Books · Monthly Tags

February TBR 2022 – The TBR Raffle

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

Hello, fellow readers!

A week later, but better late than never – here’s my February TBR.

You probably already know this, but just a reminder that I share my current reading updates on my Instagram posts and stories, and my Goodreads and Storygraph account, so don’t forget to follow my Instagram and other socials (all listed at the bottom of the blog) to see what I am reading at any given time during this month. Sometimes my TBR varies, as I add additional books during the month.

Before I start my February TBR, as this is still the beginning of 2022, I want to add that there are a few challenges that I have chosen to participate in. Firstly, I am doing the PopSugar Challenge of 2022, The StoryGraph’s Onboarding Reading Challenge 2022 and a few other small monthly challenges that are organised either by myself or by fellow readers.

And with that being said, let the February TBR commence.

The February TBR Raffle

I am filming my TBRs on my Instagram Stories. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, and check my Raffle draw (usually posted as a highlight or a reel).

My TBR Raffle game is simple: I have a number of prompts that I put in small papers, into a jar. I draw a prompt, and I fit in a book that matches my prompt. Here is a list of the current prompts I have. Feel free to leave any prompt suggestions in the comments. Once the paper is drawn, I put it back into the jar, so it has an equal chance to get drawn again. I draw a total of 5 prompts, which result in 5 books for the month. If I fail to read a book, it automatically goes into the next month.

My February TBR

✨ 1. Giveaway

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier is a book I won as a giveaway, and it came together with a kit for making pizzas. I, of course, made the pizza and ate it immediately, but never had the chance to get to the book. When this prompt came up, it was easy to pick it up.

Synopsis:

Eighteen years old, pregnant, and working as a pizza delivery girl, our dysfunctional heroine is deeply lost and in complete denial about it all.

Her world is further upended when she becomes obsessed with Jenny, a stay-at-home mother new to the neighbourhood.

As one woman looks toward motherhood and the other toward middle age, the relationship between the two begins to blur in strange and ultimately heartbreaking ways.

Bold, tender, and unexpected, Pizza Girl is a moving and funny portrait of a flawed, unforgettable young woman as she tries to find her place in the world.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 2. Beautiful Cover

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

The Devouring Gray by Christine Lynn Herman was my choice, because I love the neon pink on the cover. Although, I have to admit, the competition was ruthless. Also, the synopsis sounds thrilling, and I am already half-way through it whilst writing this blog post, and can tell you I am loving it so far!

Synopsis:

Branches and stones, daggers and bones,
They locked the Beast away.


After the death of her sister, seventeen-year-old Violet Saunders finds herself dragged to Four Paths, New York. Violet may be a newcomer, but she soon learns her mother isn’t: They belong to one of the revered founding families of the town, where stone bells hang above every doorway and danger lurks in the depths of the woods.

Justin Hawthorne’s bloodline has protected Four Paths for generations from the Gray—a lifeless dimension that imprisons a brutal monster. After Justin fails to inherit his family’s powers, his mother is determined to keep this humiliation a secret. But Justin can’t let go of the future he was promised and the town he swore to protect.

Ever since Harper Carlisle lost her hand to an accident that left her stranded in the Gray for days, she has vowed revenge on the person who abandoned her: Justin Hawthorne. There are ripples of dissent in Four Paths, and Harper seizes an opportunity to take down the Hawthornes and change her destiny-to what extent, even she doesn’t yet know.

The Gray is growing stronger every day, and its victims are piling up. When Violet accidentally unleashes the monster, all three must band together with the other Founders to unearth the dark truths behind their families’ abilities—before the Gray devours them all. 

Purchase Links:
 Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 3. Series

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

After reading The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski and really loving it, I am desperate to dive into the Witcher series and read more about Geralt of Rivia. Getting series as my prompt was the perfect excuse.

Synopsis:

For more than a hundred years humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over and now the races once again fight each other – and themselves: Dwarves are killing their kinsmen, and elves are murdering humans and elves, at least those elves who are friendly to humans… Into this tumultuous time is born a child for whom the witchers of the world have been waiting.

Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra, has strange powers and a stranger destiny, for prophecy names her the Flame, one with the power to change the world – for good, or for evil… Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, has taken Ciri to the relative safety of the Witchers’ Settlement, but it soon becomes clear that Ciri isn’t like the other witchers. As the political situation grows ever dimmer and the threat of war hangs almost palpably over the land, Geralt searches for someone to train Ciri’s unique powers.

But someone else has an eye on the young girl, someone who understand exactly what the prophecy means – and exactly what Ciri’s power can do. This time Geralt may have met his match.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 4. Sent by Publisher

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

I am very privileged to receive a lot of book form publishers, so this was also a very difficult one. But I couldn’t not choose Extasia by Claire Legrand – it’s a new YA horror novel and it’s coming out this month, so I am so excited to be picking it up and reading it for its publication month.

Synopsis:

Her name is unimportant.

All you must know is that today she will become one of the four saints of Haven. The elders will mark her and place the red hood on her head. With her sisters, she will stand against the evil power that lives beneath the black mountain–an evil which has already killed nine of her village’s men.

She will tell no one of the white-eyed beasts that follow her. Or the faceless gray women tall as houses. Or the girls she saw kissing in the elm grove.

Today she will be a saint of Haven. She will rid her family of her mother’s shame at last and save her people from destruction. She is not afraid. Are you?

This searing and lyrically written novel by the critically acclaimed author of Sawkill Girls beckons readers to follow its fierce heroine into a world filled with secrets and blood–where the truth is buried in lies and a devastating power waits, seething, for someone brave enough to use it.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 5. Instragam Scroll

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

This may have been the first time this prompt has come up in the raffle. When I get this one, I scroll through my Instagram feed, until I find a book posted that I own. When scrolling, The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli came up. It’s a book I won as a giveaway, but one which I am very excited to start.

Synopsis:

In the beginning, there was the Namsara: the child of sky and spirit, who carried love and laughter wherever he went. But where there is light, there must be darkness—and so there was also the Iskari. The child of blood and moonlight. The destroyer. The death-bringer.

These are the legends that Asha, daughter of the king of Firgaard, has grown up learning in hushed whispers, drawn to the forbidden figures of the past. But it isn’t until she becomes the fiercest, most feared dragon slayer in the land that she takes on the role of the next Iskari—a lonely destiny that leaves her feeling more like a weapon than a girl.

Asha conquers each dragon and brings its head to the king, but no kill can free her from the shackles that await at home: her betrothal to the cruel commandant, a man who holds the truth about her nature in his palm. When she’s offered the chance to gain her freedom in exchange for the life of the most powerful dragon in Firgaard, she finds that there may be more truth to the ancient stories than she ever could have expected. With the help of a secret friend—a slave boy from her betrothed’s household—Asha must shed the layers of her Iskari bondage and open her heart to love, light, and a truth that has been kept from her.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 6. Sent By Publisher

February TBR 2022 - The TBR Raffle

The team at Avon have been kind enough to send me a paperback copy of The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott, which is being published in February as well. I think it’s the mystery/thriller book I will need to break apart my YA fantasies this month, and I think it will be amazing!

Synopsis:

No one expected them to go there. The question is: will any of them leave?

Six friends travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They’ve rented The Lighthouse – a stunning, now abandoned building that was once notorious for deaths at sea.

On the first evening, someone goes missing. The group search all through the night to no avail. But when the five remaining friends return to the lighthouse early the next morning, they are shocked to find James inside. He’s looks terrified – but won’t say a word about where he’s been.

The party vow to put the strange night behind them and enjoy the rest of their stay, but when more unexplained things begin to occur, tensions escalate. It’s clear James knows something, but nothing will persuade him to give up the secrets of the island. Is he protecting his friends from a terrible truth, or leading them into more danger?

A chilling, gripping and powerfully atmospheric suspense novel with a gothic edge.

Purchase Links:
 Amazon UK | Amazon US

Make sure to follow me on Instagram, so you can stay up to date with my current updates during the month.

And that’s my February TBR. Have you read any of the above books? What is on your February TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Social Media:
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Books · Monthly Tags

February TBR – The TBR Raffle

February TBR - The TBR Raffle

Hello, fellow readers!

Welcome to the February TBR! January felt like it lasted for a year, and I’m already enjoying February way more than I enjoyed January. It’s nice to have a short month once in a while, isn’t it?

January was a very hard month, and I read only 7 books, only one of which was a 5-star. You can see my January wrap up here.

You probably already know this, but just a reminder that I share my current reading updates on my Instagram posts and stories, so don’t forget to follow my Instagram to see what I am reading at any given time during this month. And this month, there will be a lot of surprises there as well, which you don’t want to miss.

And with that being said, let the February TBR raffle commence.

The February TBR Raffle

I am filming my TBRs on my Instagram Stories. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, and check out the “Monthly TBR” highlight at the beginning of each month!

My TBR Raffle game is simple: I have a number of prompts that I put in small papers, into a jar. I draw a prompt, and I fit in a book that matches my prompt. Here is a list of the current prompts I have. Feel free to leave any prompt suggestions in the comments. Once the paper is drawn, I put it back into the jar, so it has an equal chance to get drawn again. I draw a total of 6 prompts, which result in 6 books for the month. If I fail to read a book, it automatically goes into the next month.

My February TBR

✨ 1. Fantasy

House of Earth and Blood (Crescent City #1) by Sarah J. Maas is a book I have had on my TBR shelf since last April, but when fantasy came up, it felt like the perfect time to start it, and I can’t wait for it.

Synopsis:

Bound by blood.
Tempted by desire.
Unleashed by destiny.

Bryce Quinlan had the perfect life—working hard all day and partying all night—until a demon murdered her closest friends, leaving her bereft, wounded, and alone. When the accused is behind bars but the crimes start up again, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation. She’ll do whatever it takes to avenge their deaths.

Hunt Athalar is a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. His brutal skills and incredible strength have been set to one purpose—to assassinate his boss’s enemies, no questions asked. But with a demon wreaking havoc in the city, he’s offered an irresistible deal: help Bryce find the murderer, and his freedom will be within reach.

As Bryce and Hunt dig deep into Crescent City’s underbelly, they discover a dark power that threatens everything and everyone they hold dear, and they find, in each other, a blazing passion—one that could set them both free, if they’d only let it.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 2. LoveReading

LoveReading is a website that I have been an ambassador for about 2 years now, and they send me amazing books before publication. That is why I have a special prompt made just for the books they’ve sent me. This time, I am choosing The Gilded Ones (Deathless #1) by Namina Forna. I know I will definitely enjoy this book, and I think it will one of the most popular YA fantasies this year!

Synopsis:

Sixteen-year-old Deka lives in Otera, a deeply patriarchal ancient kingdom, where a woman’s worth is tied to her purity, and she must bleed to prove it. But when Deka bleeds gold – the colour of impurity, of a demon – she faces a consequence worse than death. She is saved by a mysterious woman who tells Deka of her true nature: she is an Alaki, a near-immortal with exceptional gifts. The stranger offers her a choice: fight for the Emperor, with others just like her, or be destroyed…

Purchase Links:
 | Amazon UK | Amazon US |

✨ 3. Instagram Pick

This month’s Instagram Pick was The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan. I always love the Instagram polls that we do, and you seem to also enjoy it as well. It’s quite fun how we come up with a random title that most of you want me to read. I am in love with my copy of this book, and I know I will truly enjoy it!

Synopsis:

It’s been almost a year since Sila’s mother traveled halfway around the world to Turkey, hoping to secure the immigration paperwork that would allow her to return to her family in the United States.

The long separation is almost impossible for Sila to withstand. But things change when Sila accompanies her father (who is a mechanic) outside their Oregon town to fix a truck. There, behind an enormous stone wall, she meets a grandfatherly man who only months before won the state lottery. Their new alliance leads to the rescue of a circus elephant named Veda, and then to a friendship with an unusual boy named Mateo, proving that comfort and hope come in the most unlikely of places.

Purchase Links:
Amazon US

✨ 4. Highest Rated

The current highest rated book on my Goodreads TBR is Unspoken by Guvna B, and I am so excited to read about his book that speaks about toxic masculinity.

Synopsis:

Men are bold. Men are brave. And men are strong in the face of fear. But what happens when that strength crumbles?

Growing up on a council estate in East London, rapper Guvna B thought he knew everything he needed to know about what it means to be a man. But when a personal tragedy sent him reeling, he knew he had to face these assumptions head on if he was going to be able to overcome his grief.

In this intimate, honest and unflinching memoir, Guvna B draws on his personal experiences to explore how toxic masculinity affects young men today. Exploring ideas of male identity, UNSPOKEN is an inspirational account of Guvna’s journey.

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK |Amazon US |

✨ 5. TBR Jar

My TBR Jar picked The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent, and I couldn’t have asked for a better choice! It’s the perfect book to get me into a spring/summer mood, and it will be a light read to brighten up the gloomy rainy February days.

Synopsis:

Have you ever imagined running away from your life?

Well Birdy Finch didn’t just imagine it. She did it. Which might’ve been an error. And the life she’s run into? Her best friend, Heather’s.

The only problem is, she hasn’t told Heather. Actually there are a few other problems…

Can Birdy carry off a summer at a luxury Scottish hotel pretending to be her best friend (who incidentally is a world-class wine expert)?

And can she stop herself from falling for the first man she’s ever actually liked (but who thinks she’s someone else)?

Purchase Links:
Amazon UK | Amazon US

✨ 6. Sent By Publisher

The Man I Didn’t Marry by Anna Bell was kindly sent to me by the team at HQ Stories, and this book is coming out this month, which is why I chose to read it. The synopsis is intriguing, and I have heard amazing things about Anna Bell’s writing, so can’t wait to dive into it!

Synopsis:

What happens when the man she married can’t remember her?

Ellie has the perfect life: a happy marriage, a gorgeous daughter and a baby on the way. But when her husband Max develops amnesia, he forgets everything about the last five years . . . including their relationship.

Now the man she said ‘I do’ to has become a stranger, and she has no idea why. Yet Ellie is determined to reconnect and find herMax again – he has to be in there somewhere, right?

As they get to know one another afresh, Ellie finds herself seeing Max clearly for the first time. But then she discovers that before his memory loss, Max was keeping a huge secret from her. Will their new beginning prove to be a false start, just as it seemed they might fall in love all over again?

Purchase Links:
 Amazon UK | Amazon US

There are also a few extra books I am planning on reading this month, as well as the ones from last month that I didn’t get to yet, but I won’t reveal these titles to you yet, as I have some special TBR mystery surprises ready. Make sure to follow me on Instagram, so you can stay up to date with my current updates during the month.

And that’s (part of) my February TBR. Wish me luck, because this month, I’ll need it! <3
What is on your February TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Social Media:
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Books · Monthly Tags

February TBR – The Month of Love

february tbr reading book books goodreads review blog blogging diary of difference diaryofdifference love valentine's day

Hello, my lovelies!

January has gone so fast for me!

I was off for a week and a half, so I missed on a lot of reading. I am carrying-over 3 books this month 🙁

I travelled back to my home country, Macedonia, during our Christmas, which is on 7th January. It was really cold this time of year, but it was beautiful!

In January, I also attended the #NewVoices event, hosted by HQ. Many new authors had their pitch for the books that will be released in 2020, and I am already excited about a few!

Without further delays, let’s get to the important part – what will I be reading in February?

As I have announced in my TBR Update, I have changed the way I am choosing my books – if you haven’t read this update yet, please go and have a look.

All the books that are currently on my TBR can be found HERE. This is the list that I will choose from when spinning the wheel.

My February TBR

I always start with 8 books on my TBR, because this is what I read on average. If I happen to read all of them, I will add a few more books at the end of the month. If I don’t manage to read the books from last month, I don’t unhaul them. They go into the next month’s list automatically, which leaves me with less spins.

These are the 8 books I am planning to read this February:

february tbr a wedding in december sarah morgan pretties scott westerfeld eternal love blood moon the house on the lake nuala ellwood the complete persepolis marjane satrapi the lon and dark joshua banker blog blogging book review diary of difference diaryofdifference

1. A Wedding in December by Sarah Morgan

Carry-over book

I just didn’t manage to get to this book in time, and it’s a shame, but hopefully, I’ll get to it this month.

Everything I have read so far from Sarah Morgan – I loved! And this Christmas, I was lucky enough to receive this book from the publishers, so I can read it right in time before the end of the year. A Wedding in December is already on the top of the lists across UK, and I am hyped to read it.

 2. Pretties (Uglies #2) by Scott Westerfeld

Carry-over book

I am actually quite sad that I didn’t manage to read this book in January, but hopefully I will be able to do it this month.

I had to choose a book that had a white cover, and Pretties was the closest I had to it. Also, I really loved the first book – Uglies and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

 3. Confucius’ Social Wisdom by Pavan Choudary

Carry-over book

I received this book a while ago through a giveaway on Goodreads (I know this was a long time ago, because Goodreads is not hosting giveaways for the UK anymore). Shame, shame, shame…

Pavan talks about the social wisdom from the works of Confucius, and I am excited to find out more. It is a short read, but I am sure I will enjoy it!

4. Eternal Love by Karimah Colden

Spin: Series

The sequel to Eternal Soul, which I rated 3-stars. I hope I will enjoy this one more, but it was a nice book for me to choose for this prompt, because I find pleasure in finishing series. Tick, tick, tick!

5. Chroma Crossing Chronicles: Blood Moon: Part 2 by S. Yurvati

Spin: Boyfriend Pick

This is what Chris chose, and I have to tell you that I was quite surprised. He could choose from World of Warcraft, Witcher and Harry Potter Books. Very surprising pick, but I am glad, because I did enjoy the first part of the Chroma Crossing Chronicles.

6. The House on the Lake by Nuala Ellwood

Spin: My Pick

I am actually doing a blog tour as well as an instagram tour for this book. Also, I might have one spare copy as well, so could also do a giveaway. Let me know if you would like to see that!

7. The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

Spin: Graphic Novel

I have this book on my bookshelf for quite a long time. I think this is the best time to pick it up and finally give it a go. I have heard some amazing reviews from other bloggers, so I am quite excited.

8. The Long and Dark by Joshua Banker

Spin: Travel (set in destination)

This was the first time this prompt came, and I had some fun choosing a book. I have decided to go for this one, because the main character goes on a quest in a fantasy world, and that was all it took to make me pick it up.

And that’s my February TBR ! I hope I will manage to read all of these books.
Make sure to follow me on Instagram, so you can stay up to date with my current updates during the month.
What are you planning to read this month? Let me know in the comments!

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