Monthly Musings: February 2016

This is a where I look back at what I read (or tried to read) during the past month. I also plan on highlighting my experiences in any book club reads I from the month as well. I will always start with any books I would label as a surprise find/under-read books so if anyone missed my reviews for them, and don’t make it to the end of this post, they’ll be easy to find.

Another month come and and gone. And this year we even had an extra day to pad the month. Still went by too fast. I’ve come to the point were I realize I HAVE to start declining some books I really want to read or my stress level is going to be through the roof (as there will be no way I can keep up). But I have to keep in mind I have plenty of amazing books already loaded up waiting to be read. If I get through them all and have room for more, then maybe I can check out some of the books I really feel like I’m missing out on.

Highlighted Read from February

This Census-Taker by China Mieville. So many readers rave about Mieville, and honestly I just haven’t been swayed strong enough to read much of his works. The only one of his novels I read prior to this novella is his debut novel, King Rat, which I have heard is not truly indicative of what he is known for. This novella may not be quite what he is known for either, but I absolutely loved it. The word “weird” typically scares me (I don’t consider myself easy to scare, but throw the word weird around and I will do my best to evade most anything associated with it.) After reading this, I have received some recommendations of other works by Mieville I may enjoy, and plan on checking them out.

Review Summary – February

• [1 Feb] The Alchemy of Chaos by Marshall Ryan Maresca ★★★★
• [8 Feb] This Census-Taker by China Mieville ★★★★½
• [9 Feb] Six of Crows (Six of Crows, #1) by Leigh Bardugo ★★★
• [22 Feb] The Devil You Know by ★★★★
• [26 Feb] Magic Bites by Ilona Andrews ★★★½
• [29 Feb] Good Girls by Glen Hirshberg ★★★½

 February Backlist Burndown

This month I went with an Urban Fantasy series I have heard recommended.

Here’s what other people read and burned off their backlist this month! It makes me happy to see other people joining in with this, so thanks to all of you! 🙂 Anyone else that posted a backlist review this month, feel free to link up! Hope to see another great set of books for May.

Reading Challenge Update

I started the year quickly falling behind on my Goodreads challenge, but have managed to get back on track. And, I have been filling in my r/Fantasy bingo card for the past year because it was fun, but thinking there were a couple of squares I would never get to. Well, turns out I was wrong. I am in the process of reading the final book to fill in the entire card! (for those not familiar, this challenge runs from April 1, 2015 – March 31, 2016, so there are just a few weeks left). My Arthurian Fantasy will be filled with The Winter Knight by Bernard Cornwell (which will also serve as a my March Backlist Burndown book. I honestly have wanted to read Cornwell for a while and figured this was a great chance)

Looking Forward to March 2016

MARCH- The Winter King