February Reads

First of all, I completely stole this post idea from Erin. Full credit to her, but love the simple way but effective way of reviewing books one read throughout the month. And yes, I realize it’s mid-March already. Bear with me.

L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad — 2 stars. I struggled a lot with the rating of this book. On the one hand, the writing was atrocious. The book needed at least ten more rounds of edits, in my (very) humble opinion. But on the other hand? The plot was so intriguing and such a page-turner. Some of it was super silly and the characters were pretty predictable, but at the same time, it was a book I couldn’t stop thinking about when I wasn’t reading it. But I just couldn’t let the terrible writing off the hook. If you can get past the bad writing, it’s an easy, fluffy chick-lit book.

The Admiral’s Bride by Suzanne Brockmann — 5 stars. I finished this book in one day, which is a feat I can rarely do nowadays. (My attention span isn’t to the point where I can sit down for hours and read a book in one sitting.) It was a military-driven romance with strong characters and a crazy plot. I’ve been a Suzanne Brockmann fan for a long time and she never fails to impress me with the way she writes.

Cinderella Ate My Daughter by Peggy Orenstein — 5 stars. A fabulous book that researched the history behind the girlie-girl movement (i.e., Barbies, Disney princesses, beauty pageants, sexism in children’s toys, etc.) and the effect it is having on our society. Being single with no children on the horizon, I still thoroughly enjoyed this book. Full review here.

Until There Was You by Kristan Higgins — 4 stars. I’ve been a Kristan Higgins fan for a while so I was excited to see this book on my library’s Kindle page. I really enjoyed the book, especially the small-town life and family. The main characters (Posey and Liam) were well-developed but I didn’t feel as if their love story was fully authentic for my tastes. What I do love about Higgins is how real she makes her characters. They are loveable, but also have irritating and complex issues that affect them.

There You’ll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones — 4 stars. This was a sweet, sweet YA novel about a girl, Finley, who moves to Ireland for her last year of high school. Two years ago, her brother Will was killed while overseas where he was reporting for a news station. She comes to Ireland to hopefully find her faith again and find closure to her brother’s death. While the book was slow-moving at first, it definitely picked up and became a book I couldn’t put down for anything! A predictable read, but predictable in a good way.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay — 3 stars. This was our #twookclub pick for February and I was excited to read it, after reading tons of great reviews. For me, it felt very slow and I didn’t find Julia’s story very believable or authentic. I loved reading about Sarah’s part and I loved the history in this book, but there was something contrived about Julia that bugged me too much to love the book as others seemed to. (Missed the chat? Here is an edited transcript of it!)

The Duke and I by Julia Quinn — 4 stars. I’m a huge lover of historical romance novels and Julia Quinn has always been one of my favorites. I just started reading her Bridgerton series, which involves the stories of all eight Bridgerton children. The first one involves the fourth child (and first girl) Daphne. She is independent and feisty and sassy. I loved Daphne. She really doesn’t take crap from anybody, not even her husband Simon. She is also a woman who wants to be loved and cherished. I could relate to almost every character in the book. The story was simplistic in nature, but the problems that arose were complex and authentic. I’m excited to read about the other seven siblings!

Books read in 2012: 16