February Reading Wrap-Up

I’ve always dreaded the month of February. The bitter cold, the gray skies, the thought that there is seemingly nothing to look forward to. But this year was so different. Instead of looking forward, I looked around. It helped that there were many sunny days, but I found a warm feeling in more than the skies on the other side of my doorstep. I found it in smiling faces, in friends visiting, in new playlists and new songs and reading books. I found it in craft nights and movies and making dinner together in a small, cozy kitchen. I found it in my dirt-covered hands, in seeds and flowers that are only just beginning. Thank you, February, for your unexpected warmth and for reminding me that I can carry pieces of it wherever I go. Thank you for the unexpected 5 star reads and the books I was able to read!

I started with my reread of Rick Riordan’s The Sea of Monsters, the second book in the Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. I am rereading this series by listening to one audiobook per month (to hopefully finish in May), because I am very eager to read the Heroes of Olympus series! I am late to the game with that series, but all of my friends and my fiancé cannot say enough great things about that series, so I am really hoping to dive into that one this summer! Like I said in last month’s wrap-up, I have read the Percy Jackson series only once, and I think I was maybe eleven or twelve years old. So it’s been a long time! When I started listening to the audiobook for The Sea of Monsters, I immediately remembered why it was one of my favorites. This book had my attention from start to finish, and THE ENDING! I completely forgot what a jaw-dropping moment that was, especially when I was younger and was reading it for the first time. Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this reread experience and am so excited to listen to The Titan’s Curse in March.

I am embarrassed to say that this book took me an ENTIRE MONTH to read. I don’t remember the last time I crawled my way through a book like I did this one. I love Sarah J. Maas’s writing so much, but this was one of those books where I felt the pacing was completely off. It was painfully slow until maybe the last 100 pages or so. I flew through the ending because it was finally getting good! I am a fan of world-building, but I feel like the beginning of this book could have been condensed just a tiny bit. Since I’m writing this late, I can say that I’ve finished Queen of Shadows (in March), and I completely understand what this book was setting us up for; however, I think some of the details could have been left out. The constant switching POV was a little difficult to get through, but like I said–I understand why she wrote it this way. And the ending… wow. The ending saved this book for me. Definitely was on the edge of my seat for that one!

Favorite Quotes from Heir of Fire:

“See what you want, and seize it. Don’t ask for it; don’t wish for it. Take it.“

“‘You do not apologize,’ he said, ‘for defending the people you care about.’”

This book. This is my second time reading through “Captivating”, and it certainly won’t be the last. The first time I read it, I was 21 years old. I read my mom’s copy, and I cherished it deeply. It was a treasure to see all of her notes in the margins—her thoughts from when she was young. This Christmas, she bought me my own copy, so I thought going into the new year would be the perfect time to reread it. Both times I have read this book, I am teary-eyed by the end of the introduction. It always impacts me so deeply. This book explores femininity through a godly lens. It perfectly captures why God created women in the way that He did, what He created us for, how He created us to be more than what we often think or believe we could be. In a world where there are so many influences and so much noise from social media about who a woman is or what she should be, this book was a comfort—it was a sense of peace and calming in the midst of those shouts from the world. It was grounding, as it reminded me of who God says I am as a woman He created—not what the world says femininity should be. Reading this book now, at 25, was such a different experience from when I read it at 21. There is so much to unpack here—so much that is not revealed until you reread it and unlock new understanding with age. I can’t wait to read it again when I’m a mom, when I’m a grandma—through all the years of my life. I recommend this book to everyone, men and women alike. In fact, John Eldredge wrote a counterpart to this book for men titled “Wild at Heart”. This book continues to withstand the test of time. It continuously remains at the top of my list for my favorite books of all time, and I cannot recommend it enough.

Favorite Quotes from Captivating:

“Beauty is transcendent. It is our most immediate experience of the eternal… We yearn to linger, to experience it all our days.”

“Beauty is an essence that is given to every woman at her creation.”

I think this is one of my most unexpected 5 star reads ever! This book was included as a free audiobook on Spotify premium, so I decided to give it a chance and listen to it. I am usually not a fan of romance books, but I have found that listening to them as audiobooks is a much better experience for me. I don’t know exactly why that is, but I think I just find the story more believable while listening to the two characters’ dialogue rather than reading it for myself. When I read romance books, the dialogue has a tendency to sound way too cheesy in my head; because of that, I often have a hard time taking the book seriously. I read Beach Read by Emily Henry last summer, and I didn’t enjoy it very much. But I wonder if my experience would have been different had I listened to it instead. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, especially as an audiobook. I was hooked to the story and I absolutely adored the characters. And I love Emily Henry’s writing, even though I don’t love the romance genre. There is no denying that she is an extremely talented writer–her prose is quite beautiful. I highly recommend this one, even if you are not a romance reader! I could see myself revisiting this one someday–maybe even picking up the physical copy instead!

Those are the books I read/listened to in February! I hope February was a good month for you–I hope you were able to experience some sunny days and time with friends and family. And I hope you found some books you loved!