After reading five books throughout January, I was quite pleased with the number of books I managed to finish in February. My target was to read a book a week in between working, homeschooling and blogging. I smashed it and managed to get through nine within the month. I read some really brilliant books too which is probably why I got through so many. I read much quicker when I’m enjoying it!
Here’s my February roundup.
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Michelle Obama’s autobiography, Becoming, was the first audiobook I’ve ever listened to and I loved it. Her decency, compassion and strength shone throughout the book. It was a really inspiring read and the best biography I’ve ever read.
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You can find my review of Becoming by Michelle Obama here and there’s also the opportunity to be in with a chance of winning your own copy!
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
I wasn’t aware of any of the controversy surrounding American Dirt and its author Jeanine Cummins before I bought it. I decided to treat the book as what it was, a work of fiction and went ahead and read it anyway. It’s a story about a Mexican mother and her son being left with no option but to flee their homeland and attempt to enter America as undocumented citizens. It was a heart-pounding, fast-paced story that still managed to take the time to develop the characters. It was heartbreaking and horrifying but also showed the resilience and strength of those who have no option to leave their homes behind. It’s a story that will stay with me for a long time.
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Click here to find my full review of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
I love Matt Haig’s children’s book and his mental health work. I was therefore so excited to read The Midnight Library. The Midnight Library is a stop-gap location between life and death. In the library, Nora, who has decided she no longer wants to live, has the opportunity to go back and make changes to any regrets she has. She has the chance to see what direction her life could have taken had she made different choices. I didn’t enjoy the book quite as much as I hoped but I know so many other people have loved it. The intention and moral of the story is a great one, and the knowledge that people have found comfort in it is much more important than any disappointment I may have felt.
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Click here to find my full review of The Midnight Library by Matt Haig.
The Glass House by Eve Chase
The Glass House was the first novel I’ve read by Eve Chase but it definitely won’t be the last. The Glass House tells the story of the Harrington family who move to Foxcote Manor to escape their grief following a tragedy. Jeannie Harrington along with her nanny and two children spend a summer in the remote manor house, located in an atmospheric and mysterious forest. During that time, an abandoned baby is discovered and taken in by the family, bringing hope and happiness to the family again. However the summer can’t last forever and after a body is found in the house grounds, their happiness is shattered. It’s an atmospheric story full of immersive descriptions and engaging characters and I got swept up in it all. I loved it!
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Click here to find my full review of The Glass House by Eve Chase.
The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary
Both short on cash and trying to solve the problem of expensive housing in London, Tiffy and Leon come to an unusual arrangement. Not only are they going to flatshare, they are also going to bed share. They would never see each other as Leon works nights as a palliative care nurse and stays at his girlfriend’s at the weekends. Therefore Tiffy would have the apartment to herself in the evenings and weekends. When she’s off to work, that’s when Leon comes home. What starts as a reminder note to leave the toilet seat down, soon turns into a regular correspondence between the two. Friendship blossoms through post-it notes as the flatmates lives start to entwine. The Flat Share is a heart-warming story with really likeable characters. With a cast of vibrant supporting characters, the story was funny and charming and I found myself smiling as I read. It was slightly predictable with a few of the usual cliches that often occur in romances, but you can forgive that when the characters are so likeable.
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Click here to find my full review of The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary
Circus Of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneil
Set in Victorian England, Nell is a local village girl with birthmarks covering her skin. Jasper, meanwhile, is an ambitious circus owner and showman who is desperate to reach the heady heights of P. T Barnum. After her father sells her to Jasper to become his very own “leopard girl”, Nell’s whole world changes. Without being given a choice, her new life now revolves around Jasper Juniper’s Circus of Wonder. However, despite this betrayal, Nell starts to flourish. Yet when you’re treated as a commodity, something to be sold and owned, can you ever really be free? I loved escaping into a world of mystery and intrigue and felt disappointed to finish the book despite what I felt was a satisfying ending.
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Click here to find my full review of Circus Of Wonders by Elizabeth Macneil
The Girls by Lisa Jewell
After a fire forces them to move home, Clare and her daughters move to a seemingly tranquil new home within a picturesque communal garden square. However, when her thirteen-year-old daughter Grace is found unconscious in the gardens with her clothes in disarray, Clare soon starts to realise things may not be as idyllic as they seem. The story is intriguing and there are plenty of clues and misdirections as to who is responsible and it kept me guessing to the end. However, I found the ending of the book anticlimactic and disappointing. The tension builds to a crescendo and then basically fizzles out. The story was so compelling but I couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied by the ending.
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Click here to find my full review of The Girls by Lisa Jewell
The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood
The novel is based on the real-life story of Mala Zimetbaum and Edward Galiński. Mala, as the title suggests, was the first woman to successfully escape from Auschwitz, aided and accompanied by Edward. It’s so hard to say you loved a book that is so utterly heartbreaking but I really did. Mala and Edward’s story is one that will stay with me for a very long time. A truly good book provokes some kind of emotion and Ellie Midwood certainly delivers that.
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Click here to find my full review of The Girl Who Escaped From Auschwitz by Ellie Midwood
Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Where The Crawdads Sing came so highly recommended I was almost reluctant to read it. There was so much hype surrounding Delia Owen’s debut novel that I was doubtful it could possibly live up to all that praise. But it really did! The story is told through the eyes of Kya Clark, a young abandoned child known locally as the “Marsh Girl”. The locals’ suspicions and prejudices combine to create a preconceived idea that Kya cannot be trusted. Therefore when town favourite Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect the “Marsh Girl”. Did Kya kill Chase? Or is she simply a misunderstood, innocent woman doing what she can to survive? The story is a good one but for me, it’s the writing style that makes this novel such a hit. Owens’ poetic, descriptive prose transports the readers to the North Carolina coastal swamp. The marshland almost become a character in its own right. Quite simply, I loved it.
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Click here to find my full review of Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
You may also be interested in reading The Books I Read in January and my other previous monthly reads.