January and February 2021 Wrap-Up (+ taking an unplanned break)

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The first two months of 2021 have been… intense (to put it nicely). There was an attack on the White House, America got a new president, the spring semester for Zoom University started, racial violence against Asian Americans have skyrocketed, and the state I’m currently residing in experienced a huge black out due to an arctic blast where we were left with no electricity, heat, WiFi, and clean running water.

On the flip side, I got a lot of reading done, and I wrote more posts than I expected. However, I might need to put on the brakes to blogging for a bit, but I’ll get into that later.

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Books Read

https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1551561783l/42423505._SX318_.jpg

Title: Icarus and the Sun
Series: standalone
Author: Gabriel Picolo
Category/Genre: retelling, fantasy, romance
Summary: contemporary retelling of Icarus
Quick thoughts: loved the artwork (big fan of the artist)
Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads

Title: Heartstopper: Volume 1
Series: Heartstopper, #1
Author: Alice Oseman
Category/Genre: YA, contemporary, romance, LGBTQ+
Summary: guy friendship turns into something more
Quick thoughts: SO FREAKING CUTE
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads, (review to come)

Title: Rise of the Red Hand
Series: The Mechanists, #1
Author: Olivia Chadha
Category/Genre: YA dystopia
Summary: steampunk dystopia set in South Asia
Quick thoughts: I wanted to like it but didn’t
Rating: 2.5 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads, review

Title: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue
Series: standalone
Author: V.E. Schwab
Category/Genre: historical, contemporary, fantasy
Summary: forgettable, immortal girl makes her mark
Quick thoughts: writing was super lyrical and fantastic
Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads, review

Title: Kingdom of the Wicked
Series: Kingdom of the Wicked, #1
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Category/Genre: YA fantasy
Summary: Sicilian witch murder mystery
Quick thoughts: story was ok, didn’t like main character
Rating: 3 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads, review

Title: The Brightest Night
Series: Origin, #3
Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Category/Genre: YA fantasy
Summary: Evie starts to uncover more about herself
Quick thoughts: this book felt very filler
Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads, (review to come)

In Love & Pajamas: A Collection of Comics about Being Yourself Together:  Chetwynd, Catana: 0050837441231: Amazon.com: Books

Title: In Love & Pajamas
Series: standalone
Author: Catana Chetwynd
Category/Genre: slice-of-life, romance, comics
Summary: very wholesome relationship comics
Quick thoughts: my heart was full after reading this
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Links: Goodreads

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Currently Reading

These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights, #1) by Chloe Gong Red White and Royal Blue Casey McQuiston A Court of Silver Flame Sarah J. Maas book cover

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

So far I’m liking all of these books, but for some stupid reason my brain doesn’t want to read (a.k.a. I’m in a reading slump). I was hoping to finish these before March, but that didn’t happen. Hopefully I’ll finish by next month.

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Monthly Posts

Bookish Posts

Top 20 Books of 2020
Author Guest Post: Vali Benson
2021 YA diverse anticipated releases
Valentine’s Day lovers and haters book recommendations
ACOTAR series recap (so far)

Reviews

A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes, #3) by Sabaa Tahir
Rise of the Red Hand (The Mechanists, #1) by Olivia Chadha
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories (The Folk of the Air, #3.5) by Holly Black
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Foundryside (The Founders Trilogy, #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett
Kingdom of the Wicked (Kingdom of the Wicked, #1) by Kerri Maniscalco
Teen Titans: Beast Boy by Kami Garcia, illustrated by Gabriel Picolo

Tags/Awards

The Sunshine Blogger Award
20 Questions Book Tag
The Selena Gomez Book Tag

Other

2021 Goals
It’s really cold outside (I’m doing alright) – Texas black out
Texas’s winter storm update

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Life Update

I’m not going to lie: I’m not feeling well. Physically, I’m fine, but I’m feeling all over the place mentally and emotionally. I was doing alright before the winter storm hit my area. It was when everything in the state shut down that my mental/emotional well-being went down the drain. I don’t know why I’m feeling this way, but I’m more fatigued than usual. Having no energy makes me super unmotivated to do anything. I was planning on taking a break from blogging during finals season, but I think I need one now. I’m going to take two weeks off to get my life together before coming back to blog again (my scheduled reviews are still going to be posted). Hopefully this break will get me back into the swing of things.

On a lighter note, I started two new games: Stardew Valley and Hollow Knight. I heard great things, and my friends had nothing but positive reviews for them. Rather than choose between the two, I splurged a little and got both. I have to say, I now understand why my friends are obsessed because I’ve been playing them nonstop during my free time.

I finally got my copy of A Court of Silver Flame by Sarah J. Maas on Wednesday (Feb. 24th). It was supposed to come on release date (Feb. 16th), but it was super delayed. I’ve been avoiding Instagram because I know some people have been spoiling the story there. I’m really excited to start reading it, and I’m hoping this is the book that will get me out of my reading slump.

I know I said this before, but I want to say it again: thank you to all the people who have given me kind words and warm wishes this past month. I hope everyone has had a good first two months of this new year, and hopefully things will only get better from here.

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Stay awkward and amazing!

3 thoughts on “January and February 2021 Wrap-Up (+ taking an unplanned break)

  1. Marta @ of waves and pages 03/02/2021 / 5:45 pm

    It’s amazing how you managed to read so much, but I’m sorry to hear life has been rough lately. 🥺 I hope you’ve been taking care and staying safe!! And ofc, take as much time as needed!! Let me know in case you’d want to talk or you’d want me to text you 💕 (also, I’m really looking forward to know your thoughts on TVD and ACOSF, because I don’t know if I really wanna read ACOSF haha)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Jessica 03/03/2021 / 1:03 pm

      Thank you! I think the fatigue was because a lot of stressful things happened at once, and I didn’t know how to deal with it 😅 I’m starting to feel better, thankfully.

      ACOSF is pretty good so far! I know you’re a fan of Nesta, so I think you might like it. I’m slowly becoming a Nesta fan myself because of this book. I like how the story hits on mental health issues and being unapologetic of who you are. ACOSF is a big commitment (700+ pages!), but if you liked the first three books I think it’s worth a read.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Marta @ of waves and pages 03/05/2021 / 4:52 am

        I’m so glad to know you’ve been feeling better!! 💕
        One of my Portuguese reader friends is also reading ACOSF and she mentioned the same thing about mental health! I’m slowly becoming interested 👀 The only thing that still hasn’t convinced me is the lenght of the book 😂

        Liked by 1 person

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