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?

The City Beautiful has been one of my most antipicated reads this year. The author, Aden Polydoros, blurbed my second book, The Gemini Connection. Look at that gorgeous cover! I’m only about 10% in and totally engrossed in this historical fantasy.

Death lurks around every corner in this unforgettable Jewish historical fantasy about a city, a boy, and the shadows of the past that bind them both together.  
 
Chicago, 1893. For Alter Rosen, this is the land of opportunity, and he dreams of the day he’ll have enough money to bring his mother and sisters to America, freeing them from the oppression they face in his native Romania.
 
But when Alter’s best friend, Yakov, becomes the latest victim in a long line of murdered Jewish boys, his dream begins to slip away. While the rest of the city is busy celebrating the World’s Fair, Alter is now living a nightmare: possessed by Yakov’s dybbuk, he is plunged into a world of corruption and deceit, and thrown back into the arms of a dangerous boy from his past. A boy who means more to Alter than anyone knows.
 
Now, with only days to spare until the dybbuk takes over Alter’s body completely, the two boys must race to track down the killer—before the killer claims them next.

My last WWW post had three boarding school/academy type books, and I had no idea The Witch Haven made the fourth. Loved the 1911 NYC setting. It was an intriguing read, but I felt like something was missing by the end. Just can’t put my finger on it yet.

The Last Magician meets The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy in this thrilling and atmospheric historical fantasy following a young woman who discovers she has magical powers and is thrust into a battle between witches and wizards.

In 1911 New York City, seventeen-year-old Frances Hallowell spends her days as a seamstress, mourning the mysterious death of her brother months prior. Everything changes when she’s attacked and a man ends up dead at her feet—her scissors in his neck, and she can’t explain how they got there.

Before she can be condemned as a murderess, two cape-wearing nurses arrive to inform her she is deathly ill and ordered to report to Haxahaven Sanitarium. But Frances finds Haxahaven isn’t a sanitarium at all: it’s a school for witches. Within Haxahaven’s glittering walls, Frances finds the sisterhood she craves, but the headmistress warns Frances that magic is dangerous. Frances has no interest in the small, safe magic of her school, and is instead enchanted by Finn, a boy with magic himself who appears in her dreams and tells her he can teach her all she’s been craving to learn, lessons that may bring her closer to discovering what truly happened to her brother.

Frances’s newfound power attracts the attention of the leader of an ancient order who yearns for magical control of Manhattan. And who will stop at nothing to have Frances by his side. Frances must ultimately choose what matters more, justice for her murdered brother and her growing feelings for Finn, or the safety of her city and fellow witches. What price would she pay for power, and what if the truth is more terrible than she ever imagined?

Not sure I’m crazy about the cover of The Last Beautiful Girl, but with a comp title like Black Mirror and a Darcy Coates comparison, I couldn’t pass it up. And I’m also a haunted house book groupie.

BLACK MIRROR meets Darcy Coates in this exploration of the dangerous, dark side of beauty in the digital age, with a gothic, haunted-house setting.

When Izzy is dragged from Brooklyn to a tiny town for her parents’ new job, she’s not thrilled. The silver lining is the gorgeous old mansion she’s moved into: the former home of an artist’s muse who died tragically in a fire. But the house has its quirks: whole floors are closed off, paintings are covered up, and cell reception is nonexistent.

Izzy throws herself into starting an Instagram fashion account using the gowns and jewelry she finds hidden away in the house. She looks perfect in the photos–almost unnaturally perfect–and they quickly go viral. Soon she’s got a new best friend, a potential boyfriend, and is surrounded by a group of girls who want the photoshoots and fame for themselves. But there’s a darkness in the house, and a darkness growing in Izzy, too. When girls start dying, it’s clear that something–or someone–in the house is growing in power, with deadly intentions.

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

      1. I think my love of haunted houses started with The Amityville Horror many years back, Gina. Can’t even remember how many I’ve read since, but I definitely have a weakness for them, lol. Thanks for visiting!

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  11. Another intriguing collection, Teri. That first book really does sound good. I love the idea of a fantasy with that Chicago World’s Fair setting. But… I admit a fondness to using that kind of setting… Hullaba Lulu, and the one I worked on for 2 years, but haven’t finished, Wheel of Fortune. LOL, I guess we like what we like.
    Huge hugs.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Sophie @BewareOfTheReader

    I finished The Witch Haven just this morning and I loved it! But I get what you mean about something missing at the end. I have no idea what either though…

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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