WWW Wednesday | What Am I Reading This Week- 3/24/2021?

Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on 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?

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My Reading Week

Other than getting my vaccine – which was weirdly like winning the lottery – and dealing with the sore arm and fatigue (which was either from the shot or from allergies – who knows?), this week has been pretty quiet. And, you all know what a quiet week means – lots of opportunity for reading!

I started my week off with What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson, which is a darkly disturbing tale that takes place over a span of just 9 days. A lot can happen in 9 days and a lot of meaning can be put into the words that describe it. There is so much to unpack from this horrific tale that I have started and stopped my review many times now. This is the kind of story theses are made from, so trying to unpack it for my normal style of review is challenging.

Yesterday, I started Just My Luck by Adele Parks and what a departure from What Beauty There Is. On the surface, aside from the thriller element, these two books couldn’t be any more different – except that they both explore the dark sides of human nature and the dark sides are very scary. Just My Luck follows a family that won the lottery. Woo Hoo! Their wants abound but so do the people with their hand out, the people who hate them for their winnings, and the people who want to use them. It’s the side of winning something that most of us never consider when we enter a sweepstakes or buy a lottery ticket, but it is completely believable and chillingly fascinating to read. It’ll make you think twice before entering the lottery.

Next, I’m reading The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska which is a loosely historical / loosely fantasy story about a Polish queen from the middle ages. It was originally written in Polish by a popular Polish writer, and this is her first book to be translated into English. When I first saw it in a presentation by Tor-Forge of their upcoming books for 2021, I was immediately drawn to it and am over the moon excited that they approved my request for the ARC.

What are you reading this week? Anything that you’re particularly excited about?

Just My Luck by Adele Parks

• Genre: Psychological Thriller
• Print Length: 385 pages
• Publisher : MIRA
• Publication Date : April 6, 2021

Book Description

It was supposed to be the lottery win they’d always dreamed of…

For fifteen years, Lexi and Jake have played the same six numbers with their friends. Over drinks, dinner parties and summer barbecues, the three couples have discussed the important stuff—kids, marriages, careers—and they’ve laughed off their disappointment when they failed to win anything.

But then the unthinkable happens. There’s a rift in the group. Someone is caught in a lie. And soon after, six numbers come up that change everything forever.

Lexi and Jake have a ticket worth millions. And their friends are determined to claim a share.

#1 Sunday Times bestselling author Adele Parks returns with a riveting look at the dark side of wealth in this gripping tale of friendship, money, betrayal and good luck gone bad…

What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson

• Genre: YA Thriller
• Print Length: 368 pgs.
• Publisher: Penguin/Random House UK and Roaring Brook Press (US)
• Publication Date: April 6, 2021

Book Description:

What Beauty There Is is Cory Anderson’s stunning YA novel about brutality and beauty, and about broken people trying to survive―perfect for fans of Patrick Ness, Laura Ruby, and Meg Rosoff.

To understand the truth, you have to start at the beginning.

Winter in Idaho. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.

Living in harsh poverty, Jack Dahl is holding his breath. He and his younger brother have nothing―except each other. And now Jack faces a stark choice: lose his brother to foster care or find the drug money that sent his father to prison.

He chooses the money.

Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father, a merciless man, has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up on Jack’s trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or speak, and help the brothers survive.

Choices. They come at a price.

The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska

• Genre: Historical Fantasy
• Print Length: 503 pgs
• Publisher: Tor-Forge
• Publication Date: April 6, 2021

Book Description

Elzbieta Cherezinska’s The Widow Queen is the epic story of a Polish queen whose life and name were all but forgotten until now.

The bold one, they call her—too bold for most.

To her father, the great duke of Poland, Swietoslawa and her two sisters represent three chances for an alliance. Three marriages on which to build his empire.

But Swietoslawa refuses to be simply a pawn in her father’s schemes; she seeks a throne of her own, with no husband by her side.

The gods may grant her wish, but crowns sit heavy, and power is a sword that cuts both ways.

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Don’t forget to tell to me about the book(s) you are reading this week (in the comments). ✨ I love hearing about them. ❤️