The WWW Wednesdays meme is currently hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words and is a great way to do a weekly update on what you’ve been reading and what you have planned.

To take part all you have to do is answer the following three questions:

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

Without further ado…

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What are you currently reading?

A Thousand Salt Kisses (Salt Kisses, #1) by Josie Demuth. I received this as an ARC from Netgalley, and it isn’t horrible, but was expecting better from this. There are mermaids, a dastardly plot from an oil company, and island wonders- all right up my alley, but even though it is YA, Salt Kisses seems like it was written by someone even younger. Also, I am really… really over first person narrative in YA fiction. Just goes to show, never judge a book by its cover… or synopsis?

I am also trying to finish up another ARC I received from Penguin’s First to Read program called War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans, but I am having quite a bit of issues finishing it. The book itself is beautifully written, but so drawn out and long-winded that I don’t feel like I am getting anywhere. This was written using Hertman’s grandfather’s journals from pre-and post-World War II and the pain he suffered as an artist turned soldier turned unrequited lover, but I didn’t feel like Hertman relied enough on his source material. It feels too much like a grandson trying to please his grandfather and constantly looking over his shoulder asking, “Is this right?” instead of a grown man trying to pay homage to the man that helped him become who he is. The self-awareness is too much. I loved the old photos interspersed, though.

 

What did you recently finish reading?

I recently finished two beautiful tours de force, so I guess I can’t complain about my recent fall in book happiness. I first finished Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in my hammock in two hours, and man was it a whirl. Wasn’t a huge fan of Harry’s son, but I loved being back in the world and seeing the old gang all grown up. And I loved Scorpius! Still not quite up to the point of articulating a review properly, but needless to say I was quite happy. 

The other exciting book I read was another Netgalley ARC that I won called The House Between the Tides by Sarah Maine. This book had me on the edge of my seat, but not in a thriller sort of way… I just had to know what was going to happen next, whodunnit, etc. This was a historical fiction piece set both in modern times and 1911, our modern day heroine named Hetty as she explores her family’s dark secrets. A body is discovered in Hetty’s newly-inherited mansion on the sea, which puts a damper in her boyfriend’s “big development” type of plans. The dirty history of Hetty’s great grant-uncle, Theo Blake, as a big house tenant owner also puts a damper on her spirits to ruin such a great community. Will Hetty follow her heart? In 1911, we follow Theo’s wife as she discovers a love of the rough Scottish seas and their mansion, but will she follow her hear, or be the good wife? While the female characters were sometimes lacking in backbone, the novel made up for character flaws in beautiful writing.

 

What do you think you’ll read next?

I accidentally applied for too many ARCs at the same time, so my TBR is stacked! My next two down the list are a middle-grade book called A Witch’s Kitchen by Dianna Sanchez about a young witch who is horrible at spells but great at cooking. Her mother sends her to Enchanted Forest School to discover her talents. This looks really cute, and I am excited despite the age grouping. Some of my most formative years of reading were in this time frame, so this will be fun.

 

The other book I am most looking forward to is Colin Gigl’s The Ferryman Institute, which follows Charlie Dawson, a ferryman for the dead who convinces people to move on to the afterlife. He is slowly losing his mind, an unfortunate side effect of convincing dead people they are dead, I suppose, but the Ferryman Institute will not let him go because he is too much of a legend. When Charlie finds himself in hot water with the Ferryman Institute’s resident internal affairs liaison, will he be able to save the one living and breathing person that he enjoys? I have been really into dry British wit recently, and this seems like it will hit the spot.

 

That’s all for now, folks!! What are you reading??