intertextu[allie]ties | issue 8

what I read, watched, and listened to in february 2025 (plus a new excerpt from my novel-in-progress!)

hello, dear reader.

February may be the shortest month of the year but, tucked away at its heart, lies one of my favourite little holidays: Valentine’s Day. As a hopeless romantic, it’s a day whose iconography speaks to the most starry-eyed part of me with its reds and pinks, ribbons and lace, roses and handwritten poems. The vibes, as they say, are immaculate. 🌹🎀💘

As such, this month always puts me in the mood for a good love story. That’s why I decided it was the perfect time to explore a new-to-me literary genre: romantasy (romance/fantasy) – starting with the #BookTok darling A Court of Thorns and Roses series. I devoured the first two, am about midway through the third, and… I have thoughts. 👀

Read on for those reviews and the rest of my February recommendations!

✍️ Allie

Some of the books, movies, and music that kept me company this month!

All reviews are out of five stars.  

As mentioned, I read the first two books in the ever-popular ACOTAR (A Court of Thorns and Roses) series and… I understand the hype. 🔥 Let’s get into it:

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses (419 pages) by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Nineteen-year-old Feyre Archeron, spirited yet steely, provides for her once-wealthy family by hunting in the nearby woods. But Feyre suffers unexpected consequences when she fells what she thought to be a wolf. As punishment, she is taken by a beastly creature to the faerie lands of Prythian to live out the rest of her days there. Her captor, it turns out, is not a beast at all but a powerful faerie named Tamlin, High Lord of the Spring Court, who is devastatingly handsome when he shifts back into his male form. Slowly, Feyre unlearns everything she thought she knew of the faerie world, her initial loathing turning to love for this place and its High Lord. Then, when a curse on Tamlin and his court threatens to destroy everything, Feyre must confront an ancient evil to save him – risking her mortal life in the process. In this clever blend of fairytale romance and fantasy action, Maas crafts a true page-turner with accessible world-building, vibrant characters, and fresh twists on familiar tropes. The final act is particularly thrilling and compelled me, upon turning the last page, to immediately start reading…

2. A Court of Mist and Fury (626 pages) by Sarah J. Maas | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | Often touted as the fan-favourite of the series, the second instalment lives up to its stellar reputation. Picking up right where the first one left off, Feyre is a ghost of her former self after the horrors she faced to save Tamlin. Many decisions she made haunt her – above all, the bargain she struck with Rhysand, High Lord of the Night Court. Now, torn between her beloved Spring Court and the mysterious Night Court, Feyre struggles to adapt to her new life and control the powers she inherited upon vanquishing the wicked force that threatened Tamlin. But an even darker evil, one that endangers both the immortal and mortal worlds, is brewing and Feyre may be the key to stopping it. In a sequel that brilliantly rewrites all the rules of the love story, Maas expertly expands the world of Prythian and dials up the narrative, romantic, and sexual tension for a satisfyingly dreamy and steamy adventure. The shifting allegiances and slow-building passion had me on the edge of my seat and the finale literally had me shouting at the screen of my unsuspecting Kindle.

As I write this, I’m halfway through A Court of Wings and Ruin, so that review will have to wait for my March newsletter. But, clearly, this series has me hooked. Not only has it provided a welcome escape from the grim news cycle and bleak midwinter scenery but also reawakened a feverish desire to read that I haven’t felt since childhood. If that isn’t a slice of real-life magic, then I don’t know what is! ✨

All reviews are out of five stars. Rewatches are indicated by an asterisk (*).

This month was a somewhat middling one in terms of movie watching. Very few of the 11 films I watched were memorable enough to highly recommend; however, on the television front, I watched and thoroughly enjoyed the six-part Netflix series Black Doves (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️). Starring two of my favourite actors, Keira Knightley and Ben Whishaw, it’s a modern spy story with tight plotting, smart writing, and fantastic performances. If you liked The Americans or The Night Manager, you’ll love this!

But back to this month’s movies. 🥱 In February, I watched:

1. 12 Angry Men (1957)* | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

2. Moulin Rouge! (2001)* | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

3. The Brutalist (2024) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

4. Sabotage (1936) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | Full review.

5. The Apprentice (2024) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 | Full review.

6. Platoon (1986) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

7. The French Lieutenant’s Woman (1981) | ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

8. The Bodyguard (1992) | ⭐️⭐️.5 | Full review.

9. Tears of the Sun (2003) | ⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

10. Windtalkers (2002) | ⭐️⭐️ | Full review.

11. Venom: The Last Dance (2024) | ⭐️ | Full review.

On February 3, Lady Gaga released “Abracadabra,” the second single from her upcoming album, so you’d better believe it’s been on repeat since then. On its own, the song is an absolute banger, but it’s the music video that catapults this into the stratosphere:

As a Little Monster since high school, I’ve been a fan of pretty much anything Gaga does. She’s an incredibly versatile artist who has proven herself across genres, but it’s a thrill to see her return to the dark techno pop of The Fame and Born This Way. The video feels like a homecoming with the hard-hitting choreography, high-fashion, and eerie visuals of her early work. If this song is any indication of what’s to come on the full album, then I cannot wait to dance like it’s 2011 again. 🎶

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, I focused a lot on my novel-in-progress, which is – what else? – a love story. Here’s a short excerpt of one of the more romantic moments:

“No one but you,” he murmurs in her ear, ocean-deep voice flooding her senses and immersing her in a wave of sublime sound. In these dreams, Christine is surrounded by darkness, Erik’s voice the only other presence, as warm and solid as flesh and blood. “Only you could sing this for me.”

I’m closing in on ten chapters, which means I’m nearly a third of the way through the first draft. 🙌🏻 This passion project continues to delight me in so many ways as it develops and I hope that, at this rate, I’ll have a completed manuscript by the end of the year. (!?!) This may be an over-ambitious goal but, hey! One can dream.

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february memories. 🖤

It's ⭐️🐠 officially Pisces season 🐠⭐️ and I am so excited to move into my birthday month of March! Represented by two fish, Pisces is a water sign known for its creative spirit, dreamy nature, and big emotions, which… is so me. 🙈 Do you identify with your zodiac sign? Let me know in the comments!