February TBR

I’ve been in a really good headspace with reading lately and I want that momentum to continue through to February. So for this month I decided to go back to last year’s February TBR and see what I was planning on reading. I had a list of 18 books I was going to be mood reading and out of those 18 there are only 5 books left that I haven’t read yet so I thought why not finish them off!

My February TBR consists of:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

Flamecaster by Cinda Williams Chima

Prince of Fools by Mark Lawrence

The Diviners by Libba Bray

The 7 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

Series I Need to Complete

These are all the series I am currently in the middle of that are all complete (meaning all the books in the series have been published). Most of these I have either only read the first book in the series or I just have to read the last book. Completing most of these series is kind of a goal of mine for 2021 as well so it will be nice to look back at the end of the year and see how I fare!

The Lightbringer Series by Brent Weeks (4 books)

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Stalking Jack the Ripper Series by Kerri Maniscalco (3 books)

The Shadow Game Series by Amanda Foody (1 book)

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The Poppy War Series by R.F. Kuang (2 books)

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A Clash of Kingdoms Series by Erin Summerill (1 book)

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An Ember in the Ashes Series by Sabaa Tahir (1 book)

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Lightbringer Review

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Queen Rielle, pushed away from everything she loves, turns to Corien and his promises of glory. Meanwhile, whispers from the empirium slowly drive her mad, urging her to open the Gate. In the future, Eliana arrives in the Empire’s capital as a broken shell of herself. Betrayed and abandoned, she fights to keep her power at bay—and away from Corien, who will stop at nothing to travel back in time to Rielle, even if that means destroying her daughter. But when the mysterious Prophet reveals themselves at last, everything changes, giving Rielle and Eliana a second chance for salvation—or the destruction their world has been dreading.

I am once again torn by Rielle’s character and her arc throughout the course of this series. I hated her in the last book and honestly didn’t think she deserved any kind of redemption but the way her storyline played out in this finale surprised me but also left me feeling satisfied. She made a decision at a crucial point in time and finally was able to free herself from Corien’s grasp and see clearly for the first time in a while. She definitely succumbed to the temptation of her powers and did evil things but looking back she definitely was coerced for the majority of the time and she paid the price for it eventually giving up a future with her daughter.

Eliana again I enjoyed her plotline so much more than her mothers. She is definitely put through the ringer in this book, having to endure that torture from Corien for months and months. She has so much put on her shoulders and in the end has to blindly follow the words from a mysterious prophet to stop herself from going mad. Her strength and stoicism is really displayed and her loyalty and trust wavered so much that I was just gripped.

Simon really put me through it. From his betrayal in the last book and then being witness to the brutality that is being given to Eliana day in and day out and not reaching out to help her whatsoever really killed me. For a good majority of the book I was doubting him heavily and really thought he was completely on Corien’s side. It was the introduction of the prophet that made me pause and think maybe… and thankfully I was right! His character and the way he had to fool everyone in order to eventually save Eliana was a stroke of mastery. I really didn’t want to hate him and I was glad he got to have a bit of happiness before sending Eliana back.

There were a few twists that I predicted and there were many that took me by surprise. This book really blew open all of the storylines and wove them all back together so wonderfully. We learnt so much more about the Empirium and how it affects Rielle and why she was such a loose cannon, how seductive and all encompassing it is. I loved how the two timelines merged in the end and we see how much effect Eliana had on her mother after their failed attempt earlier in the series. The ending was just so satisfying and not the fairy tale I was expecting which was pleasantly surprising!

⭐️5/5 This was just perfection!

New to Me Authors of 2020

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday prompt is new to you authors. This list is 10 authors that I read from for the first time in 2020 and I loved them enough to want to continue to pick up either their back-list or any books they may publish in the future!

Pierce Brown

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Talia Hibbert

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Blake Crouch

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Kerri Maniscalco

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Brent Weeks

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S.K. Ali

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Emily Henry

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Tricia Levenseller

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K. Ancrum

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Nnedi Okorafor

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5 Diverse Books I want to read in 2021

Just like last year I’m making more of an effort to read from a variety of authors from different cultures and backgrounds or books featuring a diverse main character. These 5 books have been on my radar for a while now and are ones I really want to prioritise in 2021!

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong

Vicious Spirits by Kat Cho

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Morena-Garcia

The Wicker King by K. Ancrum