February was a busy month. I was in charge of Friendship Grams for Elise's school which was a very involved endeavor, Girl Scout cookie season was in full swing and I'm cookie manager for our troop, we had a big push to get donations and class projects completed for Viva Zarrow (a big fundraiser at school), we had spring conferences at school, I had a student teacher which meant more time teaching and discussing and less time planning during my plan time (so more planning and working at home outside of school hours), and I'm doing LETRS training which is amazing but has added up to about 12 hours of work outside of work hours per month! Thanks to some snow days which meant more time inside attempting to stay warm, I did still get a decent amount of reading in, otherwise it would have been a very sparse month! I'm glad to have February behind me which means now I'm down to Girl Scout cookie manager and LETRS training being the only extras on my plate right now! All I can say is I'm glad I'm not training for a spring marathon this year!
Books:
- The Housemaid by Freida McFadden- The first part of the book was a little tough to get through because I knew there was more to the story and was dying for the wife's perspective. When I hit part 2, I was like, finally! The ending was quite a surprise and I'm excited to read the next book.
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| I ended up finishing this book while in the waiting room at Urgent Care, but thought a picture of me reading it while Elise was on the couch across from me made for a better picture! |
- Swift and Saddled by Lyla Sage- This was a cute book and I loved the tougher subjects she tackled here. I didn't get sucked in like I did with Done and Dusted, but I still liked it. I'm excited for Teddy and Gus' story next!
- Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao- This book was filled with fantastical elements. Paper cranes made of moments in history that changed the trajectory of the world, puddles that when jumped into transport you elsewhere, traveling on a rumor, and so much more! This book was strange with so many unexpected surprises around each turn. I would waffle between loving it and thinking it was just too weird to enjoy. I still can't decide quite how I felt about it now that I've finished, but there were lots of elements that I absolutely loved so I landed on 4 stars
- Lost and Lassoed by Lyla Sage- I loved Teddy and Gus' story. I'll be honest, when their romance was alluded to in other books, I was disappointed. Enemies to lovers is not my favorite trope. I used to say I didn't like it and then I realized Pride and Prejudice is the OG enemies to lovers and it's one of my all-time favorite books, so I've amended it to that I like it when it's done well. When it's done right, it can be so good and this one was done so well. I've enjoyed seeing the characters evolve and grow as their stories continue thorugh the next books. I also like how Lyla Sage puts little nuggets into each book to foreshadow the upcomine stories. When I made it to the end of this book, I was so glad I've already preordered book 4!
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| This was the perfect book to power read with all the cold, icy, snowy days inside! |
- The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden- I liked the Housemaid, but the sequel was even better. I enjoyed seeing where Millie went next and what she and Enzo got into after the first book ended. This was again a twisty plot with a bit of a surprise reversal in abusive spouses. Once I hit the end of Part I, I couldn't stop!
eBooks:
- The Fall Risk by Abby Jimenez- I love Abby's sweet and funny writing. She always come through with stories that will warm your heart while also letting the characters be messy and still win in the end. She had me at the dedication for this one: "For all the women who choose the bear and all the men who do the work to understand why. May the forest be a little less scary one day." I loved this short story, I just wish it was longer!
- Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer- My expectations may have been too high for this book. When I read the book blurb, I was so excited and the beginning of the book reeled me in. Then it fizzled out and I got bored with it and had a really hard time getting back into it. Then it finally got interesting again at the end. I'm tempted to read the next book to find out what happens, but this one was so blah, I probably won't.
- So Flocked by Sarah Estep- This book was adorable. It started with quite the bang. I wasn't expecting that because Keyed Up was such a slow burn. I loved this all the way through and the characters were so lovable. The bird references were a fun and interesting addition. I'm excited to read the next book in the series.
Audiobooks:
- The Briar Club by Kate Quinn- Kate Quinn is an author I love enough that when she has a new book, I don't even have to read what it's about to know I want to read it! I went into this blind and there were so many surprise nuggets in it for me. Beth from the Rose Code having a teeny cameo in this was one of my favorite things about the book!
- The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood- After reading her short story in the Under the Mistletoe series, I was really excited to read another one of her books. I got this book as a present and decided to do it as an audiobook because I was reading a different physical book at the time but had just finished an audiobook. The book was so cute. I loved the hypotheses at the beginning of each chapter and all the science references. Fake dating is always a favorite trope for me. This made me think of the romance version of Lessons in Chemistry. The characters were so lovable and the ending was perfection.
- The Women by Kristin Hannah- Hannah did such a great job showing the struggles of veterans returning from Vietnam. She shone a light on the women who served in Vietnam which was a story I wasn't aware of. I'm so glad this novel is as popular as it is, so people are learning about the women who served and the struggles specific to them because they weren't viewed as veterans. The ending had me tearing up. It was beautiful.
