These are all the new physical books I got in February! It’s not as epic as my January book haul, but it’s still pretty awesome. This is the end of my crazy book-buying spree though so I know March won’t be anywhere near this big. 😛
I also got two eARCs from publishers:
Books read in February
I read 14 books in February! I’m quite proud of that! Two I didn’t finish though. 🙁
The book covers link to Goodreads or my review.
DNF 😥
(re-read)
(re-read)
(re-read)
(re-read)
DNF 😥
(re-read)
I want to quickly talk about the two books I didn’t finish:
Sky in the Deep
Sky in the Deep by Adrienne YoungPublished by: Wednesday Books on April 24, 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 352
Source: NetGalley
Book Details
Rating: Did Not Finish
Seventeen-year-old Eelyn’s world is war. Raised to fight alongside her Aska clansmen in a generations-old blood feud against the Riki, her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield—her brother, fighting with the enemy—the brother she watched die five years ago.
Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki if she wants to make it back to the fjord after the thaw. But when she begins to see herself in the people she's been taught to hate, the world Eelyn once knew begins to crumble. And after the village is raided by a ruthless clan many believe to be a myth, Eelyn is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend who has tried more than once to kill her. Together, they must end the blood feud between their clans or watch their people be slaughtered.
A lush, Viking-age inspired fantasy about loyalty, forgiveness, and the definition of family.
I stopped reading Sky in the Deep at 49%. I’m SO bummed! I knew several people who read ARCs and absolutely adored Sky in the Deep. I was so confident I would too, but then it never sucked me in. Almost straight away I could feel myself not connecting with the book.
1) I thought the writing was mostly telling instead of showing.
Particularly in the beginning it was written very much like, “He swung his axe at me. Then I ducked. Then I ran. Then he stabbed me again. Then this happened. Then that happened.” It just felt so… procedural? Like it was all written out but there was no emotion.
2) I didn’t find myself caring about ANYONE.
I was just so indifferent and because of that I couldn’t get invested. If I didn’t care about any of the characters I didn’t care about the story… thus I didn’t really care about the book.
3) I got to 49% and not much had happened. There’d been two battles then a whole lot of chores and grumbling.
Clearly Sky in the Deep does have something going for it because so many people seem to have loved it. I’m really disappointed I wasn’t one of them. I guess I just couldn’t click with the way it was written and that completely threw me off.
I would encourage you to read an excerpt if you can find one, and if it excites you then absolutely give this book a shot.
The Smoke Thieves
The Smoke Thieves by Sally GreenSeries: The Smoke Thieves #1
Published by: Viking Juvenile on May 1, 2018
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 544
Source: ARC From Publisher
Book Details
Rating: Did Not Finish
A shrewd princess whose father is plotting against her. A brave soldier turned traitor. A loyal servant on a quest to avenge his family. A streetwise demon smoke hunter in desperate need of money. A charming thief with no clue about his true identity. Their lives would never intersect, until a war between kingdoms bubbles up, and the dangerous truth about demon smoke intertwines all their fates. Welcome to The Smoke Thieves, a tangled web of political intrigue, shifting alliances, and forbidden love, in a world where sometimes no amount of magic can keep you safe.
I might still try to give The Smoke Thieves another chance – I haven’t quite decided yet. I read two chapters. The first one was from the point of view of the “streetwise demon smoke hunter” from the synopsis (Tash). I just felt SO DETACHED from that whole character/chapter. Like, zero fucks given. I was reading words on a page, but that was it.
Then I also read some of “shrewd princess” (Catherine’s chapter). That was a little better, but I still wasn’t really clicking with it.
I won’t say it’s a bad book because there was nothing I objectively didn’t like. It was just a feeling I had and lack of connection on my part. Maybe Sally Green’s writing just isn’t my style?
Maybe I’ll try reading a few more chapters just to be sure, but I’m HUGELY disappointed! On paper this book sounds wonderful.
We got a kitten!
The most exciting thing that happened in February is that we got a kitten! Her name is Mocha and she’s almost 5 months old now. She’s adorable, a total snuggler, loves to have her belly rubbed, and she drools all over us.
Aw your kitty is so cute!! I’m so sad you didn’t like Sky in the Deep, I loved that one 🙁
I’m so glad to hear you loved it! I’m seriously SERIOUSLY disappointed that I didn’t. It was one of my most highly anticipated releases. The synopsis just sounds perfect for me! Ugh.
Only interesting thing I read this month is my horoscope…
February goes to the college books…
Sorry about those DNFs, but Mocha is absolutely adorable and makes up for any and all bad reading. 🙂
I need to care about someone in a book or I tend to lose interesting regardless of the plot. Sometimes I’ll just skim to get an idea about how it plays out, but I don’t count that as having read the book. OMG, Mocha’s eyes are startling! What a lovely color and name. 🙂
Two DNF’s out of that pile isn’t too bad. They are still always disappointing though. LOVE Mocha, she is adorable!
Yeah these were both really highly anticipated books for me so I’m still really disappointed. 🙁 Shucks!
It’s a shame these two books didn’t live up to your expectations but sometimes you just don’t click with a writer’s style and there’s no point forcing it. Reading time is precious, after all. Your new kitten is adorable!
Yep I totally agree! It’s such a bummer though because I was really looking forward to both books. 🙁
AHHHH LOOK AT UR KITTEN!!!! i love her already 🙂
She’s so sweet! 😀
Oh my GOODNESS your kitten is so cute! Bummer on your DNFs but you got a lot of reading in for a short month and that you should be stoked about!
I hate it when I do not care for characters in the book at all, it is always a reason to DNF book for me so I do not blame you for DNFing Sky in the Deep. I actually saw many DNF or low rating reviews for this book among my friends so I decided to avoid reading it.
And those Brandon Sanderson books look impressive 🙂 I need to get my own copies and read his latest series soon!
The Brandon Sanderson leatherbound books are 100% worth the cost! They’re absolutely amazing quality.
He just restocked the leatherbound edition of Elantris: http://store.brandonsanderson.com/elantris-leather-bound-book/