Monthly Book Blog Wrap-Up: February 2022

Hi and bye, February! I don’t know how I found the time, but I feel like I was as productive as ever in February. February was the month of the blog tour for me. I also managed to squeeze in a few pleasure reads for myself. (That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the blog tour books, which I did.) Here’s what I accomplished in February.

Book Reviews

For a short month, I surprised myself by posting six book reviews. I’ll happily take a pat on the back for that. From earliest to latest, here are my recent book reviews.

Book Memes and Other Posts

I posted four book memes.

Though not a book meme in the traditional sense, I also participated in the Support Book Bloggers Challenge. I chose the 10 new-to-me book bloggers prompt. Check it out for some potentially new-to-you book bloggers to follow.

I also posted a list of recommended and TBR books for Black history month.

And I can’t forget about my January monthly wrap-up.

Statistics

I’m now a smidge over half way to my goal of 100 blog followers by the end of 2022. A big thank you to my new blog followers!

Since posting more frequently over the past several months, I’ve noticed an increase in monthly views and unique visitors. The numbers will be small to some, but it’s a steady trend upward nonetheless. Amazingly, more unique visitors checked out my blog in February than in January, which surprised me because February is a shorter month. February also had the highest number of views and unique visitors compared to previous months. This increasing trend makes me happy because it means (I hope) my reviews and my love of books are reaching more people. I think this is mainly a result of signing up from so many blog tours in February. That’s not sustainable for me, though, so I don’t anticipate hitting these numbers every month.

In February, my top five posts were:

  1. 2022 Support Book Bloggers Challenge: 10 Book Bloggers
  2. Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
  3. Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward
  4. The Broken Heart of Arelium by Alex Robins
  5. Castles in Their Bones by Laura Sebastian

#BeatTheBacklog

Lisa at Owl Be Sat Reading started the hashtag #BeatTheBacklog to rally those who want to make a dent in their TBR list. I only read one book in my backlog in February, The North Wind by Alexandria Warwick, which was in my NetGalley queue. I definitely want to make more progress, but one book is certainly better than none! You can find my progress list here of all of my #BeatTheBacklog reads.

Other Book-ish Progress

I made a little progress on my NetGalley queue (The North Wind), though not as much as in January. As I mentioned earlier, most of my attention was on blog tours this month. I also read A Dance with the Fae Prince by Elise Kova, which was not a NG read.

In March, though, I plan on making more progress on my NG approvals. I was pleasantly surprised that publishers approved me for A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland; The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah; The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh; and Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. I’m quite behind, but I’ll read everything eventually!

I also won a couple of book giveaways. Thanks to Jill at Myth and Magic Book Club for a copy of House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas. And thanks to Nick at Out of This World SFF for a copy of Rise of the Mages by Scott Drakeford.

Last, but certainly not least, I created a bookstagram. Please feel free to follow me on Instagram at alitescape!

Blog Tour: Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward

Today’s review is about BLOOD OF THE LOST KINGDOM by Kristin Ward. It’s the second book in the Daughter of Erabel series. As such, this review contains some spoilers for THE GIRL OF DORCHA WOOD.

Author: Kristin Ward
Series: Daughter of Erabel Book 2
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: August 3, 2021
Print Length: 282
Links: Amazon* and Goodreads*

*This is not an affiliate link and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using this link.

Continue reading “Blog Tour: Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward”

WWW Wednesday: February 23, 2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m still working my way through Culture Warlords by Talia Lavin. It’s a heavy read and I can only get through one chapter at a time before needing to switch to something lighter. I’m also reading Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward as part of a Write Reads blog tour. It’s the next book after The Girl of Dorcha Wood, which I also read as part of a blog tour.




Recently Finished: I recently finished reading A Dance With the Fae Prince by Elise Kova. It’s a stand-alone novel that’s part of the Married to Magic collection, which is based in the world of Midscape. I wrote my review for it a few days ago. I’m not sure when I’ll post it since I still need to post my review of the first book, A Deal With the Elf King. Yes, I am a little behind on posting reviews, but that’s honestly how I prefer it. It means I have a handful of reviews to pull from and post if I find myself overly-committed one week.



Reading Next: I decided that in March I need/want to get back to making progress on my NetGalley shelf. So I will finish The Cicada Tree by Robert Gwaltney. I also plan to read, perhaps simultaneously, The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, which I checked out from the library.





WWW Wednesday: February 16, 2022

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme revived and hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is to answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses.

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Currently Reading: I’m currently reading Culture Warlords by Talia Lavin. I first heard about it on NPR a couple of years ago and it’s been sitting on my TBR ever since. Lately I’ve been reading a lot of fantasy and I think it’s about time I switch it up for a different genre. This book covers a heavy topic (white supremacy), so it’s not an emotionally light read.





Recently Finished: I recently finished reading Octavia Bloom and the Missing Key by Estelle Grace Tudor. I read it as part of a BBNYA blog tour hosted by The Write Reads. Check out my review if you missed it!






Reading Next: I have one last The Write Reads blog tour coming up for Blood of the Lost Kingdom by Kristin Ward, which is the sequel to The Girl of Dorcha Wood. After that I’ll probably read The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, which is on its way to my library; and/or one of my many pending NetGalley reads.




Blog Tour: The Girl of Dorcha Wood by Kristin Ward

Today’s review is about THE GIRL OF DORCHA WOOD by Kristin Ward. It’s the first book in the Daughter of Erabel series and inspired by Irish legend. In it Fiadh lives a quiet life in the feared Dorcha Wood until she encounters and heals a felled stranger. This disrupts her peaceful existence and opens the door to a new path.

Author: Kristin Ward
Series: Daughter of Erabel, #1
Age Category: Young Adult
Publisher: Self-Published
Publish Date: April 13, 2021
Print Length: 232
Links: Amazon* and Goodreads*

*This is not an affiliate link and I do not make a commission from any purchase made using this link.

Continue reading “Blog Tour: The Girl of Dorcha Wood by Kristin Ward”