WWW Wednesday: What Am I Reading? #AmReading

On By Teri PolenIn WWW Wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a meme from Sam at Taking On A World Of Words

The Three Ws are:

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

I’m currently reading Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars #1) by Elizabeth Lim.  Isn’t that a beautiful cover?  I’ve never watched Project Runway, and I barely remember Mulan, but I liked the idea of a girl posing as a boy to compete against eleven male opponents.  I also love the idea of learning more about Chinese culture.

Project Runway meets Mulan in this sweeping YA fantasy about a young girl who poses as a boy to compete for the role of imperial tailor and embarks on an impossible journey to sew three magic dresses, from the sun, the moon, and the stars.

Maia Tamarin dreams of becoming the greatest tailor in the land, but as a girl, the best she can hope for is to marry well. When a royal messenger summons her ailing father, once a tailor of renown, to court, Maia poses as a boy and takes his place. She knows her life is forfeit if her secret is discovered, but she’ll take that risk to achieve her dream and save her family from ruin. There’s just one catch: Maia is one of twelve tailors vying for the job.

Backstabbing and lies run rampant as the tailors compete in challenges to prove their artistry and skill. Maia’s task is further complicated when she draws the attention of the court magician, Edan, whose piercing eyes seem to see straight through her disguise.

And nothing could have prepared her for the final challenge: to sew three magic gowns for the emperor’s reluctant bride-to-be, from the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of stars. With this impossible task before her, she embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the kingdom, seeking the sun, the moon, and the stars, and finding more than she ever could have imagined.

Over the weekend, I finished Recursion by Blake Crouch.  This was absolutely trippy, mind-bending, and one of the best sci-fi novels I’ve read.  If you’re a fan of the genre, you’re in for a treat.

Memory makes reality. That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

Neuroscientist Helena Smith already understands the power of memory. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious moments of our pasts. If she succeeds, anyone will be able to re-experience a first kiss, the birth of a child, the final moment with a dying parent. 

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—a force that attacks not just our minds but the very fabric of the past. And as its effects begin to unmake the world as we know it, only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

But how can they make a stand when reality itself is shifting and crumbling all around them? 

Next, I’ll read Heartwood Box by Ann Aquirre.  I’ve never read anything by this author, but that description really spoke to me.

A dark, romantic YA suspense novel with an SF edge and plenty of drama, layering the secrets we keep and how appearances can deceive, from the New York Times bestselling author.

In this tiny, terrifying town, the lost are never found. When Araceli Flores Harper is sent to live with her great-aunt Ottilie in her ramshackle Victorian home, the plan is simple. She’ll buckle down and get ready for college. Life won’t be exciting, but she’ll cope, right?

Wrong. From the start, things are very, very wrong. Her great-aunt still leaves food for the husband who went missing twenty years ago, and local businesses are plastered with MISSING posters. There are unexplained lights in the woods and a mysterious lab just beyond the city limits that the locals don’t talk about. Ever. When she starts receiving mysterious letters that seem to be coming from the past, she suspects someone of pranking her or trying to drive her out of her mind. To solve these riddles and bring the lost home again, Araceli must delve into a truly diabolical conspiracy, but some secrets fight to stay buried…

33 thoughts on “WWW Wednesday: What Am I Reading? #AmReading”

    1. I’m about halfway through, Evelyn. The first part has been a little repetitive, but the second half is moving in a different direction. I’m really curious about a couple of characters – definitely hiding some things.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  14. Emily Wrayburn

    I’m really looking forward to checking out Spin the Dawn. It sounds a bit different to the usual “girl disguises herself as a boy” fantasies.

    I haven’t read Dark Matter by Blake Crouch either yet, but both it and this new one sound really good!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It has been a bit different, Emily. The first half of the book was the competition, and the second half is taking a new direction.

      If you’re not familiar with Crouch and you’re a sci-fi fan, I’d encourage you to add him to your TBR. I’m a confirmed fan.

      Like

      Reply

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