February TBR (2025)

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

If you're wondering why my usual January TBR post never appeared on here, it's because I was challenged to read the entire Harry Potter series in January, and there just didn't seem any point in posting about it. 

But I'm pleased to report that I finished it this morning, which means a new TBR for February is due! 

I'll be choosing my February TBR by feel mostly, so these are just vague outlines of what I feel like reading now. 

Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy reading about my February picks. 

1. Friday Black, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Friday Black is a series of short stories- it's ordinary characters in extroadinary situations. I started it this morning, I'm 52 pages in, have read 3/12 of the stories so far, and have already been overcome by the bias and injustice directed at these characters. 

Going into this, I wasn't sure what to expect, or whether I'd be in the mood to pick something of this subject matter up, given what I'd just finished. I shouldn't have been so apprehensive. 

First new book of the year, I'm 52 pages in, and I already can't wait to see what happens in the next short story. 

If you have no idea what the subject matter is for Friday Black, then I believe this quote from the blurb will make it clear: "The short stories in Friday Black tackle urgent instances of racism and culteral unrest, and explore the many ways we fight for humanity in an unforgiving world." 

I thank my colleague Ben for lending me this book, and being extremely patient in my slowness to pick it up. 

2. Malibu Rising, by Taylor Jenkins-Reid

If there was one book I was focusing on reading, through all of the Harry Potter readings in January, it was this one. 

In a nutshell, Malibu Rising is about a party at the infamous Riva household, hosted by the children of legendary singer Mick Riva- it's the ultimate end to summer party. 

Except there are secrets, lies and half truths at every turn. 

By midnight, the party will rage completely out of control- and by morning the house will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark, in the early hours before dawn, alcohol will be drunk, music will be played, and secrets that have long been hidden will come bubbling to the surface. 

How much can a surfer, photographer, supermodel, and baby sister keep hidden? 

I really hope you guys can tell how excited I am to pick up the final full-length novel by Taylor Jenkins-Reid (I say full-length because there's still a novella for me to get to). 

Genuinely can't wait. 

3. The Hatmakers (Cordelia Hatmaker #1), by Tamzin Merchant

4. The Mapmakers (Cordelia Hatmakers #2), by Tamzin Merchant

 

It's been so long since I've read a middlegrade book, much less a middlegrade series, so even though it may not be wise to stick this on the TBR (there are so a few series' I've had for longer than this *cough* Cytonic), but this is what I'm in the mood for at the moment, so why not?

The Hatmakers follows Cordelia, who comes from a long line of magical milliners, who weave alchemy and enchantment into every hat they make. This type of magic belongs to very few, only a select number of families exist that possess this type of magic. 

When Cordelia's father Prospero and his ship, the Jolly Bonnet, are lost at sea whilst on a mission collecting materials, Corderlia sets off on a quest to discover where her father might be, and what happened. She leaves alone though, for her Uncle Tiberius and Aunt Ariadne are busy with an ancient rivalry between the other milliners, which is threatening to surface. Not to mention, someone is attempting to start a war with Maker magic... 

This series sounds fun, light-hearted and exciting, and I am eager to start it. 

I've added the second book on there as well, because, if I like the first one, I may as well jump straight into book two, if I feel like it. 

5. What Does It Feel Like, by Sophie Kinsella

Told in brief anecdotes, What Does It Feel Like is basically Sophie Kinsella's journey, made into a story, a different character as she starts to claw together the pieces of her life back together, after an operation to remove the malignant tumour growing in her brain. 

There is a brief part of Eve Monroe before the operation, but the majority of the book oversees her learning to walk, talk and write again- and learn what's the most important to her. 

I originally found this book online, and having never read a Sophie Kinsella book before (Following Audrey did appear on my radar upon it's release, but I just never picked it up), added it to my Anticipated Releases post (linked in the title). 

Well, when I saw it on sale in the King's Lynn Waterstones last month, I just couldn't resist. 

I added this to my TBR for the month because I want to try and get ahead of my Goodreads Reading Goal of 80 books, and because this is so short, it went top of the list. 

Everyone who has blurbed this book is shouting out about how fantastic it is, so I'm excited to pick it up. 

I'm aware that, in order to reach this year's Goodreads Goal, I'll need to read more than five books a month, but right now, those are the books that pyke my interest for the month of February. Given it's shorter than the other months, I'll see how much time I have left after I finish all of these. 

So, that is everything that I have for you all tonight! Feel free to comment what your reading plans are for the next, in the usual place- the comments! 

I hope you have a wonderful evening, and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxxx

2025 Goals

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And it's officially 2025! 

I was going to wait and do a tag or something, but I want to start this year off well- so I'm drawing out a list of my 2025 goals- both with reading and everyday. (Though maybe waiting til the 12th to finally finish one is a bad start.)

I hope you enjoy it. 

1. Post more reviews. 

I've read over 100 books in the past two years. Admiteddly, some of those were re-reads, or part of a series, but in total, I posted ten reviews. 

I definitely want to make the effort to note down more of my thoughts with the books I read this year. 

2. Get a cat 

I've lived in my house with my boyfriend for the best part of a year, and sometime soon, we'll be getting a cat! Maybe from Cat Protection, maybe from a house nearby. But it's definitely something we're considering soon! 

3. Post more in general, to be honest. 

Even if only slightly, my number of posts per year have gradually been decreasing. I want to post three times a month (at least)- though, as I'm writing this on the 12th, nearly halfway through the month, I'm very much hoping that I get better as I go along. 

4. STOP BEING SUCH A PEOPLE PLEASER.

I need to stop trying to bend over backwards for people, and try and fit everything in. If it's impossible, I need to learn to just tell people that, instead of giving people falsh expectations. 

If you can't tell, that's a main one. 

5. Read all of my unread books- and achieve my 80 book Goodreads Reading Challenge. 

This one is basically a given by now. I always want to achieve that, and last year it didn't (the unread books goal). Let's change that. 

Okay! Those are all my main goals for the year- I would of course like to travel more, but for that I need money. 

As always, feel free to post any new years' resolutions- bookish or otherwise, in the comments below, so we can support eachother! 

I hope you have a lovely eveming, and I will see you all soon! 

Byeeee! 

-Abi xxxxx