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I didn't get round to posting a February wrap up but I'm happy to say I've had a fairly average reading year so far and am 11 books ahead of my reading goal. I enjoyed everything that I read this month with nothing getting lower than a 3.5. I finished a popular YA trilogy (minus the prequels), read a backlist book that I've had on my shelf for 10+ years and dived into a bunch of 2025 new releases. Here's my thoughts on everything...
STATS
Mockingjay (The Hunger Games #3) by Suzanne Collins
I've really enjoyed reading The Hunger Games trilogy for the first over the last few months. It's such an iconic series and as a massive fan of the films, it was long overdue. I don't know if I have too much to say about it though. The films are pretty faithful to the books so nothing was unexpected but Collins writes such vivid descriptions and I was truly sucked in to the story. Finnick is still a hard pill to swallow but it's such a great conclusion to Katniss's story. With Sunrise on the Reaping just having been released, I'm excited to pick up the other books.
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
My Best Friend's Exorcism & The Final Girl Support Group were both five stars for me but unfortunately his latest just didn't hit the same. I'm not too sure what I didn't enjoy about it as I usually love a witch book and one set in an unwed mothers home in the 70's sounded right up my street. I think the pacing was a little off especially at the start, it took a while for the plot to really kick in as we got to know the characters.
The body horror was also a little bit much for me at times and I had to skim a few paragraphs cause it got pretty graphic. I did like Hendrix's writing as usual and the prologue was very affective but overall, a bit of a mixed bag.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire
Two books in and I'm already a big fan of this series of novellas. There's just something about a portal fantasy that I love and I adored Every Heart a Doorway so couldn't wait to continue with the series. This was definitely such an interesting tale, I loved the folk tale feel of it and the creeping sense of horror.
The writing is beautiful and the characters fascinating, each multi-layered and defiant of what it means to be a young woman growing up and the expectations placed upon them.
I was very intrigued by a haunted house/governess type story set in Jamaica and it was pretty fun time.
Trisha Tobias has a very readable writing style, vibes were super fun, the descriptions of Jamaica were lush and I enjoyed the little found family that Carina was a part of.
The plot does take a while to get going and whilst I liked Carina as a person she does make some extremely questionable decisions and I feel like she doesn't really take full responsibility for her actions. There was a sweet romance going on and I liked them teaming up to solve a mystery happening at the house before Carina ruined things a bit. A lot of people have pointed out though that this is definitely a paranormal YA, not a horror as it's labelled.
Isola by Allegra Goodman
Isola was an atmospheric, sweeping historical story about survival and a woman breaking free of her stifling existence. It really highlighted the lack of control women had over their lives during this time and I was rooting for Marguerite, and she went through a lot throughout this book. The writing style took a bit to get used to but I was fully invested in Marguerite and her journey.
I loved the middle sections when they were marooned on the island, the events were devastating but reading about how she survived the ordeal was so fascinating. Loved that this was a retelling of a minor character in history that is given new life. This won't be for everyone, it's a very slow paced book that follows Marguerite from when she's a child to a young woman in 15th century France to the remote islands in Canada but it's very rewarding and will be one that stays with me.
My favourite of the month was this historical YA set in Germany during WWII and then the time of the Berlin Wall and the third POV coming from NYC during the pandemic. The overarching plot is two best friends disappearing in wartime Germany as well as themes of political unrest and how communities are effected by unforeseen events. I loved how effortlessly the story was weaved with each POV bringing something new and I loved when each piece started falling into place and you realised how they were all interconnected.
The WWII section was probably my favourite, the mystery of what happened to the two best friends and reading about what led to that point. The middle section focuses on a teenage American girl stuck in West Berlin in the 80's and her introduction to the punk scene and an uprising whilst the parts set in 2020 focus on a teenage boy helping his friend to unravel a mystery involving her grandmothers as well as the height of the Black Lives Matter movement. There's a lot going on but Libba Bray manages to make it not overwhelming and instead tells a story of bravery and mettle during times of human conflict.
Catfish Rolling by Clara Kumagai
I don't read a ton of magical realism but I loved this cover when I saw it at the library so had to pick it up. This book follows Sora who loses her mother in an earthquake type disaster that forms zones where time moves differently. The book is set in Japan and I loved the retelling of a traditional folklore tale originating in Asia, it was a really interesting set up for the plot.
The idea of time moving differently was a really fascinating concept and Sora was a great character to follow, she was determined and clever with her pursuit of the truth. Some of the science-y bits went over my head slightly but I enjoyed this one more than I thought I was going to. The book has an underlying comparison to dementia as Sora's father starts having memory issues after so much time in the zones and it has a really endearing queer romance too that develops in the second half. A really strong debut!
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler
Imagine my surprise when I found out that Daniel Handler is the real name of Lemony Snicket aka A Series of Unfortunate Events at the end of this book! Anyway, this book has been sitting on my shelf since at least 2014 and it's on my 25 in 25 list (which I'm severely behind on) so I thought I'd try and smash it out on the last day of the month.
This was super quick to get through thanks in part to the beautiful illustrations peppered throughout of the random items that were collected over the course of a two month relationship. That's essentially what this book is about, Min is writing a long letter to her ex about why their relationship ended through these items. I think I would have enjoyed this one a lot more if I'd read it as a teenager and I was firmly in my YA contemporary era. Min was fine as a MC, if a little pretentious and there's a lot of talk about "not like other girls" cause her main interests are obscure old movies. I was also very disappointed that the movies referenced in this book are not real and there are a lot of references which got kinda old quickly.
Ed is also just a total walking red flag. He refers to her best friend and the things he does as gay constantly, even after being told he's straight. He's flaky and condescending and apparently can't stick to one girl at a time. I despised him with a passion. So why did I give this 3.5 stars? Maybe it was the mixed media format or the fact that it just felt very realistic for a short term teenage relationship. I also cried when Min was describing herself towards the end cause I felt very seen for a minute.
What did you read in March? Have you read any of these? Leave a comment below. Happy Reading!
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