Wowie, my upload schedule certainly got away from me, as I spent most of March sick, or taking care of a sick boyfriend. Alas, it is time for my monthly recap, where we talk about books I read, TV shows I watched, music I loved, and more.
February books
WATER MOON by Samantha Sotto Yambao — On a backstreet in Tokyo lies a pawnshop, but not everyone can find it. Only those who are lost will find a place to pawn their life choices and deepest regrets. When Hana Ishikawa wakes to find it ransacked, the shop’s most precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing, a charming stranger offers help instead of seeking it. Together, they journey through a mystical world to find Hana’s father and the stolen choice—by way of rain puddles, rides on paper cranes, the bridge between midnight and morning, and a night market in the clouds. But as they get closer to the truth, Hana must reveal a secret of her own—and risk making a choice that she will never be able to take back.
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 4.5/5
Read my full review here!
FIRST-TIME CALLER by B.K. Borison — As the host of Baltimore’s romance hotline, Aiden Valentine’s antipathy of love is a bit of a problem. But when a young girl calls in to the station asking for dating advice for her mom, the interview goes viral, thrusting Aiden and his show into the limelight. Lucie Stone thought she was doing just fine. She has a good job; an incredible family; and a smart kid. But when all of Baltimore is suddenly scrutinizing her love life-or lack thereof—she begins to question if she’s as happy as she thought. Everyone wants Lucie to find her happy ending. But what happens when sparks start to fly behind the scenes?
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4/5
Read my full review here!
BACK AFTER THIS by Linda Holmes — Cecily Foster loves to make podcasts. When the boss who’s disappointed her again and again finally offers her the chance to host her own show, she wants to be thrilled. But the show will be about her dating life, under the guidance of influencer Eliza Cassidy… yikes. Despite her big shot, Cecily finds herself unable to stop thinking about Will, a photographer she helped to rescue a very big and very lovable lost dog. Even though there are sparks between the two, Will’s own path is uncertain, and Eliza’s skeptical comments about Cecily’s decision-making aren’t helping. On the one hand, Will seems great. But on the other hand . . . don’t all of her 20 blind dates?
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2/5
Read my full review here!
VANISHING TREASURES: A BESTIARY OF EXTRAORDINARY ENDANGERED CREATURES by Katherine Rundell — Consider the seahorse: couples mate for life and meet each morning for a dance, pirouetting and changing colors before going their separate ways, to dance again the next day. The American wood frog survives winter by allowing itself to freeze solid, its heartbeat slowing until it stops altogether. Come spring, the heart kick-starts itself spontaneously back to life. As for the lemur, it lives in matriarchal troops led by an alpha female (it’s not unusual for female ring-tailed lemurs to slap males across the face when they become aggressive). This urgent, inspiring book of essays dedicated to 23 unusual and underappreciated creatures is a clarion call insisting that we look at the world around us with new eyes—to see the magic of the animals we live among, their unknown histories and capabilities, and above all how lucky we are to tread the same ground as such vanishing treasures.
Genre: Nonfiction | Nature
Rating: 5/5
Read my full (lengthy) review here!
BIG FAN by Alexandra Romanoff — Maya was a rising star in the political world until her ex-husband’s high-profile sex scandal nearly derailed her career. Landing a candidate like Teresa Powell is the fresh start she desperately needs. Suddenly, an email from her past sends her world spinning: Charlie, former lead singer of the boy band that fueled her teenage obsession, is staging a solo comeback and wants Maya’s help to make it happen. Turns out, she likes the grown-up Charlie and his genuine engagement with the world. Maya’s not about to ditch her political ambitions for a teenage crush, but if she can leverage Charlie to draw attention to the policies she cares about, shouldn’t she give it a try?
Genre: Romance
Rating: 4/5
Read my full review here!
ICEBREAKER by Hannah Grace — Anastasia Allen has worked her entire life for a shot at Team USA. Everything is going according to plan when she gets a full scholarship to the University of California, Maple Hills, and lands a place on their competitive figure skating team. Nothing will stand in her way, not even the captain of the hockey team, Nate Hawkins. Nate’s focus as team captain is on keeping his team on the ice. Which is tricky when a facilities mishap means they are forced to share a rink with the figure skating team—including Anastasia, who clearly can’t stand him. But when Anastasia’s skating partner faces an uncertain future, she may have to look to Nate to take her shot.
Genre: Romance
Rating: 2.5/5
Read my full review here!
Favorite book of the month: VANISHING TREASURES: A BESTIARY OF EXTRAORDINARY ENDANGERED SPECIES
All of my Bookish progress is on my Goodreads, which you can access here:
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February TV shows
Hayden and I finished watching How I Met Your Mother, so naturally, we needed a new long series to start. My Netflix viewing history is a little embarrassing, but between these two shows, I hate to admit that I didn’t really watch anything else this month.
GREY’S ANATOMY — Same as last month, I’m doing a rewatch of this show, one of my favorite comfort shows, and we all know there’s 2948 seasons. Don’t worry, as of the time I’m writing this, I’m officially done with my rewatch, but according to my Netflix history, this was pretty much all I was binging during February.
BLACK CLOVER — Like I said, Hayden and I needed a new long series to invest in. We loved Hunter x Hunter so much, we binged Deathnote a few years ago, and we thought it was time to invest in a new anime. I won’t lie, I didn’t have high hopes for this series, but we’re truly hooked. It’s nice and long, and the content is super exciting. We’re both loving it so far.
February movies
SATURDAY NIGHT — I did it, guys! I watched a new movie this month! As I said last month, I’ve been trying to get back into movies recently, but it’s hard for me to dedicate the time to sitting on my ass watching a screen. However, this was actually one I watched while I was on the treadmill, and I enjoyed it! My expectations were a bit higher, but it was still a fine movie, nonetheless.
Aaaaaannnnnddd I hate to say it, but that’s the only movie I managed to watch in February, lol. Clearly I was too busy reading six books, which is a crazy number for me. One is better than none, though!
February music
Top artist: THE 1975
Top song: DANCING THROUGH LIFE from Wicked: The Soundtrack
Favorite new release: Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) by Sabrina Carpenter
Top albums
- GNX by Kendrick Lamar
2. Short n’ Sweet (Deluxe) by Sabrina Carpenter
3. Unreal Unearth: Unending by Hozier
February Pinterest board
Check out my full February pinterest board below! I make one every nonth!
New thing I tried in February
Biiiiig news. In a shocking turn of young, dumb, & twenty-ish events, we are actually growing and learning and maturing and in February, I BOUGHT MY FIRST CAR! (:
Considering it’s literally April, I’ll see you soon for my March recap! Now that I’m feeling better and back in my creative swing, hopefully that will be up this week or next week. We also have our March book club post coming soon, with some feisty reviews, fun goodies, and even.. a giveaway!
Stay tuned! That will be the next post! (:
–mal
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