It's already a decent amount into February and I am totally slacking on my TBR because I cannot stop listening to A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN on Audible which was not on my February TBR. Of course.
WHAT I READ IN JANUARY
• ONE DARK THRONE by KENDARE BLAKE was so much better than the first book in this series, THREE DARK CROWNS. It was totally spooky and dark, as I expected, with a few unexpected twists. I'm totally Team Katherine for the crown.
• THE HAZEL WOOD by MELISSA ALBERT was also spooky and dark, but it dragged on for a really long time. I was OK with it. It was finish-able.
• SKY IN THE DEEP by ADRIENNE WOOD was SO. GOOD. Young adult historical fiction set in a Viking land? Oh my gosh. This was so worth reading, and the main character is fiercely wonderful, and the romance is subtle at first but worth rooting for by the end. All around, this was great great great. It's supposedly a standalone and I am heartbroken.
• ILLUMINAE by AMIE KAUFMAN & JAY KRISTOFF was a really interesting epistolary-style young adult science fiction novel. All of those things I just said mean I should've probably hated ILLUMINAE, but it was pretty enjoyable. Some of the plot dragged in the middle, but otherwise, it was a wild ride.
• SING, UNBURIED, SING by JESMYN WARD was one of my Christmas gifts from Pat this year! I always try to read the book he got me for Christmas in January and not let it sit on my shelf for too long. Ward writes in a way that makes you feel so empathetic to her characters, even though Leonie certainly deserves none of it. I liked this, but didn't love it.
• YOUNG JANE YOUNG by GABRIELLE ZEVIN was a great takedown of slut-shaming culture and was also just an excellent read in general. It follows three generations of women – the grandmother, the mother who has an affair with a legislator when she's just a teenager and the daughter who doesn't know about her mother's past. Jane Young is such a good character and I loved this book so much despite wanting to kick Ruby in the shins.
• THE CRUEL PRINCE by HOLLY BLACK was dark, too, nothing like the High Fae I'm used to after reading Sarah J. Maas' ACOTAR, ACOMAF and ACOWAR. These High Fae were despicable and evil and dirty (which, I suppose, is how most stories depict them) and our main character Jude was so easy to hate it made it hard to care what she was up to.
• REBEL OF THE SANDS by ALWYN HAMILTON has been on my shelf for a long time, and I finally cracked it open in January and read it in just a few sittings. I honestly pushed on not because I was enticed by the narrative but because I really wanted to read the sequel, which has a much more interesting synopsis, and I loved the characters who were introduced in the last half of the book.
• EVERLESS by SARA HOLLAND was so, so, so GOOD. I saw a few very negative reviews of EVERLESS not too long after I ordered it but honestly, that was not my experience with it at all. I loved the magic system and the plot twists and winds in a great way. Every time you think, "Ah, yes, the love interest!" or "Ah, yes, the evil villain!" things do not go exactly as planned and it is great.
• WE ARE STILL TORNADOES by MICHAEL KUN & SUSAN MULLEN was a fun epistolary-style YA fiction set in the '80s, and shoutout to Kun & Mullen for our main character attending Wake Forest University! Go ACC! I don't usually love epistolaries but this one was fun, fast and really thorough. I felt like I was there with the characters the whole way.
• TOP TEN by KATIE COTUGNO was my last read of January, and it was so fun too. I loved the style that it was told in – not chronologically, it counted down the top 10 memories of Gabby and Ryan's friendship throughout high school. It made me tear up a little and I felt so much for Gabby, who is severely anxious. I'm not wild about the way it ended but I think it was fitting for those characters!
BOOKS I WANT TO READ IN FEBRUARY
• DAUGHTER OF THE SIREN QUEEN is a sequel to a YA fantasy I read last summer and while I didn't love the main character... I am going to give it a try.
• TESS OF THE ROAD is an e-galley I received from NetGalley. I'm hoping to read it on my flight home this week!
• RADIUM GIRLS is one of two non-fiction books I'm hoping to read in February! I started it back in December and loved the story it was telling but got distracted by Christmas.
• RENEGADES is supposed to be incredible and is a huge, thick, scary book, but I have heard so many good things about Marissa Meyer and I haven't read any of her books!
• THE CROWN, VOL. 1 is the second of my non-fiction reads for February, hopefully. I LOVE this show and have always been obsessed with The Corgi Queen, and I can't wait to learn more.
• AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS is another High Fae novel that sounds like a combination of ACOTAR and maybe some Cassandra Clare, less dark than THE CRUEL PRINCE I hope.
• TRAITOR TO THE THRONE is the sequel to REBEL OF THE SANDS that I spoke of above. It's also huge but I can't wait to read more.
• THE BELLES is a highly anticipated February release that looks amazing.
• YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE is a book I'm reading for my February YA bookclub! It's different than anything I've read recently so I'm excited to see how it goes.
• REIGN THE EARTH is another book for my February YA bookclub, and I wasn't totally into it at first... but I caved! The cover and the synopsis make it sound fascinating!
• AND I DARKEN is what I am reading right this second and... I dunno. I am disillusioned with it. The characters are horrendously hatable (it's intentional, I guess) and I would love if they fell off the face of the earth. I haven't decided if I should continue or not.
• THE QUEEN'S RISING is another highly anticipated February release that I can't wait to come out so I can order! Oh this one sounds SO up my alley.
• ROCK YOUR BUSINESS is a bookclub book for my LipSense team that I want to read, hopefully this weekend when I wind down from my trip!
• RED CLOCKS is a read from January that I didn't get to, and it was in my January Book of the Month Club box.
• LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE is a highly recommended book I got in my January Book of the Month box, too (I like to add extras!) and I can't wait to read it but somehow keep putting it off!
• CITY OF BRASS is one of the books I got in my December Book of the Month box and I've started it and read a few chapters, but it isn't hooking me quite yet. I put it aside to start AND I DARKEN and I'll come back later.
What are you reading this month? Any recommendations?
• TESS OF THE ROAD is an e-galley I received from NetGalley. I'm hoping to read it on my flight home this week!
• RADIUM GIRLS is one of two non-fiction books I'm hoping to read in February! I started it back in December and loved the story it was telling but got distracted by Christmas.
• RENEGADES is supposed to be incredible and is a huge, thick, scary book, but I have heard so many good things about Marissa Meyer and I haven't read any of her books!
• THE CROWN, VOL. 1 is the second of my non-fiction reads for February, hopefully. I LOVE this show and have always been obsessed with The Corgi Queen, and I can't wait to learn more.
• AN ENCHANTMENT OF RAVENS is another High Fae novel that sounds like a combination of ACOTAR and maybe some Cassandra Clare, less dark than THE CRUEL PRINCE I hope.
• TRAITOR TO THE THRONE is the sequel to REBEL OF THE SANDS that I spoke of above. It's also huge but I can't wait to read more.
• THE BELLES is a highly anticipated February release that looks amazing.
• YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE is a book I'm reading for my February YA bookclub! It's different than anything I've read recently so I'm excited to see how it goes.
• REIGN THE EARTH is another book for my February YA bookclub, and I wasn't totally into it at first... but I caved! The cover and the synopsis make it sound fascinating!
• AND I DARKEN is what I am reading right this second and... I dunno. I am disillusioned with it. The characters are horrendously hatable (it's intentional, I guess) and I would love if they fell off the face of the earth. I haven't decided if I should continue or not.
• THE QUEEN'S RISING is another highly anticipated February release that I can't wait to come out so I can order! Oh this one sounds SO up my alley.
• ROCK YOUR BUSINESS is a bookclub book for my LipSense team that I want to read, hopefully this weekend when I wind down from my trip!
• RED CLOCKS is a read from January that I didn't get to, and it was in my January Book of the Month Club box.
• LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE is a highly recommended book I got in my January Book of the Month box, too (I like to add extras!) and I can't wait to read it but somehow keep putting it off!
• CITY OF BRASS is one of the books I got in my December Book of the Month box and I've started it and read a few chapters, but it isn't hooking me quite yet. I put it aside to start AND I DARKEN and I'll come back later.
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