I can’t believe spring is only two weeks away and that we’re already a full week into March. February was a really good month for me. In terms of media, this was a typical, slow month for me. I watched two movies this month: The Menu (★★★★★, fight me) and The Strays (★★); played an embarrassing amount of Dead by Daylight; and started the newest season of Diablo III (sorcerer class til death).
More importantly, I prided myself on reading ten books again for the month! I’m currently five books ahead of schedule to hit my reading goal for the year, which is a great feeling. I somewhat feel myself hitting a wall with reading, but I do think it’s simply because I’m slugging through a young adult fantasy when my bones are screeching and itching for more of this horror obsession that I’m currently in (this isn’t really any different than any other time of the year for me, but shh).
Most of my reads came from the Black History Month readathon I did, but I managed to sneak in three others. These are all the books I read in February with ratings below:
It feels surreal that we’re approaching March already, which means it’s time for a summary on my readathon for Black History Month. I read all of the chosen books except for The Merciless Ones, which I’m about a third of the way through right now. I tried to pick books with varying genres for the month, and truthfully I think I’m just not in the mood to read YA fantasy, unfortunately, which is why it’s taken me quite a while to get through this, even though I loved The Gilded Ones and was highly anticipating this sequel. I plan to power through it, because I’m at a point where the plot is picking up, and I have only heard great things about this book.
I think this is one of the harder readathon themes I have chosen or will ever choose, because even in books where Black women are empowered, there is such a daunting heaviness to them. There were plenty of times where I had to put down what I was reading (especially Yellow Wife) because the subject matter was so depressing. The books I chose discussed so many heavy topics, too: how public education fails Black children; abuse; slavery; the struggle of cultural identity; substance abuse and the government’s responsibility for the crack epidemic that ravaged Black communities; gentrification; and so much more.
These books all have wildly different plots, but the overarching theme of all of them is the amount of blatant racism Black people encounter every single day, in every single instance of their lives. Even in The Merciless Ones, in a fantasy land with mythical creatures, Deka recounts a time when she wished for lighter skin and eyes, to be more socially acceptable and “normal.”
These stories take place in present day, the 1800s, in fantasy worlds, and yet they all manage to drive home the point that just because slavery was abolished 150 years ago doesn’t mean Black people haven’t been facing the effects of systemic racism their entire lives.
Black History Month is such an excruciatingly important time, and it feels unfair that it’s the shortest month of the entire year. In February, support Black-owned businesses, educate yourself on history, read books by Black authors, listen to Black podcasts, watch Black tv and movies, join causes and uplift Black voices. But also, don’t forget to do this every month. Being an ally means that the significance and history of Black people spans so much more than just one month.
Summary: Nova Albright, the first Black homecoming queen at Lovett High, is dead. Murdered the night of her coronation, her body found the next morning in the old slave cemetery she spent her weekends rehabilitating. Tinsley McArthur was supposed to be queen. Not only is she beautiful, wealthy, and white, it’s her legacy. Everyone in Lovett knows Tinsley would do anything to carry on the McArthur tradition.
No one is more certain of that than Duchess Simmons, Nova’s best friend. Duchess’s father is the first Black police captain in Lovett. For Duchess, Nova’s crown was more than just a win for Nova. It was a win for all the Black kids. Now her best friend is dead, and her father won’t face the fact that the main suspect is right in front of him. Duchess is convinced that Tinsley killed Nova–and that Tinsley is privileged enough to think she can get away with it. Duchess is determined to prove Tinsley’s guilt. And to do that, she’ll have to get close to her. But Tinsley has an agenda, too.
Genre: mystery, young adult Rating: ★★★
The cover of this book had me hooked when I saw it a few months prior to release, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it. I loved the idea of a YA thriller about a friend seeking justice for her Black friend who was murdered. However, I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.
It’s crazy to me to think that an entire month of the new year is already gone! It passed so quickly, but it was honestly a pretty good month for me. I consumed more media than I normally do — I watched four movies: M3gan (★★★★★), Black Phone (★★★), A Dark Song (★★★★), and The Invitation (★★★). More importantly, I read TEN books this month, which I’m super proud of considering that’s more than I read in both November and December combined. Here are all the books I read this month, with ratings:
Hi I absolutely did not mean to fall off the face of the earth for a little while! October is always one of my busiest months, and it hit me with a massive reading slump, which in turn made me not want to blog either. I have a backlog of books that I can’t wait to review, starting with the ones I read for the Hispanic Heritage Month readathon!
There were a few books on my TBR for this readathon that I was unable to get to. The first was Solita by Vivien Rainn. This book was released in April but was impossible for me to find anywhere in any format. I was really bummed about it because it’s a gothic paranormal romance, and I hope eventually I can find a copy of it!
The second was Jawbone by Monica Ojeda, which is a contemporary horror that drew inspiration from Lovecraft and creepypastas. I figured it was right up my alley, but I only made it about 50 pages in before putting it down. I found it really difficult to get into, and the paragraphs were long and never-ending. I might pick this up again at some point, but for now it’s on hold. The third was Bindle Punk Bruja by Desideria Mesa, and honestly time just got away from me on this one and I was unable to read it in time. I will definitely be reading it soon, though!
I was able to read the rest of the books for this readathon, including Ophelia After All, which I already wrote a full review of. I’m in the middle of a full review for Together We Burn, so keep an eye out for that! I wrote mini reviews about the rest of the books below!
But First, Kafka 