Hello, lovelies! Welcome to another Bookish Breakdown post, my monthly wrap-up where I talk about last month’s reading, as well as life musings, blog hopping links and intention updates!
February was an okay month for me. I had some days where I struggled a bit, mentally (especially towards the end of the month, for very obvious, world-event reasons). The weather was a bit all over the place, with some gorgeous 60 degree days and multiple below freezing temperatures. We even had some snow!
Work continues to be a toxic mess in our leadership structure. I’ve tried to become quite and small to avoid it, which isn’t like me. But, the work itself has been manageable, which is nice–and will be missed, as March starts our string of busy months that won’t really end until September.
Otherwise, it was a pretty average month. My partner and I are still staying very close to home, though we have started a new DnD campaign with some friends (all of us vaxxed) that has been really lovely once a month. I’ve also read some good books, played video games and reorganized my kitchen.
All in all, not the worst month, considering.
So, let’s check in and see how I did creatively this month!

Reading Breakdown
What I Read


I’m very excited I finally read The Fires of Vengeance by Evan Winter. So fucking superb. And even though I’m am about halfway through The Bone Shard Daughter, I am really enjoying it and hope to have it finished by next week.
What I Hauled








So, this is a very different selection than normal! I have two ARCs, from the kind book wizards at Orbit Books (thank you!): The Bladed Faith by David Dalglish and Azura Ghost by Essa Hansen.
All of the others, however, are non-fiction reads I’ve purchased to help do some supporting research for one of my WIPs, BLOOD PRICE. It’s my hope that by reading over some non-fiction that deals with similar time periods and themes, I can ensure the worldbuilding in my novel is as solid as it can be.
Reading Challenges Update
What: A yearly challenge tracked via StoryGraph of how my books I want to read this year.
Goal: 50 Books
Status: 4/50 Books




What: A personal challenge I’ve put upon myself to read at least one antiracist book a month (or 12 a year).
Goal: 12 Books
Status: 0/12 Books
What: A personal challenge where I want to do a better job that of reading books written by (or featuring protagonists) that aren’t the publishing “standard”, i.e, white, male, able-bodied, straight and based on Western cultures or Christian/Catholic religions.
Goal: More books that break away from that “standard” than books that do.
Status: 4/25




What: A yearly challenge hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight where you write and share your bookish discussion posts!
Goal: 24 Discussion Post (Chatty Kathy Level)
Status: 4/24 Posts
Posts:

Blogging Breakdown
What I Posted
So, it was another strong blogging month! Where January was more personal, as I wrote about goals and intentions, this month was very book blogger-ish. You have discussion posts, you have book reviews and even a bookish recommendation list!
I hope you’ve all enjoyed the content this month. If you haven’t check it out, here’s a list of what I wrote this month:
Read Around the Blogosphere
Check out some of the fantastic posts from this past month from other bloggers below!
Other Bloggers’ Posts I Loved
- Check out all of the amazing posts that were part of the Black History Month series, hosted by CW, Joce and Skye @ The Quiet Pond!
- Kate @ Your Tita Kate shares 6 Black SFF authors to support year round.
- Amber @ The Literary Phoenix shares both non-fiction and fiction recommendations of Black authors to support year round
- Caitlin @ Realms of My Mind shares some of her favorite female authors.
- Fadwa @ Word Wonders’s review of She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan detailed everything I wasn’t smart enough to write in my own review.
- Mackenzie @ Colour Me Read shares a fantastic list of space gays recommended reads!
- Amber @ Du Livre shares an incredible list of 100 new fantasy romance books!
- Joséphine @ Word Revel shares an Audiobook Reading Tracker!
- Wyrd and Wonder is back for a 5th year, taking place in May!
- Krysta @ Pages Unbound shares 5 book blogging myths that need to be debunked.
- I really enjoyed Nia @ Perspective Madness’s latest newsletter topic: why do we constantly shit on romance readers and writers?

Intentions Check-In
As you saw from my intentions post, I tried to narrow in my focus this year. I still do want to check-in each month and see how I’m doing, so I don’t lose sight of what I’m hoping to achieve, change and celebrate!
I’m not sure why having a routine is such a struggle for me, but I really need to get my butt into gear with this, my gosh.
March goals: Figure out my sleep routine.
Y’all, we actually reorganized the kitchen!! And I really love it!? It was a little more pricey than I hope, but literally every single time I walk into that kitchen, I am filled with joy. If this isn’t a sign of adulthood, I have no idea what is.
I started looking at ways to make reading and writing more of a priority. I haven’t quite implemented it yet, but I’m currently hoping that changes in March!
Looking Forward
Well, February was a bit of a mix for me, I think. I’m still not quite where I want to be. My anxiety and depression are currently challenging and negative thoughts about myself have flared recently, thanks to my eating disorder and internalized fatphobia. Yet, there are some wins, too. I’m trying to focus on those, especially with how horrible the world is, right now.
Thanks for reading this month’s Bookish Breakdown. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy. I particularly hope you are able to take care of your mental health right now.

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