Category: Monthly Wrap-Up

October Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads10 Comments

Friends! Can you believe? Two months until 2019 is over and I honestly still can’t believe it. I have no idea where this year has gone but it’s definitely gone in a blink! October was such a hectic month that I don’t even know where the days went because time moved so quickly. That said, I’m surprised that I managed to read 19 books this month, which brings my Goodreads reading challenge up to 175/90.


⁍ The Wall of Winnipeg and Me (review coming)
⁍ Serpent & Dove (review coming)


⁍ Last Time I Lied (review)
⁍ The Dugout (review)
⁍ Wait for It (review coming)


⁍ The Bookish Life of Nina Hill (review)
⁍ House of Salt and Sorrows (review coming)
⁍ Rules for Vanishing (review)
⁍ Frankly In Love (review coming)


⁍ These Witches Don’t Burn (review coming)


⁍ (eARC Graphic Novel) Fair Lady Vol. 1 (review coming)
⁍ Dear Aaron (review coming)
⁍ Faker (review coming)
⁍ (eARC) The Sea of Lost Girls (review coming)


⁍ (eARC) My Life as Marlee (review)
⁍ Birthday Girl (review coming)


⁍ Falling for My Brother’s Best Friend (review coming)
⁍ Park Avenue Player (review coming)
⁍ To Have and Hate (review coming)

Thinking about it again, I’m not surprised I read 19 books this month because I read a ton of romances which I always speed through (at most it takes me 2 days to read one). While I took a little step outside of my comfort zone this month with Rules for Vanishing, I’m a little disappointed that I didn’t read any other spooky read, although being a mood reader I know that forcing myself to read something I’m not feeling just wouldn’t work.

I’m clearly still very much on that romance vibe, although I can also start to feel myself becoming a little jaded with some of these romances (maybe as evidenced by the lower ratings because I just wanted to roll-my-eyes-so-hard). But I think I’ve been hitting the romance so hard because my brain is just… TIRED? Like… I have no mental energy left on most days and that means I love reading romances that not only give me swoony feelings but I also don’t have to think very hard about. Let’s see if the romancing mood will continue in November!

Just like last time, you can find all my weekly memes in my menu bar since I’ve organized that a bit more. You can find the rest of the posts that I’ve made this month below. I actually didn’t write a whole lot of reviews this month, I’ve just been ‘too busy reading’ and that’s okay because I know I’m not obligated to write a review for every book I read (unless it’s an eARC) but I’ve come to realize just how much writing reviews really helps my memory! So… I’m on a mission (maybe tomorrow) to sit down and write some reviews before I forget even more than I already have!

ALSO I’ve been toying with the idea of giving my blog a bit of revamped look but I don’t know if I should do it right now (it’s not even been a year but playing with blog layouts has always been a fun time for me! LOL 😅). Might give it a go this weekend but will play it by ear! What do you think? Do you like changing up your (blog) look or is that just confusing?

Reviews

⁍ eARC Graphic Novel Review: The Black Mage by Daniel Barnes & DJ Kirkland
⁍ eARC Review: On The Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (The Wingfeather Saga #1) by Andrew Petersen
⁍ Cover Reveal: His Royal Highness by R.S. Grey
⁍ eARC Graphic Novel Review: Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker, Wendy Wu

I hope you all had a great reading month in October and I hope that November continues to be awesome! What was your favorite read this month? Come let me know in the comments & let’s chat!

September Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads16 Comments

I still can’t believe that September is already over! This year is going by way too quickly and I’m wondering if the rest of 2019 is going to speed by in the exact same way? September was a pretty mediocre reading month for me. I think I started off pretty strong but once I tucked into Priory of the Orange Tree, my reads slowed down considerably. I still managed to read 15 books though, so it wasn’t all bad! I am now sitting at 156/90 reads (this number still shocks me; being part of the book community has really increased my reading this year)!


⁍ Pumpkinheads (review)
⁍ Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicle #1) (review)
⁍ Godsgrave (The Nevernight Chronicle #2) (review)
⁍ The Hating Game (review coming)


⁍ Two Weeks Notice (review)


⁍ The Cruel Prince (The Folk of the Air #1) (review)
⁍ The Priory of the Orange Tree (review coming)


⁍ A Different Time (TheWriteReads Blog Tour Review)
⁍ Breaking Up Is Hard To Do… But You Could’ve Done Better (review)
⁍ The Ingredients of Us (review)
⁍ The Perfect Moment (review coming)
⁍ On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness (Wingfeather Saga #1) (review coming)


⁍ Fake Date (Dating #2) (review)
⁍ The Stopover (The Miles High Club #1) (review)


⁍ The Love Solution (review)

My favorites out of all of these were Nevernight and Godsgrave. After finishing Nevernight (my mind was totally blown) at the start of the month, I just couldn’t resist reading the sequel as soon as possible. Kristoff is a man who does not hold back on screwing with your feelings. After the ending of Godsgrave, I’m so excited but equally terrified of finishing this series. But I know I won’t be able to resist Darkdawn so it’s gonna be happening this October!

I was planning to read a lot more sequels for Sequel September but also a few more standalone’s for Standalone September (focusing on hyped standalone’s) but both of these endeavors ended up failing pretty badly. I think I can only count one book towards the former and two books towards the latter. I think I’m going to give challenges a break for now? I’m obviously not very good at them 😂

Last time I listed a full recap of all the posts that I did for the month, but since I now have a more organized menu bar, you can find all my weekly memes, challenges, tags and thoughts in the drop down menus! I still have to fix some things up, but I think I’ve done the sorting right and hopefully all my posts will continue to be updated each time I make them! For now, I’ve still listed the other reviews that I did this month (the reviews for this months’ reads are above in the recap), just so it’s easier for you to read them, in case you missed out! I’m still trying to tweak how I do my wrap up posts–I’m sure you’ll notice that from the start they’re all quite different–but I think I’m happy with this? I don’t want to make it too long and boring for people to read! Any tips or comments? Please let me know!

Reviews

⁍ eARC Review: The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

⁍ Review: Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
⁍ Review: One Day in December by Josie Silver
⁍ Review: Vicious (Villains #1) by V.E. Schwab
⁍ Review: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
⁍ Review: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
⁍ Review: The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
⁍ Review: The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker

I hope you all had a great reading month in September and I hope that October continues to be awesome for all of us! What was your favorite read this month? Come let me know in the comments & let’s chat!

August Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads9 Comments

With how much I’ve been whining about my reading slump this month, it should be pretty obvious that it was not the best month. The slump came swooping in very close to the start of August and continued for almost two weeks! Yikes. It definitely threw off my reading game, especially since I was hoping to really kick ARC August’s ass, but it is what it is. In the end, I managed to read: 14 books.

  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★½
  • ★★½
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★½
  • ★★½
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★½
  • ★★★½
  • ★★½
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆

Out of these 14 reads, I managed to get in five ARCs, which is better than none but definitely not my best! Looking back on the month, it seems pretty clear that I’ve been on a contemporary romance streak. I always do like a good romance and since coming out of my slump, it seemed like the only genre of books that I could stick to fairly easily. I only had two 5★ reads and I have to say The Grace Year by Kim Liggett was my favorite for the month, and it might also be one of my favorites for the year. My review for it will be posted sometime this week so be on the lookout. It was such a surprising book and I can’t wait until it comes out early October so that everyone can read it! It’s claimed to be a cross between The Handmaid’s Tale and The Lord of the Flies, and it’s a pretty spot on description of this wild story!

I’ve now read 142 of 90 books and I’m already thinking what I should set as my Goodreads goal next year. I might make it 100 just in case 2020 will be a complete turn around from 2019. But if I also surpass the 100 books before the end of the year, I think I’d bump it up to 120. I hope my reading keeps on the up 🙂

I’ve seen other people do this in their monthly recaps too so I thought I’d do the same. Below is a list of all the posts I’ve made this month case you want to read them and happened to miss them! Happy reading, friends. Hope September will either be a better reading month for you or that your good reading streak will continue!

Goodreads Monday

05 August // 12 August // 19 August // 26 August

Top Ten Tuesday

Cover (Re)Designs I Love/Hate // Book Characters I’d Love to Be Besties With // Favorite TROPES! // Books I Want In My Physical Library

WWW Wednesday

07 August // 14 August // 21 August // 28 August

Friday Favorites

Sequels // Books That Define You // Underrated Books // Nerdy Characters // Books Read in School

First Line Fridays

30 August

Top 5 Saturday

Books with Asian Settings // Books about Assassins // Dragons! // Road Trip!

Sundays In Bed With…My Weekly Wrap Up!

04 August // 11 August // 19 August // 25 August

Book Tags

Who Am I Book Tag // The (Double) Leibster Award!

Book Challenges

ARC August TBR // Wrapping Up: Goodreads Summer Reading and ARC August

Reviews

Review: The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
ARC Graphic Novel Review: The Avant-Guards Vol. 1 by Carly Usdin, Noah Hayes
Review: Stalking Jack the Ripper (Stalking Jack the Ripper #1) by Kerri Maniscalco
ARC Review: Pillow Thoughts III: Mending the Mind by Courtney Peppernell
Review: Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
Review: The Whisper Man by Alex North
ARC Graphic Novel Review: Elma: A Bear’s Life: The Great Journey (Vol 1) by Ingrid Chabbert
ARC Review: A Random Act of Kindness by Sophie Jenkins
ARC Graphic Novel Review: Sparrowhawk #1 by Delilah S. Dawson
Review: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
Review: The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill
Review: A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult
Review: The Consequence of Falling by Claire Contreras
Review: That Second Chance by Meghan Quinn

Come and drop me a comment about your reading month and tell me what your favorite read was in August 🙂

July Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads15 Comments

Another month is already over so it’s time for one of my favorite posts: my monthly wrap up! July was a pretty awesome reading month for me. I did cut down on reading graphic novels compared to the previous month, although I continued to read them in between my longer reads, which I think made it easier for me to move onto something new and different; I think of it as a little bit like a palate cleanser! I’ve enjoyed alternating between full length novels and graphic novels, so I’m pretty sure that I’ll continue doing that as much as I can! In July, I read a total of 25 books.

  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★½
  • ★★★★½
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★¾
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★¾
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★½
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★½
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★☆☆

Compared to previous months, there was an almost equal split of reading physical (12) and e-books (12) this month. As I mentioned above, my reads continue to be a mixed bag including seven graphic novels, five of which were e-ARCs. I’ve continued to slow down my requests on NetGalley, limiting myself to either short reads and mainly graphic novels, so that I don’t feel even more pressure that I just can’t deal with in my life right now. I think I’ll be participating in ARC August this month so keep an eye out for my post on what needs reading ASAP! Looking at what I read, I honestly don’t think that I could pick just one favorite, but if I had to pick a Top 3 they’d be:
Daisy Jones & The Six
The Great Alone
Sorcery of Thorns

Notable mentions for me are also Aurora Rising, I’m Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come and The Bear and The Nightingale (for which I still haven’t been able to write a half-decent review for)! I think I read some great books that I really connected with emotionally this month, and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to continue this streak in August!

As I mentioned in my previous wrap up, I achieved my Goodreads reading goal last month and obviously I have continued to exceed the number I set out for myself. I had already changed my reading goal from 75 to 90 in May and I didn’t feel like changing it again in June, so I think by the time 2019 ends, it’ll look like I’m really overachieving this year when in reality I’m just too lazy 😅 That said, I’ve now read 128 books and it’s only August! I don’t think I’ve ever read this much perhaps ever, and I really attribute this to immersing myself in the book community. It’s amazing how this community keeps me so motivated and eager to keep turning pages. I couldn’t be happier that I took the leap to start this blog and to really give 1000% towards improving my bookstagram!

I’ve written reviews for most of these so if you want to see what I thought of them, you can follow the links below! Most of the e-ARC reviews are going to be posted closer to the publication date! Am I the only one that does that? I feel kinda like a noob for doing that but I’ve done that from the start? Lol Anyway, that’s all for now, friends. I hope everyone’s reading month was super duper!

ARC Graphic Novel Review: The Magicians: Alice’s Story by Lilah Sturges and Lev Grossman
ARC Graphic Novel Review: Double Vie (Rose #1) by Denis Lapière and Émilie Alibert
Review: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (unpopular opinion time!)
Review: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Review: Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James
ARC Review: Sorry I’m Late I Didn’t Want to Come by Jessica Pan
ARC Graphic Novel Review: The Tea Dragon Festival (Tea Dragon #2) by Katie O’Neill
Review: Aurora Rising (Aurora Cycle #1) by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Review: The Prenup by Lauren Layne
Graphic Novel Review: Blackbird, Vol. 1 by Sam Humphries & Jen Bartel
Review: The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary
Mini-Reviews: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Field Notes On Love & I Hate Fairyland
Review: Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?
Come drop me a comment below and let’s chat books 🙂

June Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads6 Comments

So… June was a month and I’m so glad that it’s over! I was plagued by intense work stress and anxiety for the majority of the month and it greatly impacted my reading. I couldn’t focus on anything for extended periods of time unless it was more visual than text, so I ended up reading a lot of graphic novels. Which was fine, and I enjoyed the ones I read, but I missed out on two buddy reads that I planned to join and I barely scratched the surface of my pride month book list–even though the majority were still LGBTQ reads. In the end I read 21 books:

  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★½☆
  • Overall: ★★★★☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★½☆

Of these reads, four were physical books, and the rest were Kindle books and e-ARCs. I’ve really slowed down with requesting ARCs and I’m so glad because with the month I had, I would’ve fallen even more behind and felt awful about it! There are a few that I still need to catch up on that I’ve been requested to read by the author, so I’m putting that as a priority in July! As for which one was my favorite book, I honestly can’t decide between The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah or Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. Both books have been massively hyped and to me, they were worth ALL of it. Seriously, they were so good, and I’m sad that it took me so long to pick up The Nightingale because it did all the things to my feelings. I haven’t cried so hard reading a book in a long time and I’m a bit of a crier, friends!

With all the graphic novels I’ve read this month, I’ve surpassed my Goodreads goal of 90 books and I’m now sitting at 104. Although I know it’s not about the number of books I read, it’s still exciting to think that i’ve already read over 100 books and we’re only half-way through the year! I wonder how many I’ll end up reading this year?

I’ve written reviews for most of these so if you want to see what I thought of these books, you can follow the links below! That’s all for now though, folks. I hope everyone’s reading month was fab!

Review: The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Review: What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
Graphic Novel Review: The Woods (Vol 1-9) by James Tynion IV
ARC Review: Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
ARC Review: When the Light Went Out by Bridget Morrissey
Review: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Review: Autoboyography by Christina Lauren
Review: The #UltimateBlogTour: The Written by Ben Galley

How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?
Come drop me a comment below and let’s chat books 🙂

May 2019 Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads5 Comments

Friends, May is over and the only thing going through my mind is: how is it possible?! I have no idea where the days went in May. It was ridiculously busy at work and I took that week off for my best friends and my birthday. I can’t believe my birthday has come and gone already too and I’m another year older. I feel like this year is just flying by… Despite the work struggles and feeling more restless than ever this month, May was actually a pretty good month overall. For some reason I feel like I didn’t read much but when I checked on Goodreads, I saw I read 12 books. I also read one webcomic, but since it’s only the first season of the comic, I won’t officially add it to my tally. Here’s what I read by order of date:

  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★☆☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★

The majority of these were e-books and I managed to read and review 4 ARCs. I’m honestly so behind on my NetGalley reads, and I feel so guilty about it, but I’m hoping to make up for it in June. I really need to get better organized because my head has been so all over the place lately, it’s a miracle I manage to get anything done at all! May was also AAPI month and I attempted to read more books by Asian authors; however, being a mood reader, I only managed to get three books in by AAPI authors. It did make me realize that although I do have quite a few books by Asian authors on my shelf, I tend to read the latest releases and other popular books because of FOMO. I need to make more of a conscious effort to read these other books, so I will be working on that throughout the rest of the year!

Of the books I read, I think Josh and Hazel’s Guide to Not Dating by Christina Lauren was my favorite. While I only had two five star reads this month, the majority were 4.5 stars, so it made it quite difficult to choose, but Josh and Hazel was the lighthearted romantic comedy that I didn’t know I needed. These characters really lifted my mood and made me feel giddy with happiness and hope, and I know I won’t be forgetting them anytime soon! Thank you CLo for writing stories that sucker punch me in the feels and for writing characters that make me laugh uncontrollably!

As with May, there are quite a few books I’m looking forward to adding to my shelves in June. But all I’ll be doing until I manage to cut down my highly unmanageable giant of a TBR list by a lot. I’ll be posting about the books I’m most excited for, plus a list of all the books that I’ve acquired this month in the coming days!

How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?
Come drop me a comment below 🙂

April 2019 Monthly Wrap Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads8 Comments

IT’S MAY! I can’t believe we’re five months into the year already. I mean, where are the months flying to?! April has been a pretty decent month in terms of work, life and reading; actually it has been more than a decent reading month for me! I think I even shocked myself when I counted how many books I got through. In no particular order, here’s what I read:

  • ARC
    ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ARC
    ★★★★☆
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ARC
    ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★½☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★½☆☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★½☆☆

So in total I read 17 books in April. I thought I was having a bit of a slow reading month but that definitely wasn’t the case! I read the majority of these as e-books and I realize that I often read much faster on my Kindle compared to when I’m reading a physical book. I’m also glad that I was able to get through 6 ARCs this month because my NetGalley TBR was getting a little ridiculous! My Goodreads Reading Challenge is currently at 60/75 books, so I think it’s about time I change my goal and bump it up to…90 books. If my year continues this way, I think 2019 will be a record making book year. Exciting times!

Out of all these books, my favorite(s) have to be The Dry and The Lost Man by Jane Harper. These were both such fantastic reads and I couldn’t possibly choose between them. I’m so glad that I finally picked up Jane Harper this month because she has made a place for herself on my favorite authors list and also my auto-buy authors list. I’d highly recommend picking her up up if you haven’t yet!

There are so many books I’m looking forward to reading in May and I’ve already posted about the books I’m most excited for. I just got an email today telling me that my Special Edition Owlcrate Finale box has just shipped today. AAAH 😃

How was your reading month? What was your favorite read?

March 2019 Monthly Wrap-Up!

Dini @ dinipandareadsLeave a comment

It’s that time of the month again! Can you believe we’ve come to the end of yet another month? Three months of 2019 are officially over. Where does the time go?!

If you’ve read my (belatedly posted) February wrap up, you’ll know that it was a pretty mediocre reading month for me. I was hitting struggletown hard! I don’t think I’ve ever had a month-long reading slump before, but I guess there’s a first time for everything? 🤷🏻‍♀️ In comparison, March was a pretty great book month!

Reading Recap: 15 Books

✓ 13 Fiction (2 ARCs)
✓ 1 Non-Fiction
✓ 1 Comic/Graphic Novel
✓ Goodreads Reading Challenge: 45/75 books
✓ Favorite Read: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo (this book was so crazily hyped, especially on #bookstagram, so it took me a while to pick it up coz I was a little apprehensive; but I have to say that it’s definitely worth all the hype. If I could give it all the stars, I absolutely would!)

  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★★
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★☆☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★☆
  • ★★★★★

Of these 15, four were paperbacks and the rest were e-books and an online comic strip. The two ARCs were Wolfhunter River by Rachel Caine (23 April 2019) and Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center (13 August 2019) and I enjoyed both immensely! Can’t wait for these to be released so everyone can read them. I read a lot on my Kindle this month. It’s been a while since I’ve gone on an e-book spree, so it felt really good to get into it, especially after the epic slump. I’m super pleased with the new 10th Generation Kindle Paperwhite (2018), which I got in early March when my Kindle Paperwhite of 5 years died an unfortunate and untimely death (RIP 😭). I love that I can pair this one with bluetooth headphones and listen to Audible books directly from there, although the first/last time I tried it, the connection was pretty wonky and the audio kept cutting out and “stuttering”. Also, it drains the battery super fast.

Overall, I’m really pleased with all the books I read. It was definitely a month for Contemporary Fiction and Romance, sprinkled with hint if Fantasy and Thrillers. I was also quite pleased with all the books that I got in March, and I’m wondering if I should do a wrap up haul post for them. I kinda went a little bit wild (heh, what’s new), but I think I’m going to take a break from buying physical books for now. Let’s see how long that lasts! 😂 Leaving March behind, I’m definitely excited to see how I’ll fare in April as work gets a little bit busier.

How did your March reads go? Are you pleased with the books you read? Which was your favorite? Let me know in the comments and let’s chat!

February 2019 Wrap-Up!

Dini @ dinipandareads2 Comments

I know, I’m a little late to the party, but I thought I’d share my February wrap-up anyway. February was a pretty tough month for me and my mental health state was the worst it has been in a while. I know when it’s really bad because not only does it affect my daily life more than usual, but I also struggled to read anything. I was trying out 3-4 different books each week, trying to find a story that would pull me in but towards the end of the month, that rarely happened. Anyway, without further ado, these are the books that I got through last month (with mini-reviews for each)!

In total, I read 4 books: 3 Physical books & 1 Audiobook

My February Wrap-Up!

*I just realized that the book reviews that I’ve posted on my blog so far cover the books that I’ve read in February! I’ll link the mini-reviews to the full-length reviews, in case any of you are interested to know more.

Matchmaking for Beginners by Maddie Dawson
Goodreads | Audible Audiobook | Book Depository | Kindle (UK)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Chick Lit, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★☆

This was my first ever audiobook and I was not disappointed. This was a seriously charming book! The characters are endearingly quirky and the situations they find themselves in are emotional and heartfelt, but not without comedy injected here and there to lighten the mood up a little bit. It’s also endlessly quotable! It was a little corny at times, what with all the feel-good love stuff, but I finished this one feeling happy and comforted, and sometimes there’s honestly nothing more you need from a book 😉 I thought the narrators did a wonderful job in reading the story and capturing all the heartbreak and hilarity in it.

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
Goodreads | Book Depository | Kindle (UK)
Genre: Young Adult, LGBTQ+, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★★★

This book had my breaking out in crying jags until the very end! This was such a heartbreaking and touching story that explores friendship, love, heartbreak, loss, and grief between four boys. Silvera has written a book that’s filled with such deep sadness and longing, but with enough humorous and lighthearted moments between the characters that it doesn’t bog you down. What I enjoyed most about it was that it’s relatable AF; everyone has had a first love and a heartbreak that completely shatters you. First love is definitely a fragile thing 💔

Vox by Christina Dalcher
Goodreads | Book Depository | Kindle (UK)
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Feminist Fiction
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (rounded up)

Honestly, this one was a bit of a let down. When I heard it was similar to The Handmaid’s Tale, I knew I had to read it because that’s one of my all-time favorite novels and I’m always looking to read more science fiction/dystopia! However, while I thought this really had the potential to be great, I felt that the characters were underdeveloped, there was a lot of ‘info dumping’ from the 50% mark onwards, and the final showdown was not only incredibly rushed but unsatisfying too. All the problems were resolved too smoothly and the conflict between the characters were also wiped away so easily. I wanted more, but this didn’t deliver for me. I’d recommend it for those who are curious about sci-fi. IMHO, this is more commercial than it is serious science fiction.

My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Goodreads | Book Depository | Kindle (UK)
Genre: Romance, Comedy, Contemporary
Rating: ★★★☆☆

I was a little bit torn with this read. It was a little hyped on bookstagram so I was really excited to dive in — I mean, if we’re just looking at covers and book titles, this one is a tick on both fronts! While the concept of the story was intriguing and Braithwaite did an amazing job exploring a very messed up relationship between sisters, the characters were so incredibly unlikeable (imo) that it made it difficult for me to really enjoy this book… I was surprised with the ending because Braithwaite chose the seemingly predictable conclusion that I wasn’t hoping for, but there was a question left hanging in the last sentence, which I guess left part of the conclusion open to interpretation? Best things about this one was the realness of the sisterly relationship/bond and the satire.

Ongoing February Reads…

I also started reading The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt in February and it’s such a tome of a book, that I haven’t finished it yet… I’m not disliking the character driven plot, but the reason I’m still reading it as I write this is because once I put it down, I don’t feel particularly compelled to pick it up again. I don’t know what it is — Is it the size? Is it my mood? I’m not sure. This is my first Tartt book and while I was warned that it moves at a fairly slow pace, I wasn’t expecting it to be this slow… But since February was such a tough one for me, I’m hoping with my fresh-kick in March, I’ll be able to finish it by the end of the month! 🤞🏽

Another book I started at the end of the month was Beartown by Fredrik Backman. This one is so well-loved and incredibly hyped on bookstagram, so I was ready for it to hit me with all the feels at the start. But while I found it interesting and I was curious to find out what happened, I also ended up putting it down at some point and not picking it back up again. I’m definitely blaming my fickle February mood for not continuing with it right now and it’s another read that I hope to finish in March — I am not giving up on it! 🤓

Hope you’re having a lovely weekend!
How are your March reads coming along? Let’s talk books 🙂