#february reading

[a-chorus-of-storytellers]

evening delight

[brandoncarlo]

Well February happened and it sucked but I kept reading! And I actually enjoyed most of it. This month ruined my run of just hit after hit but I guess eventually I was gonna read some stinkers. If anything it's just made me excited for March though as I have a bunch of certified bangers lined up for me. Also yes I just stacked my february books on top of my january books. I want to see how tall it gets before I have to think of another way to store them.

As with last time, more thorough reviews under the cut, ranked from worst to best.

4. Everyone on This Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson 2.5 ★'s

I don't want to turn anyone off of this Author because the first ever book I read by him was amazing. It was suspenseful, thrilling, and hilarious. This was the sequel and it just fell flat. I finished it if only because I trusted the Author to write a satisfying ending. And you know what, it was okay, it was fine. It wasn't terrible. But it also was not worth my time reading. The first book in this series is called Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone and it is amazing. Maybe I would have liked this book better if it wasn't in direct comparison to that one. It's about an author who gets invited to a crime authors convention on a train. Then someone dies. and all these crime authors do their best Poirot impression. It was genuinely funny it just lacked a lot of charm. One good thing I will say though is this encouraged me to pick up the next book.

3. Murder on The Orient Express by Agatha Christie 4 ★'s

Yes the rest of these books were much more enjoyable than the last one so I'm glad I got them all crammed in. I picked this one up on a whim, as I'm not one that usually really likes classics but this one was lot of fun. I already knew the twist going in, but I was interested to see how it would be set up. My favorite part of this book is how it respects your time. It does not linger on ANYTHING. It is straight up, it tells you what it means, and then it moves on. There are a few times where the narrator just goes "That's not possible," and you know that it isn't. No one lies to you for the purpose of the twist later. It always works. Now is it a bit goofy? Yes. Is it realistic? No. Is it definitely a book from the 1930's? Yes. But it is charming, entertaining, and worth the read. As a side note I watched the 2017 movie after I read this and while I see that they had to add some stuff to make it more exciting because honestly the book is a bit dry, some of the changes they made were ridiculous. I can understand a good gun fight, but one of the main pieces of evidence they change makes the ending literally not possible. So yeah not a good movie, but honestly, still fun.

2. These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever 5 ★'s

I struggle to suggest this book to anyone but I think Tumblr is the place to do it. This book left me feeling so incredibly uncomfortable I originally gave it 4 stars and then was hypnotized by the impact it left on me for days afterwards and it became a 5 star read. The two main characters in this book are some of the worst people I've read books about and STILL the ways I could relate to them shook me. I spent the entire book not trusting a word the love interest said, not believing him for one moment. Then got to the end and really realized that I was seeing everything through the narrators view and that he was just as capable of lying to me as the love interest was. This is a gay romance, but it is not cozy, it is not cute, it is not sweet. It is obsessive and repressive and violent. I loved it so much. I personally love books about unhinged messed up gays so it was right up my wheel house.

The Will of The Many by James Islington 5 ★'s

Umm this book is so good? What the fuck. This is a roman empire inspired fantasy (but the kind of fantasy where they use their magic to create technology so it also feels very sci-fi in parts). This book was just pure entertainment. I heard some say it was slow in the beginning and I guess so? But the world is just so fucking interesting I did not slow down at all. The core of it is kind of basic, but the magic system and the world is so good. Add in that every character whether good or bad has ulterior motives and how you can really feel just how isolated the main character is, just chef's kiss. Now is the message of it super deep? Is it pure art? No but god it's so fun and I'm obsessed with it. I just want the whole series injected directly into my veins and the second book isn't even out yet. I had so much fun with this book I added another one to my TBR just because I heard someone describe it as a mix of another book and this one. Like hell yeah I'll read any book like this. It has action, wholesome friendships, political intrigue, grief, trauma, hope, horror, violence, humor. Everything. Is it the best at all time at any of them? No but it's all there and they're all good. And I know everyone says this in every review of this book but that ending??? WHAT?

[poetrywillsaveme]

from ‘The Voices’ in Certain Magical Acts, by Alice Notley

[afrocentric-divination]

Hey loves! With the New Year long gone, up comes the next holiday on our calendars, Valentine's Day! With love in the air, I'm bringing back 2 readings to help pass around some of this sweet energy with Love and Self-Love Readings!

💕 Traditional Love Readings 💕

The good ol’ love reading. I made these to bring into the light the connection between you and that special someone, or maybe just you and someone you care about deeply. No matter the type of relationship, this reading will bring to the light all that you wanted to know

💛 Self-Love Readings 💛

With this month's energy, it’s easy to give in to wanting to be in love with someone else, but what about being in love with yourself? This bigger reading is specially curated to help you understand the goodness in you as well as find out how to improve the love you should be giving yourself.

Both readings have Regular and X-Large option. Prices for these readings start at $20!

The readings are also special until March 4th, so get them while you can!

If you have any questions or concerns please don’t hesitate to DM or PM me! Until then! 🔮

[lesliesbookbubble]

I read a lot in February even though it’s the shortest month! I loved all of these books but my favorite was probably the shadows between us, I really liked the story and the way it was written.

[bookishjulieta]

My current read: Certain Dark Things

And possible February reads

[godzilla-reads]

Books to Read in February 2021

I’m just putting down a couple books I hope to start and some I hope to finish in February. 

“The Tea Dragon Society” by Katie O’Neill

“Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants” by Robin Wall Kimmerer

“Dragon Pearl” by Yoon Ha Lee

“Green Dragon Codex” by R.D. Henham

What Do You Plan to Read?

[melody-studyblr]

February 8th- Weekly Reading Challenge

Hello everyone!

Welcome back to my weekly reading review. This week I've been working on reading Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell. It's taken me a while because I've also been studying and reading for school again!

So far, I've loved this book. It's unlike any other piece of victorian literature I've ever read. I think it provides such an important and unique insite on working class victorian life.

2021 Reading Challenge

pick a song that matches the mood of the book that you are currently reading

gosh! this is a really tricky one, especially with the time period of what i'm reading. i'd say something fairly melancholy and classical. perhaps moonlight sonata or something similar?

what are your favorite genres?

well i used to be fairly big on dystopian literature! but i'd say that lately i've been really enjoying more classic/victorian literature.

<3 melody

10/52