Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This book meme was initially created by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived by Taking on a World of Words. There are three Ws to answer in each post. What are you currently reading?, what did you recently finish reading? and what do you think you’ll read next? Please feel free to join me in the comments below to discuss your three Ws too!
I was a bit slow of the mark in February but that’s mostly because I did some reading for me. I really wanted to get to some Batman (or superhero in general) novels that have been gathering dust on my shelf and I went with The Court Of Owls which was a real treat. I am at a crossroads with my reviews. I have recently been doing less reading but longer reviews and I have been feeling really satisfied with my efforts. I’m not sure how long I will stay in this mindset but I was hoping to do a lot more reading and more quickfire reviews so I can catch up with my TBR. We will see what this year brings I guess. Thanks for popping by to read the post, and thank you to everyone for your support!
What Are You Currently Reading?
Synopsis: It’s a small story. A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened.
Hinton Hollow. Population 5,120.
Little Henry Wallace was eight years old and one hundred miles from home before anyone talked to him. His mother placed him on a train with a label around his neck, asking for him to be kept safe for a week, kept away from Hinton Hollow. Because something was coming.
Narrated by Evil itself, Hinton Hollow Death Trip recounts five days in the history of this small rural town, when darkness paid a visit and infected its residents. A visit that made them act in unnatural ways. Prodding at their insecurities. Nudging at their secrets and desires. Coaxing out the malevolence suppressed within them. Showing their true selves.
Making them cheat.
Making them steal.
Making them kill.
Detective Sergeant Pace had returned to his childhood home. To escape the things he had done in the city. To go back to something simple. But he was not alone. Evil had a plan.
My Thoughts: I thought so much of Nothing Important Happened Today that I couldn’t resist going back to Will Carver’s work for Hinton Hollow Death Trip. I didn’t initially know that they, and Good Samaritans, were actually connected via Detective Pace! I am about 12% of the way through and it is as fascinating and dark as ever. I thought the idea behind NIHT was inspired by HHDT is on the next level. Having events narrated by Evil itself is so cool, twisted and nerve-wracking. It opens with both a mystery and a murder and Will Carver uses his usual surreal, captivating prose to feed the reader’s curiosity and reel them into this cursed community that is always on the edge of trouble and despair. I still only have an inkling of an idea of where HHDT is going with its story but Will Carver isn’t your every-day writer, I’m certain I’m in for some very creative twists and reveals before the end of this story.
What Did You Recently Finish Reading?
Synopsis: For generations, an apocryphal cabal has controlled Gotham from the shadows, wielding fear and violence through its undead assassins, the Talons. THE COURT OF OWLS.
Dating back centuries, its leaders are men and women of wealth and influence who meet in secrecy, hiding their identities behind stark white masks. Employing science and alchemy, they sought to kill Bruce Wayne who, as Batman, dealt them their greatest defeats. Even then they faded back into the darkness, and he could not eliminate them entirely.
Now, Gotham City is plagued with a series of brutal murders in which mutilated bodies are burned almost beyond recognition. Batman and his allies—including Nightwing and Batgirl—quickly realize that the Talons have returned, yet the reason for the killings remains tauntingly unknown.
As the heroes seek answers, their path stretches back more than a century. Should the Owls obtain what they seek, it could grant them power that no one could counter. With each moment that passes, more victims appear.
Batman must stop the Talons before they kill again.
My Thoughts: I really craved some superhero action. I don’t know if it is Wandavision or The Batman trailer but I had a hankering for a real comic book story. I was surveying my bookcase and I found The Court Of Owls which was absolutely perfect for my reading needs. As a Batman adventure it is almost standard issue, stalking, epic fights, peril, chaos and deadly traps. As a novel it has a really compelling love story weaved underneath all the danger, death and destruction. The court of owls are a recent addition to Batman lore and this story sees the bat up against them once more as several cases of spontaneous combustion start popping up around Gotham City. I have never read a novelisation of a Batman comic book plot line but TCOO was a great choice. My favourite aspect was the love story between Percy and Lydia in 1918 that lead to the events of the modern day fight against the owls. It was a bittersweet tale of a man’s adoration for a woman he doesn’t deserve and his attempt to live up to that expectation, damn everyone else. It has a huge, explosive and incendiary ending and I highly recommend it to all.
What Do You Think You’ll Read Next?
Synopsis: Meet Tony Vicar: failed rockstar-turned-DJ, small-town curmudgeon, and … miracle worker?
Reduced to DJing rural weddings, Tony Vicar feels the bite of failure. A frustrated and failed musician, unable to discern why he has not ascended to stardom, his only defence is to see the world through the lens of gallows humour, absurdism, and black comedy. At his lowest moment he meets former exotic dancer Jacquie O, and they begin a strange and unlikely courtship.
When the pair come upon a fatal car accident, Vicar gives aid to a woman who’s barely clinging to life. His nearly miraculous ministrations succeed, and his actions become big news. But what Vicar calls luck is seen as something more magical by everyone else, rocketing him from complete unknown to massive celebrity to legend. Along the way he attracts the attention of Serena, the most dangerous siren he could ever imagine, who makes an outrageous play to take Vicar for her own.
In this rollicking farce, Tony Vicar will finally have to face the consequences of his enduring dream of celebrity, and the unforeseen danger to life and love that it brings.
My Thoughts: I saw this on NetGalley and thought what the heck, looks interesting! I was getting Peep Show vibes when I started reading the blurb. The plot sounds completely absurd and unconventional and those are definitely in my requirement pool for picking a novel to read. I will admit that when I saw the cover I thought it was going to be a drunk vicar but Tony seems to be just fine for a protagonist, let’s hope his escapades are as good as they sound.
I am grateful to everyone who has stopped by to see what’s going on in the halls of Always Trust In Books. I am, as usual, a bit hit and miss recently but it is more to do with catching up on reading the latest and greatest novels than anything else. I am eager to drop reviews on as many of the awesome releases coming in 2021 as I can. I appreciate all the support I get here and on Twitter, I hope I can continue being worth the time and effort!
Always Trust In Books 
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