#WWWWednesday: 09 October

It’s time for another WWW Wednesday, a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking On A World of Words, which means I’ll be answering these questions:

  1. What did you read last?
  2. What are you currently reading?
  3. What will you read next?

What did you read last?

I managed to finish four books since last Wednesday! I finally finished The Bookish Life of Nina Hill yesterday and even though I didn’t fall head over heels for the cast of very quirky characters, I still thought this was an adorable read! Nina was such a great bookish character and the whole story in general was very quirky and charming! Fairlady, Vol. 1 was a fantasy graphic novel that I enjoyed for the world building but I was disappointed that the stories were so disconnected. My Life As Marlee was an ARC I got from Book Sirens and which I’m so proud of finishing before the deadline (this is sad really lol)! While the book started off well for me, I didn’t end up enjoying the rest of the story as much as I thought I would. Maybe I’m just too old and cynical for these types of YA romances? The Wall of Winnipeg and Me was by far my favorite out of all of these and I’m so glad I picked up another Zapata book after being somewhat let down by the first of hers that I read. I’m a fan of the slow burn romance and this was one heckuva slow burn but never have I been so damn satisfied by it! All the reviews for these books are coming as soon as I finish getting my thoughts down and organizing them coherently 😅

What are you currently reading?

I’ve been reading House of Salt and Sorrows since last week and it’s taking me so long only because my last week was hella busy and I didn’t have as much time to read it at night, but it’s mostly because I’m too scared to read it alone at night in my flat. I’ve been trying to read it at work during my lunch breaks but people keep chatting to me 🙃and I’m trying to be a little less anti-social at work LOL that said, I’m almost done and I really don’t want to wait until tomorrow to continue reading it but will I be able to conquer the chicken in me? Not sure. It’s creepier than I thought it’d be!!! I’m also reading Dear Aaron by Mariana Zapata, which I started late last night as my melatonin was kicking in and will continue to read tonight, I think. I’ve been really bingeing on romances lately, it seems to be the mood I’ve settled in for now!

What will you read next?

I’m still trying to give priority to several eARCs that are well overdue! Even though I’m *obviously* not doing as well as I’d hoped in tackling them, there’s still time to improve! I’m hoping to read TH1RT3EN next because I’ve seen a ton of people posting about it and I think it’d be great to stick to my goal of reading more creepy books this month. I’ve heard great things! Shadow Frost is also a bit of a priority since it was just published 01 October! 🤦🏻‍♀️

What are you currently reading? How’s your week going?
Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂

First Lines Friday – 27 September

Yayaya, HAPPY FRIYAY, book lovers and friends 😍We’re back with another First Lines Friday! This is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines? Here are THE RULES:

  • Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
  • Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
  • Finally… reveal the book!

First lines:

Candlelight reflected off the silver anchor etched onto my sister’s necklace. It was an ugly piece of jewelry and something Eulalie would never have picked out for herself. She loved simple strands of gold, extravagant collars of diamonds. Not…that.

Do you recognize the book these first lines come from?

Okay, okay, calm yourself Loki, mate...

*drumroll please!*

The book is: House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls’ lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn’t sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh’s involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it’s a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

Have you read House of Salt and Sorrows or is it on your TBR?
Leave me a comment and let’s chat 🙂

Sundays in Bed With… #MyWeeklyWrapUp [24]

We’re back with another Sundays in Bed With… meme! This meme dares to ask you what book has been in your bed this morning and is hosted by Midnight Book Girl. Come share what book you’ve been you’ve spent time curled up reading in bed with, or which book you wish you had time to read today!

It’s the last Sunday of September! I’m gonna say it again because my brain is still like WHAT, but I can’t believe we’re already walking into the tenth month of the year. 2019 is flying!
I’ve been out and about today and have been thinking about what book I want to move forward with now. I (finally) finished Priory on Thursday and I was determined to read some romance this weekend, and thanks to staying up reading ’til the early hours of Saturday, I finished not one but TWO books! It just felt so good to read something that I knew would end soon? Haha

I also started House of Salt and Sorrows because mum has been staying with me but now that she’s gone until tomorrow, I don’t know if I want to keep reading it because I’M CHICKEN AF 😂 I’m sure y’all have heard by now how much I can’t handle the ghosty stuff, right? I’m really hesitating, which means I don’t know what I want to read now? I think I might pick up another ARC since I have two that need reading before the end of October, and I don’t want to add anymore to my backlist ARC list, so the following two books might be my main contenders:

Ailsa Rae is learning how to live. She’s only a few months past the heart transplant that—just in time—saved her life. Now, finally, she can be a normal twenty-eight-year-old. She can climb a mountain. Dance. Wait in line all day for tickets to Wimbledon.

But first, she has to put one foot in front of the other. So far, things are as bloody complicated as ever. Her relationship with her mother is at a breaking point and she wants to find her father. Then there’s Lennox, whom Ailsa loved and lost. Will she ever find love again?
Her new heart is a bold heart. She just needs to learn to listen to it. From the hospital to her childhood home, on social media and IRL, Ailsa will embark on a journey about what it means to be, and feel, alive. How do we learn to be brave, to accept defeat, to dare to dream?

Former Little League champion Kimitake “Clyde” Koba finds strength in the belief that he is the reincarnation of Marilyn Monroe as he struggles to escape the ghost of his brother and his alcoholic father.

Born on Yom Kippur, teen prodigy Raphael Dweck has been told his whole life that he has a special purpose in God’s plan. The only problem is, he can’t shake off his doubts, his urges, or the trail of trouble and ruin that follow in his wake.

A decade later, Raphael and ‘Marilyn’ find each other wandering the plastic-bright streets of Hollywood and set out to make a documentary about the transmigration of souls. But when the roleplaying goes too far, they find themselves past the point of no return in their quest to prove who and what they are to their families, God, the world, and themselves.

Which do you think I should read next?
What are you currently reading?

Much the same as last week, I pretty much did nothing this weekend. As I mentioned above, mum flew over from Jakarta and has been staying with me. It was her birthday on Wednesday and us kids got her an iPad Mini that she’s been wanting for ages so that she could download an app to watch her Korean dramas on 😂 Since she unwrapped it, the iPad has been GLUED to her hands and she’s been staying up pretty late despite having early mornings, and getting headaches from staring at the screen for too long. She’s so cute?

Today saw me moving a little bit more, i.e. I left my house! I met my cousin for brunch at one of my favorite spots! I decided to try a different meal today and unfortunately, that was a hella regrettable decision 😭 Sometimes it pays to not stray from what you already know is good! Also, for the first time in a very long time, I’m not exactly dreading that Monday is around the corner. It’s a good feeling and I’m hoping that the anxiety that has taken up residence inside me lately continues to loosen its grip. Little by little, day by day. Progress!

Reading & Blogging Recap

This weekend alone I managed to finish THREE books, so I’m pretty chuffed. To be fair, I was already 65% through one and it was an easy Middle Grade read too, while the other two were fast and easy contemporaries to satisfy my need for something fluffy after finishing Priory! I’m legit SO PROUD OF MYSELF for finishing this book before September ended. It was seriously a journey. I was 80% convinced that I might’ve DNF’d this book (okay, I don’t DNF but I would’ve put it on indefinite hold) when I started it, but I’m glad I kept on. I need to write my review before every thought I had about the book disappears from my head but I’m still not sure how to review it?! I’m hoping that my discussion with my buddy readers will help me figure it out! 🙃

I’m still working on catching up on my blog hopping and responding to comments! I’ve been doing okay with keeping up with the comments in the last week, but the day(s) after catching up always see me scrambling to catch up AGAIN! *So I’m Sorry if I only respond to your comments 3-4 days after you write them!* Other than that it’s been a pretty decent blogging week; I’ve been blogging fairly consistently lately and thanks to WordPress who’ve been sending me reminders whenever I post, I know that I’m now on a 41-day streak! 🙌🏽 It helps that I’ve also added one more weekly post to my schedule. This actually makes me feel so productive 😊 On that note, you can find a list of all the posts I made this week, in case you missed it:

Review: Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
Top 5 Saturday: Books with Maps!
eARC Review: The Stopover by T L Swan
Friday Favorites: WORDS!
First Lines Friday: 27 September
Review: One Day in December by Josie Silver
I Dare You Tag
eARC Review: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
Review: Vicious (Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab
WWWWednesday: 25 September
#TopTenTuesday: Books On My Autumn Possibility Pile!
Down the TBR Hole – 01
Goodreads Monday: 23 September

How has your week been? Hope everyone has/had a great weekend!
Let me know how you’re doing in the comments and let’s chat, friends 🙂