This months was so hard to narrow down! I read some truly amazing books in February and I also gave out my first 5* of the year. I narrowed it down to two but simply couldn’t pick between them both so I’m just going to share it. Both of these books are full of wondrous magic, romance and brilliantly written new worlds to discover. One was the start of, what i’m sure will be, an amazing series, and the other is the end of an all time favourite series of mine.

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski

Where Nirrim lives, crime abounds, a harsh tribunal rules, and society’s pleasures are reserved for the High Kith. Life in the Ward is grim and punishing. People of her low status are forbidden from sampling sweets or wearing colors. You either follow the rules, or pay a tithe and suffer the consequences. Nirrim keeps her head down and a dangerous secret close to her chest. But then she encounters Sid, a rakish traveler from far away who whispers rumors that the High

Caste possesses magic. Sid tempts Nirrim to seek that magic for herself. But to do that,Nirrim must surrender her old life. She must place her trust in this sly stranger who asks, above all, not to be trusted.

Favourite Quotes

“Apples remind me of a friend.” I said. ” I miss her.”

“Tell me about her,” he said, “so that I may miss her too.”

Goldensandled dawn fell like a thief upon me I wondered what kind of night was so precious that when morning came it felt as if you had been robbed, as if what you wanted most had been cut from you like a bloody tithe. I had never had a night worth stealing.

If someone stole her voice, she would still find a way to flirt, even silently, with whomever was nearest.

“I want to know,” Sid said, “how someone who has so little can be so brave.” I thought about how much I liked the way she walked, her hands in her pockets yet never slouching, her shoulders straight. I thought about how I had liked her leg tangled between mine. Her light weight on me. I thought about how terrified I was of ever admitting any of this. “I am not brave.”

This book blew me away and between the beautiful writing, wondrously intricate magic system and world and truly brilliant characters it became a fast favourite. You can find my full review here.

The Night of the Dragon – Julie Kagawa

Kitsune shapeshifter Yumeko has given up the final piece of the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers in order to save everyone she loves from imminent death. Now she and her ragtag band of companions must journey to the wild sea cliffs of Iwagoto in a desperate last-chance effort to stop the Master of Demons from calling upon the Great Kami dragon and making the wish that will plunge the empire into destruction and darkness.Shadow clan assassin Kage Tatsumi has regained control of

his body and agreed to a true deal with the devil—the demon inside him, Hakaimono. They will share his body and work with Yumeko and their companions to stop a madman and separate Hakaimono from Tatsumi and the cursed sword that had trapped the demon for nearly a millennium.But even with their combined skills and powers, this most unlikely team of heroes knows the forces of evil may be impossible to overcome. And there is another player in the battle for the scroll, a player who has been watching, waiting for the right moment to pull strings that no one even realized existed…until now.

Favourite Quotes

Glancing up, the ronin gave me a rueful smirk and a nod as I crouched beside the flames, and his dark gaze flickered up to something on my brow. “You have a little… something on your face there, Kage-san,” he said, motioning a finger at his own forehead. I set my jaw, ignoring the obvious reference to the small but blatant horns curling about my eyebrows.

“I hope they have a half way decent inn. I don’t normally say this, but I think I could use a bath.” “How amusing,” said the shrine maiden as we started down the road toward the cluster of dark shapes in the distance. “I think that all the time.” ” I don’t know what that is Reika-san,” the ronin shot back, grinning. “You smell quite pleasant most of the time.” She flicked a pebble at him. He dodged

Her fingers brushed my skin, trailing a line of heat across my arm, and my heart thumped in my ears. I was suddenly very aware that we were all alone up here, far removed from out companions and anyone who might see us. Not only that, our bodies were very close. I could feel Yumeko’s slender form leaning slightly into my for balance, the softness of her under my fingers. In the past, having someone so near had made me highly uncomfortable and desperate to put distance between us; now I was filled with a terrifying incomprehensible urge to pull her closer.

I had to be soooo careful with quotes for this one because they all contained too many spoilers. This book broke me in so many ways and yet was the absolute perfect ending to the series. My review wont be live until April but if you have an ARC of this get tissues prepared.

Have you read either of these? Or are they on your TBR? What was your top read of February? Let me know in the comments.