It’s a new week once again. And not only that, but April is also upon us. Yay for a month (possibly) filled with rain, lol.
Last week was a bit all over the place. Totally not my fault – I got sick on Thursday morning and couldn’t bring myself to do anything! Even watching something streamed on our TV was too much for me, I was that fatigued.
But that’s neither here nor there. Let’s go over the last week.
Monday 3/27: A Court of Frost and Starlight Review
Last Monday, I was finally able to post my review for A Court of Frost and Starlight by Sarah J. Maas, which I did in lieu of a Majestic Monday. I gave it ★★✫☆☆.
Wednesday 3/29: A Court of Silver Flames Review / WWW Wednesday
On Wednesday I double posted. Firstly, I posted my review for A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, finally capping off the ACOTAR series. I gave it ★★★★☆. I also participated in WWW Wednesday, a weekly feature hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words.
Sunday 4/2: The House in the Cerulean Sea Review / March 2023 Reading Wrap-Up
Yesterday I was finally feeling better, so I was playing catch up. I double posted to help with the process. (It didn’t help that the weekend was the start of a new month, haha. How convenient.) I posted my review for The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune, which I gave ★★★★✯, as well as my Monthly Reading Wrap-Up for March.
I kinda wanna just keep doing what I’m doing. Aside from being sick last week, I think that it’s been working out well for me.
I definitely want to get my Most Anticipated Books for 2023’s second quarter out by tomorrow, since that’s the first Tuesday in April, and Tuesdays are when new books are released, so… yeah. Other than that, I’m not sure. More book reviews, obviously, but I’d also like to participate in my favorite book blogging features, too.
Anyway, thanks as always for reading, and have a wonderful day/night!
It’s April now, and spring is in full swing! But that also means that March is over. So I’m gonna go over March’s statistics on The StoryGraph!
I read waaayy more books last month than I could’ve hoped for. Especially compared to how much I was able to read in the first two months of the year. Six books! That’s two whole books more than February (and January too, now that I think about it).
Now, on with the stars…
March 2023 Reading Stats
😐 MOODS:Adventurous was once again a huge chunk of my Moods graph, but Emotional and Hopeful were the other two big ones. Which is waaayy different from February’s, which has Mysterious as one of its big chunks. (Dark is on both graphs.)
👢 PACE: Over 80% of this chart is medium-paced, so I’d say that’s still my favorite type of book to read.
🔢 PAGE NUMBER: The ACOTAR series mostly consists of long books, and seeing as I read over half of them in March, it’s no surprise seeing that a third of the graph is given to 500+ books. Once again, my preferred length seems to be between 300 and 500 page books.
📖 FICTION/NONFICTION: 100% fiction once again. I swear I have a couple of nonfiction books on my TBR. I swear.
🎭 GENRES: Fantasy was once again the frontrunner of the Genre bar graph, being featured as a genre in all of the books that I read in March. Not as much YA this past month either, but definitely more Romance than usual.
📄 FORMAT: The StoryGraph Format graph is once again wrong (I need to try to fix that… Maybe). 50% of the books that I read were digital, and the other 50% of the books I read were print.
⭐ RATING: I had two average ratings in March: 2.75 stars and 4.0 stars. I was a bit all over the map last month with how much I enjoyed the books that I read.
📉 PAGES READ DAILY: I was a little more consistent with my reading this past month, as opposed to February. I didn’t read nearly as much as I’d have liked during the first half of March, but I was reading a lot during the second half.
I read a lot more in March compared to the first two months of the year, so I’m pretty satisfied. Of course, I’d like to read another six books this month (April), or maybe even more! We’ll see what happens.
What books did you read in March? What did you think of them? Did we read any of the same books?
Thank you, as always, for reading, and have a marvelous day/night!
A tender addition to the #1 New York Times bestselling Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas, bridging the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin and upcoming books.
Feyre, Rhysand, and their friends are still busy rebuilding the Night Court and the vastly altered world beyond, recovering from the war that changed everything. But Winter Solstice is finally approaching, and with it, the joy of a hard-earned reprieve.
Yet even the festive atmosphere can’t keep the shadows of the past from looming. As Feyre navigates her first Winter Solstice as High Lady, her concern for those dearest to her deepens. They have more wounds than she anticipated–scars that will have a far-reaching impact on the future of their court. Bridging the events of A Court of Wings and Ruin with the later books in the series, A Court of Frost and Starlight explores the far-reaching effects of a devastating war and the fierce love between friends.
To the blessed darkness from which we are born, and to which we shall return.
As I’ve said before, I have complex feelings about the ACOTAR series. Some of the I like. And some of them I do not. A Court of Frost and Starlight is a book that belongs in the latter category.
To be clear, I have definitely read worse books. But ACOFAS still wasn’t all that great. It just felt so… bland and unnecessary. (And this is coming from someone who very recently finished the next book in the series!)
This is a short book, so I’m just gonna split it into pros and cons. I’ve started marking my print books with tabs (because I just can’t mark up a book with a pen or highlighter!!), so as to somewhat mimic what I can do for e-books. (It also beats having to page through the book again to hunt for quotes – I’m so tired of doing that!)
Stuff I Liked
Stars flickered around us, sweet darkness sweeping in. As if we were the only souls in a galaxy.
First off: the cover. Very pretty. And I mean the second edition one; I was never the biggest fan of the original set of ACOTAR covers. I just prefer abstract and nonhuman designs, which the 2nd Ed. has. (Nothing against the original covers, I promise!)
Secondly: this book was short. Longer than other novellas that I’ve read, but short nonetheless. I really appreciated that. (Especiallywith how boring this thing ended up being. *cough*)
And lastly: I really loved Nesta and Amren’s friendship. Two tough bitches against the world. What’s not to like?
(Also, still stanning Amren/Varian over here.)
This is also kind of unrelated, but I wanted to put this here, because I did kinda like it a little. There’s a quote from the book that goes like this:
We’d wanted yellow, but then decided that it might not display the art well enough. Black and gray were too dreary for the atmosphere we wanted, beige could also clash with the art… So we’d gone with white. The back room, at least, we’d painted brightly – a different color on each wall. Green and pink and red and blue.
Notice anything…? (I thought it was a little clever of the publisher, honestly.)
Anyway, let’s get on with the tirade.
Stuff I Didn’t Like
I just… didn’t like the plot, okay? There were some mildly interesting set ups for the next book, but we didn’t see those plots even start. (And Spoiler Alert: These plots go absolutely nowhere!)
Otherwise, this book didn’t really feel like it had a plot. ACOFAS mainly seemed to focus on Feyre adjusting fully to her position as High Lady. And it was also a slice-of-life Hallmark Christmas special. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with that – I enjoy slice-of-life stuff and Christmas specials. They just don’t work in the ACOTAR setting without feeling very out of place.
I also hated how self-righteous the members of the Court of Dreams kept acting. Like, okay SJM, we get it now: our main cast of characters aren’t bigoted a-holes like the majority of Prythian seems to be. You can stop mentioning it literally every other chapter. Ugh.
He had nothing. Had been given everything and squandered it. He didn’t deserve my pity, my sympathy. No, Tamlin deserved what he’d brought upon himself.
Also, I know Tamlin was an asshole, but can we please stop tormenting him. Feyre said that she “wished him well” last book (even if she never wanted to see him again), but it seems like she’s rescinding that. And quite a few scenes from Rhysand’s POV involve him taunting and provoking Tamlin. Like, just stop. Please. I don’t want to read about our virtuous main characters kicking a man after he’s lost literally everything. So. Irritating.
And can we please stop being mean to poor Lucien? Like, he literally did nothing wrong, and he’s been nothing but a total gentleman this whole novella.
And, I’m really curious about another thing. Why is Feyre so upset over Stryga/The Weaver?! Like, she and Rhys hated and feared her in ACOMAF, and reluctantly negotiated her help in ACOWAR, and then she died and suddenly Feyre is completely distraught and affected by her death. You barely knew her! Your relationship with this woman doesn’t even meet the qualifications for “acquaintance!!”
But I get it, I guess. Maas needed Feyre to be affected by one woman’s death, and this was the only named female character she was willing to off. Because Amren or Mor or freaking Viviane certainly weren’t allowed to die. That kind of stuff just frustrates me so much.
Speaking of Feyre, she and Rhys and most of the rest of their friends were just as annoying as usual. Once again, Amren and Lucien are the MVPs.
Annnd, that’s all of my criticisms, I think. Whoo, what a rush!
Closing Thoughts
To the stars who listen, Feyre.
I brushed a hand over his cheek to wipe away the last of his tears, his skin warm and soft, and we turned down the street that would lead us home. Toward our future—and all that waited within it.
To the dreams that are answered, Rhys.
A Court of Frost and Starlight is an okay book. It’s nothing to write home about – and I honestly feel like it’s an unnecessary installment to this series. Nothing in here really had any lasting consequences that either weren’t swept under the rug in A Court of Silver Flames, or that couldn’t have been squeezed in there.
If you like the ACOTAR series, then you might like this, but you really don’t need to if you don’t want to. You’re really not missing anything. You can understand ACOSF perfectly fine without reading this.
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, and have an amazing day/night!
Gosh, it’s a new week already. Time sure flies when you read a bunch of books, haha.
I got a ton of stuff done last week that I’m happy with, but at the same time, I didn’t quite get to everything that I wanted to get finished (or posted). But I’m reading a lot more and posting a lot more than I was in December and January, so I’m really happy with what I’ve gotten done (and read) in the past couple of months.
Without further ado, let’s go over last week.
Monday 3/20: Spring 2023 Equinox
Last Monday, I forwent a Majestic Monday post, and instead did special spring post. It was basically about whether or not I’m a seasonal reader, what I generally read, and some of the stuff on my immediate TBR.
Wednesday I was able to double post! Yay! I did a WWW Wednesday (hosted by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words), and a Shelf Control (hosted by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies).
Last Thursday, I finally posted my review for A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. It was a big book, so it took me a couple days (and then I like to spend a day ruminating on what I read and getting my thoughts together). But I finally finished it and posted the review!
On Friday I participated in First Line Fridays (formerly hosted by Wandering Words). I had a lot of fun with the post. The eighth time I joined in, and it hasn’t gotten old yet!
I just want to keep doing what I’m doing. Aside from this weekend, I did fantastically last week. (I usually take Saturday off from blogging, and I was feeling under the weather yesterday.)
I was gonna post my A Court of Frost and Starlight review yesterday but… yeah, didn’t feel good. So you can expect that review later today! And I finished A Court of Silver Flames this morning, so I’m gonna try to post that review tomorrow!
Thank you for reading, and have an excellent day/night!
It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve taken part in this, but last week I just happened to be in between books and I didn’t know which one I’d read next. But this week I’m locked and loaded with a plethora of options!
WWW Wednesday is a meme that used to be hosted at A Daily Rhythm, but has been taken over by Sam @ Taking on a World of Words. Now, without further ado, let’s get into the 3 Ws!
Current Feels: 🤔 (unsure, but definitely willing to read and finish!)
I’m currently buddy reading this series with my mom in a bid to get her into reading (and to give me some motivation to finish the ACOTAR books). I know what shows she likes, so I knew what kinds of books she’d like. (I was right. Lol.)
Depending on how I feel after I finish ACOFAS, I’ll either read this next and finish off the series, or take a break and read it next month. (My mom’s barely started ACOWAR, and it’ll probably take her a month to finish a big book like that, so… yeah.)
This series is what I’ll read next if I choose not to go for ACOSF right away. It’s a series that I originally read over a decade ago and never finished. (Inheritance wasn’t even out yet!)
I’ve always had a desire to finish The Inheritance Cycle, though, and it has a special place in my heart. So it’s getting read no matter what – whether before or after ACOSF, not withstanding.
What books have you been reading lately? What have you thought of them? Do we have any overlap?
Happy Spring everyone! 🌱🌈🌞🏵️ March 20th was the spring equinox this year, so I wanted to get this post out before the end of the day. So, Spring Reading 2023, here we come!
With this post I’m gonna start a new thing here. It’s a thing that I made up, but is inspired by this post, where I talk about the books I feel like reading depending on the season. And what better one to start with than spring, the season of new life?
So without further ado, let’s jump right in!
The Kinds of Books I Like to Read During Spring
In general, I’ll just read all kinds of different stuff throughout the year. I read different genres and stuff sometimes depending on the season, but I’m not a seasonal reader in the way that you’re probably thinking.
I’ll read fantasy books of all sorts throughout the year, regardless of the way different times of the year “feel” to me. But in spring, I start getting in the mood for some weird sci-fi, post apocalyptic, and dystopian fiction for whatever reason. Actually, no scratch that, it’s probably because of that thing that happened in March 2020. So yeah, that’s what I love reading in spring.
A Few Random Things From My TBR That I’d Like to Read This Spring (From Soonest to Not Soonest of When I’ll Read It)
I’ve decided to finally finish the ACOTAR series, after starting it years ago. I got my mom into it, and we’re currently buddy reading A Court of Wings and Ruin, which I’ll most likely finish by tomorrow night.
It’s a long series full of long books though, so depending on how I feel after I finish A Court of Frost and Starlight, I might put off A Court of Silver Flames a couple of weeks and read other stuff. My mom will need time to catch up anyway. (She’s a slow reader and she spends a lot of her free time during the day doing other stuff she likes.)
This was a book series that I absolutely devoured about fifteen years ago. But I was young, and I lost interest in the political machinations going on, so I lost interest after Brisingr. Thus, I never read Inheritance when it came out in… 2011?
But yeah, I absolutely loved Eragon when I first read it – so much so that I read it a second time just a few months later in the same year that I first read it! I rather liked Eldest too, and I love the setting that Paolini created. (Parts of it make me feel the same way I do when I play Legend of Zelda games, and I love it.) So I’m gonna finish it this time – the whole dang series!
The Locked Tomb series is still on my TBR!! I just… keep getting distracted by other books that I want to read, unfortunately. But I’m definitely still interested in it! I already have the first two books, waiting on my shelf, ready to be read. Plus lesbian necromancers in space!! How can I not try reading that?!
Also, it’s a weird science-fantasy, possibly post apocalyptic, and definitely dystopian series of books. So yeah, absolutely gotta read it now!
This is one of the books coming out this year that I’m ridiculously excited for. (Other books I’m excited for include: everything that Martha Wells is publishing this year and Murtagh by Christopher Paolini.) In the Lives of Puppets is another book that falls into that weird sci-fi category that I love. And it has found family to boot! (I love the found family trope.)
The End
So yeah, these are some of the things I’m planning on definitely reading in the immediate future. I’m looking forward to all of them. (To a degree. I’m looking at you, ACOTAR series.)
It’s not as weird science-y and post apocalyptic as you might think, but as I said: I’m not really a seasonal reader. Half of the list here is though, so I say it’s enough to be a thing.
As always, thanks so much for reading and have an amazing day/night!
