February Wrap up

I can’t believe February is over. We are one day closer to spring and I am so excited. The rain in my area has been crazy so cabin fever is getting the best of us. We got to spend some much needed time in the sun today. February was a decent reading month for me. I completed 7 total and more importantly I enjoyed most of the books I read. Let’s get into my February wrap up.

There, There

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Synopsis:

Tommy Orange’s wondrous and shattering novel follows twelve characters from Native communities: all traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow, all connected to one another in ways they may not yet realize. Among them is Jacquie Red Feather, newly sober and trying to make it back to the family she left behind. Dene Oxendene, pulling his life together after his uncle’s death and working at the powwow to honor his memory. Fourteen-year-old Orvil, coming to perform traditional dance for the very first time. Together, this chorus of voices tells of the plight of the urban Native American–grappling with a complex and painful history, with an inheritance of beauty and spirituality, with communion and sacrifice and heroism. Hailed as an instant classic, There There is at once poignant and unflinching, utterly contemporary and truly unforgettable.

My Rating: 3/5

I completed this for the Modern Mrs. Darcy Challenge. This one let me down though. To be a book that was meant to help diversify literature so many characters were almost exactly alike. I just expected more.

My Full Review: https://readinginthewildwoodcom.wordpress.com/2020/02/13/there-there-by-tommy-orange-review/

The Girl in the Tower

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Synopsis:

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.

Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.

My Rating: 5/5

Katherine Arden never fails to write a lyrical story. Following Vasya’s journey is such a great experience.

My Full Review: https://readinginthewildwoodcom.wordpress.com/2020/02/05/the-girl-in-the-tower-by-katherine-arden-review/

The Rue of Hope

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Synopsis:

Murder in the streets. Murder in the houses of the holy. The violent deaths of prominent figures have the populous on edge. Now, amid fire and flood, the revolt is on. The castle is taken, the lord is on the run, and the city is crumbling. With society on the verge of collapse, impulsive street-fighter Ford Barlow finds himself in just as much turmoil. Not only is he juggling his own problems, but his slippery rogue friend is embroiled in a string of high-profile assassinations. Mercenary work for a mage meant to distance him from his troubles only highlights his selfish ways and drives him back into a crumbling world of scandal and betrayal. Magic, adventure and murder combine in this fantasy-mystery!

My Rating: 4/5

I wasn’t sure I was going to like this Ford in the beginning. He is a little rough around the edges. However, Ford goes through some of the best character development that I have ever seen. In the end I loved him. I hope to read more about him in the future.

The Winter of the Witch

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Synopsis:

Now Moscow has been struck by disaster. Its people are searching for answers—and for someone to blame. Vasya finds herself alone, beset on all sides. The Grand Prince is in a rage, choosing allies that will lead him on a path to war and ruin. A wicked demon returns, stronger than ever and determined to spread chaos. Caught at the center of the conflict is Vasya, who finds the fate of two worlds resting on her shoulders. Her destiny uncertain, Vasya will uncover surprising truths about herself and her history as she desperately tries to save Russia, Morozko, and the magical world she treasures. But she may not be able to save them all.

My Rating: 5/5

I can’t believe this series is over. I have loved every second of it. Vasya became a powerhouse. I so admire her as a character.

My Full Review: https://readinginthewildwoodcom.wordpress.com/2020/02/22/the-winter-of-the-witch-katherine-arden-review/

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Synopsis:

Paulie Passero, underachiever, high school junior, wants the courage to talk to a girl. A road trip from Chicago to rural Pennsylvania doesn’t interest him until his father emphasizes the need for a second driver. Why must they go? Paulie’s dying grandmother disowned her son twenty years ago, and fences must be mended. Unprepared for Smalltown USA, Paulie is bored at first but notices a girl in the back of a passing pickup and is immediately enamored. Guinevere Thompson lives just down the road from Paulie’s grandparents. She wants nothing to do with him. It’s not that she doesn’t like him; she likes him too much to see him beaten up by her three nasty brothers…or worse, her father. Paulie yearns to help this troubled girl escape the clutches of an abusive father, but will his interference only cause her more harm?

My Rating: 5/5

Here is another one that shocked me. I am not usually a romance reader. This one is more than romance though it is a coming of age story. I read it in one night. It was so good.

My Full Review: https://readinginthewildwoodcom.wordpress.com/2020/02/24/the-summer-of-guinevere-by-john-madormo/

The Conference of the Birds

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Synopsis:

“Do you trust me?”

An instant bestseller, A Map of Days launched readers into the previously unexplored world of American peculiars, one bursting with new questions, new allies, and new adversaries.

Now, with enemies behind him and the unknown ahead, Jacob Portman’s story continues as he takes a brave leap forward into The Conference of the Birds, the next installment of the beloved, bestselling Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series.

My Rating: 4/5

I finished this one last night. However, I haven’t had time to process my thoughts on it completely. I love the world Ransom Riggs has created. There is something new about being in America now. But I didn’t feel like the pictures were as big of a part of the story in this one.

My Full Review coming soon. Don’t miss it. Subscribe.

American Vampire

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Synopsis:

Snyder’s tale follows Pearl, a young woman living in 1920s Los Angeles, who is brutally turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European monsters who tortured and abused her. And in King’s story set in the days of America’s Wild West, readers learn the origin of Skinner Sweet, the original American vampire – a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before.

Don’t miss out as Snyder and King set fire to the horror genre with this visionary, all-original take on one of the most popular monster stories!

This beautiful collection features a new introduction by Stephen King and bonus art including character sketches, variant covers and more!

My Rating: 1/5

I was soooo disappointed by this. I love a good vampire story. Stephen King helped write this so I expected to love it. Salem’s Lot is one of my favorite vampire stories ever so I know he can write vampires well. However, I was lost in this one. I can’t tell you what the point of this book was. I can’t tell you the characters’ motives. And I can barely tell you their names. I don’t know if I just missed something but I didn’t connect with the story at all.

My Full Review will not be coming because I can’t review a book that I don’t understand.

AUDIOBOOKS

The Picture of Dorian Gray

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Synopsis:

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work. The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment. Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.

My Rating: 2/5

I enjoyed the writing in this. It was beautiful, but I just felt like it was building up to something that never happened.

That’s my February wrap up. What was your favorite book you read this month?