Hi friends! Time went so quickly in February for the most part. I’m really excited that the days are getting a little longer, especially because my work commute for the past two weeks has been very far, which has left me driving home in the dark for part of the way. In March, I’ll get to go wedding dress shopping with my baby sister, so that’s something to look forward to as well! But anyway, we’re here to talk about the 21 books I read in February, so let’s get to it.
Books By Rating
5 Stars
So Archangel’s Viper is actually standing in for Archangel’s Legion, Archangel’s Shadows, Archangel’s Enigma, Archangel’s Heart, and itself. This series is such a 5 star series and I think this run of books is really incredible. I love getting to have books about others of the 7 and I adore the plot of Archangel’s Heart and Archangel’s Legion, even if I mostly love Legion because I love the way the Legion evolve over time. But anyway, I love this series so much.
Another reread was Reel by Kennedy Ryan. I read the trad published book this time, but also still listened to the OG audiobook at times, which was a really fabulous experience in my opinion. I love this book so very much. It’s probably my favorite Kennedy Ryan.
I’ve already given my full review of We Who Will Die so I’ll give my tl;dr here: I absolutely love the vibes of this book, but I have no idea how the world works. But the romantic vibes in this book??? Yes. Absolutely.
All About Love is Lucifer’s book and let me tell y’all, I wasn’t expecting to fall absolutely in love with it, but I did! Phyllida is like, “Why would I ever want to get married?” and that is such a vibe. I loved watching Lucifer have to win her over, while still doing the Cynster thing where he’s like, “I actually refuse to believe I could possibly fall in love when I was trying so hard to avoid that emotion.” And the mystery was actually so good! I just had such a blast. It was so fun.
Not My Father’s Son by Alan Cummings is a really well-designed memoir about Alan’s early years paired with this episode of television he participated in about learning about his great-grandfather and all of the life he was living at that time. It’s a hard read if child abuse is a trigger for you. But it was nice to listen to the audiobook a chapter a week, between episodes of Traitors.
Finally, and most importantly, I binge read all six books that are out in The Firebird Chronicles series and they were absolutely fantastic!!! The sixth book is the only one I didn’t rate a five star and I honestly think that’s in large part because I had to read it with my eyeballs when my eyeballs really weren’t interested in participating in reading. So I can’t wait to get the audio of that one and to reread it on audio. Dani recommended me this series so long ago and I’ve had Rules of Redemption on my TBR ever since and just kept procrastinating because I do that sometimes. But it really did feel like Hidden Legacy in so many ways and I just had the best time with it. I can’t wait for more.
4.5
I discussed the series above so I won’t harp on Echoes of Insurrection by T.A. White, but yeah, I am obsessed with the series. Still.
4 Stars
One & Only by Maurene Goo was so easy to fly through and it drew me in immediately. I had it as an ARC so I either owe y’all a review or it’s already posted. I’m honestly not even sure at this point. But anyway, I actually read my physical Book of the Month copy. The plot of this book is essentially that our FMC is from a line of matchmakers who are able to see a person’s soulmate. There’s actually a lot about this book that navigates the concept of soulmates in some pretty neat ways. But anyway, FMC has known for a long time that her soulmate’s name is Daniel, but she accidentally meets and has a really incredible night with another guy first, only to discover that the other guy’s boss is Daniel. As a person who loves The Magnolia Chronicles by Kate Canterbary, I really think I should have loved the way this book has a push and pull between two men, with the focus being on our FMC and navigating how she feels about soulmates in general and how that will impact her future. However, that’s actually the one thing that I didn’t completely love about the book. I think that the guy who doesn’t “win” had too much screen time and I struggled with that. But I did really, really like it! I’m definitely glad to have Goo writing in the adult space and I hope she continues. Her writing is so fantastic.
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors has been on my radar for so long because it’s a grief novel and it’s about four sisters. As a person who imprinted on Little Women at a young age, I love books about sisters. And for some reason, as a person who does not deal with grief well, I love a grief novel. And I did like this book a lot. The writing is really lovely. But it’s also very literary, which is to say, it was very far outside of my comfort zone. I loved so many quotes, but I hated so many plot points because these characters are SO messy… But it’s also really, really good. Basically, I have mixed feelings about this and objectively, it’s probably a five star but for my own personal enjoyment, it’s a 4. So that’s why it’s here.
All About Passion was fun because Chillingworth is very silly. But also… Sir, you are so oblivious. So silly. The mystery element though was wildly not for me because it was predictable in both a boring and an infuriating way. The mysteries in these books really have made such a difference in my overall enjoyment of these books, which is really good to know about my reading taste in general.
Archangel’s Prophecy is one of the books in the series that by itself is not a 5 star read for me, mostly because the plot in this book is not my favorite. I find the pacing of this book more of a struggle for me, but at the same time, I love these characters so much that it doesn’t detract from my love of the series overall.
3.5 Stars
Flirting Lessons was really fun and more sexy than I was expecting from Guillory, for some reason. I wound up really enjoying it, but the beginning section of this book felt really slow. And I felt like this book introduced a really great interpersonal conflict for Taylor and how she’s perceived by her friends, but then, I don’t feel like it really resolved that in a way that fit with the book. It needed a little more attention or significantly less attention, one or the other. That said, looking back, I do mostly just think of the fun vibes and am planning on passing it on to one of my friends who I think will really enjoy it.
Quicksand is a little too lacking in plot for me. We watch Hazel float from place to place, never quite satisfied, and the way it ends… I just didn’t love that. But, it’s obviously incredibly written and I really want to recommend this to Taylor Swift. During the reputation tour stop at Pittsburgh, I think? she talked about how happiness can be so fleeting and she tries to stop and recognize it. Honestly, it could have been on the Netflix recording of the concert too. I can picture it so well, but I can’t decide if it’s from when I was present in person or if it was from me watching it a million times on screen. Anyway, regardless, if happiness being fleeting is a thing that you want to explore, give this book a shot.
Closing Thoughts
I really did have such a great reading month. What do you mean my lowest rating was a 3.5? I feel so lucky about that. Also, apologies for how late this wrap up is, but better late than never?
xx
firewhiskeyreader 