that I finished anything to be honest, and I wound up finishing 2 books!
Enchantra (Wicked Games #2) by Kaylie Smith ★★★★☆
Honestly, after being so disappointed by Phantasma, I went into this with much lower expectations. However, I’m thrilled to say that I loved it so much more! The insta element was still there, but it didn’t feel as intense and in your face compared to the first book. It also helped that I loved Genevieve’s character so much more. She’s sassy and lively and complemented Rowin’s grumpy character well. I loved that we also got to know more of the secondary characters here and I’d defo read a spin-off about them if Smith writes one!
The Butcher’s Masquerade (Dungeon Crawler Carl #5) by Matt Dinniman ★★★★★
Leslie and I finished this book and let me tell you… It was the last book I expected to trigger a book hangover phase, but I was thinking about it all through the weekend, and I forced myself to immediately start another read to make sure I didn’t get stuck in it! This was such a good read. 😭 I felt so many emotions. It was ridiculously action-packed, and there was so much to digest, but the ending had us reeling hard! Oof, I’m both excited and scared about what comes next. I love sad boi Carl so much! 🥺
- The Eye of the Bedlam Bride ⇢ 25% ⇢ Leslie and I started this yesterday and although we’re still reeling from book 5, we’re equally excited and scared for what comes next. The card play in this confused me a wee bit but I’m keen to see where it goes!
- The Tainted Cup ⇢ 45% ⇢ Charlotte and I are buddy reading this and enjoying it a lot already! I love the Sherlock/Watson dynamic with Ana and Din. Her quirky personality and dry humour is fantastic, and I love the contrast to Din’s much more serious attitude. We’re meeting loads of character and getting lots of world-building and it’s a lot to take in but also amazing! 😍 I can see why so many people love this and I hope it continues on a high note for me cos it could be a favourite.
- One by One ⇢ 32% ⇢ I’m sad to say that I haven’t prioritised this (yet again) and it has (yet again) been pushed back as I prioritize my other two reads. 🫣
Jess and I are finally finishing The Burning Kingdoms trilogy but otherwise, I’m going where the mood takes me!
As I mentioned above, Leslie and I are planning a few group buddy reads in the upcoming months. If you’re interested in joining, you can reach out to either of us via comments or DM us on socials!
- Katabasis by R.F. Kuang — The book comes out at the end of August and we’ll be starting the buddy read around the release date. This one is open for a couple more weeks if you want to join!
- The Green Bone Saga by Fonda Lee — We’re planning a group read for the last three months of 2025. We’ll start in October and read one book per month through December. It’ll be a re-read for many but you’re welcome to join even if you haven’t read it yet and have been wanting to! 💚
- Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman — Yes, you’re seeing that right. We’re currently reading DCC but we’re planning to start (what we hope will be) a larger group read in January 2026 to prepare for the release of of book 8 in June 2026! This will likely be a channel instead of a chat on Instagram, since we hope to have a big group. I’m already so excited and ready for it!
What are you currently reading? I hope you’re enjoying whatever book you’ve picked up, friends!
dinipandareads 
I’d love to join you guys for the Green Bone Saga buddy read!!
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Omg yay! I’ve just messaged you on Instagram 🙂
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Carl has been very, very good to you. The series sounds like a really strong one.
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It really has been. It’s the biggest surprise to me so far this year but it’s staying solid in the top 3 so far this year. So good!
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Glad that you had two books to help you through a horrid week at work. I’m really glad that you’re enjoying Tainted Cup as I loved it last year and the sequel is just as good.
Have a great week this week and I hope that the Dungeon carries on being such a great series for you.
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The Tainted Cup is that book that I wish I could gobble up in a day or one sitting because once it gets going, I just don’t want to stop. It’s my read on the morning commute and I get so sad every time I get to the office 🤣 I hope you have a great week ahead too, Janette!
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I’m currently reading Echoes in Death by JD Robb, continuing my marathon In Death reread
In the last week I’ve read:
1 Devoted in Death by JD Robb.
2 Wonderment in Death by JD Robb.
3 Brotherhood in Death by JD Robb.
4 The Quiet Mother by Arnaldur Indriðason.
5 Midnight in Death by JD Robb.
6 Apprentice in Death by JD Robb.
A great week, but 2 were novellas!
Next up will be the new Anna Hackett, out tomorrow. After that, continuing the marathon!
Gill
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Sounds like an amazing week of reading! Hope you continue enjoying all your books and have a great week ahead, Gill!
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I’m glad you enjoyed Enchantra so much more than Phantasma and the latest DCC sounds intense 😬 I hope the next one ends up being another hit for you, can’t believe you’re already a quarter of the way into it.
I totally agree with everything you’ve said about The Tainted Cup so far too. The character dynamics are spectacular and I’m loving learning about the world too. I’m amazed at how wonderfully the authors nailed the Holmes/Watson thing 😍
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I always think about how chonky the DCC books are but then once I get going with the audiobooks, I end up flying through the chapters. It’s so good!
I’m also LOVING our TTC read and I just wish that I didn’t have to work so I could sit down and gobble it up. It’s massively bingeworthy (imo)! I’m so glad we’re both loving it! I can’t wait to continue the series too 😍
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Oh they’re long? I haven’t seen them in print so didn’t even realise 🙈 I love books like that though that you fly through despite the length.
I’m glad we’ve both been loving it and I definitely know what you mean. It always leaves you wanting to read on and the characters are superb. I can’t wait to check the sequel out either. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the end.
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Yes! They are chonky little monsters, haha. It’s easy to forget when I’m reading it on audio and the ebook but now that I have the physical books, I can clearly see how chonky they actually are! 🤣 I’m honestly surprised by how quickly we’ve managed to get through them!
I’m so glad we read TTC together! I can’t wait to continue the series 😍 It was SO GOOD, AH!!!
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I just looked at the page counts and wow, I would not have guessed some would be over 700 pages long!! You must really be loving them to race through them like that 🥰
Yes same, I can’t wait to see what happens in the sequel!!
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Glad you read some amazing books!
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Thanks, Yolanda! I hope you have a great week ahead 🙂
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Thanks!
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I’ve heard so many amazing things about the Dungeon Crawler Carl book, but I’m a little wary because they are incredibly hyped! Glad to hear you’re enjoying The Tainted Cup though, I have that on my TBR. Enjoy your reads 🙂
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I admit that I was pretty wary too when I first picked up the books but I was looking for something different and LitRPG sounded like something I’d really enjoy. I was not wrong. I would highly recommend the audiobooks if you do ever want to give it a try. The voice actor does such an incredible job voicing all the characters so distinctly!
The Tainted Cup is another one with a great audiobook but also, it’s just such a great read. One of my favourites this year, for sure!
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I’m so glad you enjoyed Enchantra!! I am hoping that means I’ll like it too because I did love Phantasma! I hope to get to it at some point. haha. Oh my, we are almost caught up with DCC and then WHAT will we do?! haha!! I hope you have a relaxing weekend. Have a good week, Dini! ❤
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I think if you loved Phantasma, it will be easy to love Enchantra but maybe that’s my bias! It just felt like it gave a lot more than Phantasma did and I loved Genevieve’s sass! I hope you love it too 🙂 I really hope that finishing DCC doesn’t send us into a bookish hangover turned slump because we’ll be chasing the high that book gave us, haha. But at least we know that it won’t be too long until we pick it up again and then we’ll have a whole group to read it with! 😍 Woo hoo!
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Okay, that’s great to know! Yes, I’m a little nervous about that slump.. but I’m hoping that the Greenbone buddy read will get us there until January. I can’t believe it’s not that far away. UGH, how did this year go so fast?! I think our DCC group read is going to be soo much fun! ❤
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[…] #WWWWednesday: 13 August 2025 […]
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excited to see what you think of lady’s knight!
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