February 2025 has finally come to a close. And, wowee, what a month it was! While January wasn’t necessarily a bad month overall, February was leagues better for sure!
It’s hard to believe this was only the second month of 2025. The last several years have all rushed by so fast, but 2025 feels like it’s slowed down for me. And I love that! I’ve spent a lot of time the last couple of months unplugged, present, and creating. Overall, I’m feeling really good.
General Highlights
February was a pretty chill month mostly filled with work and hobbies. And sometimes, the more low-key times in life can be the most rewarding. That said, I had a few bigger highlights that stood out over the past few weeks, and I’d love to share them:
- I spent a day at Disney California Adventure! My parents got me a 3-day Disney pass for Christmas, and this was the second day I’ve used so far. It’s been years since I last went to DCA, and it was so fun to see how much has changed since then! Also, I got to see a lot of their Lunar New Year celebration, which made the experience all the more unique.
- I took on a huge project at work. It was hands-down the most stressful week I’ve had at this job, but it ended up going a lot better than I had anticipated. I’m really proud of the effort I put in and the results we achieved.
- I embroidered an iron-on patch of Spiny from Nintendo’s Mario franchise. It only took a few days, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. This might be one of my favorite patches I’ve made.
- The taillight on my (well, my mom’s; we share) car broke, so I learned how to replace a taillight! It turned out to be more complicated than YouTube tutorials made it look, but easier than I initially expected. And it’s super satisfying to know how to do that now!
Here’s a quick photo of the patch I made! For scale, it’s roughly 2in x 2in.
Anyway, let’s get into the wrap-up we’re all here for: everything about books and blogging!
February 2025 Wrap-Up
On The Blog in February 2025:
This month, I managed to publish 5 blog posts, and I’m incredibly proud of them all! I think this is the most I’ve published in a single month since I started Shelf of Pages? From last month’s wrap-up to three book reviews to a readathon TBR, I’m happy with everything I wrote. If you’d like to check out any of this month’s posts, here they all are:
I’ve also been toying around with new styles for my Feature Images, as you can see here. I haven’t quite locked down one that I love, but I’m having loads of fun trying them out!
Books I Read in February 2025:
I don’t remember the last time I read this many amazing new books in a single month! With an average rating of 4.7 (!!!), I finished 5 books in February 2025. It’s so rare for me to give a book 5 stars, but this month I somehow ended up with three 5-star reads?! I feel so lucky to have found this many incredible books in such a short time. Here are all the books I read, plus my thoughts on each one:
The Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett
★★★★★ 5 stars | Middle Grade Fantasy | Read My Review
This is a retelling of Anne of Green Gables (which I reviewed here), but with witches and magic. And it’s just as incredible as it sounds! This story is heartwrenching, touching, and a boatload of fun all bundled up in one book. It maintains all the charm and whimsy of the source material, but you don’t have to be familiar with Montgomery’s work to enjoy The Grace of Wild Things. High stakes and lovable characters kept me glued to this novel until I finished it, and it was one of those stories that left me utterly aching afterward. It was an immediate 5-star read.
Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope by Catherine Coleman Flowers
★★★★☆ 4 stars | Memoir, Environment, Politics | Read My Review
This book illustrates the concept of intersectionality better than anything else I’ve read. Through stories from her own life, Flowers explores how environmental injustice impacts Black and poverty-riddled communities in Alabama (and the American South at large). Flowers’ unique, radically inclusive approach to activism gives a fresh perspective on how to make change happen, and I learned so much from reading about her work. While this collection of essays felt a bit disjointed for a while, it all came together and ended up being an extremely powerful read.
Loveless by Alice Oseman
★★★★★ 5 stars | Young Adult LGBT | Review Coming Soon
I’m honestly still processing this one. Loveless is about a woman named Georgia who realizes that she’s aromantic-asexual, and as someone who shares these identities, this story hit me hard. I’ve never seen such a nuanced, realistic depiction of the aro-ace experience and all the messy emotions that come with it. To be fair, I’ve barely seen any depiction of the aro-ace experience in media. But I know good representation when I see it, and this book exceeds all expectations by a mile! I guarantee that you’ll hear me raving about Loveless for ages, so get used to it (and also read it)!
Dead Good Detectives by Jenny McLachlan
★★★★✬ 4.5 stars | Middle Grade Paranormal | Read My Review
This is such a cute novel about a girl who accidentally summons a ghost pirate and needs to help him complete his unfinished business (AKA: find his lost treasure. Yes, there’s a treasure map!). If I had to sum up this story in one word, it would be just pure fun. It includes so many elements that I absolutely adore, especially in middle grade novels: ghosts, witches, mystery, and so much more! I’ve already added the sequel to my TBR, and I’m looking forward to getting back into this adorable world at some point.
Wishing Well, Wishing Well by Jubilee Cho
★★★★★ 5 stars | Fantasy (All Ages) | Read My Review
Five princesses. Corrupt politicians. Faeries. All wound up in a story that all ages can enjoy. The story itself is riveting, and I found myself deeply invested in the wellbeing of the kingdom Bellarossa. But the true magic of this book is in the themes of rebellion, compassion, and inclusion. The princesses use their artistic talents to help oppressed people, rebel against the evil king, and change their world for the better, and I found all of this to be deeply meaningful and inspiring. Wishing Well, Wishing Well is the type of story that I think everyone should read and hold close, and I will be recommending it for a long time.
Other Media I Enjoyed in February 2025:
Looking back, I didn’t really consume too much media (at least, not much that really stood out) outside of books this month. I guess that’s the trade-off for so many 5-star reads? Whatever. Here are a couple things that I enjoyed, and you might, too:
Obsidian: The King of Learning Tools (FULL GUIDE + SETUP) – YouTube Video by Odysseas
Hear me out. I’ve been using Obsidian as my go-to note-taking software for almost a year now, but I’ve never used a “proper” organizational system for it… Until I watched this video. In just the few weeks since setting my Obsidian up as this video outlines, it has been an absolute game-changer. Most noticeable is the improvement in how I take notes for my book reviews. I’m feeling so much more organized and thorough in everything I do, and it’s truly all thanks to this video.
Cocoon by Augie Isaac
I’ve been a fan of Isaac’s music for several years, so I’m not sure why I’ve put off listening to this album in full until now? Turns out, it’s an absolute masterpiece, and I can’t get enough of it. This has been my go-to album to pop on during my commute, and I highly recommend giving it a listen! And if you only have the time/interest to listen to one track, I recommend starting with Peachy Keen.
Coming in March:
In my monthly wrap-ups, I often give a little sneak-peek into what I plan to read and post about in the upcoming month. But for March, I will instead direct you to this post that I published yesterday!
It is my TBR for Middle Grade March, a readathon hosted by BooksandJams, Life Between Words, and On The Middle Shelf. I am so beyond excited to dive into more middle grade fiction, and doing it as a readathon is all the more exciting!
I encourage you to take a look at any of the host’s content about the readathon if you are also interested in participating. Let’s do this together!
If you want to be notified when I publish a new post, I encourage you to subscribe to Shelf of Pages by entering your email above. I post a new article every Tuesday and every second Friday (as well as my monthly wrap-ups on the 1st of every month).
Anyway, that concludes my February 2025 Wrap-Up! Let me know in the comments if you have any favorite books or other media from this month.
As always, my next monthly wrap-up post will be in one month, on April 1. Until then, I will continue posting my usual content. I hope you have a wonderful March!
With love,
Corinne <3
What an incredible month! It sounds like you achieved a lot in your personal and reading life. Three 5-star reads is amazing 😍 The Grace of Wild Things sounds really interesting and I’ve not yet read Loveless but I’ve enjoyed other books by Oseman. The rep in her books is always fantastic! Dead Good Detectives also looks like lots of fun and I’m always keen to add more MG to my shelf. I hope you have a great March!