By Tessa Pulyer Posted on

WWW Wednesday | What Am I Reading This Week- 3/31/2021?

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?

My Reading Week

I decided that The Widow Queen is a book best read in short bursts over a more extended period than my usual 2-3 days. It’s a story that is chocked full of names, events, schemes, and intrigue. I’m reading 10% each day, so a little over an hour, and that is the perfect reading time for me with this book. It is pretty good, sort of Game of Thrones-ish, but our world’s medieval times with lots of wars and powerful Queens.

Along with that, I have continued on my normal reading schedule with the remainder of my TBR and finished not just one but three books since last week. I finished Just Get Home by Bridget Foley last night, and Woah! what a story. It’s classified under psychological thriller – I would call it a Survival Thriller. I don’t know if that’s a thing, but that is what the book is about – a woman and a young girl she meets in downtown L.A. after an earthquake have to survive the aftermath of that earthquake so that the woman can Just Get Home to her toddler who is trapped in their apartment with the babysitter. The dangers they face from both human and animal predators chilled me to the bone.

This weekend, I read The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson. It came out last year, but the paperback is coming out in April. It’s terrific. I wish the ending had been slightly different, but it was still a psychological thriller that kept me glued to the page. And I read Rich Amooi’s latest rom-com called Uncork My Love. It’s the third book I’ve read by him for a blog tour, and he is quite good at the genre – light, cute, funny – all things you are looking for when you pick up a book of that genre.

Today, I started When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain. It sounds pretty intense but is just the kind of book I enjoy. Next, I am totally switching gears and taking on a Women’s Fiction book entitled Finding Home by Kate Field. I’m starting to notice a pattern with the rare Women’s Fiction books I accept a widget for – they have a seascape on the cover (or some kind of body of water). Hmmm…

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

When The Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

  • Genre: Mystery / Thriller
  • Print Length: 370 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books
  • Publication Date: April 13, 2021

Book Description

Anna Hart is a seasoned missing persons detective in San Francisco with far too much knowledge of the darkest side of human nature. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns that a local teenage girl has gone missing.

The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most crucial time in Anna’s childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with saving the missing girl, she must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to let others in.

Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the worst happens, to reclaim our lives—and our faith in one another.

AND

The Widow Queen by Elzbieta Cherezinska

  • Genre: Historical Fantasy or Fiction
  • 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.

Just Get Home by Bridget Foley

  • Genre: Psychological Thriller
  • Print Length: 272 pgs.
  • Publisher: MIRA
  • Publication Date: April 13, 2021

Book Description:

When a devastating earthquake—the Big One—hits Los Angeles, two strangers are brought together by an act of violence and must help each other survive the wrecked city.

Beegie is riding the bus when the quake hits. The teenager was heading back to her unhappy foster home, but then she’s thrown into a broken world. Roads crumble, storefronts shatter and people run wild.

Dessa, a single mom, is enjoying a rare night out when it strikes. Cell towers are down, so without even knowing if her three-year-old daughter is dead or alive, she races to get back across town.

As danger escalates in the chaotic streets, Beegie and Dessa meet by a twist of fate. The two form a fragile partnership, relying on each other in ways they never thought possible, and learn who they really are when there’s only one goal: just get home.

And

The Weekend Away by Sarah Alderson

  • Genre: Psychological Thriller
  • Print Length: 332 pgs.
  • Publisher: Avon
  • Publication Date: April 13, 2021 (paperback) – Kindle release was 7/23/2020

Orla and Kate have been best friends forever. Together they’ve faced it all – be it Orla’s struggles as a new mother or Kate’s messy divorce. And whatever else happens in their lives, they can always look forward to their annual weekend away.

This year, they’re off to Lisbon: the perfect flat, the perfect view, the perfect itinerary. And what better way to kick things off in style than with the perfect night out?

But when Orla wakes up the next morning, Kate is gone. Brushed off by the police and with only a fuzzy memory of the night’s events, Orla is her friend’s only hope. As she frantically retraces their steps, Orla makes a series of shattering discoveries that threaten everything she holds dear. Because while Lisbon holds the secret of what happened that night, the truth may lie closer to home…

And

Uncork My Love by Rich Amooi

  • Genre: Romantic Comedy
  • Print Length: 302 pgs.
  • Publisher: self-published
  • Publication Date: March 30, 2021

Ivy needs a miracle and a drink—not necessarily in that order. With a struggling winery, the only hope of keeping her dream alive is snagging a gold medal at the annual wine competition. She’s determined to win, but she can do it without the help of Ted Jacobs, aka Mr. Know-it-All.

Ted wants to catch lightning in a bottle and create the world’s greatest wine, but he’s smart enough to know he can’t do it alone. When he heads to Napa to keep his grandma from ending up in jail (don’t ask), he meets Ivy. She’s as complex and intoxicating as his award-winning cabernet, but as stubborn as the mule next door when she stomps on his offer to collaborate.

Ted knows it’s risky to mix business with pleasure, but if Ivy would only listen, they might just be the toast of the town.

Finding Home by Kate Field

  • Genre: Women’s Fiction
  • Print Length: 303 pages
  • Publisher: One More Chapter (Harper Collins)
  • Publication Date: April 16, 2021

He might not have much in this world, but it cost nothing to be kind…

Meet Miranda Brown: you can call her Mim. She’s jobless, homeless and living in her car… but with a history like hers she knows she has a huge amount to be grateful for.

Meet Beatrice and William Howard: Bill and Bea to you. The heads of the Howard family and owners of Venhallow Hall, a sprawling seaside Devonshire estate… stranded in a layby five hours from home the night before their niece’s wedding.

When fate brings the trio together, Mim doesn’t think twice before offering to drive the affable older couple home. It’s not like she has anywhere else to be. But as the car pulls into the picturesque village of Littlemead, Mim has no idea how her life is about to change…

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

9 Replies to “WWW Wednesday | What Am I Reading This Week- 3/31/2021?”

    1. Tessa says:

      It is pretty intense. Many times I had the feeling that I should turn back now, But it is a very good book and extremely well-written.

      Liked by 2 people

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