February was a pretty good month for me. It started a new semester, and that felt pretty light and nice. I got a lot of great books, and I got some wonderful reading in. You can see more about both of those things below the cut.
Books I hauled in February:
- House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
- The Breakup Tour by Austin Siegemund-Broka and Emily Wibberley
- Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
- The Resort by Sara Ochs
- The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland
- Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
- Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
- Ballad by Maggie Stiefvater
- Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater
- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
- Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater
- Bride by Ali Hazelwood
- The Eternal Ones by Namina Forna
- Even if It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn
- The Teacher by Frieda McFadden
- The Bad Ones by Melissa Albert
- The Fury by Alex Michaelides
- End of Story by AJ Finn
Books I read in February:
1. Static: Up All Night by Lamar Giles
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I didn’t know anything about these characters or their canon in the DC Comics universe, but it was really set up well to explain to new readers about them. The characters were well-developed and well-written. I thought the storyline was interesting, though in some ways it’s a ‘quieter’ story. I always enjoy stories confined to a tight time period, and this one did that well. It was really cool to see the different super powers.
2. Zero Day by David Baldacci
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a more interesting story than I expected it to be. I fully only picked it up because of the title starting with the letter ‘Z’, but I ended up enjoying the story a lot more than I thought I would. The main character was interesting. I enjoyed the stakes of the story, but I was sad about some of the characters who died. It was definitely formulaic in a way, but it was still interesting enough that I wanted to continue on.
3. The Forgotten by David Baldacci
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: The main character really continued to be kind of cool. The stakes were very different in this story, but still pretty high, which made for an interesting read. I enjoyed the twists in the story, and I like how Puller just gets himself into a lot of shit in a kind of accidental way. I felt bad for his aunt, but unfortunately she was the inciting incident.
4. Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I had a lot of fun reading this book. I felt that it was really well-written, and I really enjoyed Chandler and Finn as a couple. They were interesting together at all stages of their relationship: initial hookup, colleagues of a sort, friends, and then more. They felt really well-matched. I also liked how the initial hook up went really horribly wrong at the start of the book, which led to the main part of the plot. It just felt like a unique premise for a romance book.
5. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was an interesting book though not necessarily in a positive way. It wasn’t really the best written book, and honestly it was just kind of hard for me to look away from it. I had a fun enough time that I think I will be reading the sequel because I want to know what happens next, but I will say that the promised cliff-hanger ending was a bit of a let down in the greater scheme of things.
6. Even If It Breaks Your Heart by Erin Hahn
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I have a full review of this up on the blog, here.
7. Tag, You’re Dead by Kathryn Foxfield
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This book had an interesting premise, however, I was somewhat disappointed by how it played out and by the ending of it. I really enjoyed a lot of the build up of the stoy, but then I was let down by the way the story wrapped itself up. However, I do like to see more authors playing with aspects of social media in their writing. It really makes sense considering how prevalent it is.
8. House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J. Maas
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I loved this book. I will admit that there were some parts that I was a little bit disappointed by, but that was because I had built up what it was going to be in my head. However, on the whole I had an excellent reading experience, and I was pretty happy with how it all resolved. It makes me excited for any more books she might put out in this world.
9. All of Our Demise by Amanda Foody and CL Herman
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I found this book really interesting. I liked the main characters and the way the world and magic system were constructed. It was interesting to listen to the main characters try and solve the world’s problems and navigate the situation they were forced into. I think whole premise is really interesting. The duology wrapped up well.
10. Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I love, love, love the world that Seanan McGuire has built, and the worlds that are connected to it. They are so lovely and magical. I also really enjoyed getting to see some favourite characters from other books come back in this one, and then to see them all come together. It was well-paced, well-developed, and had lots of good character growth.
11. The Subtle Knife (GN) by Philip Pullman
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I actually ended up enjoying this graphic novel adaptation more than the first one in the series. I think the content of this particular novel was more well-suited the format of a graphic novel. The art style still wasn’t my favourite, but I loved that it was full-colour and brought more visual aspects of the novel alive for me. I hope the last one gets adapted as well.
12. The Outward Mindset by The Arbinger Institute
Rating: 2 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was recommended and gifted to me by my principal, so I felt that I ought to read it. However, I will admit that I didn’t really enjoy it. I recognize that the message behind it was good, but ultimately I didn’t really enjoy the writing style. It just wasn’t for me. I think it would have been better as a seminar or professional development session than as a book.
13. In These Hallowed Halls by Various Authors
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I had a lot of fun reading this short story collection. It is really interesting to see smaller stories in the greater premise of dark academia as I have previously only read full length novels. I liked most of the stories, but as with all short story collections, there were stories that didn’t work as well for me. Overall, I definitely recommend checking this out if you like dark academia or want to give it a try without a bigger commitment.
14. Inheritance by Katharine McGee
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I liked reading this prequel to the American Royals series. It was interesting to see the characters how we are told they were before the events of the series. However, it would be easy enough to just never read this book because the others in the series fully fill you in on the events of this one. I just am a bit of a completionist so I really wanted to know. It was definitely a good read, however.
15. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: This was a cute slowburn, Grumpy/Sunshine vibe romance. I had different expectations going into it about what the novel would be about, so in some ways it wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be. However, I still had a fun time listening to the audiobook. I liked Evie as a character, and the end twist was unexpected.
16. Katara and the Pirate’s Silver by Faith Erin Hicks
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: eBook
Review: I enjoyed this quick graphic novel. It read like an episode of the television show, which completely suited my mood, and was incredibly fun. I love Katara as a character, so it was cool to see her have a solo adventure. I also liked the side characters that she encountered.
17. The Resort by Sara Ochs
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I liked this story a lot. The two main characters were both really interesting and brought an interesting layer to the story. I liked how their stories intersected, and how things were on the tiny resort island they were on. It was well-written, and well-structured. I found myself a little flabbergasted at the epilogue that was tacked onto the end.
18. The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: I was definitely interested to read this highly anticipated memoir. I have been intrigued since I first heard about it, but I definitely put off reading it for a while. Britney Spears was one of my favourite singers as a kid, so it was really interesting to read about the behind the scenes of her life. It wasn’t the best written memoir that I have ever read, but in many ways it was deeply haunting and unsettling to read.
19. The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I genuinely had so much fun re-reading this book with my class. It’s a very well-written story, and I really love Frenchie as a main character. Aside from the Dystopian setting, he feels very much like a kid I might encounter in my classes. The reality of the world the author built feels like a realistic path to the one our world is set on.
20. Together We Rot by Skyla Arndt
Rating: 5 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: I loved this book. Wil and Elwood were both absolutely fascinating characters. The world was quite interesting as well. I liked the development of their relationship, and rekindling, and how well balanced it was against everything else that was going on in the book. It was so, so good.
21. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Rating: 4 Stars
Format: Physical Copy
Review: This was another re-read for class. I had fun once again.
22. Neon Gods by Katee Roberts
Rating: 3 Stars
Format: Audiobook
Review: The story premise and worldbuilding in this book are really interesting to me. I quite enjoyed the main characters, though in some ways it felt a little bit insta love-y, but maybe that’s just me. However, despite that, I definitely had a lot of fun so I can’t complain about it too much. I definitely want to read more in this world.
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