Despite taking part in Februwitchy this month, I actually didn’t read as many witchy books as I planned. Although I loved having a themed TBR and finally getting to some of the books I’ve been meaning to read for a long time. I need to figure out a way to implement that in future!
The Witches of Cambridge by Menna Van Praag
This isn’t the style of book I normally read. As I mentioned in my Februwitchy TBR, I want to read more romance but this just wasn’t it for me. There were a lot of characters all having different dramas that were all very domestic and uninteresting to me personally, I couldn’t get a handle on one character and her cheating husband before I was whisked away to her mother and her grief, then her sister and her fertility struggles.
Witchcraft was rarely used apart from a couple times and always seemed to take away peoples consent. I liked the focus on kitchen witchery but not how it was used. I can imagine why people would like this but in the end, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I always know I can turn to Armentrout when I want the same vibes as the Twilight-era, and she’s a prolific writer with various series so when I wanted something new, I picked up Half-Blood because modern day descendants of Greek gods? Sure! However, with the fun 2000s romp vibes, comes all the body-shaming and slut-shaming so common in those books. A truly mysterious phenomena!
I can’t speak for if the demonising of addiction was deliberate or just part of the unfortunate cultural opinion but that was something that really stood out to me in Half-Blood. Literally, the daimons (pronounced like demon) are addicted to the life force of these children of gods and are described as “like a druggie going after her fix” and they “sounded high”. Wild.
Its a shame because it’s a fun read! And openly queer-positive. But I won’t continue the series, I think when I’m next in the mood for an Armentrout, I’ll go back to the Lux series that I’ve loved in the past (my review of the first book, Obsidian is here).
Pigs Have Wings by P.G. Wodehouse
These books are like the perfectly crafted tiny cake that you just eat, enjoy, and don’t have to dissect or think about too much. If you want a simple tale of the upper class English stealing pigs and having various visitors that aren’t who they present themselves as, this is the series for you! The perfect audiobook to listen to when insomnia hits.
How to Hang a Witch by Adriana Mather
This was a birthday gift from the lovely Mols and it is truly one of my favourite books of the year, and it’s only February! Full review coming!
Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica
This was released in English in February and when I wrote about 2020 releases I was most excited for, this was top of the list in my mind. This took me in places I didn’t expect and couldn’t wrap-up in a paragraph or two, so I’ll be doing a full post!
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome
I actually listened to the unabridged and the abridged audiobooks of Three Men in a Boat this month. I grew up listening to the Hugh Laurie edition but wanted to read the full book- boy, I was not expecting a dead dang body!
Even so, this book is truly one of my favourites, I’ve named kittens after the characters in the past. I don’t think you can go wrong with this if you need light-hearted fun and charming 1800’s travels down the Thames. One day I’ll write an ode to this book but I’ve remembered how much I love it and will definitely be re-reading it again (and again (and again)).
Imogen's Typewriter. 
I haven't heard of any of these books before, so thank you for recommending them! I love your description of Pigs Have Wings, that sounds like an interesting read. Fab post Imogen, hope March is a great month for reading too! ❤ xxBexa | http://www.hellobexa.com
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