February Wrap Up!

Hi everyone and welcome back to my blog! I'm Genni, and today I'll be wrapping up my February. Unfrotunately, I did not post nearly as much as I wanted to for February. I had all these posts planned, but school and work definitley got in the way. Things have been very busy, so the fact that I even gotten 6 posts up is pretty good for me. Hopefully you'll see more of me in March!

In February, I read a whopping 10 books! I'm pretty surprised that I made time for reading this month. Now I just have to figure out how to balance blogging in there as well.

Without further ado, here is what I read in February.

The Ticket by Heather Grace Stewart

Goodreads

If I'm being honest, The Ticket isn't anything special. I listened to the audiobook and it flew by quickly. Two almost-strangers decide to go on an adventure together after the male love interest is dumped and needs someone with the same name as his ex-girlfriend to take her ticket on an all expenses paid trip. I do remember some of the more tender moments, but the characters didn't stick with me after I finished listening. Short and sweet, The Ticket is a good palette cleanser, but it isn't the entree. 

99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

Goodreads

After listening to the audiobook for The Ticket, I hopped on over to the audiobook for 99 Percent Mine, written by the same author who wrote The Hating Game, a well loved romance novel. While I didn't absolutely love The Hating Game (I prefer Christina Lauren's Hating You/Dating You), I quite enjoyed 99 Percent Mine. I love romance novels about falling for your sibling's best friend (or vice versa, to be honest), and Darcy and Tom's relationship delivered on that trope. However, Darcy could be a grating character at times and her awkward situations were almost too cringe-inducing. 

The Red Labyrinth by Meredith Tate

Goodreads

The Red Labyrinth was the first ARC I completed in February. I received it via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The Red Labyrinth is a fantasy/dystopia through and through, a genre I have barely read from recently. What I liked about The Red Labyrinth was that the main character, Zorie, was anything but a special snowflake. The antagonists for the majority of the book, The Sirs, seemed very silly and juvenile; their name did not help. I also thought the progression of the book was formulaic; Meredith Tate hit the correct notes and the expected time. The ending, however, made the novel stand out and bumped up my rating. 

The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

Goodreads

 I basically dropped everything when I got approved for the e-ARC of Christina Lauren's latest novel on Netgalley. As a hardcore CL fan, I was thrilled when I got approved. Though not my favorite novel by CL, it is pretty high up there. However, I don't know if I could be as forgiving as the main character in the third act, when she forgives some of her loved ones for not believing her about the sexual harassment she received by someone close to everyone. I believe survivors, and the lackluster responses, though realistic, were unsettling. I couldn't get as behind the romance after that, even when everything resolved.

The Unidentified Redhead by Alice Clayton

Goodreads

The Unidentified Redhead was my third and final audiobook of the month. Though the characters were dynamic and flew off the page, the writing does not age well. The novel is set in LA, and the celebrity name drops and language just felt a little old. This makes sense, given that the book was first published in 2010. Also, using the word "eunni" (or "unni"?? Idk, I was listening to the audiobook), just felt a little silly. The relationship between Jack and Grace also felt pretty juvenile given their ages; it felt more like puppy love with sex rather than a serious relationship.  

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

Goodreads

I finished my first ever physical ARC! Honestly, am I going to reread this one? Probably. The thing is, I started reading this at a pretty hectic time, so it took me longer than I wanted to read this. Birdie and Daniel are such wonderful characters, and I highly recommend the newest YA novel by Jenn Bennett, out April 16. I'll have a more detailed review closer to the release date!

Fools Crow by James Welch

Goodreads

I had to read Fools Crow for a class on Native American literature and I liked it a lot more than I thought! Though the alternating point of views were a bit confusing at first, I got used to the writing and the different characters. Native American literature is so often ignored in US, especially in schools, so I'm glad I got the opportunity to learn more about Native American culture and way of life before the reservations. 

Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

 Goodreads

Girls with Sharp Sticks was my favorite book of February. The Unhoneymooners and Serious Moonlight are close contenders, but Girls With Sharp Sticks spoke to both the English and Women and Gender Studies majors in me. Suzanne Young creates a terrifying world that might be closer to reality than we like to imagine. There is major girl power in this one, and I found the novel empowering.

The Perfect Date by Evelyn Lozada

Goodreads

I hated this book, and that's basically all I'm going to say. I haven't had the time, but I'm going to be posting an in-depth review of the problems I had with the book, as I'm shocked something like this went through rounds of edits and is being published by a major publisher like St. Martin's Press. 

Wheels Up by Annabeth Albert

Goodreads

For a romance novel, Wheels Up took me a long time to read. I'm all for diverse rep (Wheels Up is a m/m romance, if you couldn't tell from the cover), but I don't think the writing spoke to me. The characters were a bit dull outside of the bedroom, and I easily confused the two. The sex scenes were written really well though, so I'm going to give Annabeth Albert another chance. 

Life Updates!

As I mentioned last month, I started university back up! In February, my classes all ramped up. I've had to do presentations, papers, midterms and more. Not going to lie, it has been really stressful. That added with the fact that I moved dorms! I was having issues with my roommate and reached my breaking point. My new living situation is much better. With all of that said, I had no time for blogging, as you could tell by my lack of posts *hides in the blogger corner of shame*

As for my internships, things have gotten into a groove! I'm an editoiral intern at Algonquin books and have been working there for almost 2 months now. I've definitely become more situated with reading literary fiction everyday. As for my internships with Her Campus (an online magazine written by collegiate women for women), things are going more smoothly. I have recently entered into a leadership position. While it was a shift, nothing much is rocking the boat anymore. Along with those two internships, I'm also still writing for Her Campus as well. 

So yeah, my February was HECTIC. I felt like I could never relax, so thank goodness that February is the shortest month of the year. I hope to be more active on this blog in March. I'm thinking of scheduling and writing all my posts on Sundays. That way I won't have to be working on the blog during the week when I have no time!  

How was your February? Have you read any of the books above? What did you think of them? 

Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you soon with another post!

Happy Reading!

Genni @ Ready, Set, Read!