February Wrap-Up & Currently Reading

The month of February was a short one, the shortest month of the year in fact. I managed to complete three books in the month of February, while starting three more. It wasn’t my best month, but I still managed to read a few of my favorite books of the year, and quite possibly of all-time. So, without further ado, here is my February Reading Wrap-Up, and the books I am currently reading! February Wrap-Up: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

Dates Read: January 14th-January 20th, & January 26th-February 4th Format: Paperback Star-Rating: 4.5/5 Star Rating Synopsis (Goodreads): “There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love… or you killed them. It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive. Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them— not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her. His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble. But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—- money, good looks, devoted friends— but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little. For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore. My Thoughts: I had originally started reading this book in late January, but put it down while I was participating in the Winter Biannual Bibliothon. I immediately began reading it, as soon as the Winter BiBib was over, because I wanted to see how it ended. As soon as I read the synopsis, I thought this book was going to be a typical YA paranormal romance, something along the lines of Twilight. After reading the first book of this much beloved Booktube series, I was very surprised that it was nothing like that. It surprised me in a good way. At first, what really intrigued me was the story and plot, it was a very different paranormal story than what I have read in the past. My favorite parts of the story, were when Blue and the Raven Boys went on this quest to find a Welsh King. If they found the Welsh King and unburied him, he would grant them a wish. This was a story I was very fond of, and found very creative on the author’s part. I also loved the idea of this story being centered in the world of clairvoyants, psychics, and ghosts. I haven't read a lot of books in the paranormal universe that are told in the perspective of those supernatural beings. A part from the story, I fell in love with the characters, as you all know I love me some well-developed character arcs. I felt that each character grew from beginning to end, which I really appreciated, because to me, this really lacks in the paranormal genre. I thought this was an extremely difficult thing to do, because there were so many characters who we follow in this book. But, Maggie did a wonderful job at creating character development, making sense with the direction the story was going in. While I loved each and every character for different reasons, my favorites were Noah and Blue. I thought Noah was very sarcastic and brought light to this very dark paranormal story. I especially loved his relationship with Blue, in how much he cared for her. I totally shipped these two, over Blue and Gansey. The main reason why I loved Blue, was because she held her own amongst these male characters. She wasn’t annoying and unreliable like most female main characters in these types of books. Another reason why I loved the characters so much, was because of the family dynamic that was such an integral part of the story. Not just within the Raven Boys, but also within Blue’s family. I absolutely adore strong family dynamics, because that is something I can relate to. I thought Maggie Stiefvater did a wonderful job at representing family bonds. The only reason why I gave this book a 4.5 instead of a 5 star rating, was because, to me, the book started out really slow. It took me a while to get into, but once we got into the quest of finding this Welsh King, I couldn't put it down. Even though the story started off slow for me, I loved Maggie Stiefvater’s writing. Not just for her atmospheric qualities, that she is so well-known for. But, for her character development, her creative plot-line, and her strong family dynamics. This was one of the first books, I have read in a while, where the author has masterfully woven all of those elements that I love in books. Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco 

Dates Read: February 5th-February 12th Format-Hardback Star-Rating: 5/5 Star Rating Synopsis: Since this is the second novel of the Stalking Jack The Ripper series, I will not delve too much into the synopsis. 

Hunting Prince Dracula follows directly after the events of Stalking Jack The Ripper. Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell are invited to a School of Science and Medicine in Romania. While Audrey is still handling her emotional roller coaster of feelings, after the events of Stalking Jack and The Ripper and her feelings for Thomas. She finds herself entangled in another mystery, that has similarities of another famous serial killer. My Thoughts: Stalking Jack The Ripper became one of my favorite books of all-time, and Hunting Prince Dracula exceeded expectations. I immediately fell in love with our MC, Audrey Rose, all over again. I felt that she has developed even more, into a strong female character, within this story. She is the type of girl who is not one to fall back into society, which is something you don’t see often during this time period. As I have expressed in my review of Stalking Jack The Ripper, I absolutely adored her way of thinking. She is very analytical, methodical, and extremely intelligent, a breath of fresh air in YA novels. I also appreciated her feminist way of thinking, and thought it was very thought-provoking. Especially in the time period she was living in, it was a very different way of thinking and not blatantly feminist, which I really appreciated on the author’s front. 

I also loved the romance in this novel, I thought it wasn’t too cheesy, which tends to happen in novels like these. While Thomas did annoy me in certain parts of this book, I still swooned over the relationship. I appreciated that Thomas was trying to get to know and understand Audrey’s way of thinking. A part from the characters, the setting was woven so wonderfully into the story. I loved the setting of Dracula’s castle in Romania, and thought it was very beautiful in the way it was written. I felt as if I was actually in Bran Castle, and in the surrounding forests and towns of Romania. You could definitely tell that Kerri Maniscalco did her research on both Vlad the Impaler, and Romania, which I really appreciated. Kerri Maniscalco has become one of my all-time favorite author’s, and I can’t wait to read more from her. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Dates Read: February 13th-February 21st Format: Hardback, Owlcrate Exclusive Edition Star-Rating: 3.5/5 Star Rating *I won’t include the synopsis or my thoughts for The Cruel Prince, since I already have a full-in-depth review of this novel, already posted on my blog. Which I will include in my featured blogs, so that you can refer to it there, while reading this post! Currently Reading: The Magicians by Lev Grossman

Dates Read: February 7th-Present (I will probably have finished his book by the time I post this blog, and will include it in my March Wrap-Up). Format: Audible Synopsis (Goodreads): A thrilling and original coming-of-age novel for adults about a young man practicing magic in the real world. Quentin Coldwater is brilliant but miserable. A senior in high school, he’s still secretly preoccupied with a series of fantasy novels he read as a child, set in a magical land called Fillory. Imagine his surprise when he finds himself unexpectedly admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in Upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the craft of modern society. He also discovers all the other things people learn in college: friendship, love, sex, booze, and boredom. Something is missing, though. Magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure he dreamed it would. After graduation he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real. But the land of Quentin’s fantasies turns out to be much darker and dangerous than he could have imagined. His childhood dream becomes a nightmare with a shocking truth at its heart. Vicious by V.E. Schwab 

Dates Read: February 25th- Present (Like The Magicians, I will probably have finished this book by the time I post this blog, and will include it in my March Wrap-Up). Format: Paperback Synopsis (Goodreads): Victor and Eli started out as college roommates— brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong. Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge— but who will be left alive at the end? Colliding Skies by Debbie Zaken 

Dates Read- Feb. 25th- Present 

Format: Kindle, free copy kindly given to me by the Publishers (Oftomes)z  Synopsis (Goodreads): Since Skye Reilly can remember, she has been looking up to the stars. With high school graduation upon her, her telescope in one hand and college acceptance letter in the other, she has life as meticulously mapped out as her star chart. That is, until the Celeians arrive and she meets Ethan, an alluring alien. Ethan collides into her like an asteroid, causing a gravitational shift in Skye’s trajectory and hurling her life into a cataclysmic collision course of interplanetary proportions. The Celeians promise many things. An end to disease, global warming, and famine. The knowledge to help humankind. Despite the suspicions surrounding the intriguing aliens and rising anti-alien protests, Skye gives Ethan her trust, and eventually her heart. The very heart he could stop with a lethal electrifying touch of his hand. When the Magistrate, a council of alien leaders, threatens to put an end to their interspecies relationship, following her heart could cost Skye her life and the lives of everyone she loves. Not even light can escape the pull of a black hole.   

My favorite book of February: 

Hunting Prince Dracula by Kerri Maniscalco 

My least favorite book of February: 

The Cruel Prince 

Total Books Read: 

3 books competed + 3 more book started. 

Thank you all for reading my February Reading Wrap-Up! 

TTFN and Happy Reading!! 

Chynna Williams @TheCWTorch