February Books!!!
I started the month reading The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver. I loved One Day in December, also by Bird, so was excited about this one! The story begins with Lydia getting ready to go out to celebrate her 28th birthday. She is meeting family, friends and her fiancé for dinner, but the dinner never happens because her boyfriend dies in a car accident on his way. We see Lydia’s grief snowball and she gets to the point where she cannot even sleep without sleep meds. She discovers that when she takes one of her pills, she gets to visit and alternate universe where her fiancé did not die. The book toggles back and forth between reality and Lydia’s sleeping world where everything seems perfect but then slowly begins to have flaws. I really liked this book and how different it was than your average romance novel. There was sadness, grief and anxiety, but also hope, friendship and love. Read it and let us know what you think!!!
Next up was Love, Lists and Fancy Ships by Sarah Ruiz Grunder. Scoop this one up for spring break or your next beach read. It’s a good one and you’ll be rooting for Jo from page 1. Jo is a yacht stewardess with a 30th birthday approaching. She made a list of 30 things she wants to do before her 30th birthday and is steadily making progress until the unexpected death of her nephew knocks her off track. Jo’s 2 nieces are sent to stay with her for the summer as her sister and brother-in-law try to cope with their loss. The nieces get a hold of Jo’s list and are determined to help her complete it. I loved every character in this book. Jo is vulnerable beneath her tough shell. Her best friend, Nina, is so quirky and fun. Alex (the stranger Jo kisses as she checks that task off her list) is such a great dad…how can we not all fall for him?? And the 3 teen girls are just the perfect addition to the cast with their roller coaster of emotions, poor decisions and crazy ideas! I loved watching Jo work her way through her unexpected circumstance and realize that there can, in fact, be happiness after pain.
Next I read the Sarah Finds a Deal February Virtual Book Club pick, The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley. Okay, so this book was very different than I expected but I still liked it. At the beginning of the book we are introduced to Julian, a lonely former artist who has almost no social interaction. He leaves a notebook at the local coffee shop (owned by Monica) with a confession of sorts about his own life and what it has become. He urges whoever finds the journal to also write his/her own truth and then leave it for someone else to find. I liked how we were introduced to different characters throughout the book as the journal was passed on. I loved how each person to read the journal genuinely wanted to help another person (although that may be less than realistic) and I LOVED how the book found new hands in the epilogue. My biggest disappointment was Alice/Max and I hope they don’t give up that easily in the end. What did you think??? See our group discussion HERE.
The final book I read this month was Just Last Night by Mhairi McFarlane and it was definitely my favorite book of the month. Don’t start it until you have time to set aside because you won’t want to put it down until you turn the last page! Eve and Susie met Justin and Ed when they were teens and became fast friends. They spent all of their free time together until they went to separate universities, but remained friends throughout college and into their thirties where the story begins. Eve has dated here and there but she is hung up on Ed and what could have been between the two of them. One night a devastating accident occurs after which Eve begins to discover that her friends may have been hiding something from her and she isn’t sure who she can trust. We watch her pick up the pieces and figure out how to move forward from the loss of a friend and the loss of trust. I was rooting for Eve the whole time! I hope you’ll read and love this one too!
Favorite quote….
“I know I’m a pathetic protector and I’m wearing a skirt with dancing squirrels printed on it, but let me rescue you.” “Oh but you see the thing is, you already have.”
What should I read in March??? Comment below!
See all of the books I’ve read in 2022 here, 2021 here and those I read in 2020 here!
