February 2021 Reading Wrap Up

I know everyone is on the edge of their seats, just waiting to see how I did in February-- the short month!

I read on 28/28 days and completed 15 books! I read 9 for the Meridian Library Challenge (MLD), only 2 for the Garden City Library Challenge (GCPL), and 4 for the PopSugar Challenge. Because of the short month, I tried to choose short reads or long reads that I was desperate to read and knew I would fly through.

MLD CATEGORIES:

2. A book with a three word title:  The Wedding Party by Jasmine Guillory
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Contemporary Romance, Enemies to Lovers
Quick Summary: Maddie and Theo share a best friend and are therefore forced to spend time together while wedding planning. After a drunken "uh oh" night, they are forced to re-evaluate their relationship.
Thoughts: First impressions can really stick for some people, and that's unfortunate. I thought it was kind of a bummer that Maddie couldn't look past that first meeting, but overall, I enjoyed the story.

5. A book with a teacher in it: Into the Wilderness by Sara Donati
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Historical Romance, Family, Debt, Nature/Wilderness, Racism/Slavery
Quick Summary: Elizabeth Middleton travels to America to teach school in a small New York village in the late 18th Century, but her father has other plans for his fiercely independent daughter.
Thoughts: I read somewhere that this series would be appealing to fans of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't realize it would actually reference the characters in Outlander directly until I was totally surprised by it. I didn't think it was nearly as good as Outlander, but it was a fun read and I will probably continue, eventually.

8. The latest book by your favorite author: Shatter the Earth by Karen Chance
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Urban Fantasy Romance, Time Travel, Magic, Vampires, Fae
Quick Summary: To win the literal war of the worlds, or even to survive, Cassie and her allies, the powerful vampire senator Mircea Basarab and the formidable war mage John Pritkin, will have to pull off their greatest feat yet.
Thoughts: This is the 10th book in the series, and well, I'm still well and truly hooked. FIVE STARS. First book is Touch the Dark, for those interested in jumping down the rabbit hole.

27. A book recommended by an MLD staff member: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Contemporary Fiction, Mental Health, Trauma, Isolation/Loneliness, Friendship
Quick Summary: 29-year-old Eleanor Oliphant, a social misfit with a traumatic past, becomes obsessed with a singer, whom she believes she is destined to be with.
Thoughts: Saw this one recommended by staff on the MLD website. I had zero expectations going in-- didn't even know what it was about. I found it to be both amusing and shocking. I would say that I enjoyed it overall.

25. A nonfiction book about race relations in America: This Book is Anti-Racist by Tiffany Jewell
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Nonfiction, Social Justice, Race Relations
Quick Summary: Learn about identities, true histories, and anti-racism work.
Thoughts: This book targets pre-teens and young adults, so it was very simple. I actually liked that aspect of the book, because it was easy to understand and a lot of the words and phrases introduced I hadn't completely understood before, so good for people just starting out on the anti-racist journey. What I didn't enjoy so much was the patronizing tone. I also found the history lessons to be, as another reviewer put it: simplistic and decontextualized.

31. A book with a magical creature: Smoke Bitten by Patricia Briggs
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Urban Fantasy, Werewolves, Shapeshifters, Vampires, Fae, Magic
Quick Summary: A smoke creature escapes from Underhill and wreaks havoc in the Tri-Cities. Its bite can control you and it powers itself on death. Mercy and her pack must protect their territory.
Thoughts: More amazing Mercy Thompson (this is the 12th book in the series). Patricia Briggs is another favorite author that I highly recommend if you like this sort of genre. First book is called: Moon Called.

38. A book with a senior citizen as the protagonist: The Switch by Beth O'Leary
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Contemporary Fiction, Romance, Family
Quick Summary: Leena Cotton is ordered to take a 2-month sabbatical after bombing a presentation at work. Eileen, Leena's grandmother, about to turn 80, is newly single and ready to mingle. Unfortunately, her tiny village doesn't offer a lot of eligible gentlemen, so she and Leena switch places for two months so Leena can rest and Eileen can look for a second chance at love.
Thoughts: Really liked this sweet book. I will definitely be reading more by this author.

40. A book that includes a recipe: With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Young Adult Contemporary Fiction, Food/Cooking, Teen Motherhood
Quick Summary: High school senior Emoni dreams of being  a chef someday. But with a daughter to care for and an abuela to help support, she has to make tough decisions. She joins her schools' new culinary arts class against her better judgment and it changes her life.
Thoughts: I listened to The Poet X last year, read by the author, for one of the challenge categories and really liked it. This one is also read by the author. It had a lot of similarities to The Poet X, but also some new challenges. It was another good one.

41. A book with an amateur sleuth: A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Cozy Mystery, Amateur Sleuth, Death
Quick Summary: Aurora "Roe" Teagarden is named heir to the rather substantial estate of her deceased friend, Jane, from her disbanded True Crime club. While clearing out the house, she finds a skull in the window seat and knows that Jane left her a puzzle to solve. Which of Jane's neighbors is a murderer?
Thoughts: I did not enjoy this one as much as the first one. It felt very disjointed, like it was a whole new series starting up and the first book never happened. Still, I'll probably give the next one a try.

GCPL CATEGORIES:

1. A book written by an author of color: Push by Sapphire
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Fiction, Neglect, Abuse (Mental, Physical, Sexual-- Warning: Incest), Down Syndrome, Survival, Parenthood, Literacy, HIV
Quick Summary: Pregnant with her second child by her father, 16-year-old Precious Jones begins attending an alternative school where she meets a teacher determined to help Precious achieve a new and better life for herself and her children.
Thoughts: This is one of those books that you finish and wonder what you just read. It was difficult to read about the abuse. Things just kept getting worse for Precious and I'm not sure that anything really got wrapped up-- the story just ended.

50. A book of your choosing: Crazy Stupid Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Contemporary Romance, Humor, Organ Donation/Transplant, Family
Quick Summary: Alexis Carlisle and her cat cafe have recently become popular after she came forward as a victim of a celebrity chef's sexual harassment. Alexis' life is upended again when a woman comes to her cafe and claims they are sisters. Unsure of her next course of action, she turns to her best friend, Noah, for advice and comfort.
Thoughts: I liked the first book in this series, but didn't really care for the second and this third book didn't really redeem the second much. I'm not sure if I will continue. I am a bit of a completionist,though, so we shall see.

POPSUGAR CATEGORIES:

1. A book that's published in 2021: A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
Genre/Tropes/Themes: New Adult Fantasy Romance, Fae, Magic, Sisterhood, Friendship
Quick Summary: Prickly Nesta Archeron has struggled to find a place for herself in the fae world. Cassian, a battle-scarred warrior, is tasked with nudging her towards a better path than the path of destruction she is currently on, but he ignites her temper... and her passion.
Thoughts: This is the newest edition in one of my guilty pleasure series, so I had to read it. I enjoyed it, but it's not the most fabulous piece of literature.

2. An afrofuturist book: How Long 'Til Black Future Month? by N.K. Jemisin
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology
Quick Summary: A collection of science fiction and fantasy short stories
Thoughts: I liked only a few stories out of 22, so that's a bummer. I read an essay that the author wrote about the book and found it to be more interesting than the book itself. Representation is important.

8. A book that has won the women's prize for fiction: The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Mythology, LGBT Romance
Quick Summary: Patroclus, an awkward young prince has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son, Achilles. They become friends and eventually their bond blossoms into something deeper, much to the displeasure of Achilles' mother, Thetis.
Thoughts: I really liked this one-- very engaging mythology retelling. I was constantly looking up the myths behind the events in this book.

24. A book by a blogger, vlogger, You Tube content creator or other online personality: Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson
Genre/Tropes/Themes: Humorous Memoir, Mental Health
Quick Summary: Blogger Jenny Lawson examines her own personal experience with severe depression and other conditions and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest.
Thoughts: She's pretty hilarious and very relatable. I plan to work through all of her books.

Here's how I did on Bookish First Bingo: 3 bingos!