#WWWWednesday: 3 June 2026

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?

Hello, friends. It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? The last time I did a Wednesday post was almost one month ago, but throughout that time I have to say I haven’t really read all that much. Don’t worry though, I’m not going to be recounting those books—I’ll be focusing on my most recent reads. Since last Wednesday, I’ve finished 3 books.

The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue by Zoulfa Katouh ★★★★★
I’ve been excited about Katouh’s sophomore novel and I’m so happy to say that I loved it. It enraged, saddened, and even frightened me, but it also made me feel hope. Jihad was an incredible FMC and Jamie? Jamie must be protected at all costs. 🥹 What an absolutely gorgeous young man both inside and out, and the way he stood by Jihad—even if he did make mistakes at times—was so heartwarming and healing. This was the first book in a long time that I stayed up to read and finish in one sitting. It also had me crying mega ugly tears and even thinking about it now still makes me tear up because of how viscerally emotionally this story was. So much grief, so much pain, but also so much strength. 10/10 would recommend. My review is up on Saturday!

Buckle Up, Buttercup (Pine Gulch Ever After #2) by Hazel Mack ★★★¾
I found this second book in Mack’s newest series more enjoyable than the first, but at this point I’m feeling like nothing will compare to her Haven Ever After series. That said, this was a fun brother’s best friend forbidden romance that was pretty monster-smut heavy. I liked Hadrian’s and Bluebell’s connection although I found her brothers, especially Jasper, to be absolutely insufferable! 😫 If ever there was a man-child… 👀 I’m glad Bluebell (eventually) stuck up for herself, and that she had Hadrian in her corner!

Paladin’s Grace (The Saint of Steel #1) by T. Kingfisher ★★★★½
Honestly, for me, Kingfisher can do no wrong! This was her most romance heavy fantasy that I’ve read and I absolutely loved it! Stephen and Grace won my heart almost immediately. I loved that they’re slightly older (in their 30s), but also that they’re messy, pure-hearted, over-thinkers, and pretty dang relatable. While their romance and character arcs rounded off nicely, there was a mystery storyline that I’m expecting will continue throughout the series, and it makes me even more excited to continue. I buddy read this with Leslie (it was her first Kingfisher!) and we both loved this. 💜

I’ve got a couple of books on at the minute cos I just can’t decide what to really focus on? I guess it does help to jump around when I’m in this distractible mood, but it also means that I’m not fully absorbed in each story (yet). I’m enjoying the fantasies, but I’m still not sure how I feel about my current litfic.

A Rather Vengeful Accord ⇢ 11% ⇢ Chris and I started our next Illumicrate buddy read today. I’m 90% confused right now but very intrigued and looking forward to continuing! It’s still early days, so hopefully things clear up soon.
A Tale for the Time Being ⇢ 10% ⇢ I’ve been waffling on reading this ever since it came out, but it was on for 99p a few months ago, so I scooped it up. Then I started it at random the other day and… I don’t know how I feel about it. It’s dual POV and one perspective is accurately teen-like and playful, and the other perspective just feels… A little drab in comparison. I’m curious about the story’s direction, so let’s see how we go!
The Library of Amorlin ⇢ 31% ⇢ I picked this up quite a while back but it’s kind of been sitting on the back-burner. Not that I’m uninterested, I just found the world-building a little too confusing for my brain. I’m getting more into it now so maybe I just need to sit down and finish it in one go? I love the concept though!