February-March Reading Wrap-up and Buzzwordathon Update

1. The Wishing Game by Meg Shafer (Adult Contemporary) (278 pages) (3.75⭐️)

Lucy Hart is a teacher's aide who wants to adopt orphaned student Christopher. When her favorite childhood author announces he's hosting a game on his private island, the reward could make Lucy and Christopher's wish come true. I had some complicated feelings about the characters, but found this found family story to be overall touching and whimsical.

Full Review: https://www.haleysbookhaven.com/post/the-wishing-game-by-meg-shafer-book-review

2. Éclair and Present Danger (Adult Cozy Mystery) (292 pages) (3.5⭐️)

Winnie Johnson is forced to close her beloved baker due to financial hardships. Then, she inherits an old ambulance from her late neighbor and decides to open up a new business, the Emergency Desert Squad. At the same time, her other neighbor, Bart, is murdered. The characters' relationships in this novel are so cute and wholesome. However, there is little actual mystery in this book and what exists is easy to solve.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7346269145

3. Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros (Adult Romantasy) (527 pages) (3⭐️)

This is the third Empyrean (Fourth Wing) book and sees Violet and her companions on the search for the seventh breed of dragon that could help them win the war against the venin. This was the weakest book in the series thus far. I can appreciate the expanded world building, but this should have been a novella.

Full Review: https://www.haleysbookhaven.com/post/onyx-storm-by-rebecca-yarros-book-review

FEBRUARY DNFS

1. The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang (236 pages read)

This novel is about a war orphan, Rin, who attends a military school. This book is well known and well lauded and that's for good reason. Rin is a powerful protagonist and Kuang is an excellent writer. The only reason I DNF'd this book was because I wasn't really in the mood for it as I was reading it (and I'm a big mood reader). So, for now, it remains on my physical TBR to start over one day when the mood strikes me.

2. You May Now Kill the Bride by Kate Weston (read 240 pages)

This is a thriller about a bride who dies during her bachelorette weekended under mysterious circumstances. The writing of this book was poor. The characters were insufferable, and I found the idea that they were childhood friends improbable based on how they interacted. I should have DNF'd this sooner, but I really wanted to see it through as I was less than a 100 pages from the end. It just wasn't worth it in the end.

3. The Silence of the Flans by Laura Bradford (read 70 pages)

This is the second Emergency Desert Squad book. To be honest, I only picked this up because I was hurriedly looking for an audiobook that was available from my library and this one was. The characters are very likable, but ultimately I just find this series to be more focused on relationships and business than actual mysteries.

MARCH READS

1. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Adult Cozy Fantasy) (396 pages) (5⭐️)

This is one of my all time favorite books and was a reread for me. The book follows Linus, a lonely caseworker who works for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth. He travels to an island home to investigate an orphanage run by Arthur and full of magical children. This is a found family story and I adore these characters so dearly. I can't recommend this book enough!

Full Review: https://www.haleysbookhaven.com/post/feel-good-fantasy-the-house-in-the-cerulean-sea-by-t-j-klune-book-review

2. The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass (Adult Thriller) (298 pages) (4⭐️)

The novel takes place in a former motel converted into rundown apartments. Cass works as a maintenance person at the motels and Anna has recently moved in. Anna's husband died under mysterious circumstances and she's convinced the truth can be found in the apartments.s This was my first thriller in a while and it was a great one to start back with. My favorite part was the setting and the female friendships.

Full Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7383625951

3. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (Adutl Cozy Fantasy) (400 pages) (4⭐️)

This is the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. In this book, Arthur is advocating for the rights of magical creatures while the family adjusts to their new addition - a yeti named David. This is really only a must read if you're missing the characters want to spend some more time with them. The plot is really too similar to the first book, though.

Full Review: Coming soon to the blog!

STATS:

PAGES READ (JAN-MAR): 4,919

AVG. STAR RATING (JAN-MAR): 44.25/60 (3.69⭐️)

2025 Buzzwordathon

Youtuber Booksandlala (Kayla) does this annual event in which every month she gives a prompt for either a specific word or concept for you to find in book titles. In order to not stress and have fun completing the challenge, I'm not worrying about doing it in order - just finding them all within 2025.

Kayla's Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6pwIbmJOK4&t=364s&pp=ygUaYm9va3NhbmRsYWxhIGJ1enp3b3JkYXRob24%3D

Buzzwords/Concepts:

Truth and Lies

✅Water words: Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune

Thing (words with 'thing' in them)

Animals

"To"/Guides

Memory related words

Punctuation

With

Events

✅Violent words: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson

Never

Alliteration