February Wrap Up

February was a decent reading month for me overall. I read 12 books, less than last month as expected, but still a number I'm pleased with.

WRAP UP:

The Storied Life of A.J Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
My Rating: ★★★★★

I absolutely loved this. I had no idea what it was about when I started it and in the beginning, I really didn't like it (I thought it would be a DNF), but it turned out to be one of the most beautiful novels I've ever read. There are layers to the brilliance of this book and I'm sure there were things that went over my head, but I already plan to reread this to catch all of the things I missed the first time around.

Breaking All Her Rules by Maisey Yates

My Rating: ★★★

I wanted to try something new this month so I read a book from a genre that I don't typically read (romance). So because I don't have much to use as a basis of comparison, I don't know if this novella was as bad as I thought it was or if this is just what the romance genre is and it's not for me. Not that this was all bad, some parts of it were actually quite interesting, it's just that some parts were super cringey. Again though, this could be the writing or it could just be me.

Want to Go Private by Sarah Darer Littman

My Rating: ★★★★

I read this once when I was a young teen and have always thought of it when I think about books that tackle tough subject matter and do it well. I found it at my library and decided to reread it and was not disappointed. I did a more in-depth review of it which is linked here.

Othello by William Shakespeare

My Rating: ★★★★

Unlike the other Shakespeare works I've read, I had no idea what this was supposed to be about. The political aspects of the play didn't interest me much, but I loved the characters. Iago's pure cunning and skilled manipulation is probably my favorite part of this. But I also really loved the tragic way the end of the plot unfolded.

Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol 

My Rating: ★★★★ 

This graphic novel was a super quick read. I loved the main character Anya, I found her to be so relatable just as a person in general. I also think this graphic novel does a great job of expressing what it's like to just not fit in. I realized while reading this that I had actually read it before but I couldn't remember how it ended. Rereading it now though, I'm not a fan of how abruptly the story resolves itself. That being said, it's still a really fun read.

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

My Rating: ★★★★★

I loved this so, so much! I'm not a huge fan of contemporary and I really didn't expect to feel this way about this book, but oh well, I love it. I borrowed this as an ebook from my library, but I think I'll have to get a physical copy for my shelves. I'm so excited now to read some of Silvera's other works and if they're as good as this was maybe he'll become a new auto-buy author for me.

Paris Red by Maureen Gibbon

My Rating: ★★★

This was a complete impulse read. I enjoyed this, but I didn't love it. Mainly because this a very character-driven story, like there's practically no plot. Though this is because this is a fictionalized account of the life of Victorine Meurent, a French painter, and model. But because this was just something I randomly decided to read, I was not aware of the historical significance of Victorine or the painting she was posing for, Olympia. Knowing that now though, the story makes more sense than it did when I had first started reading.

Fear & Loathing at Rolling Stone by Hunter S. Thompson

My Rating: ★★★

I've been reading this on and off for more than three years, so I'm fucking thrilled to finally be done with it. This is a collection of Hunter S. Thompson's work published in Rolling Stone. None of the works are in full, and the editing for each feels pretty choppy. It's not that this was bad necessarily, it's just not edited great, and there were several article snippet's I just didn't care at all about.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll

My Rating: ★★★★★

I'm so pleased with these books. I love the idea of Wonderland, but I wasn't sure if I would actually like the original books, or if they were one of those classics that isn't actually good but has been around so long that people keep reading them anyway. That wasn't the case with these though, they were fantastic! Carroll's original Wonderland is such a fun and nonsensical (is that a word?) place and I especially loved all the random poetry and the stories they told.

Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

My Rating: ★★★★★

I started this in May of last year, and only just now finished it by reading the last half in the last two days. I seriously dragged through the first 30% or so, but once I got into it, it flew by. This is such an amazing story. I found myself incredibly invested in the main character's relationship and loathed Mr. Huntingdon. I also thought Helen to be an absolute saint and she is now one of my favorite female characters.

The Magician's Nephew by C.S Lewis

My Rating: ★★★ (3.5)

Not the worst Narnia book, but not the best. I've really had to trudge through the last few books in this series, but I found this one to be at least a little entertaining. I do think that despite Lewis claiming that his books are not religious allegories, there are definitely parallels between some of his works and biblical stories. Mostly though I'm just excited to be almost done with this series as it's just dragging on at this point.

The Woman in the Window by A.J Finn

My Rating: ★★★★

I don't read a lot of thrillers so I don't have much to compare this to and I've seen people complain that it's too much like Rear Window, though I've never seen that so I wouldn't know and that didn't detract from my enjoyment. As the reader you're made to feel very unsure of what you're reading and if things you're told are happening actually are. There were quite a few plot twists, only one of which I'd been able to guess. The final plot twist was unexpected (which was nice) but bordered cliche. Overall, I think this is worth checking out.

POSTS: 

• Review: Want To Go Private? by Sarah Darer Littman - linked here
• Reading Guide: The Shadowhunter Chronicles - linked here 
• Accessible Classics - linked here
• Book Blog Newbie Tag! - linked here