Not a ton of reading going on this month (for me). Distractions galore exist in my life right now – both good & not good at all. But I do recognize that even at 5, that is still a lot of reading. If it weren’t for audio books, this would have 2 or 3. 🙂 I don’t see that trend changing anytime soon but we shall find out I suppose. Here is what I read in February.
Adrift – Will Dean
Super disturbing and intense. I wanted to reach through the pages and save this family. I both didn’t want to finish and yet had to. Great writing, horrific story. Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Adrift is now available.
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Keeper of Lost Children – Sadeqa Johnson
This was a compelling read following 3 people – with differing timelines that spotlights the efforts of Ethel Gaines as she makes homes from children born in Germany of German mothers and American Black soldiers. I enjoyed the story but did hold back a bit, I am not sure what it quite was but I never quite reached the 5 star level with this one. The transition of the different POVs of time may have been not as seamless as I needed, I am not sure. I was listening a bit on audio and each time the chapter changed with a new voice I had to think – “wait, where are we in time now?” I did enjoy the story and any historical fiction by this author is always a great and educational read. House of Eve will forever be one of my all-time favorite books. Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion. Keeper of Lost Children is now available.
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Best Offer Wins – Marisa Kashino
This could have been a 4 for me until the last 20%. I was fairly entertained by our completely unhinged main character as she plots to buy her dream home in a very competitive housing market. There is pretty much nothing off the table when it comes to what she will do to get the house. Books that take me out of the stress of everyday life are preferred right now, and this one fit the bill.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
Kiss Her Goodbye – Lisa Gardner
I’ve been reading Gardner’s Frankie Elkin series since the beginning – Frankie travels the country from place to place, stopping only when she finds a case of a missing person that is compelling for reasons unknown. While I was hooked on books 1 – 3, this may have been the least bingeable of the series for me. I do chalk that up these days to “it’s a me problem” as I am a moody reader by nature and my mood is not good. Frankie has made her way to Tucson to locate Sabera Ahmadi, an Afghan refugee and mother of Zahra and husband to controlling Isaad.
🍷🍷🍷1/2
In Her Defense – Philippa Malicka
In Her Defense is a debut that is being described as a psychological thriller – however I would take the word thriller out and call it a psychological case / character study and courtroom drama. I have to admit there were many times I really wasn’t sure what was going on and our time jumping helped clear up how everyone was or was not connected but I never got the full clarity behind motives of really any of these unlikeable characters. It was a “fine” book for a very long travel day and I look forward to seeing what this debut author does next. Thank you to NetGalley and Scribner for an early release copy in exchange for my honest opinion, In Her Defense is now available.
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