February Wrap Up 2019

It's the month of love and, like always, my love exclusively remains saved for books and TV because I'm that kind of gal.

BOOKS
Dry- Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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I'm not even surprised this was spectacular- it's Neal Shusterman! Of course, it's stunning!
This is a sort of apocalyptic story where we've completely run out of water. This book follows the journey of a group of teens in their search for water and ultimately, a quest to just survive. I love how this book explores the price of survival and to what extent we can keep our humanity when trying to keep ourselves and our loved ones alive- it's fascinating! But, I will be honest, this book absolutely terrified me because it was all so realistic and the whole thing seems way too likely to happen one day... which makes me have a panic attack just thinking about it.
Review to come!

A Very Large Expanse of Sea- Tahereh Mafi
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This book was everything!! It was such a quick read and it was adorable! I love contemporary romances and this just melted my heart! The characters are amazing and the relationship is swoon-worthy! But what I loved most about this book was the representation! This story follows Shirin, a Muslim girl attending high school in the years after 9/11 and the representation was just perfect! It's a very close subject to Tahereh Mafi and you can really feel the anger, the emotion and the heart in this read... it's truly heart-breaking and eye-opening to how the world really is.
A Very Large Expanse of Sea Book Review

Till Death- Jennifer L. Armentrout
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I got this book for my birthday so I just had to read it immediately because... it's Jennifer L. Armentrout. We all know how I feel about Jennifer L. Armentrout.
This was an adult romance thriller which was a little different to what I usually read of hers (YA fantasy) but, as I've said many times before, JLA is a chameleon and can write in every single genre. So, unsurprisingly, this book was amazing! I fell in love with the characters and the final reveal had me gasping and face-palming because I'm such an idiot for not figuring everything out.... which is exactly the kinda feeling I want from a book. Genuinely, at the end of mystery/thrillers, I want to feel bone-dead stupid for being so blind.

The Dead List- Jennifer L. Armentrout (Re-read)
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Because I was in a JLA kick, I went back to a re-read (my first re-read of the year!) of another thriller of hers that I love. This is more of a horror/thriller (warning: clowns may or may not be involved) but it's super gripping and entertaining! There's also a subplot romance which always keeps me happy and I loved re-reading this.

Soulmates- Holly Bourne (Re-read)
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I went through a little wobble this month and didn't know what I felt like reading so I went back to a solid favourite of mine. Soulmates is essentially a romance with a magical realism twist that creates a really cool premise. I first read this book when I was about ten so, while being older has opened my eyes to the flaws in this story, it's still super nostalgic and fun for me.

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic #1)- V. E. Schwab 
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Since I bought the rest of the series this month, I decided to jump right in and it was amazing! This is how fantasy should be written! The world building was beautiful and the characters were so lovable! It was so much fun learning about this intricate world, the system of magic and I can't wait to finish the series!
Review to come!

A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic #2)- V. E. Schwab 
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And, of course, I went straight to the sequel. I didn't like the sequel as much as the first book in the series (hence only 4 stars) but it was still amazing! The only reason it lagged a little for me was because the stakes weren't as high and it was pretty slow until the last 50 pages or so. Nevertheless, that meant we had a lot of time for character development and relationships which were everything! 
Review to come!


TV and MOVIES
Mr and Mrs Smith (Re-watch)
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I had a free afternoon so, while I revised for my Sociology A Levels because I'm such a good student, I decided to have this film just playing in the background. It's funny, entertaining and light which is exactly what I need to distract me when I'm stressing over college.


Pitch Perfect 3 (Re-watch)
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As I watched the first two with my mum and brother last month, we finished off the trilogy in February. Out of the entire trilogy, I have to say this is my least favourite but I enjoyed it a lot more this time. It's fun and easy to watch and a bit of a guilty pleasure.

21
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For my brother's birthday, we watched his favourite movie... which was incidentally the age he was turning. This movie is based off a true story, all about counting cards in Las Vegas and winning (and losing) a lot of money. This was actually a super cool movie and it was nice to watch as a family. I love stories that are really smart and detailed and this certainly fulfilled expectations.

Tangled (Re-watch) 
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While I was doing even more revision (I should get a medal or something), I decided to watch Tangled! I've never watched it the whole way through but now that I have... I might just say that it's my favourite ever Disney movie. I love the songs, I love the characters, I love the relationships.... I just love it all.

Hunted 2019
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As always, I gripped on this show. Hunted is a reality TV show where 12 ordinary people go on the run and a team of 'hunters' have to track them within 28 days using methods of the state (CCTV, phone hacking, car tracking etc.). This is such a fast-paced and gripping show and I'm absolutely glued to it every single year.

Tangled (Re-watch)
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Don't judge me, okay? My brother wanted to watch it and it was only two days since I'd previously watched it... so naturally I said yes. And I enjoyed it too.

Killing Eve Season 1 (Re-watch)
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Since season 2 comes out in April (yay!!!!) I wanted to re-watch season 1 again to refresh my memory and... I got through it a lot quicker than I thought I would. There's only eight episodes so it flies by a lot quicker than you'd think. This series revolves around a female assassin and, honestly, I've raved about it so much so, if you haven't seen it, that's your loss, my friend.
Season 1 Full Review
1x01 Review

Thanks for reading! Feel free to comment your thoughts. Stay amazing!
Chloe