Hello, hello! I know we’re almost at the end of March, but I finally have my Monthly wrap-up post of February. My Feb ended with a long weekend in Berlin for my dads 60th Birthday & I also managed to book another holiday to Greece in September… can you tell it’s been a while since I’ve had a proper holiday.

Reading wise February was a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand I found my top read of the year so far, but I also DNF’d two arc’s and had two meh reads including one buddy read I was really excited for. But despite all that I did manage to read 12 books which, for such a short month, was definitely a record for me. If you want to check out any of my reviews, just click the link under the book cover, and click on the cover if you want to be taken to the goodreads page.

Reading Update

Still ahead on my reading challenge which is a plus! I think I might end up smashing it this year, but you never know when a reading slump will take over, so I always like to get a little ahead.

These were my two DNF’s for the month. Falling hard for the Royal Guard was 90% introspection and 10% character interaction which is just not my thing when it comes to romance. As well as that all the characters felt overly stereotyped and I just struggled to connect to them at all. Chaos & Flame started ok, but then had an insta lust story line thrown in and I could see the startings of a love triangle that I just didn’t think would work so I ended up giving up on this one around 25% in.

Seven Faceless Saints by M.K. Lobb

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater

Saving Time by Jodi Taylor

The Sinister Booksellers of Bath by Garth Nix

The Magicians Daughter by H.G. Parry

Dead Country by Max Gladstone

The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

The Foxglove King by Hannah Whitten

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty

Favourite Quotes!

“I wanted to travel the world and sail every sea. I wanted to have adventures, to be a hero, to have my tales told in courtyards and street fairs, where perhaps kids who’d grown up like me, with more imagination than means, might be inspired to dream. Where women who were told there was only one sort of respectful life for them could listen to tales of another who’d broken away – and thrived when she’d done so.” – The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi

“It wasn’t, Geeta mused while walking, so much that women loved their husbands and couldn’t live without them. It was that the outside world made life without them utter shit; you needed a man in the house in order to be left in peace. They didn’t really do much, but their simple pulse was a form of protection.” – The Bandit Queens

“How dare he. She wasn’t anything very much, it was true. She wasn’t a mage, she had no power, she was a girl alone in the dark without even a pair of shoes. But whatever magic she had in her heart, however it had gotten there, it wasn’t for him.” – The Magicians Daughter

“Pharmaceuticals. I choked. ‘I did not think you had any… training in that.’ ‘Oh I don’t. But it is largely the same principle as poisoning, no? Just in reverse.’ Dalila winked, ‘The ladies here love me. So many terrible husbands dying in their sleep. It must be something in the water.” – The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi.

Posts I’ve Enjoyed!

Leah wrote the most amazing review that summed up our buddy read of The Golem and the Jinni expertly.

Leelynn wrote a post featuring 10 of her favourite heroines, and added a few books to my TBR in the process.

Julie wrote a review for Secretly Yours by Tessa Bailey that had me nipping to my bookshop and buying multiple books of hers.