thelittlebookowl

Hi guys, I hope you are all well. You all know the drill by now – it’s time for another monthly wrap up. I had a pretty good month overall. I finished off my last essay for my distance learning course and I got a good amount of reading done too. I read 7 books in February; one of which was a five star read. Onto the mini reviews.

 

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The Gutter Prayer / book 1 of the Black Iron Legacy / Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan / ★★★

Probably more of a 2.5 star rating. Unfortunately I just couldn’t get into this one. The story was good, the characters were well written and it was an interesting world, but I wasn’t fully invested in it. A lot of people have been loving this book though, so I think I am in the minority here.

 

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Dragon Pearl / Yoon Ha Lee /★★★

This is a middle grade, sci-fi book influenced by Korean mythology. It took me a little while to get into the story because it starts off quite slow but picks up after a few chapters. After the slow start, the story moves at a good pace. The characters are well written, although I wasn’t fully invested in them. The main character, Min, seemed older then her age but this didn’t really detract from my overall reading experience. I loved the elements of Korean mythology woven through the book. Overall this was a quick and entertaining read. Side note, I love the cover of this book.

 

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The Night Tiger / Yangsze Choo / ★★★.5

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

I have a full review of this, so I’m going to keep this short. Set in Malaya (Malaysia) in the 1930’s, this is a dual perspective historical fiction book. This was my first book by this author and after reading this I definitely want to check out her other books. I really enjoyed this book, although it did take me a couple of chapters to become invested in the characters. I loved the elements of Chinese folklore woven into the story. Overall I thought this was a great read and I would definitely recommend checking it out.

 

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Twenty Years After / Alexandre Dumas /★★★★

This is the sequel to The Three Musketeers. It’s been a while since I read the first book so it did take me some time to settle back into the writing and characters. Maybe I should have reread Musketeers before reading this. Despite the slow start, I still really enjoyed this sequel and I will definitely be checking out the next book too.

 

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Never Die / Rob J. Hayes / ★★★★

I have a full review of this one already up, so I’m going to keep this short. Basically I really enjoyed this self published fantasy book. The characters are well written, the plot is compelling and I loved the influence of Japanese folklore. If you are looking for a new fantasy book to read, then I highly recommend checking this one out.

 

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The Crystal Ribbon / Celeste Lim / ★★★★

This is a historical fantasy book set in medieval China. I would say that it’s mainly targeted at a younger audience (middle grade/ YA), but it can be enjoyed by a wide range of ages. I thought it was a really enjoyable read with well written characters and a fantastic setting. I definitely recommend checking this one out.

 

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A Time of Blood / book 2 of the Of Blood and Bone trilogy / John Gwynne / ★★★★★

*I received a digital copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*

A full review will be posted closer to the release date (18th April), but for now I will just say that I loved this book. It was such a fantastic continuation of this trilogy and I cannot wait for the next book. If you loved the first book you will love this one too and if you haven’t started the trilogy yet, you really should.

 

 

That’s it for today. Once again, I’m not going to set myself a TBR for March. It will be another month of reading what I want to read at the time, although I do have a few books that I hope to get to soon. These include The Poison Song by Jen Williams, We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson, White Chrysanthemum by Mary Lynn Bracht and Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro. Hopefully I can have another good month of reading and get to some of the books that have been sitting on my shelves for a while. What was your favourite book you read in February? I’d also love to know your thoughts on any of the books I’ve read, if you’ve read them too. I hope you are all having a wonderful day and I will see you next time.

 

 

Pippa