It’s time for my first half of February book review! These are books I read in the first half of the month. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments! I also read two books which I reviewed separately – Hadley and Grace and Rebel Daughter – and included two new reviews in my 10 Love Stories to Read in February post – Kiss My Cupcake and First Comes Like.
Title: The Wife Stalker
Author: Liv Constantine
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Harper Collins, 5/19/20
Source: Suzy Approved Book Reviews
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
If you like books with a twist, add this one to your list. Piper is new in town, running from something, and starting anew. Joanna is taking care of Leo and hoping he’ll no longer be depressed, and she encourages him to go to the wellness center that Piper runs. Sure enough, Leo starts feeling better – but not because of meditation or yoga! To Joanna’s dismay, Leo falls for Piper and seems to be moving on from Joanna. Determined to keep Leo with her, Joanna sets out to determine who Joanna actually is and what she’s hiding.
“Breezing into the upscale seaside paradise of Westport, Connecticut, gorgeous thirtysomething Piper Reynard sets down roots, opening a rehab and wellness space and joining a local yacht club. When she meets Leo Drakos, a handsome, successful lawyer, the wedding ring on his finger is the only thing she doesn’t like about him. Yet as Piper well knows, no marriage is permanent. Meanwhile, Joanna has been waiting patiently for Leo, the charismatic man she fell in love with all those years ago, to re-emerge from the severe depression that has engulfed him. Though she’s thankful when Leo returns to his charming, energetic self, paying attention again to Evie and Stelli, the children they both love beyond measure, Joanna is shocked to discover that it’s not her loving support that’s sparked his renewed happiness—it’s something else. Piper. Leo has fallen head over heels for the flaky, New Age-y newcomer, and unrepentant and resolute, he’s more than willing to leave Joanna behind, along with everything they’ve built. Of course, he assures her, she can still see the children. Joanna is devastated—and determined to find something, anything, to use against this woman who has stolen her life and her true love. As she digs deeper into Piper’s past, Joanna begins to unearth disturbing secrets . . . but when she confides to her therapist that she fears for the lives of her ex-husband and children, her concerns are dismissed as paranoia. Can she find the proof she needs in time to save them?”
This is not the kind of book where you’ll love the characters, but it definitely keeps you guessing as to who to trust, who is telling the truth, and what is actually going on. I did not figure it out at all! The twist is the type that makes your mouth drop open and almost seems to come from nowhere. But then it all makes sense!
Title: Love In English
Author: Maria Andreu
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray, 2/2/21
Source: Storygram Book Tours
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book was a sweet and quick read about learning to fit in and adjusting to a new environment.
“Sixteen-year-old Ana has just moved to New Jersey from Argentina for her Junior year of high school. She’s a poet and a lover of language—except that now, she can barely understand what’s going on around her, let alone find the words to express how she feels in the language she’s expected to speak. All Ana wants to do is go home—until she meets Harrison, the very cute, very American boy in her math class. And then there’s her new friend Neo, the Greek boy she’s partnered up with in ESL class, who she bonds with over the 80s teen movies they are assigned to watch for class (but later keep watching together for fun), and Altagracia, her artistic and Instagram-fabulous friend, who thankfully is fluent in Spanish and able to help her settle into American high school. But is it possible that she’s becoming too American—as her father accuses—and what does it mean when her feelings for Harrison and Neo start to change? Ana will spend her year learning that the rules of English may be confounding, but there are no rules when it comes to love. With playful and poetic breakouts exploring the idiosyncrasies of the English language, Love in English tells a story that is simultaneously charming and romantic, while articulating a deeper story about what it means to become ‘American.'”
I liked the discussion on English and how it doesn’t make a lot of sense. I also enjoyed Ana’s poetry that was included throughout the book. A quote that I liked was “The most important words are the ones we’re brave enough to share.”
Title: Shipped
Author: Angie Hockman
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Gallery Books, 1/19/21
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 5 Stars
Shipped was a fun, enemies to lovers rom com that takes place in the Galapagos – a place I’ve always wanted to go! Henley works for a cruise line and finds herself in competition with Graeme for a new position. They are both sent on the cruise with the goal of coming up with a pitch for their boss.
“Between taking night classes for her MBA and her demanding day job at a cruise line, marketing manager Henley Evans barely has time for herself, let alone family, friends, or dating. But when she’s shortlisted for the promotion of her dreams, all her sacrifices finally seem worth it. The only problem? Graeme Crawford-Collins, the remote social media manager and the bane of her existence, is also up for the position. Although they’ve never met in person, their epic email battles are the stuff of office legend. Their boss tasks each of them with drafting a proposal on how to boost bookings in the Galápagos—best proposal wins the promotion. There’s just one catch: they have to go on a company cruise to the Galápagos Islands…together. But when the two meet on the ship, Henley is shocked to discover that the real Graeme is nothing like she imagined. As they explore the Islands together, she soon finds the line between loathing and liking thinner than a postcard. With her career dreams in her sights and a growing attraction to the competition, Henley begins questioning her life choices. Because what’s the point of working all the time if you never actually live?”
I really enjoyed the setting of the book and the descriptions of the islands of the Galapagos. I also liked the arc of Henley learning what she really wanted to focus on in her job and in her life. This was an excellent rom com for February!
Title: Super Fake Love Song
Author: David Yoon
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: GP Putnam’s Books for Young Readers, 9/1/20
Source: Library Audio App and Publisher via Net Galley
Why I Read It: Working on reviewing NetGalley books
My Rating: 3 Stars
I enjoyed David Yoon’s previous book Frankly in Love and was looking forward to this one. Unfortunately, I did not like it very much. I probably should have DNFd, but I kept listening to the audio.
“When Sunny meets Cirrus, he can’t believe how cool and confident she is. So when Cirrus mistakenly thinks Sunny plays guitar, he accidentally winds up telling her he’s the front man of a rock band. Before he knows it, Sunny is knee-deep in the lie: He gets his best friends to form a fake band with him and starts dressing like a rock star. But no way can he trick this amazing girl into thinking he’s cool, right? Just when Sunny is about to come clean, Cirrus asks to see them play sometime. Gulp. Now there’s only one thing to do: Fake it till you make it.”
I guess this book was just not for me. I think a younger audience who are more into music and / or gaming might like it more than I did. I found the writing annoying. There was a lot of dialogue lines ending in he said, I said, said so and so, which felt very repetitive. I wanted Sunny to learn that he was the person he was pretending to be, and whether or not he was cool was just a part of who he was, but that’s not really how the story went.
Title: Perfect On Paper
Author: Sophie Gonzales
Genre: YA Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books, 3/9/21
Source: Publisher via Net Galley
Why I Read It: Working on reviewing NetGalley books
My Rating: 4 Stars
In Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales, which comes out on March 9, Darcy runs and anonymous advice submission locker and gives relationship advice that readers can definitely gain from! Darcy is bisexual, and through the Queer and Questioning Club we meet various others who we learn from as well. I loved the way this book provided information and advice as part of the story.
“Darcy Phillips:
• Can give you the solution to any of your relationship woes―for a fee.
• Uses her power for good. Most of the time.
• Really cannot stand Alexander Brougham.
• Has maybe not the best judgement when it comes to her best friend, Brooke…who is in love with someone else.
• Does not appreciate being blackmailed.
However, when Brougham catches her in the act of collecting letters from locker 89―out of which she’s been running her questionably legal, anonymous relationship advice service―that’s exactly what happens. In exchange for keeping her secret, Darcy begrudgingly agrees to become his personal dating coach―at a generous hourly rate, at least. The goal? To help him win his ex-girlfriend back. Darcy has a good reason to keep her identity secret. If word gets out that she’s behind the locker, some things she’s not proud of will come to light, and there’s a good chance Brooke will never speak to her again. Okay, so all she has to do is help an entitled, bratty, (annoyingly hot) guy win over a girl who’s already fallen for him once? What could go wrong?”
This book does a great job of addressing biphobia and internalized biphobia. I recommend this one for young adult readers and those who love them!
Title: Moms Don’t Have Time To
Author: Zibby Owens
Genre: Non Fiction Essay Collection
Publisher: Skyhorse Publishing, 2/16/21
Source: PR For Author
Why I Read It: Reading Before Publication Date
My Rating: 4 Stars
Zibby Owens is known as a book-fluencer, interviewing 5 authors per week on her podcast Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books. During the pandemic, she worked tirelessly to host online author talks for those with canceled book tours, helping to get the word out about those books. This collection is full of essays inspired by things moms don’t have time to do – eat, work out, breathe, read, etc.
“It’s impossible to ignore how life has changed since COVID-19 spread across the world. People from all over quarantined and did their best to keep on going during the pandemic. Zibby Owens, host of the award-winning podcast MomsDon’t Have Time to Read Books and a mother of four herself, wanted to do something to help people carry on and to give them something to focus on other than the horrors of their news feeds. So she launched an online magazine called We Found Time. Authors who had been on her podcast wrote original, brilliant essays for busy readers. Zibby organized these profound pieces into themes inspired by five things moms don’t have time to do: eat, read, work out, breathe, and have sex. Now compiled as an anthology named Moms Don’t Have Time To, these beautiful, original essays by dozens of bestselling and acclaimed authors speak to the ever-increasing demands on our time, especially during the quarantine, in a unique, literary way. Actress Evangeline Lilly writes about the importance and impact of film. Bestselling author Rene Denfeld focuses on her relationship with food after growing up homeless. Screenwriter and author Lea Carpenter and Suzanne Falter, author, speaker, and podcast host, focus on loss. New York Times bestselling authors Chris Bohjalian and Gretchen Rubin write about the importance of reading. Others write about working out, love and sex, eating and cooking, and more. Join Zibby on her journey through the winding road of quarantine and perhaps you, too, will find time.”
I felt like each new essay I read was from an author I admire – including Chris Bohjalian, Sonali Dev, Gretchen Rubin, Jill Santopolo, Jewell Parker Rhodes, and more. The essays apply to any busy person, not only moms. And I was pleasantly surprised by how many of them were by Jewish writers and referenced Jewish topics – Zibby herself is Jewish and I also listened to her interview on the Unorthodox podcast last week. This summer, Zibby lost her mother in law and grandmother in law to Covid. All proceeds from this book will go to the Susan Felice Owens Program for Covid 19 Vaccine Research at Mount Sinai Health System. In an unfortunate turn of events, Zibby herself currently has Covid. I’m happy to be supporting this new release and in turn supporting Zibby.
Title: Every Body Looking
Author: Candice Iloh
Genre: YA in Verse
Publisher: Dutton Books For Young Readers, 9/22/20
Source: Library / Net Galley via Publisher
Why I Read It: Working on reviewing NetGalley books (but it did not download so I got it from the library)
My Rating: 4 Stars
I normally like books in verse, but this one was a little more difficult for me to get into for some reason. It was a sad and touching read about a complicated childhood and family upbringing.
“When Ada leaves home for her freshman year at a Historically Black College, it’s the first time she’s ever been so far from her family—and the first time that she’s been able to make her own choices and to seek her place in this new world. As she stumbles deeper into the world of dance and explores her sexuality, she also begins to wrestle with her past—her mother’s struggle with addiction, her Nigerian father’s attempts to make a home for her. Ultimately, Ada discovers she needs to brush off the destiny others have chosen for her and claim full ownership of her body and her future.”
The book takes place as Ada starts college, but flashes back to her experiences in grade school. It contains reference to a sexual assault. I felt like I wanted more about some of the topics addressed and while the book shows Ada growing up, I felt there was more I wanted to learn about her as a young adult.
Title: Insignificant Events In The Life of a Cactus
Author: Dusti Bowling
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Sterling Children’s Books, 9/5/17
Source: Scholastic Book Fair
Why I Read It: Read aloud to my kids
My Rating: 4 Stars
My kids really liked listening to this book and it kept them laughing. The book is about Aven, who was born without arms, and her friendship with Connor, who has Tourette’s Syndrome. It takes place in Arizona, and the kids were excited to learn that Aven and her family moved there from Kansas!
“Aven Green loves to tell people that she lost her arms in an alligator wrestling match, or a wildfire in Tanzania, but the truth is she was born without them. And when her parents take a job running Stagecoach Pass, a rundown western theme park in Arizona, Aven moves with them across the country knowing that she’ll have to answer the question over and over again. Her new life takes an unexpected turn when she bonds with Connor, a classmate who also feels isolated because of his own disability, and they discover a room at Stagecoach Pass that holds bigger secrets than Aven ever could have imagined. It’s hard to solve a mystery, help a friend, and face your worst fears. But Aven’s about to discover she can do it all . . . even without arms.”
Stagecoach Pass reminded me of the park called Rawhide in Scottsdale AZ. The mystery surrounding the park was fun to read about. My favorite part was the Tourette’s support group Aven and Connor attended. It seemed really well done to describe the different ways Tourette’s could manifest itself. We really appreciated the humor that went along with this book!
Title: Coffee Girl
Author: Sophie Sinclair
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Independently Published, 11/13/19
Source: Gift
Why I Read It: Was waiting on my shelf / Rom Com February
My Rating: 4 Stars
This book was a little bit cheesy but ultimately cute and a fun read. Kiki moves to Nashville to become an assistant to a stylist on a country music tour. She meets the band’s lead singer, and of course they fall in love!
“Mackenzie ‘Kiki’ Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister’s nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistant-to-the-stylist of a country music star. Neither job sounds ideal, although bedazzling cowboy boots may be a hell of a lot more interesting than ironing her brother-in-law’s underwear. But life on the road as the errand coffee girl for a sold-out tour leaves much to be desired. That is, until Kiki meets her sinfully sexy new boss’s boss…Tatum Reed’s career is flying high. He’s up for country music’s Entertainer of the Year and he’s headed out on a nationwide sold-out tour. So why does he feel like it’s all about to implode? His superstar ex-girlfriend seems determined to make his life difficult, his opening act is a handful, and the new girl on his tour, the feisty brunette, is quickly getting under his skin. In this crazy world of showbusiness Tatum needs to learn who he can trust, but that doesn’t come easily, because the one person who holds all the cards may just throw them down and walk away. Life in the public eye is never all it’s cracked up to be, which has both Kiki and Tatum questioning what they’re really doing with their careers, and their hearts.”
There were funny parts to the book and it kept me smiling. I didn’t love how insecure Kiki was and the use of the misunderstanding trope in the relationship’s main conflict. The writing itself wasn’t perfect, but overall I enjoyed the book and recommend it as far as rom coms go!
Title: Their Eyes Were Watching God
Author: Zora Neale Hurston
Genre: Classic
Publisher: HarperAudio, 10/30/05 (originally published 1937)
Source: libro.fm
Why I Read It: Buddy read on Instagram / Black History Month
My Rating: 4 Stars
I am not so great at reading and understanding classics. I definitely recommend the audio of this one, which was narrated by Ruby Dee. She did a great job with the various voices and making the dialect understandable. I did still need to read the online summary after each chapter to make sure I was understanding the story correctly. Also, I’d say this is a pretty character driven book, which I am not always a fan of!
“One of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature.”
I have read arguments that this book actually wasn’t very feminist, since Janie seemed to be validated only in marriage and by her husbands, but maybe for the time period it was written this wasn’t common. Janie married three times, the third time being the great love story that the book is known for. The ending of the book features a hurricane that actually happened and that part was exciting to listen to. Otherwise, I wouldn’t call this a favorite for me. I am giving it 4 stars for the experience and the narration.
There you have it – 10 of the books I read this month. Of these 10 books, 7 were print, 1 was an e-book, and 2 were audio books. 2 were rom coms, 4 were YA, 1 was a thriller, and 1 was non-fiction. My favorite book in this group was Shipped.
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?