Saturday, February 28, 2015

Month in Review For February

<That is one of the hilarious results of my quest to update the Confessions of a Insomniac Book Devourer post photo, where only my eyebrows are showing behind my Kindle cover (the brand spanking new one is courtesy my mother's Christmas gift).

February hasn't been the most eventful month, but I got a lot done in terms of review copies and their reviews. I also started my little seeds early this year, in hopes I'll have more blooms on my potted flowers come June. So far I've only planted assorted squash, heirloom tomatoes, crystal palace lobelia, royal carpet alyssum (Crystal Palace and Royal Carpet both are purple varieties), assorted other lobelia, and Thai basil. The squash seedlings are the ones who've taken over in the picture below:


Statistics:
 Total Posts: 16
  Total Critiques: 9
  Genres:
    Historical: 2
    Part of a Series: 6
    Steampunk: 3
    Urban Fantasy: 4

Most Popular Posts of February:
"Billy" by Albert French
SFF: The 5 Character Couples that are Matches Made in Heaven
"Breath, Eyes, Memory" by Edwidge Danticat
"Magic Slays (Kate Daniels #5)" by Ilona Andrews
SFF: The 5 Unconventional Romances that Somehow Worked for You
"Written in Red (The Others #1)" by Anne Bishop

Pageviews for the Month: 700+
Comments: 9

Blog Schedule and Features: Critiques on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. On Sundays, I rotate between the Sunday Fun Five, and Confessions of an Insomniac Book Devourer (or Not Quite a Confession).


Reading Challenges Updates:


Snowflake and Spider Silk Bingo Challenge


Applicable Books:
From January:
Song of Blood and Stone (Earthsinger Chronicles #1) by L. Penelope (POC main character)
Soulless (Parasol Protectorate #1) by Gail Carriger (New to me author)
Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger (2nd book in a series)
Blameless (Parasol Protectorate #3) by Gail Carriger (female author)
From February:
Unseen (Unborn #2) by Amber Lynn Natusch (published 2015)
Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop (Urban Fantasy)

I may do some rearranging later in the challenge, since that's allowed.

Travel the World in Books Challenge



Applicable Books:
Rebel Queen by Michelle Moran (India)
My Japanese Husband Thinks I'm Crazy by Grace Buchele Mineta (Tokyo, Japan)
My Japanese Husband STILL Thinks I'm Crazy by Grace Buchele Mineta (Tokyo, Japan)

Reading Stats:



This month I didn't read as many books as I'd planned to, but often I find my eyes are larger than my ability. I did polish off quite a few review copies, one of which I'm very excited to review in March. I also finished my first ever memoir of a person who was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. I have only visited the now less-booming little town, and had never known a participant of the Harlem Renaissance grew up there. I'm more interested in the town's history now than I previously was.

Books read in February: 10

Book Stats:
Has a Diverse Main Character: 4
Doesn't Have a Diverse MC: 6
Female Main Character: 6
Male Main Character: 1
Pair and/or Group of Female/Male Main Characters: 3
Genre:
 Urban Fantasy: 3
 Steampunk: 1
 Historical Fiction: 1
 Historical Romance: 2
 Historical Memoir: 1
 Comic/blog-style Memoir: 2
Published in 2015: 4
Published in 2000-2014: 5
Published in 1900-1950: 1
Self-Published, Small Press, or Other: 5
Traditionally Published: 5
Series Books: 7
Standalones: 3
Ebook Version: 9
Paper Version: 1
Favorite of the Month: Written in Red (The Others #1) by Anne Bishop
Least Favorite of the Month: Already His by Sandy Raven (but, it was free)
From the-pile: 1
From the-invisible-pile: 0
Recently acquired: 16
Added to the-invisible-pile in February: 12
Books bought: 10 (6 ebooks, 4 physical books)
Pages Read (according to Goodreads): 3413 pages

Ratings:
5 Stars: 0
4-4.5 Stars: 3
3-3.5 Stars: 6
2-2.5 Stars: 1

Author Stats (1 = 1 book read by x author):
Male: 1
Female: 9
Diverse: 1
Not-so-Diverse: 9
Living: 9
Deceased: 1

Planning to Read in March:


I was lucky enough to acquire a digital ARC of The Secret, the third book of one of my favorite paranormal romance series, the Irin Chronicles. There are certain perks to stalking indie authors on all forms of social media, and this is one of them- I wouldn't have known Elizabeth Hunter was looking for ARC readers (who also have book blogs) had I not been diligently tracking her every move on Facebook. So, if you have a fave indie author, always make sure to 'like' their Facebook page or find another way to follow them on social media. I'm glad I did.
The Secret (Irin Chronicles #3) by Elizabeth Hunter (Expected Release: March 31st)

















I also am trying to find my next epic fantasy read (I'm thinking Mirror Empire [Worldbreaker Saga #1] by Kameron Hurley), and am trying to finish Moxyland by Lauren Beukes so I have something Sci-fi to review on the blog in March other than a reread.

Upcoming Reviews:



Rebel Queen (The Last Queen of India is the UK title) by Michelle Moran
I bet you can see why I picked this one up. It also mentioned "Joan of Arc" in the blurb, so I was forced to push the request button on NetGalley. I really enjoyed it, but plan on checking up on some of historical facts (you know, through Google) before I review it. It seems like a lot of other people rated it lower than I did, and I have yet to figure out why. It may have something to do with the blurb mentioning things that only occur at the very end of the book.
Genres: Historical, Heroines I Love, Heroes I Love, Royal Protagonist, Action/Adventure


Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels #7) by Ilona Andrews
The last of my backlog of series reads, and the last book I rated 5 Stars in 2014. I'm so excited that the next one will come out this year (if all goes to plan) and am entirely enamored with the series.
Genres: Urban Fantasy, 5 Stars, Heroes I Love, Heroines I Love, Action/Adventure

Other than those two reviews, I'm leaving my schedule open in case I don't polish off as many books as I think I will.

                 Until tomorrow,

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