February Wrap up and March TBR

So I thought I would start a little segment on my blog that I know is very popular around the book blogging community and that is to discuss what I read in the previous month and what I intend, or hope to read in the following month. So here goes nothing, this is my February Wrap Up and my TBR for the month of March!

So February for me wasn't a bad reading month at all, although the number of books I read was relatively small I feel that the amount I normally manage to read throughout the 'school year' (yes I'm a teacher I have to abide to school years), I thought I did quite well. So I read a grand total of 4 books, 1 novella and I'm in the middle of another book. Below I'm going to tell you the books that I read in that month as well as my general opinions of them.
 

Book 1: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver (3/5 stars) I was really not sure how to rate this book. The start of the novel was very slow, and not much happened in terms of plot. At times it really just seemed to be an endless list of character traits. Around 50% of the way through it really started to pick up and I literally got to the stage where I couldn't put it down. So much suspense! Then the last few chapters happened and completely screwed with my thinking. I enjoyed this book but unfortunately I didn't love it. You can read my full review of the book here.

Novella: Glitches (0.5) by Marissa Meyer (3/5 stars) I absolutely adored this novella to The Lunar Chronicles. I hadn't even heard about the novellas prior to hearing about Fairest. I loved gaining that insight into how Cinder came to live with Adri, Peony and Pearl and how we came to see the development of their characters. I really enjoyed the little snippets into the character's relationships with each other, especially with Peony and Iko. A fantastic read to those who are a fan of the series but are yet to dive into it.

Book 2: Fairest (3.5) by Marissa Meyer (5/5 stars) So after getting my little glimpse back into the world of The Lunar Chronicles with Glitches I just had to continue binging in this series. I was eagerly anticipating Fairest and boy oh boy did it deliver. We got a beautiful insight into the life of Queen Levana before the events of Cinder even occur. We explored her relationships with her sister Channary, Princess Winter and Selene as well as her romantic endeavours with Evret. We really got to understand the madness behind what caused Levana to become the way she is. The writing was as beautiful as always and Marissa Meyer did a fantastic job at getting the reader to feel emotion for Levana's character. You can read my full review of the book here.

Book 3: The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig (4/5 stars) This book in my opinion was a great introduction into what I'm sure is going to be an amazing dystopian series. The world building in this novel is stunning, especially the first few chapters of the novel. Absolutely stunning. There were some times where the writing dragged on a bit during what I like to call 'travelling scenes', and I thought the romantic element was a tad rushed. There we also times when, although I loved the characters, I felt that the two main characters weren't overly fleshed out but apart from that it was a wonderful debut novel for fans of the dystopian genre. You can read my full review of the book here.

Book 4: Marly's Ghost by David Levithan (3/5 stars) So overall this was a cute and powerful adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It resonated very powerful themes and lessons learned as the story progressed and I did really enjoy it. It was just a shame that the dialogue for me was still stuck in the Victorian era for such a modern retelling. I enjoyed the focus on Valentines’ day and the thoughts in regards to love. It definitely targets those who question whether being in love is worth all the hassle and whether Valentines’ day is a marketing ploy or could it mean more than you once thought? You can read my full review of the book here.

So those were the books that I read in February, so what do I intend to read in March? Well hopefully I will have just as good of a reading month in March. This is what I am planning on reading!

• Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (Currently Reading)
• A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E.Schwab
• I'll Give you the Sun by Jandy Nelson
• The Catalyst by Helena Coggan
• Vicious by V.E.Schwab (Perhaps if I have time?)