Monday 1 March 2021

What I Read In February

 February was a really slow reading month for me. In January I read 6 books which I was really happy with as I'm aiming for 80 this year but in February I just couldn't be bothered. I don't know about anybody else but I've been really struggling with this lockdown. Even though I've had days where I've felt really good or weeks where I've had a lot on with Bear's Brownies and More which keeps me busy, the majority of the time I've felt quite low. I've definitely perked up since the last announcement as at least we now have a rough idea of what's hopefully happening over the next few months & I really needed that but some days it just feels never ending. Because of lockdown being so tough, I just wasn't in the mood to pick up a book most days and I didn't want to force it. So, here are my thoughts on the books I did manage to read last month.

The Housewarming by S.E. Lynes - ⭐⭐
I was in the mood for a thriller and saw this was only 99p on Kindle. I was really intrigued by the premise - a year ago Ava left her daughter in her pushchair for 5 minutes. When she came downstairs, Abi was gone and hasn't been seen since. For a year she's been convinced she's to blame but at their neighbours housewarming party, Ava discovers a secret that changes everything. I do think this started off really well and there were several characters who seemed suspicious. It soon became quite obvious though who was to blame and the suspense wasn't really there when it was all revealed towards the end. It was also just pretty sad and didn't really feel like much of a thriller.

How To Be More Paddington by Michael Bond - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love Paddington so much. The films, books, even his Twitter account fills me with joy! This was a birthday present and I'd been saving it for a day where I knew I really needed it. It's full of little poems, illustrations and words about life, love, family and more and it's just incredibly heartwarming. I read it all in one sitting as a lot of it is illustrations but I know it will be one I keep and go back to over and over again. 

Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris - ⭐⭐⭐
I read The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris in January 2019 and it ended up being one of my favourite books that year. It was a tough read but it stuck with me. I've been meaning to read the sequel Cilka's Journey ever since it was released but I've only just got round to it. It's obviously a heartbreaking topic so I really wanted to give it my full attention and take it all in which is why it took me a while to get through. Whilst I'm glad I finally read this, I can't say it made me feel close to what The Tattooist of Auschwitz did. Books like this are always so hard to review but I just found it didn't quite flow right for me and as someone else put it on goodreads 'you could skip 3 chapters and feel like you haven't missed anything'. A bit disappointing.

The Authenticity Project by Clare Pooley - ⭐⭐⭐
This was recommend quite a lot by a few book accounts I follow on Instagram recently so when it was on sale on Kindle, I bought it and hoped it would live upto expectations. It reminded me a lot of books like The Lido by Libby Page and on the whole I did enjoy this. This follows a man named Julien who writes a bit about his life in a notepad and names it the authenticity project, leaving it in a cafe for anyone to find. He hopes someone will pick it up and leave their story too and this creates a web of quirky friendships that would never have come about otherwise. I can't say I loved all the characters and Monica was definitely my favourite but it was a nice, heartwarming read.

I'm feeling a bit stuck with what books to read at the moment so if you have any recommendations please let me know! I'd love to know if you've read any of these too?

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3 comments

Lindsey said...

What an amazing combination of genres and books you've got here. I absolutely adore the sound of How to be More Paddington, it sounds like the sort of book that we all need right now. I hope you continue to feel better, it's definitely been hard in Feb for sure!

jennyinneverland said...

Ah sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy Cilka’s Journey. My mum has that to read so hope she enjoys it more than you did! Although I hate those types of books where you could skip like 4 chapters and still be exactly where you were and not missed anything!

Kayleigh said...

I've read Cilka's journey and I would genuinely agree with you and the Goodreads review. It was genuinely a bit disappointing. Thanks for sharing x

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