Today’s haul is going to cover books I mainly got this month (February) but some of them were also purchased in January. I also just want to update you guys on a few things. These next couple weeks I am going to try to bang out a bunch of book reviews because I am super behind in that department. I have also been behind on my monthly wrap ups and TBRs so if you want to know what I’ve been up to last month, I am going to list the books I read in January below this paragraph. My Goodreads goal for 2017 is 40 books and so far I am on track having read four books this year. Anyways, being that I have twelve books to discuss, I won’t waste any more time babbling. Without any further ado, let’s get into February’s book haul shall we?
January Wrap up
- Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by: Lewis Carroll
- Zodiac, by: Romina Russell
- A Court of Mist and Fury, by: Sarah J. Maas
1. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by: Lewis Carroll
I decided to pick up this beautiful edition of Alice in Wonderland for two reasons. One: I wanted to refresh my memory on the original story before I started reading Marissa Meyer’s Heartless—an Alice in Wonderland prequel/retelling. Two: the cover is just beautiful. Need I say more? I don’t think I need to go into detail about what this book is about because let’s be real, we should all be familiar with this story by now.
2. Fangirl, by: Rainbow Rowell
Even though I’ve already read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, I Just had to order this collector’s edition from book depository. Fangirl is the book that got me into YA literature. I mean, I still loved to read pre-Fangirl but I didn’t truly fall in love with the young adult genre until it came to this book right here. For those of you who don’t know, Fangirl is a story about our main character Cath who is the epitome of well, a fangirl. The book begins as she starts her freshman year of college with her twin sister and continues as she learns to navigate university life as an English major/introvert. There were so many things I loved about this story, but what really got my attention was how honest it was. If you haven’t picked this one up yet, I highly recommend you do so ASAP. Trust me, you won’t regret it.
3. King’s Cage, by: Victoria Aveyard
King’s Cage is my most highly anticipated book of 2017 (aside from ACOWAR). It is the third installment in Victoria Aveyard’s Red Queen Quartet? Series? I’m not quite sure what to call this. It was supposed to be a trilogy but apparently, there’s another book after this one so I’m not quite sure anymore. Either way, I am so stoked as the ending of Glass Sword was SUCH a cliff hanger. I don’t want to go into too much detail about this book because SPOILERS! But I will just say that even though I can agree with a lot of people that this isn’t the most original YA series out there, it still didn’t keep me from hanging onto the edge of my seat the entire way through. I HIGHLY recommend everyone picks this one up.
4. City of Bones, by: Cassandra Clare
Okay so after much needed persuasion from a combination of people, I finally caved and purchased City of Bones. I don’t know why it took be so long to buy this book because I have heard nothing but great things about it and honestly, I still don’t think I fully understand what it is about. OOPS! I do however, plan on reading this real soon. (hopefully!)
5. By Your Side, by: Kasie West
I had By Your Side on pre-order (via Amazon) ever since I heard about it on Booktube. I am so grateful that the YA contemporary arrived on my doorstep the day it was published (because lets be real, Amazon is notorious for screwing deliveries up).
By Your Side is a story about a girl and boy who get trapped in a library together for an entire weekend. Now I don’t know about you, but to me this sounds like a dream come true. I always told myself that I wanted to meet my future husband at a bookstore/library, so when I read the synopsis for this book you can imagine how excited I got.
6. Everland, by: Wendy Spinale
Everland was sort of an impulse buy from Amazon. All I really know about the plot is that it is a steampunk retelling of Peter Pan. Now, anyone who’s ever known me knows that I am a sucker for anything Peter Pan related and if you ask me, there are definitely not enough YA retellings for this children’s classic out there. Aside from Jodi Lynn Anderson’s Tiger Lily, there really aren’t any GREAT twists on Pan. I am hoping this will be good enough to add this to my list of epic retellings.
7. Throne of Glass, by: Sarah J. Maas
As some of you may know from my past wrap ups, I had already read Throne of Glass. I did however, come across these beautiful white UK editions on book depository and immediately had to buy them. Throne of Glass is the first book in a fantasy YA series. It follows an assassin Celaena Sardothien as she tries to win back her freedom by acting as the Crown Prince’s champion in a competition to become the royal assassin. I fell absolutely in love with this book from page one and am so glad I get to give this gorgeous edition a place to call home. ❤
8. Crown of Midnight, by: Sarah J. Maas
Again, as some of you may already know from my past wrap ups, I had already read Crown of Midnight. This UK edition came in a boxset along with Throne of Glass and Heir of Fire. I don’t want to go into detail about the plot but I will just say that the ending to Crown of Midnight blew my freaking mind. Nuff’ said.
9. Heir of Fire, by: Sarah J. Maas
Heir of fire is the only book in the TOG box set I have yet to read. I guess you could say I am holding off on starting this third installment simply because I want to thoroughly savor every minute of this series. I just know already, that I am not going to want it to end. (and I only finished book two!)
10. Peter Pan, by: J.M. Barrie
I think we all know by now what this book is about so I don’t think I need to explain. If you don’t know, shame on you!
11. This Shattered World, by: Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
This Shattered World is the second book in the Starbound trilogy. From what I heard, this is a companion novel and not necessarily a continuation to the first book These Broken Stars. By that I mean, it follows different characters. I am kind of disappointed by this but plan on reading it regardless. I also have a review for book one which you can read here.
12. Caraval, by: Stephanie Garber
Caraval is a story about a circus that only appears once a year. Each year a competition is held with the audience as contenders. When the main character Scarlett and her sister Tella are whisked away to this year’s event they couldn’t be more ecstatic. It’s only when Tella is kidnapped by Caraval’s mastermind that it becomes much more than just a game. Whoever finds Tella first will be crowned the winner. To me, this sounded like a mix between The Crown’s Game and The Night Circus which I am ALL for.
13. Bookish Soap, from: Behind the Pages
I have been eyeing the goats milk soaps from Behind the Pages for the LONGEST time now. I finally caved this past month though and purchased the three scents shown above. They all smell delicious but my favorite by far is bibliophile which smells like vanilla and lattes. Mmmmmm. Manon and Chaol are inspired by none other than the Throne of Glass series. (duh!)
That’s all for my February book haul!
Until next time,
The Garden of Read-En
The Garden of Read-En 