So I can’t believe it’s already March! Happy birthday month to me! February just flew by even though I was stuck on the same book for almost 3 weeks. I finished a total of 13 books and 1 audiobook so I’m pretty proud of myself…even though maybe 70% were graphic novels and manga LOL. I got through a ton of my Netgalleys though which was great! Anyhoo let’s get into the wrap-up!

My Library

LOL so I decided to binge a bunch of my Netgalleys instead of reading books from my collection. I tried really hard to continue with These Violent Delights but for some reason could not get into the story even though I found it interesting. So I’ve put it on the back-burner for now and will hopefully pick it up again next month.

Netgalley eARCs

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

Review:

Thank you Berkley Publishers for the eARC! TW: Drug addiction and violence. This was a really confusing book at first but once I got the hang of all the characters, new lingo, and world-building, then I became immersed in the story and couldn’t stop reading. Waggoner practically invents a new language for this book and a glossary probably would have been a bit useful in the beginning, but the more you read, the more the words make sense. I really liked the concept of magic in this book and how spells are cast using parameters. Also, soooo much happens in this book, there are like 3 parts to the story. Since a lot happened, there were parts in the first bit of the book that I completely forgot happened until they were mentioned again near the end. There was also a major thing that happens in the first quarter of the book that sets the stage for the rest of the story and I was not expecting that AT ALL. I had to take a moment because I was so shook. I loved the whole revenge plot the girls come up with and it was highly entertaining to read about, but it also covered a lot of dark topics surrounding drug addiction and how it affects the addict and members of their family. I don’t have any experience with this specifically but I think this book did a good job in showcasing the emotional toll and trauma that happens to a person who has a parent who struggles with drug addiction. I also thought the contrast between Dell and Winn’s upbringing in poverty vs. wealth was very interesting to read about. The romance between Dell and Winn was very sweet although they were not without their troubles. I also liked how Dell’s sexual relationships with other people were very consensual and respectful. I like how they showed that you can sleep with someone and still be friends and have good intentions for each other even when the sexual aspect of that relationship ends. Now to fangirl over some characters. Abstentia was such a sassy lady and I enjoyed reading her banter with Dell and even though they didn’t get along most of the time, they still band together when it counts. My favourite character hands-down was Buttons the zombie mouse. This mouse communicates so much personality through his “Bongs” and other sound effects and I’m so here for it. I want some Buttons fanart because this character was great. Overall this book was a bit slow to get into due to the language, but once you get used to that, the characters and the story are very entertaining and you won’t want to put this book down! I need to go read Waggoner’s other book now.

4/5🌟

Katakoi Lamp by Kyomei Azumi

Review:

I thought this was such a cute manga and I loved Jun and Kazuto's relationship. There was so much blushing and the amount of fangirling Kazuto did for Jun was so flipping adorable! I thought Kazuto's situation with his friend was a bit cruel because he would still talk about the "thing" with his friend, even after knowing his feelings. (Read the manga for the details lol). I thought the story was a little fast paced so I'm not sure if this is going to be a series or standalone. Also there's some sexual content with lots of sound effects that were a bit a tad bit too much so just keep that in mind when you're reading. Overall this was a super cute manga though!

3.5/5🌟

Those Not So Sweet Boys Volume 1 by Yoko Nogiri

Review:

Ok so I had mixed feelings about this book in the beginning because the way Midori has to interact with the boys is just so bizarre, but once they started interacting more I was like “yessss I am so here for this.” Her friendship with the guys was honestly so relatable and reminded me of my time in high school. I loved the creative way in which she encouraged the guys to go to school and I was rooting for her every step of the way. This is just such a cute and heartwarming manga, and every time the guys posed together my heart definitely skipped a beat too 😃 Also I loved the cute little doggooooo!

4.5/5🌟

A Sign of Affection Volume 1 by Suu Morishita

Review:

I loved this manga and I can't wait to read all the volumes! It's so rare to see disability representation in manga so this is great and I think they did a pretty good job with representing a person with hearing loss. I like how they add to not sneak up on deaf people because they can't hear you sneaking up to them. The one part of the story I thought was a tad bit disrespectful(?) was how he smacked Yuki's face to get her attention. Aside from that, they are so cute and I love how the creator actually drew in the characters using sign language. I also appreciate that the creator did their research in order to make this manga as true to life as possible. One thing that I think would be cool would be if they included a little sign language glossary of signs used throughout the book. Overall a great manga and Yuki is just so precious and cute! Can't wait to read more!

5/5🌟

BL Fans LOVE My Brother?! by Mimu Oyamada

Review:

I loved this manga so much. I never thought I could relate to something more. There is so much expression and personality in this manga. I love all the otaku lingo and thought that reading this manga was like finding a friend who is just as obsessed with otaku culture and OTP's as you are. I feel like this manga is a taaaad bit on the extreme side but it was still a great read! There were so many parts in the book where I would literally laugh out loud. I also really liked how supportive Amano was of his sister venturing into the doujinshi world. This story is just so cute and pure (despite what Amano draws). One thing that could require a content warning would be that the way Amano talks about himself sometimes can be very self deprecating and harmful, but I guess it fits with the whole tortured artist trope? Overall it's a really great story though! I really enjoyed it!

6/5🌟

Sachi’s Monstrous Appetite Volume 1 by Chomoran

Review:

I didn't really like this manga as much as I thought I would but it did get better by the end of the story, so I do want to read the next volume. The story started a bit abruptly so I was confused, but I understood it after a couple pages. Random characters also kept popping in out of nowhere (like where did the manager come from?) and the plot was very jumpy. The moment when Sachi transforms though, that was wild. I love her monster form though, it's hilarious and just so weird. This story just takes you on a wild ride. When Sachi and Makie spend more time together in the last quarter of the manga, the story starts to flow better and I think it ended on a good note. One thing I didn't really understand though was how they were living together if he's in Junior High and she's in High School and doesn't he have parents who he would probably be living with? Overall an interesting story but a bit confusing.

3/5🌟

Cells at Work Baby Volume 1 by Yasuhiro Fukuda

Review:

This was such a cute manga. I saw some of the anime and thought it was such a fascinating take on learning about the human body, so when I saw this manga I couldn't resist requesting it! I love the depiction of all the characters from the original Hataraku Saibou as children versions of themselves. This manga is such a fun way to learn more about the workings of the human body when you're first born. There are so many terms to learn and it's all in medical terminology, but the artwork helps translate those terms into something everyone can understand. This is just so cute!

4/5🌟

White All Around by Wilfrid Lupano

Review:

This graphic novel was amazing, emotional, heartbreaking, and educational. I had never learned much about black history before, so I'm glad books like these exist to educate me and others. There are so many parts in this book that will just break your heart. This story is also based on true events which makes it even more painful to read. The fact that this happened and events like this still happen today frustrates me so much because why do people have to be so heartless. I really like how this book includes a "foreward" which has more info about the events that happen in the story. It was also so fascinating to read about the lives of the students who went to Prudence Crandall's school in the "afterword". The artwork was also very beautifully done. One critique was that the font was a bit hard to read especially when I read it on my Kobo, but it was definitely worth reading! I highly recommend this book!

4.5/5🌟

The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Book by Lucy Rowland

Review:

I read this to my bf because this looked like such a cute book but I had no children to read it to haha. This is a cute retelling of the Three Little Pigs with a twist of what happens to the Big Bad Wolf. The artwork is so colourful and I love all the background details like the pictures on the staircase wall of the vampire and Little Red Riding Hood (I think). The rhyming sequence also makes it so much fun to read aloud. This is a great story for children and I highly recommend it :)

5/5🌟

Empress in Disguise by Zoey Gong and Amanda Roberts

Review:

I binged this in one night it was so great! I loved the story and the culture. All the court intrigue was so fun to read about and the characters were pretty great. I wonder what happened to the real Linhua after Daiyu replaces her. There's a couple small plot inconsistencies but overall an interesting story! I thought Daiyu's storyline with the Prince was a bit unnecessary though, or rushed. It seemed like it was there for conflict convenience and not character development. They basically experience insta-lust lol. I really want to read the rest of the trilogy to see what happens though!

4/5🌟

Two Week Wait: an IVF Story by Luke & Kelly Jackson

Review:

Y’all need to read this graphic novel. It’s such a quick read but it’s deep and emotional and will break your heart and possibly make you cry a little. This is the story of a couple and their IVF journey to have a child. It’s so well written and the illustrations add to it’s greatness. This story covers so many topics like the emotional and financial toll of IVF, the pain women can face when people are always asking about their pregnancy and when (not if) they are having kids. I really like how the authors asked other people going through similar experiences for their story so that this story would be as authentic as possible. Overall an amazing book and again, y’all need to read it.

5/5🌟

Other eARCs

Woods of Silver and Light by Victoria McCombs

Review:
Thank you Victoria and Parliament House Press for the eARC! This is the second book in The Storyteller's Daughter series and it's a companion book so it can be read as a standalone. Anyhoo, this book was GREAT. There were a couple ideas that characters had that were a bit confusing but aside from that, this was such a great book. The characters were so well developed and I loved Elenora's sweetness and Christopher is just such bae, and Anika had such a fiery personality. I enjoyed reading about Anika and her adventures more than Cosette's. There was also a huge theme of morality in this book and I was constantly questioning if the characters' actions were justified. It made the characters so much more complex. Y'all this book was just awesome and the cliff hanger ending was perfect! Go check it out on the Parliament House Press website! You can also check out my full review here.

4.5/5🌟

A Man Among Ye #1 by Stephanie Phillips

Review:

Thank you Edelweiss and Diamond Comics/Image Comics for the eARC! I have always loved pirate stories and even better if it's about a female pirate. I really enjoyed reading this comic about Anne Bonny and she was such a badass. There's action right at the beginning and so much happens in this story. That said, there is violence so just FYI. The artwork in this comic was great and I loved seeing the excerpts of how the cover was created and how they came up with the art style and layouts. It was really neat to hear the backstory of Anne and the explanation of the ship's design. I can't wait to read the next volume to see what happens next!

4/5🌟

Audiobooks

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Review:

So I had pretty mixed feelings about this book. On one hand I enjoyed it enough to actually finish it, but on the other hand there was just so much I didn't like.
I listened to the audiobook so even though the book includes a list of characters, I couldn't just flip back and forth to double check who people were. The result of this was that I had no clue who the characters were aside from Dulcinea, Gideon, and Harrow. The author kept referring to characters by their name, nickname, or house number, so it was so confusing to keep things straight and figure out which characters were from which house. I also did not feel emotionally attached to any character aside from Magnus and Abigail because of their cute dinner party. Gideon's sarcasm, swears, and puns were pretty fun to listen to though. Also the supposed romance between Harrow and Gideon... I thought that was non-existent and their transition from enemies to supposed lovers does not work at all. It would make more sense if Gideon just discovered a strong sense of undying loyalty for Harrow (as her cavalier) instead of romantic feelings.
The plot omg the plot. I honestly thought this book was written like a reality TV show where the characters are just all in one spot going about their lives with nothing much happening. I also felt like I had no clue what was happening half the time or why the big reveals have anything to do with the main storyline (aside from what Harrow tells Gideon near the end of course). I enjoyed the fight scenes though, those were pretty epic, and I loved the gruesome descriptions. The beginning 3/4 of the book is definitely a little slow but after that it's just action packed and so much happens.
One thing I really loved was the narrator. Moira is a great voice reader and I loved listening to her speak. I honestly think that's the main reason why I ended up finishing the book and decently enjoying it. The story itself was meh but Moira as narrator made it better.
Overall you either love this book or you don't but it's definitely interesting!

3/5🌟

So that’s my February wrap-up! Have you read any of these or plan to? Or are you too busy reading ACOSF 😜 Let me know in the comments below!

Happy reading!