How was āA Thousand Heartbeatsā?? Iām really excited sheās released a new novel!
Published in February (Rājaalās Resonance - Ruby Dixon), author uses initials (Pretty Wreck - J.R. Gray), part of a series about friends (The Husband Hoax - Saxon James), short story ( Married to My Best Friend - Riley Hart), follow on Instagram.
At least one bingo and a few misses.
Challenger Deep
Neal Shusterman
*Two-word title
Illuminae
Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
*Red or pink cover
The Red Pencil
Andrea Davis Pinkney & Shane W. Evans
*Author uses initials
The Dead House
Dawn Kurtagich
*Characters make a bargain
Like Wind Against Rock
Nancy Kim
*Title written in cursive
Deep Sleep
Steven Konkoly
*Published in February
The Loverās Dictionary
David Levithan
*Heart on the cover
The Leaving
Tara Altebrando
*Title begins with L
The Strange Library
Haruki Murakami
*Short story
Multiple Choice
Alejandro Zambra
*Under 280 pages
All of This is True
Lygia Day PeƱaflor
*Pet owner
Blackout!
(My internet is terrible right now, so Iām having trouble uploading my card, but I will keep trying and hopefully get it uploaded soon!)
Row 1:
Published in February: Tales of Wychwood by Daniel Martin Eckhart
Two Word Title: Drop Zone by A. R. Knight
Second in a Series: The Trials of Koli by M. R. Carey
Audiobook with Two Narrators: Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Romance by a Black Author:Once Ghosted, Twice Shy by Alyssa Cole
Row 2:
Author Uses Initials: The Fall of Koli by M. R. Carey
Under 280 Pages: Grave New World by Kate Karyus Quinn, Demetria Lunetta, and Marley Lynn
Retelling: Beauty in the Beast by Stevie Rae Causey
Title Begins with F: Fourth of July on Monster Mountain by Clark Roberts
Purple Cover: A Maarvellous Light by Freya Marske
Row 3:
Part of a Series about Friends: Mr. Lemoncelloās Great Library Race by Chris Grabenstein
Two Women on the Cover: Cast the First Crone by Amanda M. Lee
Free Space: Marion Lane and the Midnight Murder by T. A. Wilberg
Pet Owner: Kikiās Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
Characters Make a Bargain: WARNED: The Astrologerās Prophecy by Mahtab Narsimhan
Row 4:
Short Story: Return to the Apothecary by Thomas Fay
Title Written in Cursive: Bite-Sized Stories Edited by George Donnelly
Published in the 2000s: Joey Pigza Loses Control by Jack Gantos
Red or Pink Cover: The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman
Set in New Orleads: I Survived Hurricane Katrina by Lauren Tarshis
Row 5:
Follow BookishFirst on Instagram: check
Football: Speed Receiver by Jake Maddox
Heart on the Cover: The Gentlemanās Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
Title Begins with L: The Lesson by Steve Coulson
Visit Your Local Library: check
i couldnāt make all my Feb reads fit into a square. but iām getting out of a little reading slump, so iām pretty pleased with everything that i did get to fit!
This was a weird month. I normally try and get to a full blackout but that didnāt happened this month cause I had a couple of real stinkers that were a slog and took me longer to get through.
What I liked:
Lessons from the Edge by Marie Yavonovitch - Was the Ambassador for three different countries - Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, and finally Ukraine. Her career was crazy interesting and it was thanks to another pioneer, Alison Palmer, that she was able to get the shot at the career track she wanted. I kept telling my husband all these interesting tidbits that he finally told me to stop telling them to him so that he could just read it after me. He also thought it was really interesting.
Speaks the Nightbird by Robert R. McCammon - This was my first book of the month and I wasnāt sure I was going to like it, since I tend to not be a big fan of books set in this time period and a previous one of his books fell pretty flat for me. However, I was pleasantly surprised. There was a part of the book that was a surprise that wasnāt pleasant, and if youāve read it, you know what part it is Iām talking about.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Study by Fred Gray - This is told by the lawyer who represented the men and itās a fairly broad overview. The biggest thing I took out of it was that 1) it went on for WAY LONGER than I realized and 2)āit takes a villageā to make sure men who need treatment for syphilis donāt ever get told their diagnosis and never get real treatment for it.
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal - I picked this up because the name of the book just sounded too silly. I literally found myself laughing and smiling while reading it.
The Disappointments
Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice - I wanted to like this but I just hated it all the way through.
Forward by Abby Wambach - I didnāt hate the writing, but I hated the person by the end.
Those Who Wait by Haley Cass - Never have I read a book with two more privileged, unlikable characters.
Thoughts on The Three-Body Problem? Itās been on my TBR forever and it seems pretty divisive.
Congrats on the first blackout! Which was your favorite from this month?
I liked the concept a lot but it took FAR too long to get to the interesting bits in my opinion. I gave it a 3/5, certainly not the worst thing I read in February but I didnāt love it.
I would probably have to say The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren
So I totally forgot to post this last month and I know itās too late for the points, but my completionist heart wonāt let me post Marchās one without posting this one first!
Bingo!
Published in February: my paperback copy of the Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont
Under 280 pages: Inside Out: NLP and Hypnosis for Weight Loss by Louise Dorrian
Red or Pink Cover: South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
my sister is Kr collins