It’s time once again to link up with Steph and Jana for their monthly Show Us Your Books linkup. I love seeing what everyone’s been reading and add a gazillion books to my ever growing to-read list. Here is look at my February reads. I only read seven books, however, the majority of them were four stars, which I’m okay with! Quality definitely rules quantity for me any day.
3 Stars
Everything You Want Me to Be by Mindy Mejia – When Hattie Hoffman dies many secrets are uncovered about the high school girl when trying to find her killer. Although this suspense book had the requisite twist at the end, I found it overall to be a slow read.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne – Lucy and Josh work together at the same publishing company. They are bitter rivals…..until of course, they weren’t. This was an easy chick lit/contemporary romance read. I wanted to like it more than I did…….but I didn’t. It’s an okay read, especially for those who like the genre.
4 Stars
The Girl Before by J.P. Delaney – This psychological suspense book is told via two different girls, Emma (the past) and Jane (the present). Both women end up living in the same house at One Folgate Street. Living at the modern, minimalist house comes with lots of rules, which the women accepted after needing fresh starts in their lives. Although the book wasn’t great, I gave it four stars since it had me guessing until the very end. It’s also being turned into a movie but a release date hasn’t been announced yet.
I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh – This book is centers around a hit and run, and is told from the POV of main protagonist, Jenna Gray and the lead detective. I’m hating that every new suspense book has been dubbed the best thriller since Gone Girl or The Girl on the Train. This book is one of them. I honestly almost gave up on this book since it started off so slow. It picked up mid-way through and then became a page-turner, so I’m glad I stuck with it.
The One Thing by Gary Keeler – I first listened to a couple of episodes of the podcast that is based on this book. This is a great book on time management and productivity, focused more for those in the business sector. However, I feel like I learned a lot from it and even recommended my husband read it. The big take-away, no surprise here, is to focus on one thing and get it done. They apply this to all different areas in your life – family, job, home, etc.
Unbelievable by Sara Shepard – This is book number four in the Pretty Little Liars series. I am continuing to read this series, managing about a book a month. Not much to say about this one except that it’s total brain candy.
5 Stars
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult – Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. I hadn’t read a book of hers in awhile and after a long wait, finally got this book from the library. This book is such a thought-provoking read about race and racism in America. While race is a difficult subject it seems even more relevant in the current tumultuous times we are experiencing. I highly recommend this read.
Having a month of high rated books is the best! When I was reading The Girl Before and explaining it to my husband he mentioned it sounds like it would be a good movie, so I’m not surprised it’s being made into one. I thought it was a good thriller too.
Yes, I definitely prefer quality reading over quantity!
i loved the hating game, but i am a sucker for a story like that. i really enjoyed i let you go as well, it did start of super slow and i’m not a fan of thrillery type books so i was like this isn’t so bad! haha.
small great things was so good.
I’ve been finding I prefer a good suspense book over a contemporary romance book lately. I think I’m in the minority with not loving the Hating Game.
SGT was amazing. I cannot say enough good things about it.
I love how some of us are like “I only read 7 books this month” but for so many people, that’s more than they read in a year.
LOL! Yes, very true. 7 books to some is a lot!
I’m currently at the beginning of I Let You Go, and I feel like I keep on waiting for it to pick up! Everybody kept on talking about how great it was, so I’m glad that a few people this month have commented on the fact that it’s slow in the beginning. And Pretty Little Liars, I love them so much!
Yes, stick with I Let You Go. Half-way through you’ll be into it! I have to get back into the PLL series. Don’t want to fall behind in my one a month track!
I detest the Gone Girl/GOTT comparisons too. Let’s end it, please.
On the waiting list for The Girl Before from the library.
Everything You Want Me To Be was an okay read for me too. What I liked about A Girl Before is how I had to keep adjusting my opinions on the main characters. Every tidbit made me think a bit differently about them and I liked how he kept on my toes in that regard. I could definitely see it being a good movie. I have not read Small Great Things yet. It is on my TBR but I know it’s going to be an emotional read for me so I keep putting it off!
I agree about A Girl Before….as the story progressed I kept changing my mind about who dunnit and was totally wrong! LOL! You should definitely read Small Great Things. I think you’ll enjoy it. Yes, heavy and emotional but definitely a worthy read.
Small Great Things was SO good. I know what you mean about I Let You Go. I wanted to give up on it too. I’m glad I didn’t!
I LOVED Small Great Things! I can’t wait to see the movie!
I hear great things about Small Great Things so I need to read it soon. I haven’t read a Jodi book in awhile.
-Lauren
I don’t do well with slow, which makes me hesitant about starting I Let You Go even though I really like the premise. I’m happy to hear (read?!) that The Girl Before had you guessing until the end. I’ve wanted to read it especially since it’s being turned into a movie, but I was a bit nervous it would be predictable. It seems everyone is talking about Small Great Things and it seems like an intriguing read, but I’ve never read anything by Jodi Piccoult. Being that you seem to have read a lot of her work, would you suggest I start here?
There is only one Jodi Picoult book that I can think of that I didn’t LOVE. So, yes, I think you could start with this one and fall in love with her as an author! Every book of hers is so heavily researched and touches upon contemporary and controversial topics.
I’m with you – I’m tired of the constant comparison to Gone Girl… I liked I Let You Go and agree that the first part was a bit slow.
I didn’t even care that much for Gone Girl, so I don’t need the comparison to it to convince me to read a book!
I’m one of those that raved about I Let You Go. Personally, I liked the slow build into a page-turner.
I’m late to the Jodi Picoult game. I’ve only read 2 of her books so far, but I’m a fan and will continue to read more.
I enjoyed Small Great Things. I have The Girl Before on my Netgalley shelf and just haven’t gotten to it yet. I Let You Go is on my list as is The Hating Game. Lots of good reads!
I’ve heard the Hating game is super cute. Glad that you enjoyed it! Here from SUYB. XO – Alexandra
Simply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
I think I’ve only read one Jodi Picoult book ever – maybe I should change that! I always love starting in on a new-to-me good author that has lots of options out there so I don’t run out of things to read for a while 🙂