WWW Wednesday | January 4th

I’m back with another WWW Wednesday. The first one of 2023🤩 Read the full post to see what I’m reading, and don’t hesitate to participate!

This format was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

To participate, you just have to answer these questions:

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

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What are you currently reading

I am reading The Song of the Marked by S.M. Gaither and Warcross by Marie Lu.

Synopsis

An ancient evil is stirring. The old gods are growing restless. Can she stop the coming storm?

A Devastating Sickness

For decades, the Kethran Empire has been plagued by a strange illness that leaches the very life and soul from its victims.

The Girl Who Survived

Casia is one of the Fade-Marked—one of the few people who caught this sickness and lived. Why she lived is a mystery even to her and the outcast crew of mercenaries she calls her family. It also makes her an intriguing target for the young, enigmatic king-emperor, who claims he wants to work alongside her to find a cure.

Unfortunately, working alongside him also means working with the handsome but infuriating captain of one of the most prestigious branches of the Kethran Army.

A Soldier With No Past

This infuriating Captain Elander also has secrets: A past that Cas can’t seem to uncover, a powerful but strange brand of magic, and a deep distrust of the very monarch that he’s sworn to serve. She feels oddly drawn to him in spite of these things…

But can she really trust him?

The Fate of an Empire

As the bodies pile up and strange monsters begin to wreak havoc throughout the realms, Cas and Elander will have to work together to protect their world whether they trust one another or not. Because one thing is clear: Something ancient and evil is stirring in the shadows of Kethra.

And the empire will not survive its full unleashing.

But how can they save a world where nothing and no one is what they seem to be— including Cas herself?

Synopsis

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

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What did you recently finish reading

I recently finished We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.

Synopsis

What does “feminism” mean today? That is the question at the heart of We Should All Be Feminists, a personal, eloquently-argued essay—adapted from her much-viewed TEDx talk of the same name—by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, the award-winning author of Americanah and Half of a Yellow Sun.

With humor and levity, here Adichie offers readers a unique definition of feminism for the twenty-first century—one rooted in inclusion and awareness. She shines a light not only on blatant discrimination, but also the more insidious, institutional behaviors that marginalize women around the world, in order to help readers of all walks of life better understand the often masked realities of sexual politics. Throughout, she draws extensively on her own experiences—in the U.S., in her native Nigeria, and abroad—offering an artfully nuanced explanation of why the gender divide is harmful for women and men, alike.

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What do you think you’ll read next

I will be reading a book I just bought: A Curse of Crows by Belgian author Lauren Dedroog.

Synopsis

A female villain origin story, encompassed by rich new mythology and set in a fantasy world fans of Sarah J. Maas will devour…

Ever since she was a child, Diana prayed and offered to the gods—even Keres, the God of Malice, whom any sane mortal avoids like the plagues he might bring to their doorstep or the deals that the god is known for.

But when Diana finds herself in desperate need of help and prays to the god, she finds herself entangled in one of those very deals. Yet Keres isn’t the villain she’d been taught to avoid and the daemons she feared as a child aren’t the enemy. It’s not Hell she should be wary of, but the realm of the gods, where thorns hide beneath spoken words and vows.

While Diana learns her place in this game of thorns, she finds herself tested again and again. But everyone has their limit.

Dive into a new and original high fantasy series where Chaos thrives and the truth is buried beneath the rubbles of aeons of secrets and schemes. Yet truth is like a stubborn weed.

It always finds a way.

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