February definitely wasn’t my best reading month ever. I only got through six books and I know that there were some slow books on this list that caused a slight reading slump.
I was also travelling three of the four weekends in February which took away a lot of reading time, so I have that to blame too.
I’m hoping March will be a much better reading month in terms of both quality and quantity, but we’ll see!
Summer Under the Stars by Catherine Ferguson
Daisy’s had a tough year. After losing her mother and struggling with a job she hates, she really needs a break. So, when her boyfriend suggests a summer getaway, Daisy jumps at the chance, organising a romantic trip to her friend Clemmy’s new glamping site. What better to help her heal than long walks in the fresh air and sipping prosecco under the stars? But Daisy didn’t realise Toby hates all things outdoorsy – he’s far more bothered about working on the WiFi than walking in the wilderness. And when Toby isn’t there for Daisy when she needs him most, she starts to question whether he really is The One… especially with writer Jake distracting her from across the lake. Will this be the relaxing getaway Daisy was hoping for? Or is this summer destined to end in disaster…?
My rating: ★★
I started off February reading romance books that I picked up from the library to get in the mood for Valentine’s Day. I picked this book up in particular because it was a relatively short read. However, it was extremely cliche, stupid and had my eye-rolling the entire book. I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re after a good romance read.
The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary
Addie and her sister are about to embark on an epic road trip to a friend’s wedding in the north of Scotland. The playlist is all planned and the snacks are packed. But, not long after setting off, a car slams into the back of theirs. The driver is none other than Addie’s ex, Dylan, who she’s avoided since their traumatic break-up two years earlier. Dylan and his best mate are heading to the wedding too, and they’ve totalled their car, so Addie has no choice but to offer them a ride. The car is soon jam-packed full of luggage and secrets, and with three hundred miles ahead of them, Dylan and Addie can’t avoid confronting the very messy history of their relationship… Will they make it to the wedding on time? And, more importantly… is this really the end of the road for Addie and Dylan?
My rating: ★★★
I have had this book on my ‘to-buy’ list for the longest time, so when I came across it in my local library I was over-joyed. However, it wasn’t as great as I had hoped and had nothing on Beth O’Leary’s other books that I’ve read (The Flat Share and The Switch). The entire story took place in a car and followed exes having to travel from London to Scotland for a wedding. There were a lot of coincidences that simply wouldn’t happen in real life and the story just didn’t grip me or have me feeling much for the characters at all. It was told in a ‘before’ and ‘now’ format and I mostly preferred the ‘before’ as the story was set in France and much more interesting than the car journey. Not my favourite Beth O’Leary, but I will be reading The No-Show as soon as I can get my hands on it.
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren
Olive is always unlucky: in her career, in love, in…well, everything. Her identical twin sister Ami, on the other hand, is probably the luckiest person in the world. Her meet-cute with her fiancé is something out of a romantic comedy (gag) and she’s managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a series of Internet contests (double gag). Worst of all, she’s forcing Olive to spend the day with her sworn enemy, Ethan, who just happens to be the best man. Olive braces herself to get through 24 hours of wedding hell before she can return to her comfortable, unlucky life. But when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning from eating bad shellfish, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. And now there’s an all-expenses-paid honeymoon in Hawaii up for grabs. Putting their mutual hatred aside for the sake of a free vacation, Olive and Ethan head for paradise, determined to avoid each other at all costs. But when Olive runs into her future boss, the little white lie she tells him is suddenly at risk to become a whole lot bigger. She and Ethan now have to pretend to be loving newlyweds, and her luck seems worse than ever. But the weird thing is that she doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, she feels kind of… lucky.
My rating: ★★★★
I had read a lot of mixed reviews for this book so was quite apprehensive going into this as Christina Lauren’s other book Love and Other Words is so widely adored and I didn’t over love it. So if this was said to be nowhere near as good, I was a little afraid to read it. However, I was actually pleasantly surprised. After reading a few not-so-good books, I was so glad that this was a page-turner and kept drawing me back to find out what was going to happen next. I was fully invested in the characters and the outcome of the story. So, I would definitely recommend this for a romance-genre book and I’ve learnt that I shouldn’t always believe all of the reviews I read online as everyone’s taste in books is so different.
Also fun fact: I picked this up in a secondhand bookstore in Rome of all places!
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years now engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes–it would all be too awkward–and you can’t say no–it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of half-baked literary invitations you’ve received from around the world. QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town? ANSWER: You accept them all. If you are Arthur Less.
My rating: ★★★
This is another book that I had seen a lot online and heard very good reviews. I picked this up in a second-hand bookstore in Stoke Newington for £2 so was excited to read it. Having won the Pulitzer Prize, I had very high hopes. However, it was a slow book where not much happened. I do love a page-turner and a quick read, so this book really wasn’t doing anything for me. This is the first in the LESS series, but I doubt I will be picking up book number two.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defence and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until, that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificing the other…
My rating: ★★★
This was one of the books I picked up when I was in New York, from Alabaster Book Shop (full vlog on the books I bought in New York here). It was another that I had seen on BookTok and thought it would be a quick read to pick up, and a quick read it was. It was an interesting concept and funny in parts but again, quite like the other books I read this month, it was just mediocre. The book didn’t have me racing through or running to recommend it to anyone else. An ok book but not ground-breaking.
Night Music by Jojo Moyes
Isabel Delancey has always taken her gifted life for granted. But when her husband dies suddenly, leaving her with a mountain of debt, she and her two children are forced to abandon their home and move to a crumbling pile in the country. With the house falling down around them, and the last of her savings fast disappearing, Isabel turns to her neighbours, not knowing that her mere presence there has stirred up long-standing obsessions. As she fights to make her house a home, passions and lives collide. Isabel will discover an instinct for survival she never knew she had – and that a heart can play a new song…
My rating: ★★★
I’m getting very sick of reading three-star books but here we are with another. I was obsessed with the You Before Me series by Jojo Moyes so had very high hopes for this book too. Although this was a little different in style, the end of the book was probably the most interesting and the part that made me wake up while reading and want to get to the end. I’ve definitely been in a bit of a slump this month and I need to read books in March that will reignite the spark for my love of reading.
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