Hello, lovelies. Things have changed quite a bit since February, but I still want to talk about the books I read last month. It feels like I haven’t been reading much because I keep comparing it to how much I read in 2019. Plus I’m reading significantly less now that we’re under quarantine. You’d think it’d be the opposite, right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this reading wrap up.
Related – Books I Read In January (Plus Other 2020 Favorites)
//Books//
//The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Anidora-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, Crown Princess of Kildenree spent the first years of her life listening to her aunt’s incredible
stories, and learning the language of the birds. Little knowing how valuable her aunt’s strange knowledge would prove to be when she grew older. From the Grimm’s fairy tale of the princess who became a goose girl before she could become a queen, Shannon Hale has woven an incredible, original and magical tale of a girl who must understand her own incredible talents before she can overcome those who wish her harm.
My Review
This book was a pleasant surprise. I’ve never read the original Grimm’s Fairy tale, so I didn’t know what to expect. This is a middle-grade fairy tale novel, so I expected a lot of fluffy cuteness, but A LOT went down in this book. Things I really didn’t expect. I can’t even talk about the main plot of this book because it spoils the first few chapters. It was predictable in some regards but still kept me on the edge of my seat. There were a surprising amount of murders, blackmail, and sexual innuendos for a middle-grade book. I don’t know what to say. This is a terrible review, but it was really fun to read. I would’ve LOVED this book when I was younger and still enjoyed reading it as an adult. So much shit went down, yet it still kept its whimsical fairy tale charm.
//Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks’ duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.
My Review
I’m not gonna lie. This book was kind of boring, (particularly the first half), but I still gave it five stars. I almost DNFed it so many times. The writing and dialogue style was difficult to grasp at first, but I eventually got used to it. I’d only read it for about 10-20 pages at a time.
The best part of this book is how environmental it is. Every time I picked it up, I felt like I was in Italy. It made me want to go back there the entire time I was reading it, and I felt so immersed in the small town it took place in. It’s a book that makes you want to travel.
The romance was…weird. I dunno. It was sweet at times, but some of the things they did made me cringe. I got used to the age difference even though it was about a Ph.D. candidate and a teenager. The book was a lot more subtle than the LGBTQ+ books written now. This book takes place in the ’80s and the way Elio thought about his sexuality was reflective of that. I feel like when I watch the movie, I’ll like the romance even more. I’ll be able to see the romance build-up from an outside point of view rather than just in Elio’s head.
This book started off as a three-star book, then worked its way up to four stars. That’s what I rated it on Goodreads when I first finished it, but the book stayed with me for days after that. It was a book that made me want to write, and I feel like that’s a testament to a good book. I felt so inspired to travel and write, and wouldn’t pick up another book for a while because I just wanted to ruminate on what I had just read.
So, yeah. I can’t say I recommend it the way I would other books because it wasn’t a novel I became utterly obsessed with or read constantly or finished quickly. I would go a few days at a time without reading it and had to remind myself to pick it up again (I usually read multiple books at once), yet it still stuck with me.
//The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”
It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.
Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.
His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.
But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.
For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.
My Review
I remember reading this book years ago, but I never continued on with the series. I don’t think the entire series had come out yet and the plots of each book are pretty self-contained, so I never picked up the second book. I’m finishing the series right now and am really enjoying it. The first book does something that I typically don’t like. It introduces a lot of characters at once. This book is from an omniscient point of view, so we see bounce among different characters and the antagonist. Normally, I’d put a book like this down, but the plot was intriguing enough to keep me interested.
I really hate the synopsis because it makes the book sound like a romance. The first book has barely any romance in it. It’s mainly about the friendship that Blue develops with the other Raven Boys and the quest that they’ve chosen to go on. This is very low-fantasy, but basically, Gansey is trying to find the grave of a Welsch historical figure. It is said that if you awaken him, he’ll grant you one wish. The other characters have their own things going on. Blue is a non-psychic in a family of psychics. She lives in a house with her mom, aunts, and cousin, who tell fortunes to the town. Adam is very poor, working his way through private school, and has an abusive father. Noah has a big plot point reveal, so I won’t spoil anything here. (Basically, he’s a sweetheart and I love him.) And the final member of the crew is Ronan. His father just died, and he and his brothers can’t go home and are boarding at the school until they’re of age. (Most of his development and storyline are in the second book).
My favorite part about this series is their friendship. The five of them just work in a way that you wouldn’t expect. I also really love that the book takes place in Virginia. I grew up in Georgia, so I get excited whenever a book takes place in the South. It’s a type of representation that I normally don’t think about but still brings a lot to the table for me.
Instead of continuing on with my Harry Potter reread, I went straight to the second book.
//Captain America & Black Widow (Captain America Issues #636-640) by Cullen Bunn, illustrated by Francesco Francavilla
Goodreads Synopsis
Captain America and the Black Widow are on a deadly collision course, as Kashmir Venemma and her multiversal corporation have sent them on a wild goose chase through countless worlds. Chased by a superpowered kill squad, Cap and Widow jaunt through the multiverse, battle corporate-sponsored alien war machines and face…Lizard-Ock!? But as the two Avengers battle ever closer to their goal, the stage is set for a final assault against Venemma Multiversal! Guest-starring Hawkeye, Iron Man, and…Dr. Doom?
My Review
I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a comic book this much. I had been reading the Miss Marvel origin story for the last year, which is pretty self-contained. This one was CRAZY. There was so much going on and I was living for it. The villain Captain America and Black Widow were fighting, Kashmir Vennema, has a really cool back story. She basically decided that she was tired of her life, killed her entire family, then left her dimension to start a new life.
There are multiple versions of her throughout the multiverse. I don’t want to give away the plot, but basically, Steve and Natasha get stuck in another dimension of the multiverse that is in a much more horrific situation than their own. I’m a hardcore Romanogers shipper, both romantically and in their friendship, so their interactions in the comics made me so happy. They worked so well together in all the action scenes, and the humor was spot on. (including the Hawkeye and Iron Man cameos)
There was another Black Widow in the other universe, who spies and assassinates for the villain (Vennema brainwashed Black Widow of Earth-21611in another comic book). Her lines and interactions with them were also fun. I loved it when she talked with the comic’s Black Widow about the Red Room, or how she’d talk about how “her Steve” was nothing like the current Steve/ “The man I once loved.”
I dunno. It was fun. A lot happened in a short amount of time. There is never any real conclusion to comic books. The plots just keep going (this was like issue #670!). The next comics I plan on reading are Teen Titans, but I’ll get back to Marvel comics in a few months.
(Also, this is a video analyzing Captain America and Black Widow’s friendship throughout the MCU. It’s a really good video if you’re interested and I learned about nods that I didn’t notice when I first watched the movies.)
//The Dream Thieves (The Raven Cycle #2) by Maggie Stiefvater
Goodreads Synopsis (Spoilers for book #1)
Now that the ley lines around Cabeswater have been woken, nothing for Ronan, Gansey, Blue, and Adam will be the same. Ronan, for one, is falling more and more deeply into his dreams, and his dreams are intruding more and more into waking life. Meanwhile, some very sinister people are looking for some of the same pieces of the Cabeswater puzzle that Gansey is after…
My Review
I thought about including a spoiler section here where I can ramble about my favorite plot points and character moments, but I decided to wait till I finish the series. I’ll put a spoiler section when I review the last book (likely next month).
I didn’t know what to expect with this book because it has very polarizing reviews. Whenever I talked to people about it, they either said it was their favorite in the series or their least favorite. I personally thought it was really good. I ended up enjoying it more than the first book, which is something I can’t say about most series.
I liked the antagonist in the sequel a lot more than the antagonist in the first one. I was on the edge of my seat every time he showed up. I wish the gang was together more often, but I didn’t hate that as much as I would in other series (like in An Ember In The Ashes). They weren’t apart for extended periods of time, and I never wished to switch back to another scene.
I didn’t think I’d root for the romance as much as I do when I read the first book years ago, but I completely ship it now. These aren’t characters that you would typically pair together, but they just work even though they’re so different. Maggie Stiefvater is doing a great job at this slow-burn romance because I’m reading the third book right now, and they still aren’t really together. It’s quite refreshing seeing their friendship develop.
//Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K Rowling
Goodreads Synopsis
The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.
But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone — or something — starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects . . . Harry Potter himself?
My Review
I finished this book in early-March, but I’m still including it here. This has historically been my least favorite Harry Potter book, but I enjoyed this reread more than my reread of the first book and am now having an existential crisis. I found it a lot more entertaining and the plot was a lot more interesting this time around compared to that of the first book. I’ll talk more about in my ranking once I finish rereading the series.
//Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Goodreads Synopsis
Generations of readers young and old, male and female, have fallen in love with the March sisters of Louisa May Alcott’s most popular and enduring novel, Little Women. Here are talented tomboy and author-to-be Jo, tragically frail Beth, beautiful Meg, and romantic, spoiled Amy, united in their devotion to each other and their struggles to survive in New England during the Civil War.
It is no secret that Alcott based Little Women on her own early life. While her father, the freethinking reformer and abolitionist Bronson Alcott, hobnobbed with such eminent male authors as Emerson, Thoreau, and Hawthorne, Louisa supported herself and her sisters with “woman’s work,” including sewing, doing laundry, and acting as a domestic servant. But she soon discovered she could make more money writing. Little Women brought her lasting fame and fortune, and far from being the “girl’s book” her publisher requested, it explores such timeless themes as love and death, war and peace, the conflict between personal ambition and family responsibilities, and the clash of cultures between Europe and America.
My Review
It took me forever to finish this since my copy has over 700 pages, but I enjoyed reading it a lot. The writing style was really easy to read for a classic, and even though it wasn’t a plot-heavy book, I found myself getting attached to all the characters and what they were going through. The book really just follows the March family in their day to day throughout their lives. The sisters were all so different from one another, but their mother always had the right thing to say in every situation. It was a nice book and an easy classic novel to read and get into.
//Other Entertainment//
//Movies
Honeyboy – I saw the trailer for this movie back in October. It was on my radar, but I didn’t end up watching it when it came out. It’s about Shia LaBeouf growing up as a child actor with an abusive father and his PTSD. He wrote the movie while he was in rehab and started filming it immediately after getting out. The coolest part is that he plays his father’s character. He does a phenomenal job and deserves awards. Watch the trailer below. My description can’t do this movie justice. It’s on Amazon Prime.
“How do you think it feels to have my son payin’ me? How do you think it feels?”
“You wouldn’t be here if I didn’t pay you”
Little Women – I broke the rule of reading the book before watching the movie. My cousin Leya slept over one weekend (I saw her at a party and invited her to stay over since neither of us was doing anything). I gave her some of my clothes and we went to the movies. At this point, I had finished the first half of the book but hadn’t read the ending. I already knew how it ended since there’s a Friends episode where Rachel spoils the entire book, so I didn’t mind watching the movie. I was surprised by how much of the book was included in the movie. A lot of small scenes that could’ve been removed were still filmed. I really enjoyed the movie. The book goes in chronological order, but the film jumps back and forth between the future and the past. It was a cool narrative choice and worked really well with the story.
Aaja Nachle – I watched this with my cousins one night. My friend Lima bought the movie on YouTube a while ago since it’s one of her favorite Bollywood movies, and the five of us piled onto the bed and watched it together. It’s about a woman who married a white man and ran away to America. She hasn’t gone back to her small town in India since then. She goes back to see her dance teacher before he dies and tries to save the dance pavilion she grew up in from being destroyed by a corporation. It’s basically a classic Bollywood movie now. I hadn’t watched it in years.
(The trailer has subtitles)
//T.V. Shows
Outmatched – I was hanging out with my friend Cindy one night, and we got onto the topic of IQs. She then mentioned this show about parents with four kids, three of whom were classified as geniuses. The oldest boy is a science prodigy, the oldest girl is a foreign language prodigy, the younger boy is a music prodigy, and the youngest girl is a typical six-year-old. It’s a new sit-com about how the parents deal with caring for so many gifted children. It’s a lot of fun. I started watching it once I got back to my dorm room. It’s all on Hulu and a quick watch. There are only eight episodes out now.
//Music
- A Million Reasons by Lady Gaga
- Gone by Blake Rose
- When The Party’s Over by Billie Eilish
- Everything I’m Not by The Veronicas
Well, those are the books I read in February, along with some other fun entertainment things. I hope you all are doing well.
I’d Appreciate Your Support Of This Blog By Following Me On:
What books did you read in the month of February? Did you watch any good shows or movies?