February 2018 Wrap Up!

I had such good month of reading - I finished 6 books! 6 books in 28 days! Can you believe that? I can't. It's probably because I was without wifi and signal for over 48 hours and my family were all ill so had nothing else to do but still, it's not bad. Not every book I read this month I loved - and there is one book here that hate with a passion but other than that, it was good.

1. The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Alright, so I've written a review on this that feels to me kinda messy and conflicted, but to be honest that's how I feel about this book - I still haven't quite decided how I feel about this. I enjoyed reading The Host, and it's definitely the best Stephanie Meyer's book I've ever read and could easily be a great trilogy. I really enjoyed some of the characters and the world building in this is phenomenal. However, if I could just erase Jared from this book I'd be happy, I just don't like this guy. He's cruel and malicious, he's a bit too obsessed with Melanie, and he seems to have this thing for girls way younger than him and it's weird. Also, I did not like how this ended with Wanda being transferred into a 'special snowflake' body, it just felt wrong and it doesn't even really make any practical sense considering the situation she's in.

2. The Thousandth Floor by Katherine McGee

This was a book I was really excited for, it was so hyped up when it first came out with it's beautiful cover and idea of it being like gossip girl. Honestly, the concept of this is amazing - the idea of your wealth determining what floors you live on in a skyscraper mixed with bitchy teen drama sounds like everything I want, however the execution of this was not. I found most of the characters to be boring, and I really didn't care about some perspective, and the awful thing is I don't even dislike most of them - I just feel really indifferent. There is one character in this book I like and if you've read it you probably know who it is as they have great character arc in my opinion, the rest of them are boring and stay the same. The relationships in this are kinda weird, and there's one type of relationship that is almost promoted and supported by the author and I just don't get it. The saving grace of this book was the ending, I will probably read the next book in this series just to see how it's resolved AND it has better ratings on goodreads than the first one so I'm hopeful.

3. The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertelli

This is the first book I've read by Becky Albertelli and I really enjoyed it - I flew through it. Becky has created some really great, flushed out and very real characters in this book and I like pretty much everyone but Cassie, I hate Cassie. Cassie is one of the things that kept this book at a four star rating for me as I feel she's quite harsh and mean to her sister at times, and the book never addressed this properly so I refused to give anymore stars to her. Also, the romances in this were very cute, and very real - Becky does not shy away from the topics in teenage relationships other author's may shy away from because they're 'inappropriate' which is really nice to see. However, I did have another problem with this book as I wasn't sure what message was trying to be sent with the protagonist, as I'm not sure if her insecurities were 'solved' through self love and acceptance, or through the acceptance of a guy - which I'm not here for. Overall though, it was a lovely and diverse book that was just very cute at times and I will definitely read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens at some point.

4. Me and Earl and The Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

I read this book years ago when I was a very different person, and I loved it. I remember thinking it was the funniest thing I had ever read and I adored Jesse for writing something that seemed so different at the time. Naturally, I was apprehensive about picking this up again as re-reads can sometimes not be what we want them to be. However I did really enjoy this and my book is covered in those little sticky tabs where I found parts really funny, parts that were funny enough I laughed at them. Now, looking at it this book is definitely not for everyone but I consider it to be a breathe a fresh air in YA as it completely takes a new and kind of real spin on the 'disease/sickness stories' that can be very popular. The great thing about this as well is even though I dislike the protagonist that's okay, because it's done in such a way that you're meant to dislike Greg - and he's completely aware of that which is great and not something I have since I first read this. Greg is so in denial of what's he experienced and how that's changed him, but that's kind of realistic of a boy his age - sorry, but it's true, and he's just a really funny asshole to read about. Also, the way in which this book is written in different forms is fab because you never bored and it works perfectly for what's going on at the time.

5. Tess of the d'Urbevilles by Thomas Hardy

I hate this. I hate it. And I know I shouldn't say that, because some people may love this book but I don't care, I would happily burn every copy of this is the world. And you might be saying 'oh, but it's such great social commentary for what was going on at the time' and 'but Hardy was fighting for women and how they're perceived' and I don't care! Tess is the most awful character I've ever met, she is so weak and emotional and just pretentious to the point I want to scream sometimes reading her lines. Also, I hate Angel more than I hate Alec, which isn't good because Alec is meant to be the villain, but Angel is just so much worse - he treats Tess like the dog shit on the bottom of his shoe and even at times when he 'nice' and 'good' to her he's still a shitty husband! Also Hardy's writing drives me up the fucking wall, I can't stand his descriptions - like we get it, there's a big field now move the fuck on. I know I sound awful but I have to read this book for my English Lit A Level, and it's advised we read it multiple times, and it's my least favourite book in the world and I've just reread it and I hate it.

6. A Way Out: Conquering Depression and Social Anxiety by Michelle Balge

I got sent this book in exchange for an honest review, and I'm so glad I did because it is by far the best book I read this month. This book is not an easy read, as it's so emotional and Michelle has held nothing back so the reader fully understands what she went through. I would advise everyone to read this with caution as I wouldn't want it to upset anyone who has suffered from anything similar, but at the same time I believe it's something anyone could read whether you've suffered from mental health problems or not. Whilst at times this memoir is difficult to read, it is also very uplifting and full of hope, and I think it's great book on what recovery is really like and how you will get there even with setbacks. Honestly, please buy this book as I think it's amazing.

Overall, it was a good reading month. I didn't get to one book on my TBR for February which was Ice like Fire but I am reading that at the moment so I'm not too fussed, and I did read some good books so it's all okay.

This is compiled list of mental health helplines by The NHS: http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/mental-health-helplines.aspx

For anyone living in the USA: http://www.healthyplace.com/other-info/resources/mental-health-hotline-numbers-and-referral-resources/ 

Suicide crisis lines around The World: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines7