February 2024: Monthly Wrap-Up

I’m not sure where February went. Despite having a whole extra day this year, it went by as fast as usual.

February is my birthday month, and between that, finalizing many details for my wedding this summer, and Chinese New Year (which I celebrate with my in-laws), it was a busy time. Not that I’m complaining! My fiancée spoiled me greatly for my 29th birthday/Valentine’s Day. She took me out for high tea and bought me lots of wonderful gifts including sparkly jewelry and a star projector for me to use while reading in the bath. 💕

Now that we’re already into March, I can confidently say that I’ve fallen headfirst into the fantasy genre, as it is essentially all I’ve been reading this year. 😂 Though I did take a break to read some sapphic romance novels to get me in the mood for Valentine’s Day. I wrote a blog post about some of my favorites that you can read here.

Books Read:

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️.5 | Was this book was necessary? No. But it was fine. I guess I’m just used to Maas being longwinded to get her point across. 😂 I gave an extra half-star for Nesta and Cassian’s POVs.

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | By far my favorite of the series. I love Cassian. Love the Valkeries. Love Nesta. 🧡

Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail by Ashley Herring Blake | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | This was such a swoon-worthy, rivals-to-lovers sapphic romance featuring a late coming-out story. Read my review here.

Bride by Ali Hazelwood | ⭐️⭐️.5 | My first Ali Hazelwood novel… and not my favorite, though I do get the appeal. Hazelwood’s writing reads like fanfiction and is equally enthralling. This book is sexy but dragged a lot. It felt almost like nothing happened. And the plot twist was just… bland.

Imogen, Obviously by Becky Albertalli | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | I stayed up all night to read this one! Probably because I related strongly to Imogen’s internal biphobia and imposter syndrome, but this one hit me hard. Read my review here.

She Gets the Girl by Rachel Lippincott and Alyson Derrick | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | This was a really cute sapphic twist on a classic rom-com premise. Read my review here.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | This urban fantasy had a well-developed magical system and a great cast of characters. (I will be posting my full review at the end of the month, so keep an eye out for that!)

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Oh, this was lovely. I enjoyed all the faerie lore and the characters were so much fun.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | It was fine, but not as great as it could have been. It started out so strong, and then just fizzled… I would have liked for the competition to have been more of a focal point for the story than it was.

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | Definitely an improvement on the first novel! It was nice to see Celeana take action. I liked Dorian more here; I’m curious about where his storyline is leading. I still love Chaol. And THAT ENDING?!?!?

The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | This was a very solid prequel! These short stories gave a lot of context for Celaena and her motivations and it was fun to visit the stories hinted at in the first two novels.

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | The tone and pace changed a lot in this novel for the better. (But I’ve always been a fan of slower-paced, more character-driven books.) I really liked how Maas expanded the world and included some new characters here. I particularly enjoyed Manon’s addition to the narrative.

Next Month’s TBR:

Of course, I plan to continue on with the Throne of Glass series. I feel like Maas has finally found her stride! I’m also really looking forward to the release of The Prisoner’s Throne by Holly Black (I just… love the Folk of the Air series). And because I am weak to pretty things, I ordered myself a copy of the 10th-anniversary edition of Solitaire by Alice Oseman, and I’m really excited to read it (it will be my first time 🙈)!

I also received an ARC of Compass and Blade by Rachel Greenlaw, so I am hoping to get to that one this month too. I’ve heard mixed reviews of it, so we will have to see how I like it. I’ll also be a part of the blog tour for The Prospects by KT Hoffman, so look out for that!

What books did you read in February?

What are you looking forward to in March?

Let me know!