Monthly Wrap-Up: February ’26

~ Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense ~ 11 Comments

What the heck, February? I don’t know what was in the air, but I was exhausted all month long. I kept chasing that feeling of being upbeat, productive, and unstoppable, which I felt in January even with the migraines. But it alluded me all of February. It’s possible that I just need more sleep. February I saw my blog stats skyrocket in a way that had me worried that my blog was being fed to AI (I had 13k views in one day at its peak). I went private for a week and came back at the beginning of last week. So far everything seems to be back to normal. It also seems I am not the only one as several of you also reported strange inflated stats. All I want in this world is to just have an option when it comes to AI. Why is that so hard. This month I read six books (snuck one in at last minute), which is great considering the short month. I don’t have any definitive reading plans for March. I have a library book I need to get to. It’s tempting to get to some preorders that have come in, but I also need to get started on finishing some series since I did join a reading challenge for it.

Favorite Book in February:

My favorite read in February was Liselle Sambury’s Tender Beasts. I really loved exploring the many complex familial relationships in this one, especially the sibling ones. It had great thriller/mystery vibes, but also incorporated some horror elements. Don’t want to give too much away on that front. Cover linked to Goodreads.

Least Favorite Book This Month:

No book received less than three stars from me this month.

Other Books I Read This Month:

(Covers linked to Goodreads.)

•This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
•A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley
•The Forest Demands Its Due by Kosoko Jackson
•Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant
•The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa

Reviews Posted:

Notable Blog Posts:


The Horror Portfolio: Exploring Cosmic Horror – One of my favorite things I’ve put together for my blog. I am introducing a new feature that helps me focus on horror books in a new way. Occasionally I will choose a subgenre and explore it through books and movies and create discussion around it.

Top Ten Tuesday: Romance Novels on My TBR – Romance novels bring me a lot of joy, but I neglected the genre last year and would like to change that this year. Here is a look at some romance novels on my TBR (hopefully for this year).

Top Ten Tuesday: First Lines from TBR Books – I love doing this when quote related topics come up. It always gets me excited about TBR books from my shelf.

What I Watched/Am Watching:

Psych, Season 5, continued – I am still watching season 5 of Psych and forgot that this is the season with the Twin Peaks homage episode, Dual Spires. Probably one of my all-time fav episodes of this show from all the references, to the guest stars, and that banger of a theme song at the beginning. Great all around.

Bridgerton, Season 3, Part 2 – Figured I ought to finally watch the concluding episodes of season 3 in anticipation of season 4. I actually started these episodes in January, but forgot to include it in my wrap-up. I did not enjoy it as much as the previous season overall and found the dialogue to be kind of stilted. Something felt off about it. I did enjoy Penelope and her mother’s relationship arc though.

Together (2025) – I also forgot to mention I watched Together last month as well. Those migraines make me a little absentminded sometimes. I enjoyed this one overall. It definitely explored a new kind of body horror. It did hit the nail on the head a bit too much in its messaging. I also feel like it falter at the end with the special effects.

The Void(2016) – Starting on my cosmic horror watchlist. I wanted to get to The Mist first, but I no longer have access to it. Will have to wait for it to become available on a streaming service I have. I did watch The Void, which was great. It gave major The Thing vibes and had some truly horrifying scenes.

Underwater (2020) – Another cosmic horror movie on my watchlist. I really like that this one really threw you into the action from the start. That being said, I do wish we had a little more exposition when it came to the side characters. I wanted to care more than I did about who survived. The ocean by the way is just as creepy and unknowable as space and this movie further justifies my opinion.

March Releases I’m Excited For:

How was your February? Did you watch any interesting movies? Which March release are you most looking forward to? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave a link to your own wrap-up post, so I can visit!

Top Ten Tuesday: First Lines from TBR Books

~ Alicia @ A Kernel of Nonsense ~ 30 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is an original blog meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and is currently being hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is “Quotes From/About Books.” I do not keep track of book quotes even though it would make topics like these a whole lot easier. I did this before when we had quotes for a topic for this meme and thought I’d do so again. I just take random TBR books from my shelf and share the first lines. It’s a great way to get excited about books you haven’t read yet; however, the problem is I get excited about multiple and I don’t know where to start. Covers are linked to Goodreads.

Omar and Ibrahim are raising funds to open a library in Gaza. They are hoping to preserve books that have survived the genocide, help connect Palestinian children with books, support writers in Gaza and much more. They have nearly reached their initial goal. You can read about their vision and donate here.

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1. The Magic of Untamed Hearts by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

"My great-aunt Nadia says that in order to seduce a man successfully, one needs:
           1. The scent of roses (somewhere in the vicinity of the copulation location, I presume;
           2. Fresh-ground cinnamon in the kitchen molcajete (with a pinch of salt if one feels particularly kinky);
           3. And lastly, a pitchfork (stuck right into the black garden dirt)."

2. The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam by Megan Bannen

"To Rosie's mind, the word red wasn't as cut and dried as most people would have you believe."

3. Cenzontle by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo

"Because the bird flew before
                 there was a word
                 for flight
                                     
                                               years from now
                                               there will be a name
                               for what you and I are doing."

4. Cursed Bunny by Bora Chung

"She was about to flush the toilet."

5. Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

"Halla of Rutger's Howe had just inherited a great deal of money and was therefore spending her evening trying to figure out how to kill herself."

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6. The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

"Before you arrive, you remember your lola, smoking."

7. And the River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun

"Sister, of the hours before I died, I remember little."

8. The Corruption of Hollis Brown by K. Ancrum

"Hollis always grinned when this happened."

9. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez

"My grandmother didn't like the rain, and before the first drops fell, when the sky grew dark, she would go out to the backyard with bottles and bury them halfway, with the whole neck underground; she believed those bottles would keep the rain away."

10. Coffin Moon by Keith Rossen

"Early afternoon, with bruised, ugly clouds hanging about the notched teeth of the buildings across the street, the sleet all coming down sideways, holiday lights blinking red and green in the windows of the bar."
Have you read any of these? Which of these first lines catches your attention the most? Let me know in the comments and be sure to leave me a link to your own TTT post, so I can visit!