Hello friends it’s time for another WWW Wednesday update:
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
WWW Wednesday
10 Books I haven’t Reviewed
Hey friends, its Top Ten Tuesday time once again and this week it’s all about Books I Never Reviewed! There’s no particular reason other than laziness and a bit of writer’s block on my part. I actually liked most of these books, I just either couldn’t/didn’t find the time to sit down and write my review until it was past the point where it was fresh in my mind.
Fourth Wing Review
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
Twenty-year-old Violet Sorrengail was supposed to enter the Scribe Quadrant, living a quiet life among books and history. Now, the commanding general – also known as her tough-as-talons mother – has ordered Violet to join the hundreds of candidates striving to become the elite of Navarre: dragon riders. With fewer dragons willing to bond than cadets, most would kill Violet to better their own chances of success. The rest would kill her just for being her mother’s daughter – like Xaden Riorson, the most powerful and ruthless wingleader in the Riders Quadrant. Yet, with every day that passes, the war outside grows more deadly, the kingdom’s protective wards are failing, and the death toll continues to rise. Even worse, Violet begins to suspect leadership is hiding a terrible secret.
Violet as our main protagonist was just a little bit annoying to me. The book really just overemphasized how she’s ‘not like every other girl’ at Basgiath. She’s so tiny and breakable yet she ends up being the most powerful, it was just a bit predictable in that manner. But I was definitely able to overlook this easily and just enjoy the book for what it was. I do enjoy the fact that it shows us various time that she does have to take measures (like wrapping her knees) so she can keep up with everyone else.
Xaden was very well written. He definitely is one of my favourite male main characters I’ve read in a while. Again though it’s just following that same fantasy formula where we have the sexy antagonist who is just misunderstood. There are a few instances where he does live up to his name and is quite ruthless and I like the fact that he doesn’t baby Violet and calls out Dain for holding her back. Speaking of Dain, again very very predictable what was going to happen with him. I knew from the first couple chapters that he was going to end up betraying Violet and it was a bit frustrating that she didn’t see that until the very end.
What saved this for me was the dragons and the plot twists for sure! I love the fact that the dragons are still shown as being quite wild even though they are bonded with humans. They will kill other riders and the cadets with no qualms and we’re not afraid to let everyone know it. The stakes were always high because of this and kept me on the edge of my seat for sure. I love that they are have such different personalities and they corresponded so well with their riders.
⭐️4/5 stars I can thankfully say this did live up to the hype for me!
The Haar Review
*SPOILERY FILLED*
Muriel McAuley has lived in the Scottish fishing village of Witchaven all her life. She was born there, and she intends to die there. But when an overseas property developer threatens to evict the residents from their homes and raze Witchaven to the ground in the name of progress, all seems lost… until the day a mysterious fog bank creeps inland. The Haar. To some it brings redemption… to others, it brings only madness and death. What macabre secrets lie within… The Haar.
I really loved Muriel. Hearing her story and all the happy memories she had with her life with Billy really showcased how sad and old she has become. I loved how staunch she was in dealing with the execs who keep coming and soliciting her to sell her home. I can’t even imagine the feeling of helplessness and despair the whole situation would of caused.
I thought the Haar was going to be the monster in the story and not seperate. The Haar was just used as cover for Avalon to appear and was again used for their escape at the end. Given it was the name of the book I thought the fog was going to have more of a substantial role in the plot but it went another direction.
Avalon wasn’t that scary in my opinion, this kind of horror felt more on the campy side. The writing was very descriptive and the various method Avalon used to consume his victims were creative to say the least (the one where they turned into Muriel was definitely an interesting one). Overall this book was quite sad but it took us on a journey and was entertaining for sure!
⭐️4/5 stars Bloody, disgusting, sad and oddly charming
5 Diverse Books I want to read in 2025
Over the last several years I’ve been making more of an effort to read from a variety of authors from different cultures and backgrounds or books featuring a diverse main character. These 5 books have been on my radar for a while now and are ones I really want to prioritise in 2025!
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Amy Leigh Reads 