February Wrap-Up

The month of February had me reading nonstop. Honestly I couldn't help myself with this Hamilton reference because this month I had been reading like I was running out of time. The past few months, my wrap-ups have been pretty small. And though I am a major believer of quality over quantity, I have been wanting to get through books at a faster rate than previously. This month I read a total of 20 books, most of which consist of novellas, short stories, and poems, but there are some regular full length novels in the mix.

Silver in the Blood by Jessica Day George

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

❝ Now I am the queen of darkness and terror. ❞

This was the first book I read in the month of February and I was sadly not floored by it at all. I received this book from the publisher, mostly due to the fact that this book is blurbed as 'for fans of Libba Bray and Cassandra Clare' which so happens to be my top two favorite authors. Silver in the Blood takes place in Romania in 1890 following, two high society cousins Dacia and Lou who are sent from their homes in New York City to Romania to meet their family and learn a terrifying secret. This synopsis had intrigued me so much, but this book was such a let down. The beginning was incredibly slow, and honestly I couldn't find myself liking any of the characters. Due to the slow beginning, near the end it felt really rushed. I did like the plot and the concept of the storyline and also the Romanian setting. Even though I didn't love this book, I'm interested to see what's in store for the sequel.

Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy by Cassandra Clare

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 4.7 stars

Individual Ratings:

Welcome To Shadowhunter Academy ★★★☆☆ 3½ stars

The Lost Herondale ★★★★☆ 4 stars

The Whitechapel Fiend ★★★★★ 5 stars

Nothing But Shadows ★★★★★ 5 stars

The Evil We Love ★★★★☆ 4½ stars

Pale Kings & Princes ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Bitter of Tongue ★★★★★ 5 stars

The Fiery Trial ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Born to Endless Night ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Angels Twice Descending ★★★★★ 5 stars

❝ Mark grinned, something wild and fey in the grin, like sunlight glittering through a spiderweb. “And we do love mischief, Simon Lewis, and sometimes wickedness. But it is not all bad, to ride the winds, run upon the waves, and dance upon the mountains, and it is all I have left.❞ 

❝ Tell the Clave that I have saved more Shadowhunter lives, that I will be a Shadowhunter and be damned to them, that I will be a faerie and curse them! And tell my family that I love them, I love them, and I will never forget. One day I will go home.❞

Tales From the Shadowhunter Academy is what essentially pulled me from my prolonged reading slump. I can go on and on about the beauty of this novella collection, but I already talk about this too much so if you want more of my thoughts, read this post.

The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

Individual Ratings:

Shadow and Bone ★★★★☆ 4 stars
Siege and Storm ★★★★★ 5 stars
Ruin & Rising ★★★☆☆ 3½ stars

“Na razrusha'ya. I am not ruined. E'ya razrushost. I am ruination.”

It's been awhile since I've read an entire series back to back and finish them in one month. But after constantly putting it off I finally decided to finally read the Grisha trilogy. Shadow and Bone is set in an alternate Russia, Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a stretch of darkness infested with monsters, when Alina Starkov and her regiment is attacked on the fold, she emits a power that not only saves her and her friend's life, but may be the key to defeating the Fold and darker powers that threaten her country's safety. I really did love this at first, Leigh Bardugo did pretty well with the set up in Shadow and Bone, we are introduced to this unique world of those with magical power, grisha. The writing flowed well and she developed most of her characters thoroughly. The Darkling being one of my favorite characters to have read about. There is something so intriguing about the way he speaks and thinks, honestly what would I do to know what is going on inside his head.

But anyways, we move to book two, Siege and Storm which was my favorite book out of the three. In this I feel Alina really comes to her power more, not to mention that we are introduced to a new character, Nikolai Lantsov, whom I adore. And then we get to Ruin and Rising, I have always heard mixed things about this last one, but never paid no mind to it. I thought I would be apart of the few that loved it, but frankly that was not the case. The beginning was great, it wasn't until the end that I really began disliking it. Near the end things began to get confusing and misconstrued and honestly I felt this book contradicted a lot of what was said in the previous book, and the ending was so unsatisfactory. I just felt certain character could have had more closure and things could have been explained better.

The Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★★ 5 stars

❝ He understood then. The Grisha lived as shadows did, passing over the surface of the world, touching nothing, forced to change their shapes and hide in corners, driven by fear as shadows were driven by the sun. No safe place. No haven. 

There will be, he promised in the darkness, new words written upon his heart. I will make one. ❞

This is a Grisha trilogy novella that tells a story of the Darkling, before he became the Darkling. Honestly, I may have cried a lot while reading this. This novella is fairly short, it follows the Darkling and his mother as they finally settle in another town as something they constantly must do. They find a grisha camp, as this were the case due to the fact that the world pretty much despised grisha and hunted them down regularly. You see the Darkling as just a boy, yes he has his strange dark power, but in this story you see him have many boyish wants. A longing to fit in, to make friends, to stay for a season and not move around all the time. It's heartbreaking to see when he experiences cruelty, the point where you can see him not being able to trust anymore. I can imagine that after this novella is where the change takes place, where he feels he no longer needs anybody, where he really grows into his power and longs to make the grisha great and respected again. I honestly wished this could have been longer.

The Tailor by Leigh Bardugo

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

❝ Because I am a doll, and a servant. because I am a pretty thing and a soldier all the same. ❞

This is another grisha trilogy novella, one from a scene from Shadow and Bone from Genya's perspective. I really enjoyed this novella, due to the fact that Genya is one of my favorite character's from this trilogy. It was really interesting to see her interact with the Darkling because we never really get to see them talk privately and I always wondered what made her want to join his side initially.

The Devil & Tom Walker by Washington Irving

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2 stars

"The good people of Boston shook their heads and shrugged their shoulders, but had been so much accustomed to witches and goblins and tricks of the devil in all kinds of shapes from the first settlement of the colony, that they were not so much horror struck as might have been expected."

The Devil and Tom Walker is a classic story about a man who meets the devil in the woods and ends up working for the devil due to his own greed. I had to read this for my English class, so I understood the theme of greed, corruption, and the trees surrounding the Indian fort representing the mortal decay of all the men who have sold their soul to the devil. It was statement to say that those who are too consumed with money are practically in the clutches of the devil. There is a lot of deeper meaning and motifs to be had from this story, but honestly it just wasn't my favorite.

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Rating: ★★★★☆ 4 stars

“Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.”

I have finally read one of the most influential poems in American literature. It was kinda sad that I have not read anything from Poe besides that of The Tell Tale Heart. The Raven is a dreary, phantasmagoric tale of love worn man who let's an ominous raven in his house. While reading this I did listen to the audiobook and it gave it an even more atmospheric feel to the story. you really get Poe's single effect of dreariness and despair. I definitely long to read more by him.

Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe

Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3 stars

"There can be no doubt that the consciousness of the rapid increase of my superstition—for why should I not so term it?--served mainly to accelerate the increase itself. Such, I have long known, is the paradoxical law of all sentiments having terror as a basis."

I further delve into Poe's work with the Fall of the House of Usher. It's a grim short story where the narrator is invited over to his old friend Roderick Usher of the Usher estate. Upon meeting he sees Roderick has changed greatly since their childhood, his face looking weary and hard. The house is an entity of itself as you fall back into normal creepy tone of Poe's writing, you begin to see how the house mirrors its inhabitants. I just thought this story was okay, but maybe if I read it again in the future I could appreciate it more.

Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson

Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 2½ stars

“A teacher (a good teacher) is composed of molecules of education and intelligence, bonded together by patience and passion.”

Was not a fan at all. Kate Malone is your typical straight-A, smart, female character who is somehow careless enough to apply to one college. That's right, one. Kate only applies to MIT because she feels as if she is a shoe-in. This novel is essentially her dealing with her decisions, and by dealing I mean constantly complaining about everything unfair about her life, because of her rash decisions. I listened to the audiobook of this and honestly if I hadn't this would probably have a lower rating. I did like the narrator's voice, and honestly Kate could be funny at times when she wasn't constantly whining, but the end of this story sort of cuts of that kind of does it for me.

February Book Haul

Another month has gone by and yet again, I've managed to accumulate more books, a total of 17. A small consolation is knowing that all the ones I bought were all used, and I was quite excited to find many of these titles in excellent condition. Again I'll split this haul into two parts: books that I bought/gifts and books for review.

Part I: Books I Bought/Gifts

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

I was beyond excited upon finding The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This has been a book I've had my eye on for awhile, even more so due the amount of praise coming from the bookstagram community. All I know is that it is about a mysterious circus that pops up one day in the middle of the night. I can honestly stare at this gorgeous cover all day, and looking forward to all the mystery and intrigue that is bound to ensue.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

I pretty much bought this book on a whim. For some weird reason I seem to be wanting to collect all of Gillian Flynn's books before I start them. I don't even know much about this book, besides the fact that it's a psychological thriller, but I really love going into those types of books blind.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

I think this is the first time I've ever bought a double copy of something purposely. I saw this movie tie-in lying around the thrift-store for a couple of weeks now. I had thought about buying it numerous times, but never ended up actually doing it until now. I decided to just cave since it was so inexpensive, and this is one of the few movie covers I actually love. Not to mention that I'm pretty much shadowhunters obsessed so I'll buy anything related to it.

The Martian by Andy Weir

I actually received this book from one of my lovely friends who honestly didn't really much like this book, but knew how much I wanted to read it so she gave it to me. I'm still really looking forward toward this, especially since I also want to see the movie afterwards. This cover is gorgeous, but I do prefer the simplicity of the hardcover. Also, this cover reminds me of the Deja Entendu album cover by Brand New. I just think they compliment each other well.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Honestly thrift-stores have been treating me well with these Barnes and Nobles paperback classics, once you start actively looking for them, you can find them almost anywhere. I did find many, but I only want to collect ones that I have an actual interest in reading. So elated to find a copy of Jane Eyre, I was surprised to realize that I didn't already own it. After living through the abuse during her childhood, Jane Eyre grows into a young women and takes a job as a governess at the estate of Mr. Rochester and the two fall in love, until Jane unearths a terrible secret that he has been hiding. It's rare for me to pick up classics of this massive length, but I believe that consuming it slowly I will be able to take a lot from it.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Most likely one of my most exciting finds of the month. Keeping up with the paperback classics trend. I manage to purchase volume I & II of Sherlock Homes. Being a huge fan of the show and these books I knew I had to have them in this edition. I do own another edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, but it only contains a handful of stories, which I very much so enjoyed. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has a very distinct way of writing which makes me separate him from any other type of classic fiction I read. There's something almost modern about the way he writes, the dry whit, hidden meanings, and almost snarky and dark demeanor of Sherlock Holmes makes you almost want to hate him in these books, but you can't because he's cunningly clever and at the end of the stories you're smacking yourself on the head in a "how did I not see it, he made it so obvious" kind of way. I do prefer reading these stories at regular intervals rather than all at once so it might take awhile before I am able to say I completed it.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson

Completing this mini haul of paperback classics is this beautiful edition of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was pretty much a blind grab. I came. I saw. I bought. This is actually a book that I have read before, though it was back in 8th grade when I had to read this for English class, and though the text was hard to get through at first I soon found myself really enthralled by this story. Prior to that all my Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde knowledge came from the numerous adaptations I was obsessed with watching. It's going to be quite interesting to read this now years later and see how it compares and revive all that I have forgotten.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

Usually this is the kind of book that would go unnoticed by me. I will admit that my main influence came from one of my favorite booktubers Whitney of whittynovels. She highly praised this book and called it one of her favorite books of the year, full of feminist ideals and being a classic was bound to pique my interest. This book is significantly short, only about a hundred pages or so, so this will definitely be one I get to soon.

Far Far Away by Tom McNeal

I received this book in this month's The Bookly Box which is a bookish subscription box where you get choose a box based on genre and it sends you that book with the items pictured above. I have seen this book around for some time now, but checking upon goodreads reviews it seems that a majority seem to really enjoy this book, deeming it creepy and almost like a retelling of the Brothers Grimm.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

It's been a long time coming. I can finally say that I officially have all the Harry Potter books in my possession. I've been collecting these slowly over the years and I finally found copies of the last two books in good condition in just days of each other. I'm definitely planning to marathon these over the summer.

 Part II: Review Books

Glass Sword by Victoria Aveyard

This was the first book to land on my doorstep in the beginning of the month. As you know I wasn't the hugest fan of Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. While reading it I didn't feel wowed by much of the plot, it felt like any other ya fantasy I have previously read. It wasn't terrible, but just okay. I was still interest in continuing with the sequel Glass Sword, which recently released, though I've been hearing mixed things about this second book which makes me even more wary.

Publisher: Harper Teen

The Scarlet trilogy by A.C. Gaughen

Funny thing is that I have seen this book around, but never actually picked it up. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen is retelling of Robin Hood, where Will Scarlet, a member of Robin Hood's band of thieves is actually a girl in disguise. It's not too often that I read retellings, but I do indeed love Robin Hood so this should be interesting to dive into and see where the rest of the trilogy takes me.

Publisher: Bloomsbury

The Photographer's Wife by Suzanne Joinson

The Photographer's Wife takes place in 1920s Jerusalem following civic adviser and architect Charles Ashton who has an an ambitious project to redesign the Holy City by importing English parks to the desert and knocking down Ottoman minarets. He then employs William Harrington, a British pilot, to take aerial photographs of the city and surrounding desert and soon falls in love with his wife, Eleanora. It's going to be quite refreshing to read a book that takes place during the 20s that isn't set in New York City. I'm expecting not only romance, but also the political intrigue.

Publisher: Bloomsbury