February Wrap Up!

Yes, it's well in to March at this point, but (as always) better late than never.

Rosemary and Rue (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

3.5/5 Stars (4 stars on GoodReads)

I completely forgot, until I began reading this again, that I had attempted to read this once before. I remember, and agreed, that it was a very slow start. In fact, whilst the book improves once you get past half way, it's also true that the series really only gathers pace a few books in. This wasn't the most exciting first book in an Urban Fantasy series, hence the 3.5 stars, but I'm glad I persevered, as February ended up being a month of Toby Daye...

A Local Habitation (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

4/5 stars

The series was still slow at this point, although the pace and plot were still good. I just couldn't really immerse myself properly; I liked the characters and from other reviews knew that it would get better, so I was happy to give this book a better rating than number 1.

An Artificial Night (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

4.5/5 stars (5 stars on GoodReads)

This is where I felt the series began to properly pick up steam. I felt much more immersed, other characters played a larger part and Toby herself was beginning to feel more familiar,

I do also have to say, now that I'm reminding myself, I really like these covers. They don't have that 'tacky' appearance that some UF books have, with half naked people everywhere. They're interesting to look at whilst leaving everything vague enough, so that your personal image of the character isn't altered (or, if you're like me and never really picture their faces properly, the random blur isn't replaced by a weirdly lifelike book model).

Late Eclipses (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

5/5 stars

One Salt Sea (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

5/5 stars

Ashes of Honor (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

5/5 stars

Chimes at Midnight (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

5/5 Stars

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

3.75/5 stars (4 stars on GoodReads)

SUCH A BEAUTIFUL COVER. A lovely little book to read. Not 100% obsessed with the plot or the characters, but I enjoyed it. This may have been a book I read once then gave away, but the cover looks too damn good on my bookshelf. That's where the extra 0.25 of a star came from, as well!

An Utterly Impartial History of Britain, or 2000 years of Upper Class Idiots in Charge by John O'Farrell

4/5 Stars

A lot of reading in this book, but most parts are delivered with a sarcastic humour that made me snort a LOT when reading it. Typically, once it got to 'recent' history (and for some reason my brain thinks late 17th century is a part of this) I started to get less interested in carrying on, but worth the read as I learnt a few random facts!

My Sword Hand is Singing by Marcus Sedgwick

3.5/5 stars (4 stars on GoodReads)

A book bought for my sister years ago, as she is/was obsessed with Russia, and didn't read enough (in our opinion :P) I don't think she ever picked it up. I enjoyed it! Not a book I'd read again, but a nice twist on Eastern European folklore.

The Winter Long (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

5/5 stars

A Red-Rose Chain (An October Daye Novel) by Seanan McGuire

5/5 stars

An Abundance of Katherines by John Green 

(DID NOT FINISH)

I'm a big John Green fan, but that's always been because of vlogbrothers, rather than his books. TFIOS made me sob, and convinced me to try more of his books, but I've never quite got his writing style. It's never managed to keep me engaged. This was the same. Well written, but not the genre I normally read, and not a style that intrigued me. I tried, John, sorry. I still have a couple more of your books to have a look at, but I think you'll always be a Youtuber before an author in my mind.

2016 Reading Challenge:

A YA Bestseller - Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas (January)

A Book Written by a Celebrity - Gangsta Granny by David Walliams (January)

A Graphic Novel - River's of London: Body Work by Ben Aaronovitch (January)
A Book Set in Europe - My Sword Hand is Singing by Marcus Desgwick (February)
A Book Set in the Summer - Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour (February)
A Book Based on a Fairytale - The October Daye Series by Seanan McGuire (February)

2015 challenge continuation...

A Book I was Supposed to Read in School (I read all the books I was supposed to when I was a student in school - I've now read this as a teacher) - Gangsta Granny by David Walliams (January)

Books from 2015 that I didn't read:

• A classic Romance
• A book that became a movie
• A Pullitzer prize winner
• A book based on a true story
• Antonyms
• Published in the year I was born
• A book that made me cry
• Originally in a different language
• A book that was once a play
• A banned book