February Wrap Up- Part 1

For being the shortest month of the year, my February was JAM PACKED. I ended up reading a ton of books this month, and because there was so many, I'm going to split it into 2 posts. But lets look at some stats, and then get into part 1!

Books Read: 14
Pages Read: 5,805
Average Pages/Day: 207
Average Rating: 3.9
Series Started: 2
           Continued: 4
            Finished: 2

1. Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer

Again, we know what the Twilight Saga is about, so I'm not going to bother with a synopsis.

It's been a solid 10 years since I read the Twilight Saga, and while I remembered bits and pieces of the other 3 books, I remembered almost NOTHING from this book. Which ended up working in my favor, because I enjoyed it more than I probably would have if I remembered how disappointing it was.

I gave this 3.5 stars because I really enjoyed reading about Victoria's plot to ruin the Cullens, and their battle strategy to fight her. Plus, all of the relationships got pretty warped. Plus, Jacob is gross and creepy and rapey. You cannot convince me otherwise. 

2. Vampire Academy- Richelle Mead

In the world of Vampire Academy, there are the Moroi (The "purebred" vampires), the dhampir (half-human, half-vampire beings) and the strigoi (the evil, murderous, bloodthirsty vampires). Rose is a dhampir, and is tasked with protecting her best friend Lissa, a moroi princess. After 2 years of fending for themselves, Rose and Lissa are caught and dragged back to St. Vladimir's Academy, an all vampire school, where they are promised to be kept safe. But as Rose learns more about her world, she fears for Lissa's safety, and starts falling for her trainer, Dimitri. 

I read this in a few hours on our flight back home from Miami, and I adored it. I never read the books as a teen, but I wish I would have because I know they would've been favorites of mine. I'm all about badass girls who have strong friendships and steadfast morals, and that's what I got in Rose. Rose was confident and strong, but you see her feeling insecure and weak at times. By the same token, I loved that Lissa is warm and gentle, but is super loyal to Rose and refuses to let the people she love be mistreated. I thought that Richelle Mead's world, and the 3 different kinds of vampires, were crazy interesting. 

I initially gave this 4 stars, but I'm tempted to bump it up to 5 stars, because I loved it so much. I totally understand that YA, much less Paranormal Romance YA, isn't for everyone. But I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in vampires. Plus, Dimitri, our love interest, is pretty swoon-worthy. 

3. The Summoning- Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning follows Chloe Saunders, a seeming normal 15 year old, who starts seeing ghosts when she gets her first period. Following a public outburst where she sees these spirits, Chloe is sent to a group home for troubled youth, and diagnosed with Schizophrenia. But after spending time at the group home, she learns that her roommates are "special," just like her, and suspects that the home is more than what it seems.

So this was the first book for the Trashback Book Club, which is a book club hosted by three of my favorite booktubers (Chandler, Heathur, and Kerri), where we read the popular YA paranormal novels from the 2000's. I thought this premise was super interesting, but I felt like the follow through fell flat for me. My biggest issue was that I didn't feel like I got enough information about Chloe's abilities, or about the origins of Lyle house, and I spent so much time just wanting more.

I ended up giving this 3 stars. I felt like this was a good set up for the rest of the series, even though I didn't get all of the information I wanted. I fully intend on completing the rest of the series, but its definitely not a priority right now. 

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince- JK Rowling

We all know what the Harry Potter series is about, so I'm not going to summarize it. 

I've read through this series a few times, and each times I find more things to love about it. I ended up giving this book 4 stars. This will always be one of my favorite series, but the later books are more difficult for me, because I hate almost all of the adults. 

5. The Princess Diaries- Meg Cabot

If y'all have seen the Disney movie by the same name, you know what this is about: A geeky teenager finds out her father is the prince of a small European country called Genovia, and she is the unwilling princess. Unlike the movie, Mia lives in New York with her mother, and has regular contact with her father. And her Grandmere? She's certainly not Julie Andrews, lemme tell you. 

This was probably the first YA book I ever read, wayyy before I should've been reading YA. I love Mia's character because she feels so real, and while you don't always love her or her decisions, she's so relatable that you don't even mind. 

This will always be a 5 star series for me, because it is so near and dear to my heart. If you're a fan of the Disney movie, or if you love funny contemporaries with hilarious pop culture references, check it out!

6. The Winner's Crime- Marie Rutkoski

I read the first book in the series, the Winner's Curse, in January, so check out my January Wrap Up for more info on this series!

I don't want to give away any spoilers from the first book, but I love seeing badass women in YA. I especially love when a series just gets better and better with each book, and that's precisely what this series did. 5 stars, and they were so well-deserved.

7. Dangerous Lies- Becca Fitzpatrick

Dangerous Lies is a YA Thriller about Stella, who witnessed the death of her mom's drug dealer, who is put in Witness Protection until she can testify against the man who shot someone in her home. Stella is furious that she is pulled away from her life and her boyfriend, and transplanted in Nebraska, until she meets Chet Falconer, who convinces her to let down her guard and get to know the people in Thunder Basin. But as soon as Stella starts to enjoy her summer, and her time with Chet, she learns that her enemies are closer than she thinks, and that no one is who they seem to be. 

My library did a Blind Date With a Book for Valentines Day, and this ended up being my pick. I, personally, tend to like YA Thrillers more than Adult Thrillers, because I feel like they're more fun, and the characters are way more likable. This book was no different, the plot was interesting and learning more about Stella and the life she left behind had me unable to put this book down. My biggest complaint was the ending, because it felt incredibly rushed, and too clean. Also, I felt like the introduction of Reed, Stella's boyfriend, was only necessary for the one "plot twist" that was only halfway explored. 

I gave this book 4 stars. This book was definitely more of a romance than a thriller, so if you're someone who is looking for something suspenseful, I wouldn't recommend it. But if you're someone who wants a romance with a few thrilling moments thrown in, definitely give it a shot. 

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That does it for the first part of my February Wrap Up! In Part 2, I'll discuss the other 7 books I read in February. Let me know if any of you have read any of these books and what you thought! Thanks for reading!