February Wrap Up

I hope you all had a terrific month! Mine was mostly wet, because it started off freezing, then it was almost eighty, then everything froze again, and now it’s warm and sunny and everything’s sort of drying out but we’ll see what happens.

Talking books, this was actually a good month for me! Not as good as January, but pretty good. I tried some new authors, I got to some books that had been sitting on my TBR for so long they forgot who I was and tried to have me arrested for kidnapping, and I found a handful of five star reads.

Yay!

Let’s get started.

Books (in chronological order of my reading them):

Click on the links for full reviews/Goodreads page. Don’t click the pictures, because those don’t have links.

The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Francis Long
⭐️⭐️⭐️

My full review sums it pretty well, but this is a classic case of ‘would been awesome if not for the romance’. The characters were nothing special, the writing was clearly a debut but still interesting, and the plot was good.

Just…the romance reaaaally took away from everything else, and the characters were just. So. Stupid. Because of it.

The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Wow this was so so good!

Fantastic writing, amazing characters, a great plot, and awesome world building. I cannot believe I did not read this sooner. Literal perfection on paper. I read four hundred pages in one sitting, which has not happened in a looong time.

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynn Jones
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Confession: this was my first Diana Wynn Jones book.

It was really good! I love fantasy parodies, and while this didn’t quite measure up to John Moore’s books, I really enjoyed it.

The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was EVEN BETTER than The Raven Boys.

I know, right?

I didn’t manage to finish this in one sitting, because I had a dentist appointment. It took me two. I was worried that getting Ronan’s POV would diminish my love for him, but nope!

Everybody’s just as fantastic, and I loved the Gray Man. Didn’t see that one coming.

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WHAT. EVEN.

MORE perfection.

First of all, the characters were still so awesome. Old ones, new ones, all of ‘em.

Second, I ship Adam and Ronan so, so hard.

Third: I cannot for the Raven King to arrive so I can DEVOUR IT. That ending left me wanting SO MUCH MORE and I can’t wait. I actually PREORDERED the paperback, and I don’t preorder books. I get impatient and I’d rather wait until I know I’ll get them soon, I guess? BUT I DID.

Doctor Who: A History of the Universe in 100 Objects
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Got this from the bargain pile at Barnes and Noble. As a Doctor Who fan, it was good! I liked their selection of objects, although I would argue the dating system for a couple things. (Which the introduction says is expected, since it is Doctor Who we’re talking about.)

The Curisoties by Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, and Brenna Yovanoff
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Haven’t reviewed it on Goodreads it, but it was so so good!

Brenna Yovanoff has been one of my favorite authors for a while, and Maggie Stiefvater recently joined the list, so I knew I had to get this one.

Through a Mirror, Darkly by Kevin Lucia
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is by a local author! And my copy is signed, so yay!

I don’t read a lot of horror, but I typically enjoy it when I do, and I loved this. His writing is awesome and very atmospheric but subtle. The stories were great.

Tales from Valleyview Cemetery by John Bhrel and Joseph Sullivan
⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is another book by local authors, but it just fell flat. The writing was bland and most of the characters were boring, but there were a couple that were good enough to raise this above two stars.

Mystery Road by Kevin Lucia
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is an arc! I’ll be posting my review on Goodreads really soon, but it was so so good.
The writing was just as good as in Through a Mirror, Darkly and we got to explore one character from that collection that we barely met, so that was cool. I read it on my phone and I hate reading on electronics, so I’ll definitely be getting a physical copy when it comes out

It was still atmospheric and creepy, but it also gave me a summer-time feeling of being in the woods, which I don’t associate with creepy. That is not a downside, because I got sucked into the story and could really imagine being there with the character.

Currently Reading:

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

I will hopefully be done by the end of the month but we shall see. I’m really enjoying this so far.

Inky Insanity

16 Things to Help You Choose Your Next Read

Discussion: What Makes or Breaks a Romance in Fiction?

The Writer’s Tag

This will be my fourth! Post! This! Month!

I am so excited! I really hope to keep blogging regularly, but it depends on schoolwork. I’m finishing up my senior year and getting ready for college, so things are busy. I have so much fun with blogging, though, so I really want to keep doing it! Monday seems to work for posting, so I’ll try to keep it to that schedule.

Goals for March:

Read more.

I don’t have a set number of books I want to read, but I don’t want to go more than a couple days without reading.

Finish Darkspire!

I am so, so close, people! I mean, I have like 25-40k left, but I NEED to finish this before summer or I’m never going to get it done. I’m pretty sure I can do it, but I’ll be happy if I at least get to 60k.

Keep blogging.

Self explanatory. If you guys have any ideas for posts, feel free to give ‘em.

I started a Bookstagram account, and I’d really like to keep posting every day. I’d also like to reach a hundred followers. We shall see.

That’s all for today, folks! How was your month? Did you suffer from weather too? Read any good books?