Worlds Unlike Our Own

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words, and the purpose is to share what I’ve been reading most recently.
The three W’s are:
What did you recently finish reading?
What are you currently reading?
What are you going to read next?

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Recently read

The Battle of the Labyrinth (Percy Jackson & the Olympians #4) – Rick Riordan
(🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟) (Re-Read)

Percy Jackson isn’t expecting freshman orientation to be any fun. But when a mysterious mortal acquaintance appears at his potential new school, followed by demon cheerleaders, things quickly move from bad to worse.

In this fourth installment of the blockbuster series, time is running out as war between the Olympians and the evil Titan lord Kronos draws near. Even the safe haven of Camp Half-Blood grows more vulnerable by the minute as Kronos’s army prepares to invade its once impenetrable borders. To stop the invasion, Percy and his demigod friends must set out on a quest through the Labyrinth – a sprawling underground world with stunning surprises at every turn.

This is one series I love coming back to over and over. I read this in audiobook format, and I have to say, though I find some audiobooks pretty tiring, due to either the narrator’s tone or pace, this did not have that problem at all. And of course, it was a delight to return to one of my favourite books in the Percy Jackson series!

The Rogue Queen (The Hundredth Queen #3) – Emily R King (🌟🌟🌟 1/2)

Despite the odds, Kalinda has survived it all: Marriage to a tyrant. Tournaments to the death. The forbidden power to rule fire. The icy touch of a demon.

That same demon now disguises itself as Rajah Tarek, Kalinda’s late husband and a man who has never stopped haunting her. Upon taking control of the palace and the army, the demon brands Kalinda and her companions as traitors to the empire. They flee across the sea, seeking haven in the Southern Isles.

In Lestari, Kalinda’s powers are not condemned, as they are in her land. Now free to use them to protect those she loves, Kalinda soon realizes that the demon has tainted her with a cold poison, rendering her fire uncontrollable. But the lack of control may be just what she needs to send the demon back to the darkest depths of the Void.

To take back the empire, Kalinda will ally with those she distrusts—and risk losing those most loyal to her—to defeat the demon and bring peace to a divided nation.

To put it mildly, I am less and less impressed with this series by the book. At this point, for the most part, I’m reading just to know how it ends. To be fair however, the battle scenes were really nicely done and I do enjoy the writing style and the smooth pace of the story. The tension between Kalinda, Deven and Ashwin started to get annoying after a while, especially when all I really wanted was to know what was happening on the war front. Even though that love triangle bit appears to be done, I’m not too happy with what appears to be an Orpheus style plot set up for book 4. Nevertheless, I will be moving the final book up my backlist because I’m quite curious as to how this is going to work out.

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Currently reading

Kingsbane (Empirium #2) – Claire Legrand

Rielle Dardenne has been anointed Sun Queen, but her trials are far from over. The Gate keeping the angels at bay is falling. To repair it, Rielle must collect the seven hidden castings of the saints. Meanwhile, to help her prince and love Audric protect Celdaria, Rielle must spy on the angel Corien—but his promises of freedom and power may prove too tempting to resist.
Centuries later, Eliana Ferracora grapples with her new reality: She is the Sun Queen, humanity’s long-awaited savior. But fear of corruption—fear of becoming another Rielle—keeps Eliana’s power dangerous and unpredictable. Hunted by all, racing against time to save her dying friend Navi, Eliana must decide how to wear a crown she never wanted by embracing her mother’s power or rejecting it forever.

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Up next

Mind Games – Shana Silver (ARC)

Arden sells memories. Whether it’s the becoming homecoming queen or studying for that all important test, Arden can hack into a classmate’s memories and upload the experience for you just as if you’d lived it yourself. Business is great, right up until the day Arden whites out, losing 15 minutes of her life and all her memories of the hot boy across the school yard. The hot boy her friends assure her she’s had a crush on for years.

Arden realizes that her own memories have been hacked, but they haven’t just been stolen and shared… they’ve been deleted. And she’s not the only one, the hot stranger, Sebastian, has lost ALL of his memories. But how can they find someone with the power to make them forget everything they’ve learned?

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What are you reading this week? Let me know in the comments below!

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