February Wrap-Up – 2021

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Hello Hello! How are you?

It’s taken me a few days but I am finally here with my monthly wrap-up for February! February is the shortest month of the year and so far has been the busiest, I just apparently spend my time working on various university assignments and tasks! I’ve also had two weeks of face-to-face learning, and while I’m not happy about it at all, I have to concede that they seem to be doing what they can to keep us as safe as that kind of learning allows.

I was a little less ambitious for March and I’m taking a break from my TBR Game to try to get ahead for my thesis research, but you can find out what I’ll try to read this month here.

In February, I was able to read a total of 10 books, which is actually quite amazing, to be honest! So now let’s see what books I was able to finish last month!

BOOKS READ

My Favourite Book of the Month

The Red Scrolls of Magic (#1 The Eldest Curses) by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu – 4.5 stars

I read this book with Fiona and Erika as our latest Shadowhunter mission read and I have to say that so far, out of the different Shadowhunter series that we have read, this one is by far my favourite. I’m so glad that Magnus finally got a book and we learned more of his backstory. I also really enjoyed learning about Alec and their relationship is so sweet. I want more Malec soon! I gave this one 4.5 stars, it was my favourite book of the month and you can find my review and Erika’s thoughts here, Fiona’s review and my thoughts here and Erika’s review and Fiona’s thoughts here!

February Books

The Library of the Dead (#1 Edinburgh Nights) by T. L. Huchu – 4.5 stars

This was a book that I was lucky enough to get approved for on NetGalley and I’m so glad I did because this book was so good. I loved the atmosphere of this one, it was fantastic and the futuristic dystopian version of Edinburg was fascinating. Ropa was a great character and the plot was very engaging. You can find all my thoughts for it here.

Specter by Katie Jane Gallagher – 4 stars

This was one of my blog tour books I read in February for the #BBNYA2020 blog tours organised by Dave from @The_WriteReads and it was one that I thoroughly enjoyed. Another book with a fantastic atmosphere, this one gave me the chills and I loved seeing what Lanie discovered. You can find my full review for it here.

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Vol. 1: The Crucible by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, Robert Hack – 2.5 stars

This was my first graphic novel/comic of the year and I have to admit that it was a bit of a let-down. I don’t know what I was expecting exactly, but it was obviously not this. I love the Sabrina series on Netflix and I thought that this graphic novel would be the same, it is, but also different and not at all what I wanted. I won’t be reviewing this one as I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I would have wanted.

Blue Shadow Prophecy (#2 Chimera) by Anca Antoci – 4 stars

I read this great book as an author request for the lovely Anca and I had a great time diving back into this world and seeing some beloved characters again. I read Forget Me Not, the first book in the Chimera series last year and LOVED IT, and Blue Shadow Prophecy was a really good sequel that answered a lot of questions. The end was kind of a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait for book 3. You can read all about what I thought here.

Calico Thunder Rides Again by T. A. Hernandez – 3.5 stars

Another #BBNYA2020 blog tour book and this one disappointed me a little bit. I was expecting a really magical and enthralling circus and plot, and in the end, I got a story about a guy who is in really big money troubles and tries to pay back his debts (that’s just a really short summary). Of course, there is the circus and magic, but nowhere near as much as I needed and I just found it too short and it didn’t focus on the most important bit: Calico Thunder. You can read more about why this book was a bit of a flop for me here.

Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key (#1 Through the Fairy Door) by Estelle Grace Tudor – 3 stars

This was the February pick for the Middle Grade Marvels book club and I have to say, another book that flopped a little bit. From the synopsis, I was expecting a really cute and high-stakes story with magic and fairies, which is basically what we got but also not. Around the end of the first quarter of the book, something bizarre happened to the pacing, it sped up measurably and I felt like everything that happened was jarring and out of place. I loved the characters and the plot was a really intriguing one, but unfortunately, the execution was just lacking. I still enjoyed it though and will hope to get my review up soon.

Rivers of London (#1 Rivers of London) by Ben Aaronovitch – 4.5 stars

This is the first book we read for The Folly readalong that Fiona set up with a bunch of TWR Gang buddies! As soon as I started reading this book, I knew this series was going to be special and I was not wrong. I love the detail in this book. Peter, Nightingale, Molly, Mama Thames, Lesley and Beverly are all such intriguing characters that I definitely want to know more about, and the setting is great. I love all the mystery elements and I know this is going to be a favourite series, I can’t wait to read on and hopefully get my review up in the next weeks!

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas – 4 stars

The TWR Gang’s book club pick for this month was one that I have been so excited to get to ever since it was released and even more so when I received my pre-order! One thing I loved about this book was learning about the brujx culture, finding out more about their traditions, what the brujos and brujas did in the community and especially hearing about Lita’s food!! This was a really good debut and I hope I can get all my thoughts together soon.

The Thursday Murder Club (#1 The Thursday Murder Club) by Richard Osman – 4 stars

And the final book I managed to read in February was the buddy read that I did with Stephen. I was really excited to read this book as I had seen it about a lot in the last months and it didn’t disappoint. You know that I hardly laugh while reading books but this one had me in fits of laughter – especially chapter 16, oh Elizabeth, what a great and hilarious character! I really enjoyed this one and the Gang were great together. I didn’t expect that ending and will definitely continue the series as soon as the next one is released. I’ll try to get my review drafted and posted in the next couple of weeks!

February Reading Stats

Number of books: 10

Number of pages: 3,111 pages

Star ratings:

2.5 stars: 1 book

3 stars: 1 book

3.5 stars: 1 book

4 stars: 4 books

4.5 stars: 3 books

Average rating: 3.85⭐

Genres: 2 YA Fantasies, 1 Urban Fantasy, 1 Ya Paranormal Horror Fantasy, 1 Horror graphic novel, 1 Fantasy, 1 MG Fantasy, 1 Urban Fantasy Mystery, 1 YA LGBT Fantasy and 1 Mystery.

Physical Book left for Ellie’s TBR Game: 722 (I have somehow managed to accumulate even more books over the last month)!

That’s, all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post! I will be taking a little break from my Down the TBR Hole posts tomorrow as I haven’t had time to draft it, but should be back on track next week!

See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx