Ruthless Gods – Story-eyed Reviews

What I’m currently reading:

I somehow ended up reading a ton of horror this week…huh. I wonder why? *coughHalloweencoughcough* Halloween isn’t over till I say its over, so…it’s not over till I finish these next couple of books. This is the book everyone has been talking about and I have finally gotten my hands on a full copy instead of just a handful of chapters. I plan to be sucked into this huge beast of a novel every second I can be this week.

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

My second scary story of the week! This is a somewhat-retelling of what could have happened to the Donner Party that was lost on their journey west all those decades ago. I’ve always been morbidly fascinated with this story, just because of the wild mystery of it all, so I’m eagerly looking forward to see what crazy explanation this author brings to the table. Plus I’ve heard this book recommended to me so many times that it’s about time I finally read it. Started it last night and am loving it so far!

The Return by Rachel Harrison

Haha I was reading this last week too and I thought I would finish it in a day. Honestly, I would have, it’s riveting! Except I have things that interrupt my reading like work and dinner and feeding the cat, and generally just adulting in general. So far this is still a great read though! Creepy and eerily confusing, I am having fun trying to work out the puzzle. Look for my review a little later, and this release date in March of 2020.

What I’ve recently finished:

Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan

I don’t want to say much here. This book was so so so highly anticipated by me after its predecessor, Wicked Saints, and I’m currently writing a full review for it. For now, needless to say, it was a wild, crazy, magical ride. I can’t wait to tell you more about it. (Am I being enough of a tease here?)

I am so excited to have finally finished this wonderful little gem of a book. Its author, Alec Whitesell, reached out to me a while ago to take a look at this and I am only just now getting around to it because of life’s crazy whims (sorry, Alec!). I really enjoyed this though, it was fresh, original, kept me engaged and reading all the way till the end, and I can’t wait to share more of my thoughts in my full review within the week!

What I think I’ll read next:

I have been waiting for this book for so looooooong!! Or at least it feels like forever, but really it wasn’t all that long ago that I became a ride-or-die CL fan. I love their writing and their ability to make romance feel as sweet, layered, complex, simple, interesting, and sometimes tragic as it is. Reading a CL book means something light, something that’s going to make me feel happier all through the day, something that I can’t drag my nose out of. My copy arrives in the mail tomorrow. It’s going downnnnn, fam.

It is Non-Fiction November, after all, so I am going to try and knock out some of the NF books I’ve been dying to get to! This is at the top of my list. If you don’t know this about me already, I’ve always had a bit of a passion for the conflict between Ireland and Northern Ireland, and its history. I’m a redhead of Irish and Scottish descent, but more than that it was just a period of time that’s fascinated me ever since I can remember. When I was in college, I studied abroad in Belfast, Northern Ireland for a year, on a program designed to teach us first-hand about the history there and it was an incredible learning experience. I’ve read a lot on this subject, but this book has been lauded so highly this year and I am dying to dig into it. I’ll report back when I finish!

What are YOU reading this week?? Drop me a line in the comments letting me know! x

I’ve seen a lot of bookish memes and list ideas here on the book-blogging circuit, and I wish I could do all of them! One of my favorites has been a trend of bloggers posting their current reads on Wednesdays.

This week I’ll be taking inspiration from Taking On a World of Words, and trying out their “WWW Wednesday!”

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’m currently reading:

The Return by Rachel Harrison

I really should have waited to pick this one up, since its release date isn’t for quite a while, but I couldn’t help myself. The premise was just so intriguing: Julie, the main character’s best friend, goes hiking and doesn’t return. For two years. Until she’s back again, with supposedly no memory of where she was. Um. What?? Yeah, I had to read this, and its perfect for the spooky season too. I’m moving through this book so quickly and I don’t want it to end, which all bodes so well. Look for a review of this one as the release date approaches.

Ruthless Gods by Emily A. Duncan

First, let me just say, that I was so excited and proud and surprised when I was approved to read an ARC of this book through Netgalley. Wicked Saints, the first novel in this YA fantasy trilogy, was one of the most talked about YA novels of the last year and its sequel is highly anticipated as well. I liked Wicked Saints, though it wasn’t perfect, but the world that these books take place in is utterly fascinating to me. The mix of magic and religion is so intriguing, and I for one am really looking forward to seeing where this series takes us. I just started this one, so expect me to report back soon.

Love Her or Lose Her by Tessa Bailey

I’ve been reading mostly horror or thrillers this month (cause duh, it’s October) but at one point I needed to take a break and this ARC fell into my lap. Taking place in the same world as Fix Her Up, Tessa Bailey’s debut novel, this Adult Contemporary novel is so many things. It’s about romance, how it starts and how it can fall to the wayside when life becomes difficult. It’s about falling back in love with yourself and with a partner you have drifted from. It feels so fresh to read a book that starts with a married couple and works through them finding a new romance together, instead of most romances that tend to end with a wedding. I am loving this so far and I’ll report back soon.

What I’ve recently finished:

No Exit by Taylor Adams

Holy hell. I will definitely be writing a full review of this book because I just loved it that much. I started it one morning and then…the whole day disappeared. I did laundry, I worked, I lived my life that day, but every single second I could grab in between all the adulting, I was sticking my nose back into this story. What. A. Book. No Exit starts off fast and intense and never, ever, once, lets up. I was tense, I was anxious, I was so attached to the characters and immersed in this world that I didn’t even notice it got dark while I was reading. If you’re looking for an adult thriller to make your day disappear, this is the book for you. Just make sure you don’t have anything else important to do that day, because all you’ll want to do is read.

The Escape Room by Megan Goldin

I also enjoyed this, but given I read it right after No Exit (which I just talked about how much I loved) it was a little bit of a letdown. Some of that is my comparison between the two, which is unfair, but some of it was earned by The Escape Room. Ultimately, I did enjoy this story. It was tense, mysterious, and something about it did keep pulling me back until I got to the end. I just needed to know what had happened to one of the characters. This book is told in alternating chapters of present day and the past and while I loved this format immensely, The Escape Room suffered from the unfortunate fact that- well, one of those storylines was just more interesting than the other. And I don’t think it was the one the author intended, given the title of the book refers to the present day timeline. Those chapters weren’t un-enjoyable, but I kept wanting to hurry through them just to get back to the much more intriguing story behind it all. If you like thrillers, I would still recommend this one. While it wasn’t perfect, I had a great time reading it and I felt satisfied at the end. Check it out.

What I think I’ll read next:

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

I have been hungering after this book for SO long that all I want to do is start it. It’s been a battle to really focus on the books I’m reading now (which I’m enjoying) and not just jump right into this one. Leigh Bardugo is an author I highly enjoy and this is her first Adult Fantasy novel. Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, also written by Bardugo, are two of my favorite books in the world and I am so excited to read her debut into the world of Adult fiction. Looking forward to this immensely!

Imaginary Friend by Steven Chbosky

This is another spooky novel I’ve been trying to get my hands on all month. A total departure from his previous work (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is a YA contemporary) this work is pure Adult horror and I cannot wait to dive in. I’ve read the first chapter of this book through Amazon and I am already hooked. Hopefully it’ll be just as spooky, creepy, and scary as I want it to be.

The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, & Jonathan Snipes

Black mermaids!!! This has been one of the most anticipated books of the season, at least for me, but I also see it being talked about everywhere. Mermaids and other magical sea-creatures have been a big trend as of late but the diversity in these books has been seriously lacking. This book is the answer to that unmet need and I couldn’t be more excited to see what’s in store in The Deep.

What are YOU reading this week? Drop me a line in the comments! x — A

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