February reads
February was a strong reading month for me! There were many cozy winter days where I curled up on the couch and enjoy a good read. Here is the summary of my monthly reads:
LIKED
A very easy YA read - I liked it! It was flat in some parts but some other parts were interesting. It had the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ vibes, rival-to-lovers romance. The ending did leave me hanging that I planned to read the next book in the series.
DNF
Beautiful writing but the storyline didn’t grab me. It’s supposed to be a Moby Dick inspired re-telling. Maybe I should’ve read Moby Dick first?!
DNF
I went in this blind, with only knowledge that it took place in Ireland. Not realizing that it was dystopia, which isn’t my usual genre. The book is told with very few paragraph breaks and that drove me nuts!
DNF
I really wanted to like this book. It opened with a murder mystery then it’s forgotten as we are introduced to many characters living in Pottstown, PA. There didn’t seem to be a plot, very character driven book. Beautiful writing, but not for me.
NO RATING
An interesting memoir divided up into 6 parts. I enjoyed two parts that focused on Judaism and Deaf Culture. I never heard of this comedian but he is a CODA (child of deaf adult). He talked about his upbringing with deaf parents. I lost interest in the other parts that talked about addiction, raves, Burning Man and comedy.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
I am amazed that there are things I’m STILL learning to this day about historical events surrounding the Holocaust/WWII. I never knew about the Cherbourg Project and Youth Aliyah. There are three stories intertwined in this book. An Israeli woman who is on a secret mission with the Cherbourg Project. A Youth Aliyah agent is looking for orphaned Jewish kids in France. A French mother who helped to hide a Jewish father & son from the Nazis only to get pregnant with half-Jewish baby. Carner did a great amount of researching and transform these events into a beautifully written historical fiction read.
LIKED
A very bingeable read. This was a cat and mouse game with a con artist and her new target. I enjoy thrillers with con artists so this was a must read. I couldn’t put it down. It had plenty of twists and turns that will keep you guessing until the end. I hope this gets picked up for a TV series adaptation.
LIKED
The synopsis described it as a political romance, which was right up my alley. We are introduced to two teenagers - Anna, who is from a Democrat household with two moms and Gabe, son of a Republican senator. They both start running together aiming to get into colleges. Truthfully, I was nervous that the political issues would be biased but the author represented both sides very well. It is suited for YA, I enjoyed this adorable, entertaining and heartwarming read about friendship, self identity, family and more!
DNF
Had no interest to read beyond 20 pages.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
Within the first 20 pages of this book, I knew I’d enjoy this read! A sweet rom-com about a chef and a musician. The musician disappears after an intense weekend together. I enjoyed how this didn’t focus on the romance, but the friendship and other connections (family). There was more that I loved: Jewish rep, blueberry pancakes, the nostalgia (pop culture references/Golden Girls) and NYC setting. I adored it so much!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
I enjoyed her previous backlist titles so I had to get this latest book. It takes place during the Cold War. It is told in dual timeline - one in 1942 and other in 1962. It was very intriguing historical fiction read! It almost read as a thriller as it involved many secrets. I really loved this read and Louise Fein is officially on my favorite historical fiction authors list.
DNF
This book grabbed my attention, being a deaf person. It is a contemporary fiction about a young woman who became late-deafened. I was thrilled going into this book. The writing was beautiful, but I had difficulty to stay engaged. I wanted to love this book more.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
This book was getting a lot of talk on social media, so the curiosity got me! It was said to have the ‘You’ve Got Mail’ vibes (one of my favorite movies!). We follow Lucy, a high school guide counselor who hides her identity behind an online account. A new history teacher, Fletcher recently started working at her school and figured out that the online account he follows is Lucy. This read was so fun, lighthearted and realistic. Lucy is going through depression/anxiety, I was impressed with how well the author portrayed that. We watched Lucy ‘masking’ it to look normal as possible and shown how much it affects her daily life.
FAVORITE
Dervla McTiernan is one of my auto-buy authors so I was thrilled with the upcoming release of this book. What an ending! This domestic thriller took me for a ride. I binge read this in two days. I was glued. When I had to put it down, I found myself wondering about what was to come. I felt like I was an outsider watching all of this unfold. this book is about a couple who went on a romantic getaway to a remote cabin in Vermont, only one of them returns. As a New Englander, I enjoyed the Vermont setting. I also enjoyed the multiple POVs from main character, family members and police officers. The pacing, the length of each chapters was just perfect!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
CD is a favorite author. In this book, it follows a crime writer named Emilia who is living in London. She wrote 10 books as a series. The crime from her novels are happening in real life. It was very suspenseful. I thought I guessed the ending, but I didn’t! The plot was amazing. You never can go wrong with reading any of Claire Douglas books.
DNF
Couldn’t get into it.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND
The book 2 of Divine Rival series. I liked this one much more better. It had more action and more information about the gods/war. Divine Rivals was heavy on the romance but this was heavy on the fantasy. I was glued to this book and read thru it fast!
How are the books rated:
Favorite — LOVED the book / Couldn’t put it down!
Highly Recommend — Great book / Enjoyed.
Liked — Good book / Liked it while reading, but will not remember.
DNF — Did Not Finish / Do not recommend.