Disclaimer

_{This post may contain several affiliate links, meaning I’ll earn a small commission if you purchase through these links with no additional charge to you!}

I know, I know, this post is a long time coming but as I mentioned in my last blog, I’m playing major catch up! This way you can stay up to date on all my bookish thoughts about all my reads so far this year! February is obviously a shorter month but I also wasn’t able to read as much as I wanted to, so this will be a fairly short blog post. Let’s jump right in!

Galatea by Madeline Miller

This book is a short story that is a reimagining of the story between Galatea and Pygmalion. I’m not that big into Greek mythology or retellings but I like to dabble once in a while. I thought this would be a nice introduction to Madeline Miller’s retellings. I wasn’t familiar with this story going into this book. It was recommended to me by a friend who had just purchased it. I thought, overall, it was an interesting story, but I wasn’t crazy about it. It’s intriguing to learn about myths that I’m not familiar with and characters that were never taught to me in school. So this was something I enjoyed that about this book

I think overall, this book just didn’t wow me. It wasn’t a bad retelling, I just felt very meh about the whole thing.

Crescent City 3-House of Flame and Shadow by Sarah J Maas

This is the third book in the Crescent City series by Sarah J Maas. I discuss the beginning of this series more in this blog that I will link here. If you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about how this series was started.

This book fell WAY too flat for me. I think a big part was because it was majorly hyped all over the internet. Don’t get me wrong, I was hyping myself up for it since the way the second book ended. I was craving this next book just as much as everyone else. SJM really left us on a cliffhanger at the end of the second book and we all were anxiously waiting to see all our favorite people again.

With that being said, this book was a bit of a let down, unfortunately. I’ve mentioned this in another blog but it’s always kind of hard with series. There will always be that one that sort of serves as a foundational book that’s mostly going to be filled with laying the groundwork for the next book. This just happened to be that book, which is unfortunate because of the way the second book ended! Can you tell I’m a little frustrated?

However, Crescent City hasn’t been my favorite series from SJM so it’s not the end of the world. I’ll still be reading whatever book she decides to come out with next because she’s a Queen. Seriously, I’d read a milk carton if she decided to write on it.

Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Let me just say, I’m OBSESSED with this series. This is the third book in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. The individual books can stand on their own in this series but I highly recommend reading them in publishing order as follows:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold

Tales from the Cafe

Before Your Memory Fades

Before We Say Goodbye

These are the current books that have been released, but there will be a new release coming later this year in late 2024!

This series focuses on a cafe in Japan where people can travel back in time. There are some rules, however.

Number one, you can only travel back in time by sitting in a particular seat within the cafe. Number two, no matter what you do, you cannot change the past. Rule number three, you can only meet with people who have visited the cafe. This is a little obvious if you can’t leave your seat then whoever you plan to see must have visited the cafe at some point. Finally, rule number four, you must finish your coffee that is poured for you to return to the past, before it grows cold. Otherwise you will be stuck there as a ghost.

Throughout the series we have individual stories of different people traveling to the cafe to go to the past to visit loved ones. However, we do have recurring characters who work in or own the cafe. There are also some individuals who pop up from time to time in other books after they’ve journeyed to the past.

This third book in the series did not disappoint in the slightest. Each of these books follow different themes and explore every emotion you can imagine. All of the stories are heartwarming but will pull on those heartstrings too. It’s such a cozy read but obviously be prepared for some emotional turmoil throughout. I also love that each of these books ask such difficult questions about life. It will also have you asking the question, if I could go back in time and not be able to change anything, would I?

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas

For those who have followed me for a while, either on Instagram or YouTube, you should know that this is one of my all time favorites. I’m starting my reread of this series and I’m so glad I’m doing it now!

This book centers around our main character, Celaena Sardothian. When we first meet her she is a slave in the Endovier Salt Mines and the Crown Prince, Dorian, has come to collect her. He wants to recruit her to compete in a battle to be the King’s champion. As one of the best assassin’s there’s ever been in this kingdom, he seems to think she’ll fare well. If she wins the competition then she will work as the King’s right hand person and basically do all of his dirty work for him. Once she’s served several years under the King, then she will become a free woman. That is, if she wins.

Thus begins the epic journey of this series. The stakes only get raised from here, the battles get bloodier, and all of the characters go on a transformative journey throughout the whole series. As I mentioned above, and I’ll say it again, THIS IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SERIES.

I love this cast of characters so much (even though some really piss me off every now and then). The journey we see them go on, individually and together, is epic and in many ways, really relatable. The main character is my girl and I hope that I can one day write a character who is as badass as she is. Seriously, I wish she were real just so she could be my friend. 

Whew, we made it through another month of wrap ups. Only a few more to go to catch up to the month we’re in currently, which is June at the time of me writing this post. Thanks for taking the time to read through all my crazy bookish thoughts and I hope you stick around for more! Below you can find my latest YouTube video discussing, not only this month, but March as well!