A R T
So not much art this month! I’ve been working on some stuff for my work newsletter so that has been taking up a lot of my art time. But a big thing I’m working on is practising the Arcane art style! I’ve been obsessed with show for a while and with the ending of season 2, I’ve been obsessed with practising the style for fun. The character I’ve drawn is one of my OCs, if you watch me over on Twitch, then you’ll have seen her a lot as I use a PNG model of her for streaming!
B O O K S
In February, I read 10 books and 1 graphic novel. I am on a book reading sweep at the moment! Aside from one book this month – I’ve really enjoyed all the books I’ve read this month.
For transparency, books marked with an asterisk (*) signify books I received through work at PRH.
Kirby Cornell thought she had moved on from the sleepy town of Crowhurst, but her past isn’t done with her yet. A new message pops up on her old roommate group chat: Everyone in the group chat will die. The sender? Social media sleuth Esme, their temporary roommate, who died last year. Now, everyone is a threat, and Kirby must return to face the music or lose it all.
I was SO excited to read this. The story starts off really, really strong. And then towards the end, it falls super flat. The narrative alternates between the past (one year prior) and the present, and usually, with these styles of stories, I find them really boring because the present chapters suffer because a lot of the time, the story is unable to move on until the past chapters make progress in their scenes. So whenever we see Kirby in the present chapters, it feels like nothing is happening because, as the readers, we have to wait until Kirby in the past has made progress in the story. Because of that, the present chapters felt absolutely boring, while the chapters in the past were a lot more entertaining to read. I gave this a 3-star rating, which was purely based on the past chapters alone.
A beautiful graphic memoir about Kay Sohini’s relationship with New York – the city which was the backdrop to the multiple different shows and books that made her who she is. A beautiful ode to the adopted city that raised her – but also a reminder that the places and people we love may not always love us back. I saw this mentioned at a work meeting and I was completely obsessed with the style, so when they had copies at work, I knew I had to grab one!
After the death of his grandfather, Rintaro only has days left with the bookstore he was raised in. When a talking cat, called Tiger, appears, he sets off on a mission to save books from people who are mistreating them.
A beautiful book! I wasn’t too sure of the beginning but once the story starts going, it is a very lovely tale of a young reclusive boy who breaks out of his comfort zone and learns to truly appreciate those around him!
I know the shelves at work hate to see me coming. Missing Persons was an incredibly touching and tragic story of Clair Wills diving into her family’s story to under the story of a cousin she never met. Born into a Mother and Baby Home in 1950s Ireland, her cousin Mary was raised in the institution not far from the place Clair called home. Yet she never knew she ever existed. And to discover Mary’s past, she searches through Ireland’s deep history that would span across generations.
The sequel to The Cat Who Saved Books – 10 years after the first book, we now follow young Nanami who noticed books began to disappear from her local library. Tiger returns and joins her on a even more dark journey to save her library.
I was surprised how much this one leaned into the fantasy elements of the world! The first book definitely felt like a simple cozy book while Nanami’s journey felt a lot more darker and adventurous!
When Charlie transfer to Valentine Academy for Boys the last thing he expects is to be rooming with his ex-summer fling – poet star boy Jasper. And suddenly his plans to get perfect grades while also hiding that he’s trans to his fellow students is threatened by the one person who could possibly recognise him. Miraculously, Jasper doesn’t recognise him but the only way Charlie can get his own boarding room if he helps Jasper deliver secret love letters between the boys at Valentine and their sister academy. Can learning the pursuit of love mean Charlie has a second chance?
What a hoot! Page Powars is really great at writing funny snappy romance stories that tug at the heart strings. I thought the plot sounded too similar to his debut, The Borrow a Boyfriend Club, with the whole secret romance club with the fear of getting caught by school faculty. But I think I enjoyed Roommates more than Boyfriend Club! I was a bit sceptic at the idea of a school that emphasises the strict separation of male and female students but none of the school staff, even the headmaster, knew Charlie was trans? But, eh, suspension of disbelief helps a lot here. It was still super fun and adorable!
Temi thought her relationship with Wale was going fine. Until he admits he’s participating in a reality dating show and the two break up. Months later, Wale is a social media star but with a bad reputation and Temi is close to throwing in the towel of achieving her publishing dream. So when the chance to ghost-write a celebrity memoir entices her (and her growing bills), she accepts. But what she wasn’t expecting that celebrity to be Wale…..
It’s been a while since I’ve read a contemporary romance novel that genuinely made me laugh. That had characters that feel realistic and fun to root for. And most importantly for me, characters who sound realistic! I would’ve read this in one day if I hadn’t been distracted by watching The Apprentice with my family.
David Larbi is popular for his poetry on TikTok. He has a way with words that feel comforting and relatable. Frequently Happy is a pocket of peace that combines poetry with journaling prompts for each new season. Super comforting and lovely to use for journaling!
Lucy receives word that her twin sister Sarah is unwell after becoming obsessed with a centuries-old corpse that was recently discovered on her husband’s estate. The doctor diagnose her with insanity, even suggesting she be placed in an asylum for her own safety, but Lucy knows that is a death sentence that awaits her twin. So she must discover the mystery around her sister’s condition before her condition turns sinister. But Sarah isn’t the only sister with secrets and the guilt within Lucy eats her alive. As Sarah condition turns deadly, Lucy learns something else inhabits her sister and Lucy must face this monster head on – or risk losing Sarah forever.
I saw the cover on Netgalley and was enchanted! Read the synopsis and was even more excited! A gorgeous gothic horror of love, deception and betrayal.
Five visitor find themselves at library face to face with the enigmatic librarian, Sayrui Komachi who simply asks, What are you looking for? From a anxious retail assistant eager to learn new skills to a retired salaryman on a mission for a new passion, the library has everything they could ask for. But can they find the thing they need?
There’s a pattern in publishing (in English) to acquire Japanese fiction that always revolves around books or animal where the main message of the tale is to not burden yourself and learn to live freely. With so many on the market, it can feel overwhelming – the message almost losing its touch however this one might just be one of my favourites. I loved the focus on the community space that library can be and the work of the librarians who run the space – without them, the library cannot be what it is – a space to nurture your passions and discover new stories and skills.
Dragons no longer rule but that doesn’t mean life is peaceful. Tamysn was raised an almost princess except her duty is to be punished for her adoptive sister’s misdeeds. While royalty in name, she is still a servant. Which means the King doesn’t blink when he offers Tamsyn up to marry the leader of the Borderlands, except he wouldn’t know until the marriage was already consummated. Now married to who should be the most ruthless man in the lands, Fell isn’t what he seems, and, as Tamysn discovers, neither is she.
Let me be a hater for a second because this was the worst fucking book I’ve read a while. I’m upset I wasted my precious reading time during my commute to work to read this. I genuinely believe the only reason this series exists is because Jordan and her team saw the way BookTok is notoriously known for liking badly written books cobbled together with popular tropes and thought kaching there’s our money maker right there. It’s actually remarkable how formulaic this entire book was. This entire premise of this book relies so hard on tropes it feels so unoriginal. I’m not even going to delve into the romance of this book because it was horrible. I actually laughed when I finished this book because it felt like a joke.
I also need authors to stop taking lessons in the art of Sarah J Maas because how many times do we need to read a book where your uwu weak pale skin female protagonist falls in love with a brooding racially ambiguous man. Mind you the synopsis of this book is basically 50% of its entire content – just start reading from there and you won’t miss anything. And even then I wouldn’t want you to waste your time reading what is left.
M U S I C
That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?
as told by zaheerah 
I’ll have to add This Beautiful, Ridiculous City to my TBR since I love to read Graphic Memoirs. Sounds like you had a good reading month.
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