The shortest month of the year is over and I read a lot more books than I thought – considering one of them was 500+ pages!

• I read 13 books this month
• I DNFd 2 books this month
• Genre: 4 fantasy, 3 historical fiction, 1sci-fi, 1 murder mystery, 1 contemporary, 1 romance, 1 non-fiction and 1 multiple genres
• Gender of authors: 9 women, 2 men and 1 various
• Race of authors: 5 white authors, 4 asian authors, 1 black authors and 1 book had multiple Latine authors
• Age range: 8 adult and 5 YA
• Format: 10 paperback, 2 hardback and 1 audiobook

DNFS

• Thieve’s Gambit – Kayvion Lewis
• Hard by A Great Forest – Leo Vardiashivili

Love on the Other Side – Nagabe (2.5 stars)

What a disappointment. The Girl from the Other Side series is one of my favourite manga series so I was super excited to read more of his work outside of what I already know but this was just not good. The themes and content within this were disappointing.

The Divorcees – Rowan Beaird – (3 stars)

I am not a massive fan of books where all it really consists of is characters sitting around and talking. I need more plot in my books. This book was more character focused and I just started to get bored. The last 50 pages was more interesting but at that point I kind of tuned out.

If You Can See the Sun – Ann Liang (4 stars)

So, I audiobooks this and Natalie Naudus is such an incredible narrator. This was a super exciting and interesting book with a great academic rivals to lovers storyline, great conversation about wealth and class and with a sprinkling of invisibility.

The Storm We Made – Vanessa Chan (4.5 stars)

Words cannot express how important this novel is. Detailing real experiences by Malaysians under the occupation of both Britain and Japan this story was heartbreaking but necessary to bring further awareness to the horrendous treatment by occupying forces against Malaysians. This book was beautifully written with so much heart and soul put into it. You can’t help but connect instantly to the characters – you cry when they cry and laugh when they laugh. Chan did an amazing job of firmly placing you in the setting alongside the various characters and you can easily picture the different parts of the country we are witness to – both the beauty and the horror.

The Silence in Between – Josie Ferguson (5 stars)

Another war book for February. This book is truly about relationships and specifically between the mother and daughter in this novel. Both of them at the same age experience harrowing ordeals while living in Berlin. This was a hard read as it tackles humanity and it’s worst but there are glimmers of hope scattered throughout the story.

Intervals – Marianne Brooker (5 stars)

A poignant book that tackles how as a society we view death, how we can and should support disabled people and how we give people agency within their death. This book caught me at the just the right time in my personal life and I read this book in one sitting. I felt Brooker did a great job at using her own personal journey with her sick mother to convey bigger points on body autonomy, agency with death and shining a light on the staff that helped make her mother’s transition easier. It was a beautiful book tackling hard political and philosophical topics alongside one of the hardest things a human can experience, losing your closest loved one.

Song of the Huntress – Lucy Holland (5 stars)

Set in a period of history I don’t know much about I lost myself in the folklore and the realities of that time period simultaneously. I enjoyed this balance of fantasy and politics and I enjoyed seeing them blend. Holland’s writing really truly makes you feel as if you are stepping into a fairytale. Her writing was so beautiful, poetic, and raw. Holland’s characterisation was so well done. I loved and enjoyed every single POV given and you can’t help but root for the characters even as relationships between each other and the world get more complicated you just want them to succeed and find a way to live a harmonious life.

Where Sleeping Girls Lie – Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (5 stars)

I was super nervous going into this because I loved Ace of Spades by her SO MUCH. But I was NOT disappointed. My copy was about 500+ pages but I flew through the book so quickly. Literally one sitting I read 300 pages. The characterisation was great and the plot was super engaging but honestly if Àbíké-Íyímídé had just wrote a book about high school students and there was not much plot I genuinely think I would enjoy it because her characters were just sooo interesting.

Other books I read –

• The Hope of Elantris – Brandon Sanderson
• Sailor Moon, Vol.3 – Naoko Takeuchi
• Relit – Various
• Sweat and Soap, Vol.2 – Kintetsu Yamada
• The Emperor’s Soul – Brandon Sanderson