February Wrap Up, Part 2

Hi everyone!

To help shorten the length of my blog posts (and, quite frankly, cut back on a little bit of work for me), I decided to split my February Wrap Up into two posts. If you haven't already, I suggest reading Part 1, which you can find here. If you've already caught up, lets get started on Part 2!

8. Reached- Ally Condie

Reached is the 3rd book and final book in the Matched Trilogy. Matched takes place in a dystopian society very similar to The Giver's; Citizen's jobs, homes, and family size is chosen for them by their leaders. Cassia has always trusted the choices that the Society has made for her and her family, so when it comes time for her Matching Ceremony, she is ecstatic when she sees her best friend, Xander, pop up on her matching screen. But later, when she rewatches the Matching, she sees another face pop up on the screen, another face that she knows: Ky, an Aberration not recognized as a citizen in the Society. As Cassia gets to know Ky, she becomes more aware of the life that the Society has taken away, and is forced to chose between Ky and Xander.

I first read the Matched Trilogy when I was 18, and I reread Matched at the end of 2018. I really enjoyed the series the first time around, and was surprised to find that I still enjoyed Matched when I reread it a few months ago (though I certainly enjoyed it less this time around). However, I feel like Matched was the only good book of the series, and it wasn't nearly good enough to make up for the other 2 books. I ended up giving Reached 2 stars, because I didn't hate it, but I didn't feel much of anything about it. I think Ally Condie's books are definitely something that teens, especially the younger ones, would enjoy, but it just didn't age well for me.

9. Princess in the Spotlight- Meg Cabot

The second book in the Princess Diaries series. I reread book 1 earlier this month, so if you're interested in the summary, check out my February Wrap Up Part 1.

Much like the first book, this series is a forever favorite of mine, so I will always rate it 5 stars. Plus, this is the first time I listened to the audiobooks for a few of them, and they're narrated by Princess Mia herself, Anne Hathaway! Do you need any other reason to pick the series up?

10. The Winner's Kiss- Marie Rutkoski

The Winner's Kiss is the 3rd and final book in the Winner's Curse series. If you're interested in a summary for book 1, check out my January Wrap Up.

The Winner's Curse series is one that I'm seriously kicking myself about, because I should've picked it up so much sooner than I did. I absolutely adored Kestrel, and I loved seeing her and Arin navigate their friendship and eventual romance. I would say that this is probably the weakest book of the trilogy, but it was still a 5 star read for me. I highly recommend this series.

11. Princess in Love-Meg Cabot

This is the third book in the Princess Diaries series, and the last one I listened to this month.

This is my favorite book in the series, so obviously this is a 5 star for me.

12. The Vanishing Stair- Maureen Johnson

The Vanishing Stair is the second book in the Truly Devious series. Truly Devious is about Ellingham Academy, a prestigious academy rooted in mystery. In the 1930's, Albert Ellingham, founder of the academy, was involved in the investigation of the murder of his wife and a student, as well as the kidnapping of his daughter, a case that was never solved. In present day, Stevie Bell, a true crime aficionado, is set to start school at the academy with one goal in mind: to solve the mystery of who Truly, Devious- the person who kidnapped the Ellinghams- was. But when a fellow student dies, and all evidence points to Truly, Devious being at fault, Stevie realizes her investigation is much more dangerous than she thought.

I read Truly Devious last March, and if you're interested in seeing my thoughts on book 1, you can find them here.

So, I enjoyed Truly, Devious, but I didn't love The Vanishing Stair. The last 1/4 of this book was soo interesting, and kept me engaged through the end. However, the first 3/4 DRAGGED. I have never been crazy about the characters, but I was very interested in the plot of book one. In this book, I didn't really care about the characters OR the plot. Even the flashbacks, which were my favorite part of Truly, Devious, couldn't bump it up for me.

I gave this book 3 stars. Will I continue with the next book? For sure. But am I disappointed? Absolutely.

13. Roar- Cora Carmack

Roar is set in a land that is regularly tormented by violent magical storms, where Stormlings control these storms and keep their people safe. Princess Aurora is the heir to Pavan, and shows no signs of any sort of storm magic. To keep their country safe, and keep their secret, Aurora's mother promises her in marriage to the prince of a powerful Stormling family. Aurora has resigned herself to her fate, thinking she had no other options, until she meets Locke, a handsome storm hunter who was born without magic but possesses it now, she realizes that she has another option.

I first read Roar last year and absolutely loved it. So I decided to pick it up again, and I ended up loving it even more this time around. Cora Carmack created such an alluring world and interesting magic system that is just wonderful to read about. I loved Aurora/Rora/Roar and getting to see her go from a timid princess to a confident fighter was awesome, but I loved that we still got to see her insecurities and her difficulty trusting Locke and his crew. I also know that a lot of people have difficulty with Locke as a love interest, but honestly, I adored him. Who doesn't love a good slow-burn romance?

Initially, I rated this book 4 stars, but upon reread, I gave it 5. It's certainly not for everyone, but I think fans of high fantasy with a sweet romance will really enjoy it.

14. Crescendo- Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo is the second book in the Hush Hush series. I read book 1 in January, so check out my January Wrap Up for my thoughts on book 1!

I don't want to give too much away, since this is the second book in a series, but after enjoying Hush Hush so much, I was greatly disappointed by Crescendo. I gave this book 2 stars, and while I intend to finish the series, I doubt it can build itself back up. I'm just.... not a fan of books where the main conflict is the main character and her love interest not communicating. Is that a spoiler? If so, oh well.

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So those are the last 7 books I read during the month of February. February was a month of series for me, and plenty of rereads. Thank you all so much for reading, and I will see you soon for my March Wrap up!