February Wrap-up

In February, I read a total of 26 books, which is extremely low for me. I also already read my least favourite book of the year (probably), and I had only one 5 star read that wasn’t a reread. Luckily, I did read some great books that I rated 4 stars! I just hope March might be a little more successful for me, reading wise.

In this post, I’ll share my Goodreads reviews of my 4 and 5 star reads of February. Want to keep track of my reading in more detail? Feel free to add me on Goodreads!

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Sarah Rees Brennan – The Season of the Witch

I’m pleasantly surprised by this book. It was such a fun, quick read! It’s a lot darker than Sabrina the Teenage Witch, which I used to love as a teen, and I have to say I thought that was a huge pro, especially since it’s handled in such a light, funny way. It’s definitely not a scary book. I had a lot of fun reading it. The biggest surprise for me was that it had a lot more depth than I initially expected it would, and there’s a lot of development in the novel. I always love family relationships in books, and especially Sabrina’s relationship with her cousin Ambrose was great to read.

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India Hill Brown – The Forgotten Girl

This was really scary and really good. I listened to the audiobook in one sitting, and it was a really eerie experience.

It was also amazing to see this girl uncovering “forgotten” parts of history and standing up for herself and these forgotten people. Plus, I really loved the relationships in this book, especially the one between Iris and her little sister, that had a lot of development and was so heartwarming.

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K. Ancrum – The Weight of the Stars

This was so? good??? Wow. Loved everything about it, it was so soft and wholesome and loveable. The sibling relationship especially got to me.

CWs: violence, accident, hospital, homophobia, attempted rape, police, mention of suicide

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Junauda Petrus – The Stars and the Blackness Between Them

This was such a unique reading experience. And such a beautifully written book.

This is one of those books that wasn’t written for me as a white reader, and that I couldn’t be happier exists. I really loved this book, and I think it will mean a lot to own voices readers.

Rep: all Black cast, f/f romance, LGBTQ+ side characters, Muslim side character

CWs: religious and internalized homophobia, physical abuse, terminal illness, incarceration

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Manjeet Mann – Run, Rebel

I requested this because I saw it was a diverse verse novel. I’m a huge fan of verse novels, so that was all I needed to know.

I knew from the prologue on that this would be a truly beautifully written, feminist novel. And it honestly only got better.

This book is about Amber Rai, who wants to be an athlete. She lives with her illiterate parents who hardly speak English, and so they need her to translate for them and to help them navigate in a society they don’t understand. Her father is an alcoholic, he’s abusive, and he’s very misogynistic. All Amber wants to do is be able to make her own choices, and not have her life planned for her like her sister’s.

The themes made this quite a heavy read, but it was also very hopeful and empowering. There’s a lot of depth and a lot of character development, and not just from the main character. I’m honestly in awe with how well written this was, and with how the author needed so few words to make such a strong point.

Rep: Indian MC

CWs: parental and domestic abuse, alcoholism, panic attacks, bullying, mention of an honour killing, vomiting, mentions of diets

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Julia Drake – The Last True Poets of the Sea

Check out my review of The Last True Poets of the Sea!

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Shaun David Hutchinson – The State of Us

If you loved Red, White & Royal Blue, you’re sure to enjoy this one as well!

And the demisexual rep was GREAT!

CWs: public outing, homophobia

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Maureen Johnson – The Hand on the Wall

This was my favourite book in the series! It was all so atmospheric, and it was wonderful to see everything unravel.

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Madeline Miller – Galatea

I didn’t know this existed! So when I found out, I immediately bought and read it. Madeline Miller is my favourite author for a reason, this was so impactful, especially considering how short it was.

CWs: rape, abuse, murder & suicide, imprisonment, forced abortion, misogyny

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How many books did you end up reading in February? What was your favourite read of the month?

 

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