February Wrap-Up | the rise of the sequels

✨ album of the month: The Mess We Seem To Make by CRAWLERS (inspired by Fleabag) ✨

Greetings folks,

I’ll admit it, I am currently feeling the monthly wrap-ups. We shall see how this goes. Blog content is going well in general and March promises lots of vampiric content! The only downside is I hate Grammarly a bit more every day.

I came to the realisation that I need to actually read the sequels to books because I have a massive list of unfinished series. So my new goal for the year is to finish my series, alongside my physical TBR, can I do it? Who knows. I did read three sequels this month so progress has been made.

📢 Just to bring to your attention, Briana wrote a post explaining the latest developments concerning AI and WordPress, how your content will be used for training and informs you how to opt-out if desired. It is important to know and worth checking out if you have any blogs on WP!

Important Links

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24 books for 2024 progress check: 6/24

Court of Wanderers by Rin Chupeco 🎧

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC via NetGalley.

The sequel to Silver Under Nightfall was a little disappointing, but rest assured, if you love the characters (which you will), you will still enjoy this book because of them. Following the main characters to the vampire courts with Remy acting as their familiar in disguise. The plot felt underwhelming with little character growth and didn’t take full advantage of the setting. In a way, the plot felt like it tried to do too much. Instead, I would have preferred a tight focus on the vampire court itself and a strong emotional presence from each character. At least it had the charm of the previous book, but alas, I wanted more.

full review coming soon

The Roommate Risk by Talia Hibbert

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

I was eager to read this book, but I was still surprised by how much I enjoyed this tender, hot story. It is a short novel where the only plot is the relationship, the ultimate friends-to-lovers journey. Friends from university, she doesn’t do relationships and he is obsessed with her. A simple set-up, but it felt like such a luxurious dream to experience a romance where the characters know each other intimately and call it perfection. You want love, this is it. It spoke about emotional challenges truthfully, from fear to the danger of being all-consuming. It was a perfect, emotional romance. I like how the sex scenes were able to showcase devotion and steam, showing different sides to their romance. It could be both nice and hot, they are not mutually exclusive by any means. You have to read this book if you are a romance fan.

These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi 🎧

⭐⭐

Rating: 2 out of 5.

The sequel to This Woven Kingdom. In fairness to this series, it isn’t for me, but I know of so few Persian fantasies that I really wanted to love it. This book doesn’t focus on setting enough for me to push through to the final book in the trilogy. With this in mind, I didn’t enjoy this book. SPOILERS!! Taking place after the cliffhanger ending, Alizeh is taken by Cyrus to be his wife whilst Kamran is left reeling from the lies. Alizeh and Cyrus’s enemies-to-lovers relationship felt so performative I wanted to roll my eyes. The insults were weak considering the situation and the emotional connection was severely underexplored, where did it come from really?! This was not helped by the audiobook which made Alizeh sound like a petulant child. On the other side, Kamran was refreshing. After a conventional start in the first book, he was left betrayed by everyone with a dark rage overshadowing his actions. From charming to bitter, his emotional journey felt real. This was, sadly, cut short. Leading to my final criticism, why did this book only take place over two days?! Nothing happened! Given the focus was on emotions, more time was needed to see their trajectories, not their feeble starts. Please.

Darker by Four by June C. L. Tun

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Thank you to Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC via NetGalley.

A new YA fantasy duology which was easily delightful. Some things that are important to note… this is not a love triangle, this is bisexual rights, this is a C-drama in book form. Honestly, it’s a great example of what YA fantasy has to offer. Fun, clear-cut characters with plenty of emotional destruction. This book follows Rui, an exorcist-in-training, who has lost her powers and Yiran, a prodigy with nothing to show, who suddenly has the powers he always wanted. This was a refreshing way to look at magical gifts as you see their loss and gain and what it means. Throw in underworld investigations, a whimsical book boyfriend and meddling kings of hell, and you have a perfect adventure with charm and heart. I think one part of the plot dynamic was introduced too late into the novel and the strongest parts were when the three characters were together (but for plot reasons, this couldn’t be all the time). But overall, I hope this book triumphs because it is the ideal book for the community to swoon over.

full review coming soon

The Atlas Complex by Olivie Blake

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

This series provides a unique reading experience and the author speaks about who the most suited readers are for these books in the acknowledgments, hitting on every reason I love about these books. It is about ethics, which means it asks questions without providing an answer. It also means the characters are answers to questions you didn’t ask, but you get to uncover this along the way. The characters see themselves differently from how the others see them, and it is this exploration that makes me so excited. This book encourages me to think and discover, it asks something of the audience. It doesn’t choose conventionality, making for an enriching experience. I can see why these books aren’t for everyone, but I am so glad I found them. The final book was what you would expect in the best way, it didn’t surprise you because it was all about laying the groundwork which is why I could see the series ending no other way. A slice-of-life fantasy reflecting on modern society and the relationships we discover with other people. It deserves a more profound review covering all the details which made me excited about literature, but it’s between me and the book. Ultimately, that’s why I love it.

Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter 🎧

I am not rating this one as I sometimes drifted with the audiobook. So, I didn’t get a full picture of every event and I forgot the experts’ specialities. My own fault. So, take my review with a pinch of salt. I enjoyed the TV show set-up, I find mysteries of detectives being “in the case” formulaic so this provided something new. It takes away the bias of following one narrator and adds multiple voices and skills. I like how it included them in the story too. You don’t get attached to them as the script writing means there is a distance but the distance also keeps you guessing. I liked the addition of hearing from the news and audience as it provided other hints. It does create a winding road of mysteries, sometimes intriguing, other times I felt like they were added for the sake of more reveals. The end reveal was weak to me, and I did wonder how things hadn’t come to light earlier in the timeline, and why the siblings hadn’t talked more? Basically, I liked the delivery, but the story only had “moments” for me rather than any “wow” factor.

★★★★

★★★★

★★★★

★★★ ½

MARIE-ANTOINETTE // Still watching, still loving. A great watch for historical lovers.

THE GREAT POTTERY THROW DOWN // The final is in two weeks and we all know who will win. Not my favourite series overall, but still charming.

ALICE & JACK // One of those “real” love stories. I appreciate how the serious tones make the drama feel both more grounded and more devastating. It captures a non-linear love story, full of mistakes, connection and life. It isn’t a show you want to binge-watch, but I’m glad I watched this because it had something to say (great dialogue) and the characters are compelling.

A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD // A modern twist on “and then there was none“. I saw a review mention how it was Gen-Z meets Agatha Christie which is pretty accurate. I like the style and tone of this murder mystery, bringing forward other discussions as it builds slow suspense.

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Posts I’ve Loved Lately

LISTS:

• Charvi @ Not Just Fiction shared a post celebrating non-romantic kinds of love in books, from siblings to friends, for the month of Valentine’s. I love these relationships, and they 100% deserve appreciation. Thank you!
• Kristin @ Kristin Kraves Books compared the US and UK covers of 2024 releases. It is always interesting to see how the same book can have such different designs.
• Clo @ Cuppa Clo shared two fabulous posts. Firstly, book recommendations for Aquarius readers ♒. This was such a thoughtful post full of wonderful stories. It deserves your attention immediately. Secondly, calling lovers of the reincarnation trope. These are all the books you need to read!
• Naemi @ A Book Owl’s Corner gives you a wonderful tour of her epic Iceland trip with the bonus of book recs. Warning: this post will give you wanderlust in the best way!
• Caro @ bookcheshirecat talked about 10 new authors she discovered (and loved) in 2023! Full of wonderful recs you don’t want to miss.

REVIEWS:

• Lili @ Utopia State of Mind reviewed the book ‘Love Actually‘ fans need to pick up the next festive season, Amor Actually (by multiple authors)!
• Dini @ dinipandareads reviewed Kindling by Traci Chee, an emotional historical fantasy about seven teenage warriors.
• Charlotte @ Bewitching Books, Ravenous Reads shares her thoughts on Faebound by Saara El-Arifi, a start to an intriguing fae fantasy series.
• 24hryabookblog reviewed A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal, the latest heist book featuring vampires and a teahouse?

DISCUSSIONS & OTHER:

• Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense and Dini @ dinipandareads both shared the bookish superpowers they wished they had. It was such a creative challenge and I loved seeing what they came up with!
• Dini @ dinipandareads also discussed the trials of being an indecisive reader in this highly relatable post! Why is choosing your next read such a hard decision?
• Krysta @ Pages Unbound discusses the impact of AI and what it means for writers. It is an extremely thoughtful, well-written piece about the importance of connection!
• tasya @ the literary huntress discussed things to consider when listening to audiobooks (as a visual person). I love audiobooks and this post brought up things I hadn’t thought of before!
• Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books shared some wonderful writing resolutions and news! Please head over and get excited 🎊
• Line @ First Line Reader shared one of my favourite posts, deciding if she would read authors she discovered in 2023 again. There are plenty of GIF reactions and fantasy books to enjoy (maybe?)
• Rania @ Reading Between The Dunes shared her playlist for her upcoming book, The Jinn Daugther. So exciting and I loved the songs!

What sequels have disappointed you? What sequels have wowed you?