Hey there February! Decent little line up for you this month!
I listened to “The Second Mrs. Astor” this month and really enjoyed this one. While it was a little difficult to hear about an older previously married gentlemen courting a young lady at 17, it seemed that they were truly in love. Jack Astor and Madeline have an extended honeymoon, where they take the Titanic home. Hearing about their personal experiences on the Titanic was heartbreaking, and for her to have to go home and deliver their son alone…just devastating. It was definitely an emotional story, I just can’t imagine going through all of that at such a young age!
I enjoyed “The Last Love Note” by Emma Grey this month too. Kate lost her husband a couple of years ago and is struggling, still mourning him and unable to move on in a life without him, struggling to manage her job . He left her notes all over their home that she has left exactly as they were…she now has an opportunity to take a work trip with her boss, she takes it. With some unexpected travel issues, she ends up being stranded with Hugh for a few days, where she is finally able to relax and sort out some of her grief. She finds that Hugh has some secrets of his own, intertwined with her late husband, which threaten to turn everything upside down. I really liked this story and the way it worked out, one of my favorites this month.
I grew up watching the Duggar family on HGTV, as I’m sure a lot of people my age did! Their family was fascinating to me…only having a younger sister, I just could not imagine having so many siblings. I listened to “Counting the Cost,” and had a lot of mixed feelings on it. I felt bad for what Jill went through with her family, how her dad kind of used his family for money in the guise of trying to spread a lifestyle of living for God…I was proud of her for standing up to them, for working through things with her husband…it was a lot to take in I will say, and at times I felt bad for the family as a whole and this only being one side of the situation. It was interesting insight into the show and the family though, again, just can’t imagine that being my childhood!
I liked “Thank You For Listening,” it was a cute story with a different take on things than what I normally read in this genre! I liked “My Oxford Year,” (can’t believe it’s been almost six years since I read that one!) so I was hoping this would be a good one too, and I think it was! Sewanee (no, I wasn’t crazy about her name), is an audio book narrator, who gets paired up with the “hottest” male book narrator on the scene to read through her late friend’s late novel. Sewanee can’t stand the guy, but as you can imagine, things change over the course of them working together. 😉
I really enjoyed “Effortless.” In a country where if you just work hard enough, you will succeed and get what you want out of life, it was refreshing to read about doing less, and doing things more efficiently. Sometimes the best thing to do is to slow down, and quit trying so hard. So many of us are on the edge of burnout, and feeling like we’re not doing enough, but can’t do anymore…I loved reading about prioritizing your life and making things feel more effortless.
I decided this year to start rereading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, and I’ve really enjoyed it! I flew threw this book, and really the whole series the first time I read it, so this time around I have been purchasing the paperbacks and reading them that way. I love the story of Celaena, assassin, turned slave, turned King’s assassin…the story of a country who used to be ruled by magic, but now is dominated by a tyrant king who made magic disappear….I could go on and on! Read it!
I listened to “Mom Set Free,” this month, and it wasn’t my most favorite read. Overall, the theme of giving yourself grace and being kind to yourself was good, but it just felt drawn out and a little redundant. I also wasn’t crazy about some of the Bible translations she referenced, but overall it had a good message.
“The Getaway List” was my least favorite read this month, and really, I don’t recommend this one. I think partly my expectations were that this book would be more about adults, but it’s about two kids who were best friends growing up (but moved away) that just graduated high school. I completely understand why Riley felt like she needed to spread her wings a bit and visit her friend Tom in New York, and it was cute how they had this list of adventures they wanted to complete together, I think it just had a little too much teenage angst in it for me hehe.
Also read “Crown of Midnight” this month too! Again, just read it already!!! Unless you hate the fantasy/magic/fae/creature genre, then you’d probably hate this haha…
Goodness this quote resonated with me….I was once told that I read too much, and it just floored me. I love reading, I love learning, I love finding out new information and exploring new worlds through words…I just can’t imagine a life without reading.
Thanks for stopping by and being patient with my perpetually behind book reviews haha! Hopefully I can do some catching up this summer!
If you’re interested in seeing what I read the last year, you can click on my Books tab above! If you want to follow along with me on Goodreads, check out my profile! I keep track of the books I’m reading, what I’ve read and the reviews on books I’ve made there! Thanks for stopping by!
Check out January’s book review here!