February 2020 Reading Wrap-up

So far in 2020, reading has been hard work, which is never fun! I’ve downgraded my GoodReads reading challenge from 75 to 50 because of my slow start. I’ve dropped off blog hops and am pretty much sticking to reviews and these monthly wrap-up posts. This is by no means a permanent change, but it’s all I have the energy for at the moment. I’ll come back to other things when I come back to them.

Sadly, that does mean I’m mostly missing out  on visiting your blogs as well. Just finding the time is a challenge. 

Having said that, when I sat down to write this post, I realised I did actually get through 8 books in February! It certainly didn’t feel like that. I finished two audio books that I’d been listening to for a very long time, so that felt pretty satisfying.  

I haven’t always had the energy to review them, so below some links will go to reviews here on the blog and others will go to GoodReads where I wrote some notes. And some don’t have a review at all yet. 

Past Month’s Reading:

1. The Shadow Palace by Celine Jeanjean (The Viper and the Urchin #6) (steampunk – 3.5 stars – review)

2. The Thornthwaite Inheritance by Gareth P. Jones (middle-grade – gothic/contemporary/mystery – 4 stars – GoodReads thoughts)
3. Greehaelen by L. A. Webster (Chronicles of Algarth #1) (fantasy – 4 stars – review)
4. Before the Devil Breaks You by Libba Bray (the Diviners #3) (historical fantasy – 3 stars – GoodReads thoughts)
5. Heroines: An Anthology of Short Fiction and Poetry edited by Sarah Nicholson and Caitlin White (speculative fiction anthology – 3 stars – not intending to review)
6. The Thornthwaite Betrayal by Gareth P. Jones (middle-grade – gothic/contemporary/mystery – 5 stars – GoodReads thoughts) 
7.  Circe by Madeleine Miller (historical fantasy/retelling – 4 stars – review forthcoming)

No, that’s not a mistake in my graphics – I did read The Thornthwaite Inheritance twice. It and its sequel were my favourites this month. 

Booktube:

I wrote a script for a new BookTube video but never filmed it. Maybe in March? Or maybe I’m just going to give up this whole vlogging thing…

Favourite Bookish Photo:

I was so proud of my #6amAusWriters friends for their February releases! It took me a while to get good shot of Greenhaelen by Lyn Webster in among my neighbour’s flowers, but when gardens and nature are so central to the book, it absolutely had to be that way. You can see all my bookish photos (plus some RL as well) on my Instagram.

Currently Reading:

Physical book: Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton. Apparently I’ve only been reading this for two weeks, which is slow, but not as slow as I thought! It’s about a school shooting and the subsequent operation to get the children out safely while there’s still a gunman in the building. It should be totally my cup of tea but something is holding me back. 

Ebook: That Night In Paris by Sandy Barker. Another member of the #6amAusWriters team! Everybody is publishing books this year! I need to get my butt into gear. I have only just started this but I think it will be light and fun and romantic, which is what I’m looking for. 

Audio book: The Lost Letter by Mimi Matthews. After enjoying Matthew’s Victorian Christmas romance, A Holiday by Gaslight, I decided to snap this one up when I saw it on Audible. 

Planning to read next:

I’ve had a sneaky look at There She Goes by Lynne Shelby and a romance set in “theatreland” sounds exactly my kind of thing. The opening chapter with an awkward audition was so relatable. So yes, this will be next. 

What are you reading? 🙂

 

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