Hi everyone! I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump, so I only read four books this month although I have started two books and read more of another two books that I haven’t finished yet. I did mostly enjoy the books I did read though, so it wasn’t a terrible reading month. My sister and I also used this past weekend to catch up on shows we’re watching on Netflix so that was  a lot of time used for tv watching instead of reading. Whoops!

Also, what’s up with all the unnecessary sequels nowadays? I feel like I can’t pick up a book without it having a sequel or two or three. I kind of want a few more standalone books. If you have any recommendations please leave them below!

Also quick note, my photos didn’t look that dark when I took them, and I did delete them already from my phone and returned the books to the library so please ignore my lack of photography skills in this post!

Back to the books!

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The Last Star by Rick Yancey

2 out of 5 stars

I finished The 5th Wave series by Rick Yancey this month, mostly out of stubbornness. The book is the conclusion for a series that follows a few characters after aliens have attacked Earth and start attacking. This is a series that I think could have been wrapped up in one book and been a much better experience. I didn’t enjoy this book and found myself wondering if I could skip a few pages and not get utterly lost. Ultimately I didn’t enjoy this book, the ending wasn’t terrible but I feel like we could have gotten there at least two books ago.

The Crown’s Game by Evelyn Skye

3 out of 5 stars

I liked this book while I was reading it enough but ultimately it was a book that I wondered why it needed to be a series. I really enjoyed the characters, particularly Vika. Nikolai and Pasha’s friendship was great to see, and it really brought a Russia that I was interested to explore to life. I loved the contest, the titular Crown’s Game, and the displays that Vika and Nikolai gave. Essentially Vika and Nikolai are in a contest to the death to become the sole sorcerer who serves to protect Russia.

It was good but overall I didn’t think it was good enough to need to continue. The end definitely felt like it just fizzled out, all the creativity and magic used up to set up the game but not enough saved to keep it going to the finale. The side characters didn’t get nearly as much attention as they should have and the next problems set forward don’t seem compelling enough to want to explore. I might read the next book just because I like to complete series, but if I don’t have time to get to the next one when it comes out then I won’t mind.

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

4 out of 5 stars

I really, really loved this one. The plot involves and island nation where triplets are born to the queen, all three considered to be queens until their 16th birthday when the sisters must fight to the death for their crown. Each sister has their own power, raised by the families that share their gifts so they can grow strong and prepared for their 16th year. The book follows the sisters as their birthday comes up. Mirabella, the elemental who controls the elements is the favored sister, but is hated among the rest of the island as it’s rumored she is so confident in her abilities that she already acts like a Queen Crowned. Arsione, a naturalist that can command fruit to grow and animals to behave as she wishes, but is the plain sister with what is considered to be the weakest of all possible gifts when it comes to battle with her sisters and is expected to die. Katharine, a poisoner who can consume poisons and wears a venomous snake as jewelry, but is the smallest of the sisters and viewed to be too delicate for the things that winning the game will need her to do. The it’s revealed that two of the three sisters are actually nearly powerless, and they are scrambling to find a way to survive.

I loved the world of this book and getting to know each sister. I expected to love Mirabella the most and expected to really dislike the other sisters. However all three sisters had such a different and interesting personality that I was drawn in. I had originally thought this was a standalone (often the downfall for all books as they turn out not to be so and are actually a part of a series) but as I got towards the end I found myself hoping it was a series. Luckily it is! For once I was happy for that news as this was one book that did it right.

King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard

3 out of 5 stars

And the last book I read in the month, the third installment to the Red Queen series! The Red Queen series follows Mare Barrow, a Red who lives in a world dominated by those with Silver blood but has powers like the Silvers. In Mare’s case, she has lightning powers, earning her the nickname Lightning Girl and the attention of everyone from the royal family of the Silvers to the rebellion brewing among the Reds.

I had loved the Red Queen series in both book one and two that I was excited to read book three. I was disappointed in the ending as I felt that it was very haphazardly put together in order to set up a new adventure for the next book in the series but I’m still curious as to where the story will take Mare and her friends. I also really, really loved learning more about Evangeline and her thoughts, and I look forward to being able to share her point of view in the coming books. I felt that Cameron was a strange character to select to give her point of view in this book, as I kept forgetting who Cameron was to begin with. Mare was, of course, the star of the show. Seeing Mare in such a state of helplessness but fighting through was very well presented to the reader. Overall, it wasn’t as strong as the first two books since I felt that Cameron’s chapters weren’t done as well as Mare’s so I did give it a three star rating but I hope book four rises above it.

Oh and one really amazing thing about this book, Victoria Aveyard included a quote by Hillary Rodham Clinton!

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And those are the books I read in February! Let me know what you’ve been reading. I’d love to know!

Thanks for reading!