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Hi pals and welcome to my February wrap up!
Despite this being the shortest month, I think I did pretty well if I do say so myself. I managed to read nine books, three of which were audiobooks! I’m super chuffed with that as I’ve really been missing audiobooks lately but was struggling to commit to them, but look at me go.
February saw the release of my most anticipated read of 2021, a book I had been waiting years to finally read, so that was the best. I also discovered some new favourite thrillers, an empowering non fiction and re-read some faves, among some other great books.
Here is my February wrap up!


The (Other) F Word*
This was my first audiobook of the year – an own voices anthology of essays, discussions and letters from a collection of fat authors. This was such an empowering and self affirming read for me. Not every fat person’s story is the same, and I loved and appreciated seeing all these different takes from authors who are are trans, non binary, queer, Latinx, Black, Asian, survivors of abuse and sexual assault and more. I would highly recommend but please do take care if this content may be triggering for you in any way.

A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas*
This month I continued my re-read of A Court of Thorns and Roses in preparation for the latest release. While this isn’t my favourite book in the series, it still means a lot to me and is important of course to the wider story so it’s still 5/5 for me!

A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas*
I love this story, which bridges the gap between ACOWAR and the future instalments. It delivers us exactly what it promises as a novella and gives us an insight into how the Inner Circle spend their days recovering and celebrating Solstice. I wrote a full post on this if you wanted some more info!

When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole*
A thriller told almost like a contemporary, this was a totally unique read for me and my second audiobook of the month. Featuring discussions of gentrification, racism, privilege, the exploitation of marginalised people, micro aggressions, and more, what makes this book terrifying, aside from the main antagonists, is that this has happened and IS happening, right now. I listened to the first 75% via the audiobook but then raced through the ending by reading the e-book as I just needed to know how it wrapped up. I would highly recommend and would love to read more thrillers in this style!

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas*
Well, here we go. My most anticipated read and wow, what a read it was. I’m still working on my blog posts and reading vlog for this, and trying to sum up my thoughts coherently, but this book was everything. The romance, the smut, the plot and the character development were all 10/10 sure, but what made this such a standout read for me was the exploration of mental health and Nesta’s journey. There was just so much depth to this book and it really woke something in me, allowing me to see some things in myself I maybe hadn’t been brave enough to consider before.
I’m still working through my many, many tabs and taking lots of notes and theorising. It made me laugh, squeal, scream and cry and honestly this is one of my fave books of the series now. Promise I’ll have my content published soon!

Mina and the Undead by Amy McCaw*
In this paranormal novel set in 1990s New Orleans we follow Mina, a horror enthusiast who goes to visit her sister in the States. Landing the job of her dreams at a horror movie mansion things start to go south pretty quickly, with bodies turning up around the city murdered in ways that are eerily familiar. I loved the mystery element of this story; Amy had me suspicious of every character! The nods to the 90s were also very much appreciated and the subtle links to horror in Amy’s style of writing, such as Mina’s wig being “beyond resuscitation”, made this a much more immersive read. Full review to come!

Set by Alexandria House
I came across this book in one of Riley Marie’s recommendation videos and it sounded like exactly the kind of thing I needed: a short, sweet and smutty read. And it’s available on Kindle Unlimited which is even a better! This was a friends to lovers story, with the main male character having crushed on the woman since they were in school. Now in their 40s, they reconnect and start a friends with benefits relationship which soon develops into… well I’m sure you can work that out! This also featured own voices Black rep.

When Life Gives You Mangos by Kereen Getten*
I had been really in the mood for more middle grade and this was a super enjoyable read! A story about summer on an island in Jamaica where nothing ever changes and everybody knows everybody. Except this summer, something does change – a new girl arrives on the island! 12 year old Clara navigates changing relationships, the loss of friendships, creates new ones and recovers from a traumatic incident which she cannot remember. I really did not anticipate the twist in this book so that made me super happy! There is OV Jamaican rep in this book.

The Project by Courtney Summers
I loved Sadie by this author, so this book made its way on to my most anticipated releases list. A thriller about two sisters who have separate experiences with The Project, deemed by ‘outsiders’ as a cult. The premise of the story really intrigued me, and despite being a slow burn with the thriller element a little more subtle but all the more insidious for it, I raced through the audiobook. I didn’t quite love this as much as Sadie but I do have to say that Courtney Summers is a very talented writer and I can’t wait to read what she writes next. Content warnings for abuse, gore, pedophilia, assault, death, near death experiences, cults and more.

So despite sadly failing at F/F February for the most part as my reading progress (and mood) kind of decided to just take a nosedive in the last week or so of the month, I’m still really happy with the books that I did read.
My picks for the readathon will definitely be carried over into the next month, but I think I’m not going to be posting a TBR this month. I’m planning to just curate a list of books I would like to read, but with no pressure on myself. I don’t want to end up in a slump!
What was your favourite read in February?


Oooh, I’ve got When No One is Watching pretty high on my TBR! I can’t stop seeing amazing things about it! Looks like you had a great Feb. 🙂 My favorite read was Spark to Shadow and No Gods, No Monsters. 😁 Thanks for the recommendations!!!
I loved Sadie too! I’m on a waitlist for The Project. I hope I like it as much as you did. Have a great March!