Did anyone else feel that February just went on and on and on? Maybe it was the addition of Leap Day, or maybe it was just that my books seemed to drag by. Honestly, I had a hefty amount of book disappointment this month. Nothing was necessarily bad, but I had a couple of reads that just didn’t live up to my expectations. And when I find myself let down like that, I tend to put off finishing the story, somehow avoiding and prolonging the disappointment simultaneously. I would have DNF’d the books, but that’s difficult for me. First, it feels like quitting, and if there’s nothing actually wrong with the book, not reading it just because I’m not having a blast makes me feel lazy. Second, it’s literally difficult for me to do: I don’t know how to take books off of my lists in Goodreads.

Starting with the good experiences, though, I will say that Emergency Contact by Mary Choi and Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuinston blew my MIND! I wrote about my love and thoughts on EC here, but I just can’t stop saying nice things about it. I adored the way Choi handled masculinity, sexuality, abuse, substance issues, and so many serious themes and issues by giving them a feathery pillow of a love story to rest on. RW&RB was exactly the New Adult romance I needed. I think a lot of queer narratives out right now are softer, more intimate affairs that happen either to the side of the main story or in smaller settings. This took LGBTQ+ identities and literally made them into an international incident. I loved the drama and the humor in the writing. (Side note: June and Nora are totally dating, but Alex is too oblivious to recognize it. No one can change my mind about that.)

Now, onto the not-as-good: Tell Me How You Really Feel and This Time Will Be Different made me realize I may be aging out of some contemporary YA. I’m too young to feel so old, man. While both books had very sweet, heartwarming stories, I just found them kind of simply told for my tastes (I speak more about this here). And that’s okay! I’ve donated them to the classroom library of my middle school teacher friend. I think they’ll be much more loved by those students than by me. Both are POC-led stories of love, struggles, and successes. As I’ve said before, I believe that every kid deserves to see themselves in every format; these books weren’t high-risk adventures with deep world building, but that doesn’t make them any less a win for representation. My philosophy is this: If I had to read umpteen-thousand everyday stories about blonde girls falling in love with blonde guys while I was growing up, then every minority deserves the same opportunity.

I’ve been working on an ARC of Wicked As You Wish all month (on sale now!), and while I have thoughts about it that I’ll share when I put out my official review, I will say that I’m apparently in the minority of readers in saying that…I’m a touch underwhelmed. I’ve never read Rin Chupeco before, so I didn’t have any previously-established standards for the writing to meet, but her fans are dedicated and many. Maybe it just isn’t a good match for me. Which happens! And I’m trying not to feel too upset about it! It kind of sucks to be the person that just doesn’t click with a popular thing, though, doesn’t it? (Update as of 3/11: My review of Wicked As You Wish can be found here.)

I didn’t get to With The Fire On High in February, despite my best-laid plans, but I wish I did! It was just so gorgeously done, and likely would have cleared up the not-thrilled funk I found myself in after TMHYRF and TTWBD. I’ll talk about it more this month, or in the March Wrap Up.

On Leap Day, I went thrift shopping with some of my best friends, and I got a very good haul of some popular titles, I think! I think I’m most excited for Jurassic Park because, I mean, dinosaurs! I also got Room, The Girl on the Train, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Paradise, and Sharp Objects (I already own an unread copy of Gone Girl, so I’m excited to jump into the writing of Gillian Flynn all at once). I love a good thriller, and the thrift shop gods decided it was time I got some. Who am I to argue? I also stopped by my favorite indie bookstore and picked up a copy of These Witches Don’t Burn, a queer, magical YA story with some great characters. Honestly, I’ve missed book shopping, but I’m impressed I managed to last this long without buying anything this year!

So onward to March, where I hope to get through even more of the books I impulse bought last summer! I want to make some significant headway in my reading challenge (I’m currently at 14/50 — not bad for someone who’s doing this for the first time, huh?) and get through some books before I start packing them up to move. Maybe I’ll find more to donate to my teacher friends!

I hope you all had a wonderful February, and I hope March is even better!