WWW Wednesday | 15th of February 2023

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Hello Hello! how are you?

Today I’m bringing you a second post, and this time I’m looking back on the books I’m currently reading, those I finished last week, and what books I’m planning on reading next.

I missed last week’s check-in post because I was so tired and busy (it was my Wednesday at work too), but I’m all up to date now, and excited to tell you all about these books!

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over at Taking On A World of Words.

WWW Wednesday is based on 3 questions:

What are you currently reading?

What did you recently finish reading?

What do you think you’ll read next?

Un miracle by Victoria Mas

I’ve only just started this book and I’m not too sure about it so far. I picked this one up because last year, one of my top 5 favourite books was Le Bal des folles by Victoria Mas, and this is her second book. One of my readers at the library said she really enjoyed it, so I’ve decided to give it a go, but so far I’m not enamoured I have to admit. It is not very long, and I’m already 33% in, so I’m going to persist and hopefully I’ll enjoy it a bit more by the end of it.

The Forest of Moon and Sword by Amy Raphael

I’m currently half way through this book and really enjoying it. It is the monthly pick for the Middle Grade Marvels book club, and it is about witches, a quest, adventure, friendship and so far it is really good. I t is a quick read, and it is simple without being too simple, but also complex without being too complex. Basically it’s a really nice balance about a difficult subject, an event that really happened and that shaped the United Kingdom, and also a book full of whimsy and adventure. I’m looking forward to reading the third section this weekend and discussing it with the other members.

Revenge of the Beast (#1 The Beast and the Bethany) by Jack Meggitt-Phillips

I’ve also only just started this book and I’m only 3% in because I fell asleep before reading more of it, but just with those 3% I’m already thrown back into this wonderful world and among these great characters. I loved the first book I read a few years ago, and it’s wonderful to be back in this series . I love the author’s writing style, the illustrations, the beast, and it’s just such a fantastic series. I’m really, really looking forward to reading more of this book, and I have a feeling that it will be a really fun and really quick book to read!

Géante : Histoire de celle qui parcourut le monde à la recherche de la liberté by jean-Christophe Deveney

This was a French YA graphic novel that I read last week and that I quite enjoyed. I’m pretty sure it is a retelling of Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, but from a feminist point of view. I liked the premise, I was a bit surpised at where it went sometimes, maybe it was a tad far-fetched for me but it was all imagination and fantasy. I liked the art style, it was very colourful, only I disliked the way the characters’ faces were drawn, I didn’t think it went well with the rest of the drawings for some reason. I liked the text a lot though, and I liked the overall message of this story. It was my first time reading a book by this author, and I had seen this one on the library shelves for so long, I’m glad I finally got to it. I gave it 3.5 stars.

Dumb Witness (#15 Hercule Poirot) by Agatha Christie

This was my most recent Hercule Poirot book that I listened to driving to and from work this past week. I had enjoyed Cards on the Table, the previous book in the series, but I absolutely loved this one. One thing that appears again and again in Agatha Christie books is quite a high level of racism and sexism, but I’ve come to terms with it as a thing of its time (I can’t do anything about it anyway), and at least I am aware of it. Once I got over that, I really enjoyed it. It was a really unique one, and I loved it so much because Hastings finally made a reappearance, and it felt like Poirot and him were really working together trying to figure things out, from what would seem a natural death. I liked where it went, and I definitely didn’t expect that character to be the culprit. It wrapped up a bit ambiguously as her books seem to do, which is also just a thing you have to come to terms with, but overall a really enjoyable instalment in this series which I adore. I gave it a full 5 stars.

A Discovery of Witches (#1 All Souls) by Deborah Harkness

This next book was actually one that I reread with Hannah from Han Loves to Read. I first read it in 2019 and it turned out to be my favourite book that year. I loved the different take on creatures: witches, vampires and daemons, and their link with humans. I never left the Twilight phase, but this book is so different, but still carries that vampire nostalgia. There were a few iffy moments of patriarchy, weird ambiguous moments revolving around Matthew and Diana right at the start of their relationship, but as Diana grows as a person and becomes more confident, I think that Matthew backs down a bit from the “damsel in distress” vibe he had going on. Apart from those dodgy bits, I think this is a really wholesome book that I really enjoyed rereading. I also love all the history, the magic, the dark academia vibes. I’m really looking forward to continuing the series as soon as I can, but I gave this one 5 stars like the first time I read it. 

L’enfance de l’art (#1 Miss Charity) by Loïc Clément and Anne Montel

And the latest book I read is a children’s graphic novel, adapted from a novel called Miss Charity written by Marie-Aude Murail. It is about a little English girl growing up in a very religious family, and in which her parents have absolutely no interest in her because she is “just a child”. She feels very lonely, until she discovers a fascination from all things living, and basically starts a mini animal menagerie in her nursery. This has all the sort of Mary Poppins vibes of the little English girl growing up away from her parents’ attentions, her maid is the only person she talks with, until she gets a governess. It is basically about a little girl who learns to love the world around her, and really dives into her passion for animals and all things living, trying to help them when they are wounded, and send them back out into the world. I liked this one a lot. I read it because I’m going to read the novel soon, which is a massive book, so I wanted to see if I was actually interested in the story or not, and I am! I liked the colours, even if maybe some parts of the art style bothered me a little, but the text was easy to read, and overall this was a very enjoyable book. I gave it 4 stars. 

Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May

And the last book on my Wednesday catch up, is one I have actually already started, but have decided to start again. I am supposed to be currently buddy reading this book with Stephen from Stephen Writes, but when I started it about a week ago, I was so tired and stressed over a lot of things, and I just couldn’t concentrate properly on it, since I still had A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness on the go which had already captivated the little attention I had. And I actually didn’t find the start all that enthralling. But I have a really good feeling about it, and I only got a few chapters in, so I didn’t really give it a shot. I’m feeling a tiny bit less tired this week, so I’m going to start it again tonight, and hopefully this time I’ll have a more enjoyable time. 

Challenges Update

And here are all the prompts I was able to complete for my challenges so far this month. I have managed to complete another 6 prompts in the last two weeks, which I’m really happy about.

• Popsugar Reading Challenge, prompt 6: A book about a forbidden romance — A Discovery of Witches (#1 All Souls) by Deborah Harkness
• Popsugar Reading Challenge, prompt 14: A modern retelling of a classic — Géante : Histoire de celle qui parcourut le monde à la recherche de la liberté by Jean-Christophe Deveney
• Popsugar Reading Challenge, prompt 24: A book with a rabbit on the cover — L’enfance de l’art (#1 Miss Charity) by Loïc Clément and Anne Montel
• Disney Reading Challenge, ZOOTROPOLIS: A book that features a police officer/in the police force — Amarillo (#5 Blacksad) by Juan Díaz Canales
• Disney Reading Challenge, POCAHONTAS: A forbidden romance — A Discovery of Witches (#1 All Souls) by Deborah Harkness
• Disney Reading Challenge, MOANA: A book with an adventure/journey — Géante : Histoire de celle qui parcourut le monde à la recherche de la liberté by Jean-Christophe Deveney

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That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post.

See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx