#WWW Wednesday – August 01, 2018

It’s time for WWW Wednesday! This blog hop is hosted by Sam over at A World Of Words. Link up with us by commenting on Sam’s post for this week, and just answer the three questions.

What have you recently finished reading?

I finished reading The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison on Thursday, despite saying I should finish my other reads first. This was an interesting read but I felt some of the world-building wasn’t quite fleshed out enough. I posted a review here.

I then finished Alive! by Loren D. Estleman, which was fine. I was reminded that there is a difference between thrillers, which I love, and straight crime fiction, which I find less exciting. This is definitely crime fiction. One for the film buffs, though.

I also posted me review of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time here.

What are you currently reading?

At time of writing this post (Tuesday morning), I am a few chapters into Beauty and the Werewolf by Mercedes Lackey. I’m pretty sure this is going to be incredibly predictable, but in a cute way that I can forgive. I do like that the titular werewolf isn’t muscular and strong and arrogant, but shy and nerdy and he wears glasses.

I have returned to Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel on audio. It’s an interesting story but I’m waiting to see how all the story threads come together, and at the moment it’s trudging along a bit. I think part of that may be the narrator, though? Anyway, I think I’m about halfway through at this point, so I should get through it in the next week or so.

What do you think you will read next?

Whether or not I read the other Mercedes Lackey book I have from the library will depend on how I feel at the end of Beauty and the Werewolf. In the meantime, my other library book is Behind the Scenes at the Museum of Baked Beans: an Odd-ysey by Hunter Davies, which explores the weird and wonderful museums of the UK. So that should be fun and interesting.

What are you reading this week?P.S. If you’re interested, head over to my writing blog, Letting the Voices Out, to read a snippet of my current WIP.

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“The problem with monsters is that those of our own making are the most terrifying of all.” // Review of “The Other Alice” by Michelle Harrison

Title: The Other Alice
Author: Michelle Harrison
Genre: Urban fantasy
Target audience: Middle-grade
Date Read: 25/07/18 – 27/07/18
Rating: ★★★☆

Review:

This was an interesting book, though I have to admit that I did find some of the world-building a bit lacking. Still, it kept me engaged and that’s the main thing.

Eleven-year-old Midge loves to hear the stories that his older sister, Alice, makes up. When Alice goes missing and her characters seem to be showing up in their home, Midge is the only one who can save her and give the story the ending it needs.

The characters in this story are vibrant and interesting. They are very well-drawn, with various distinct personalities. The backstories of Alice’s characters were interesting and tied in well with each other. I really liked the characters’ reactions to finding out they were made up by Alice. I thought that felt really believable and I did feel bad for them.

I did feel that some of the history and world-building was where it fell down, particularly in the use of the “gypsy curse” trope to give a fairytale feel to Alice’s family history. Many people have written about the reasons why the word “gypsy” and stereotypes such as the curse are problematic to Romani people, so I won’t go into it here. Also, a Romani character called Ramone? Really?

There were also a number of events that had no real explanation other than “it was ~magic~”, but there wasn’t enough set-up of how the magic worked for that to carry.

Still, this was an enjoyable MG fantasy. I think I would recommend it for older readers in that age group as there are some dark themes and a few violent characters. It’s probably one parents and kids could enjoy together.

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#WWW Wednesday – July 25, 2018

It’s time for WWW Wednesday! This blog hop is hosted by Sam over at A World Of Words. Link up with us by commenting on Sam’s post for this week, and just answer the three questions.

I didn’t post last week because it would literally have been a repeat of the week before’s post. This has not been a great reading month! Oh well.

What have you recently finished reading?

I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon over the weekend. I had intended to read it before we saw the stage show at the start of July but never got around to it. It’s a really fascinating book. I kinda wish I had made time to read it before the show since I knew exactly what was going to happen, but I still flew through and really enjoyed it.

What are you currently reading?

My reading has been a bit all over the place recently so I’ve got a few things on the go at once when I wouldn’t normally.

I am nearly halfway through the fourth Frey & McGray audio book, The Loch of the Dead. One of the issues I had with the third book, namely that Frey and McGray spend a lot of time apart and therefore aren’t bantering or bickering, is also an issue here. But this plot is at least a bit more interesting than the third one was.

I am also halfway through Alive! by Loren D. Estleman, which I picked up from the library purely because of the cover. And also because I’m an archivist and the main character is an archivist. The mystery is fairly straightforward but it is a good one for classic film buffs with all the trivia peppered through it.

I also started The Other Alice by Michelle Harrison just this afternoon while I was out and forgot to take Alive!, so I needed to read something on my phone. I think I will really enjoy this one. I am going to try to finish Alive! before I really commit to this one, though.

I am technically still reading Blackwing by Ed McDonald and All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque but they’re on hold for a bit..

What do you think you will read next? 

I still have Beauty and the Werewolf  by Mercedes Lackey out from the library, so I think that will be next.

What are you reading this week?P.S. If you’re  interested, head over to my writing blog, Letting the Voices Out, to read a snippet of my current WIP.