Month in Review // I Read and Read and Read – February

Boy did I make up for my lack of reading last month! 

Bless readthons and CW @ The Quiet Pond because they’re what pushed me through each and every book this month and boy were there a lot! 

I may have totally burnt myself out but that’s an easy fix and I’m already ready to jump into a load of reading next month! I have waaaaaaay too many ARCs to read and I am determined to get on top of them!

If you would like to buy any of the following books please consider using my Book Depository Affiliate link!

February’s TBR

│Vicious│▶️│

│Belle Révolte│▶️│

I started but didn’t finish Vicious and Belle Révolte before I joined the Pondathon and they won’t earn any points because of that so I’m putting these on pause until after the Pondathon so I can get as many points for Team Varian as possible! So I don’t plan to read these this month but I wanted to include them in the post so I don’t forget about them next month aha. 

│The Sea of Monsters│✅ │

│Warriors, Witches, Women│✅ │

│Strange Girls│🚫│

│P.S. I Still Love You│✅ │

│Milk and Honey│❌│

│Wilder Girls│❌│

│The Raven King│✅│

I didn’t get around to Milk & Honey and Wilder girls because I decided to focus on ARCs more and I wanted to make sure I read some books by black authors for Black History Month. 

Read

  

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Readathons

I’m currently participating in 4 wonderful readathons. The first two are hosted by CW @ The Quiet Pond. The other two I joined late but am still counting books I’ve read this year so far since they don’t have any kind of points/reward system. 

🌲 – Pondathon

💫 – StartOnYourShelfathon

🏳️‍🌈 – Here & Queerathon

📤 – #ARCApocalypse

Pondathon is almost over and StartOnyourShelfathon is in full swing! I’ll give a full update post once the Pondathon is finished but for now I get to share my first Star Map, Persephone’s Growth. 

These are all the books I read for this month that were for the #StartOnYourShelfathon.

The books I read for the other three readathons (as well as for the StartOnYourShelfathon) by the emojis in the list below. 

│Vicious│Villains #1│V.E. Schwab│📖│🌈🌹✨│▶️🔄⏸│🏳️‍🌈

│Belle Révolte│Linsey Miller│📥💚📖│🌈🔥🌱│▶️⏸│💫🏳️‍🌈│

Excited to pick these two back up next month!

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│The Sea of Monsters│Percy Jackson & the Olympians│Rick Riordan│📖│💐🌱│✅ │🌲💫│★★★★│Feb 3│

I will not wait a whole year before reading the next book in this series again.

│Warriors, Witches, Women│Kate Hodges│📥💚📖│🌈☀️🔥│✅│🌲💫🏳️‍🌈📤│★★★★★│Feb 7│

I really loved this one! Such a great celebration of women from mythology across the globe! 

│Strange Girls│Azzurra Nox│📥💚📖│🚫│💫📤│–│Feb 7│

So disappointed in this one. 

│How to Talk to Black People│A. Anon│📥💚📖│☀️│🚫│💫📤│-│Feb 8│

When I first started reading this I quickly got the feeling that this would be a book where a black character dies in order to teach a white character a lesson and without being about to check if the author is black, I felt extremely uncomfortable reading any further. 

│Queer Heroes│Arabelle Sicardi│📥💚📖│🌈☀️│✅│🌲💫🏳️‍🌈📤│★★★★★│Feb 9│

We love a short history book talking about Queer Icons on this blog.

│P.S. I Still Love You│To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before #2│Jenny Han│📖│🌈☀️│✅│🌲💫🏳️‍🌈│★★★★│Feb 13│

The Assassin’s game was so much fun to read!!! And I’m 100% Team John. 

│You Can’t Touch My Hair│Phoebe Robinson│📖🎧│☀️🔥│✅│🌲💫│★★★★★│Feb 17│

Phoebe is a great story-teller. Getting to listen to her verbally sharing her experiences really made this such an engaging read and is exactly why I prefer to read memoirs via audio. 

│Opal│The Raven Cycle #4.5│Maggie Stiefvater│📱│🌈🌹│✅│🌲💫🏳️‍🌈│★★★★★│Feb 18│

I loved eveything about this. Domestic Pynch is all I want. 

│The Wicked + The Divine Vol 8│Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie│🏛️│🌈☀️🌹✨│🚫│-│Feb 29│

I love this series so much, I’m so sad it’s nearly over and that this collection was a disappointment but I have high hopes for the last one! 

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Books of the Month

│Aphrodite Made Me Do It│Trista Mateer│📥💚📖│🌈🌹🌑🔥│✅│🌲💫🏳️‍🌈📤│★★★★★│Feb 7│

I don’t read as much poetry as I’d luck but this one has really got me craving more. It was so good. I read it in a single bus trip.

I need Mateer to do more collections that feature Greek Goddesses, PLEASE!

│The Raven King│The Raven Cycle #4│Maggie Stiefvater│📖│🌈☀️💐🌹🌱✨│✅│🌲💫🏳️‍🌈│★★★★★│Feb 17│

I finally did it. Mum telling me she was nearly finished with Blue Lily, Lily Blue was the kick in the ass I needed and I am ruined. 

│The Hate U Give│Angie Thomas│📖│☀️🌹🌱✨│✅│🌲💫│★★★★★│Feb 29│

I welled up every single time I read this book on the bus which has been about 10 times. Thank god for sunglasses.

Stats

│Average Rating: 4.8★’s│✅ 9/5│📥 3/1│📖 9/2│🌏 9/3│🚫 3│▶️ 2│🏛️ 1/1│

│Readathons: 🌲 9/9│💫 11/11│🏳️‍🌈 6/9│📤 5/9│

│Goodreads Reading Challenge: ✅ 14/50│

Well wasn’t that such a turn around from last month?!?!?!?

I only include DNF’s in certain readthons. They’re included in the StartOnYourShelfathon because there is a way to represent them in the star maps. And I’m including them in the ArcApocalypse because I’m still getting rid of an ARC off my TBR, even if I didn’t finish it. 

Haul

│Mark Oshiro│
│Anger Is A Gift│📱📥💚│🌈☀️💐🌹🌑🔥🌱✨│📗│

I knew I had to buy a physical copy while I was reading the ARC. 

│Phoebe Robinson│
│You Can’t Touch My Hair│🎧│☀️🔥│📗│

│Tom Ryan, Robin Stevenson│
│When You Get the Chance│📱📥💚│🌈│📚│

│Adan Jerreat-Poole│
│The Girl of Hawthorn and Glass│📱📥💚│🌈│📚│

│Kat Dunn│
│Dangerous Remedy│📱📥💚│🌈│📚│

│Scapegracers│Hannah Abigail Clarke│
│The Scapegracers│📱📥💚│🌈│📚│

│Candace Bushnell, Katie Cotugno│
│Rules for Being a Girl│📱📥💚│💐🔥│📚│

│Makenzie Campbell│
│Nineteen│📱📥💚│📚│

│Lisa Marie Basile│
│The Magical Writing Grimoire│📱📥💚│📚│

│Courtney C. Stevens│
│The June Boys│📱📥💚│📚│

My ARC requesting binge bit me in the ass.

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Grey Reads

🍃 Grey Reads // Showing the Cyclical Nightmare of Abuse – Bad Romance

🍃 Grey Reads // Racism Exists, What Are You Doing to Stop It? – Anger Is a Gift

🍃 Grey Reads // Sharp Edges & Dark Shadows & Will Definitely Cut You as a Warning – Sadie

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Film & TV

February’s TBW

│Everything’s Gonna Be Okay│Season 1│▶️│

│The Bold Type│Season 4│▶️│

│Grace and Frankie│▶️│

│Booksmart│✅│

│Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters│❌│

│To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You│✅│

This watch list was super manageable and I’m glad I didn’t get carried away this month. 

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Watched

│Everything’s Gonna Be Okay│Season 1│📺│2020│💭 Josh Thomas│🌟 Kayla Cromer, Adam Faison, Maeve Press│★★★★★│

This really is cementing itself as one of my favourite shows ever and that’s not an easy task.

│Grace and Frankie│Season 6│📺│2015-│💭 Marta Kauffman, Howard J. Morris│🌟 Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Sam Waterston│★★★★│

Still not really hitting it for me but I’m prepared to continue on. 

│The Bold Type│Season 4│📺│2017-│💭 Sarah Watson│🌟 Katie Stevens, Aisha Dee, Meghann Fahy│★★★★★│

I just want a friend group like the Bold Type girls is that too much to ask?????

│Birds of Prey│🎥│2020│🎬 Cathy Yan│🌟 Margot Robbie, Rosie Perez, Mary Elizabeth Winstead│★★★★│

I really hope we get more Harley Quinn & Birds of Prey films from LuckyChap Entertainment because I thoroughly enjoyed it. Excuse me while I go and watch every other movie Margot’s company has produced. 

│Booksmart│🎥│2019│🎬 Olivia Wilde│🌟 Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams│★★★★★│

I laughed so hard I cried. The doll scene?????? ICONIC!!!! Their friendship????? Transcendant!!!!!! I would die for those girls.

│To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You│🎥│2020│🎬 Michael Fimognari│🌟 Noah Centineo, Madeleine Arthur, Lana Condor│★★★★│

I didn’t feel this was as strong s the first movie and I’m still so sad that we missed out on seeing the Assassin’s game but I did still really enjoy it! 

│Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist│Season 1│📺│2020│💭 Austin Winsberg│🌟 Jane Levy, Stephanie Styles, Hiro Kanagawa│★★★★│

This has been so good! I’m really enjoying it and I’m totally gay for awkward nerdy Jane Levy. 

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Grey Watches

🍃 Grey Watches // A Lesson in Bad Parenting – Home Alone

🍃 Grey Watches // Join the Kevin Protection Squad Today! – Home Alone 2

🍃 Grey Watches // Petition to Make all the Christmas Movies Gay – Let it Snow

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Highlights

🍃 Grey’s Shelves // 18 Books on My Radar! – 2020 Releases

🍃 Grey Reads // Showing the Cyclical Nightmare of Abuse – Bad Romance

🍃 Grey Reads // Racism Exists, What Are You Doing to Stop It? – Anger Is a Gift

🍃 Grey Reads // Sharp Edges & Dark Shadows & Will Definitely Cut You as a Warning – Sadie

🍃 Ancient Archive // An African-American Woman Kicked Leprosy’s Ass – Alice Ball

Blogosphere Highlights

│Krystin @ Here’s The Fucking Twist│Women in Horror Month: Goddesses of the Dark & Twisty You Need To Read!│True Crime Tuesday: A Valentine’s Day Cold Case│

│Destiny @ Howling Libraries│Valentine’s Day Special: romance authors I need to check out ASAP!│T10T — Valentine’s Day edition: let’s talk about DIVERSE romance!│Romance TBR highlights & faves — kindle unlimited edition!│Spooky Babes: a guide to literary women in horror!│

│Sofia @ Bookish Wanderess│My Favorite Romance Books by Black Authors│

│Caro @ Bookcheshirecat│My Favorite Romance Tropes feat. bookish couples│Books by Black Authors #BlackHistoryMonth│

│Mel @ Cotton Candy Book Witch│ANNOUNCING THE HERE & QUEERATHON 2020!!│

│Jamsu @ Jamsu Dreams│Best Friend Judges Books By Their Covers│

│Bree @ Words About Words│ROMANCE WEEK: Hate-to-Love Romance Rec Quiz│

│Tiffany @ Read By Tiffany│101 Thoughts While Watching P.S. I Still Love You│

│Sofii @ A Book. A Thought│DISCUSSION POST: THE MEANING OF BEING AN INTERNATIONAL BOOK BLOGGER │

│May @ Forever And Everly│7 or So Books to Read if You’re Feeling Sad (Like Me)│

│Silvia @ Silvia Reads Books│Discussion: What affects your reading?│

│Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books│PAIRING MY FAVORITE TROPES WITH YA BOOKS, PART I: SETTINGS, CHARACTERS, STORIES│PAIRING MY FAVORITE TROPES WITH YA BOOKS, PART II: ALL THE ROMANCES│

│Fadwa @ Word Wonders│BLOG TOUR: REVIEW OF FOUL IS FAIR BY HANNAH CAPIN│WORD WONDERS’ TBR EXPANSION : BOOKS WITH ARO-SPEC MAIN CHARACTERS |AROMANTIC AWARENESS WEEK│

│Ashley @ The Infinite Library│Let’s Talk: Book Marketing Trends, Good and Bad│

│Simone @ Simone and Her Books│NEVER JUDGE A READER BY THEIR READING FORMAT│

│Kat @ Novels and Waffles│9 JAPANESE AMERICAN YOUNG ADULT AND MIDDLE GRADE AUTHORS│41 BOOKS BY ASIAN AUTHORS: YARC 2019 WRAP-UP│

│Anna & Charlotte @ Reads Rainbow│BOOK RECS: BOOKS BY AND ABOUT QPOC│

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Month In Review

🍃 Month in Review // So Many Readathons! – April | Part 1

🍃 Month in Review // I Think I Need To Delete Facebook Again – May

🍃  Month in Review // I’ve Been on WordPress for 2 Years! – January

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Goals

🍃 Start going for walks again! ✅

I’m slowly working towards getting back to where I was last year when I was walking every day. Honestly, the hardest part is getting back into a routine again. 

🍃 Apply for 5 jobs each week ✅

I even applied for like 8 one week! Honestly I hate this part of the week but I have to do it so I’m doing it and then rewarding myself after…Usually with Sims.

🍃 Read every day! ❌ 

Okay so I didn’t get this one absolutely 100% done as I didn’t read on a few days this month but I’m really proud of myself for reading as many days as I did! That’s a huge difference to the past year or so!

Plans

🍃 Seeing Jonathan Van Ness: Road to Beijing! ✅

JVN was brilliant! He’s so funny and such a great story teller that I would have listened to him for four hours. He’s like me in that he goes off on so many tangents but it’s always somehow related to what was first talked about. It was just so fun. I just wish the seating was more comfortable because ya girl was so sore the next day.

🍃 Go to the Fringe??? ❌

My mum did look into getting Tommy Little tickets but they didn’t have ones available during times she could go.

What Else Did I Do?

Honestly all I’ve done this month is work, read—SO MUCH READING—, apply for jobs and play the Sims. 

Yeah, I’ve gotten sucked back into Sims. I mean, it’s bound to happen and I think I needed it. I burnt myself out with the amount I was reading. Also, there’s just been so much more work around reading because I was reading quiet a few arcs and I wanted to put up reviews ASAP plus all this reading was for the Pondathon which has been amazing and so much fun but having to keep track of my reading as strictly as I have needed to as to not get lost and make sure I submit pages and quests on time has been a struggle for me.

But I haven’t regretted it for a second because it’s been so much fun and I feel so accomplish with how much I’ve read and how much it helped me get back in control of my ARC TBR (Even if I went a ruined it by over-requesting AGAIN!). It’s been so much fun but I need balance and that’s where Sims came in.

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Month Ahead

🍃 Month Ahead // Going Off Grid – April

🍃 Month Ahead // Mental Health Awareness – May

🍃  Month Ahead // Less Watching, More Reading – February

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Fingers crossed I can read every day next month!

What did you do this month?
What did you read?
What did you watch?
What posts did you write that you’re super proud of?

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