February Book Wrap-up

Hey guys! I am so excited to share with you my February Wrap-up. I feel I ended up getting a lot of reading in this month. I almost read 10 books, which is great. I feel overall I wasn’t in love with the books I read. I participated in Thrillerathon. Sadly two of the books I picked, I did not end up liking. I did end up finding a new 5 star read which I am excited to share with you. I feel March is off to a better start. I hope it stays that way. Anyway, let’s dive in to see what I read in February.

The Clockmaker’s Daughter By Kate Morton

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Adult, Romance
Pages: 485 pages
Publication Date: October 9th 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

My Thoughts: I have to say I don’t normally go for historical fiction but the premise sounded really interesting. It started off promising but as it went on I was just really confused. It would alter between present and past which is fine. It just had too many perspectives to keep up with. So it felt a bit all over the place for me. Plus I ended up enjoying the present a lot more but there ended up being more past chapters. It’s a shame because I could have seen myself really enjoying this. This was a buddy read with Amy, Luna, and Jenna.

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Two Can Keep a Secret By Karen M. McManus

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Contemporary, Thriller, Fiction
Pages: 336 pages
Publication Date: January 8th 2019
Publisher: Delacorte Press
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Echo Ridge is small-town America. Ellery’s never been there, but she’s heard all about it. Her aunt went missing there at age seventeen. And only five years ago, a homecoming queen put the town on the map when she was killed. Now Ellery has to move there to live with a grandmother she barely knows.

The town is picture-perfect, but it’s hiding secrets. And before school even begins for Ellery, someone’s declared open season on homecoming, promising to make it as dangerous as it was five years ago. Then, almost as if to prove it, another girl goes missing.

Ellery knows all about secrets. Her mother has them; her grandmother does too. And the longer she’s in Echo Ridge, the clearer it becomes that everyone there is hiding something. The thing is, secrets are dangerous–and most people aren’t good at keeping them. Which is why in Echo Ridge, it’s safest to keep your secrets to yourself.

My Thoughts: So I really enjoyed Karen M. McManus’s debut, One of Us is Lying. So when I heard she had another book coming out this year I was excited. I do have to say it starts out pretty slow this one. I did enjoy it when it picked up. It was a decent thriller. I mean I wasn’t excepting the outcome we got. I did kinda guess one characters involvement which I felt was a bit obvious. I also was a little upset that she didn’t do much with the theme park the twins got a job at. I was so excited when it was mentioned but not too much happened there so I was disappointed with that. I’m excited for Karen’s sequel to One of Us is Lying. I feel I’m fine with it being a standalone but excited to see what she’s going to do. This was a buddy read with Becca.

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Second Chance Summer By Morgan Matson

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Pages: 468 pages
Publication Date: May 8th 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
My Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Taylor Edwards’ family might not be the closest-knit—everyone is a little too busy and overscheduled—but for the most part, they get along just fine. Then Taylor’s dad gets devastating news, and her parents decide that the family will spend one last summer all together at their old lake house in the Pocono Mountains.

Crammed into a place much smaller and more rustic than they are used to, they begin to get to know each other again. And Taylor discovers that the people she thought she had left behind haven’t actually gone anywhere. Her former best friend is still around, as is her first boyfriend…and he’s much cuter at seventeen than he was at twelve.

As the summer progresses and the Edwards become more of a family, they’re more aware than ever that they’re battling a ticking clock. Sometimes, though, there is just enough time to get a second chance—with family, with friends, and with love.

My Thoughts: Wow so I was not expecting to love this book as much as I did but man was it amazing. I really enjoyed it a lot. This is a book I want to do a full review on because I just have so much to gush about. So I am excited for that. If you like Morgan Matson and haven’t read this, I highly recommend it. This was a buddy read with Destiny.

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Bone Parish By Cullen Bunn (Author), Jonas Scharf (Illustrations), Alex Guimaraes (With)

Genre: Comic, Horror, Mystery
Pages: 112 pages
Publication Date: May 7th 2019
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
My Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Plot: A necromantic horror series about an upstart crime family trafficking in a new designer drug that’s just hit the market made from the ashes of the dead.

A new drug is sweeping through the streets of New Orleans—one made from the ashes of the dead. Wars are being fought over who will control the supply, and the demand is rising. While the various criminal factions collide, users begin to experience terrifying visions of the dead coming back to life…through them. Eisner Award-nominated author Cullen Bunn (Harrow County, The Empty Man) and illustrator Jonas Scharf team up for Bone Parish, a haunting blend of horror and crime that takes an unflinching look at how we connect to—and disconnect from—the world around us.

My Thoughts: So right away I was intrigued by this comic. I mean a story about drug made from the ashes of dead people that takes place in New Orleans, sign me up. I am happy to say I ended up really enjoying this one. I found it super interesting. It was a bit jumpy from character to character but got use to it after a while. I can’t wait for the next volume to come out.

My Review

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Then She Was Gone By Lisa Jewell

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense
Pages: 359 pages
Publication Date: April 17th 2018
Publisher: Atria Books
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: THEN
She was fifteen, her mother’s golden girl. She had her whole life ahead of her. And then, in the blink of an eye, Ellie was gone.

NOW
It’s been ten years since Ellie disappeared, but Laurel has never given up hope of finding her daughter.

And then one day a charming and charismatic stranger called Floyd walks into a café and sweeps Laurel off her feet.

Before too long she’s staying the night at this house and being introduced to his nine year old daughter.

Poppy is precocious and pretty – and meeting her completely takes Laurel’s breath away.

Because Poppy is the spitting image of Ellie when she was that age. And now all those unanswered questions that have haunted Laurel come flooding back.

What happened to Ellie? Where did she go?

Who still has secrets to hide?

My Thoughts: So this was my first read of Thrillerathon. I was very excited to get to it. I have been wanting to read this for a while but had putting it off. I have to say I was disappointed with it. I felt like the writing was good. It kept me engaged the whole time. It just ended up being way too predictable. I felt like all the twists I saw coming. So when they were revealed I wasn’t surprised by them. I am sad about this one but still want to check out more from Lisa Jewell.

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Into the Water By Paula Hawkins

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction,
Pages: 386 pages
Publication Date: May 2nd 2017
Publisher: Riverhead Books
My Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars

Plot: In the last days before her death, Nel called her sister. Jules didn’t pick up the phone, ignoring her plea for help. Now Nel is dead. They say she jumped. And Jules has been dragged back to the one place she hoped she had escaped for good, to care for the teenage girl her sister left behind. But Jules is afraid. So afraid. Of her long-buried memories, of the old Mill House, of knowing that Nel would never have jumped. And most of all she’s afraid of the water, and the place they call the Drowning Pool . . .

My Thoughts: So I have to say I’ve had a rocky start with Paula Hawkins. I wasn’t a huge fan of The Girl on The Train. I didn’t like it as everyone else did. So I was a bit skeptical about this one. I ended up winning this in a giveaway and I like giving authors another chance. So I decided I’d pick this up. Well honestly I really should have just dnfed this book because I had no idea what was going on half the time. I had no clue who anyway was. I had one characters name wrong majority of the book. I just felt like it was all over the place. Some might say it might be because of too many characters but I have read a couple books with multiple perspectives and loved it. Maybe this would have been better just reading instead of the audiobook.

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Eeny Meeny By M.J. Arlidge

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Suspense, Horror, Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 395 pages
Publication Date: June 2nd 2015
Publisher: NAL
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Two people are abducted, imprisoned, and left with a gun. As hunger and thirst set in, only one walks away alive.

It’s a game more twisted than any Detective Helen Grace has ever seen. If she hadn’t spoken with the shattered survivors herself, she almost wouldn’t believe them.

Helen is familiar with the dark sides of human nature, including her own, but this case—with its seemingly random victims—has her baffled. But as more people go missing, nothing will be more terrifying than when it all starts making sense….

My Thoughts: This ended up being my last read for Thrillerathon. I ended up enjoying it. It was a lot darker and had a lot more adult themes then other thrillers I’ve read. I ended up enjoying that. I wasn’t expecting it to get that dark. I do have to say I didn’t pay attention to this as I would have liked. I do remember the end but this is a book series I’d like to continue. So I probably will end up reading the book again closer to when I want to pick up the second book.

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Save the Date By Morgan Matson

Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
Pages: 432 pages
Publication Date: June 5th 2018
Publisher: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Charlie Grant’s older sister is getting married this weekend at their family home, and Charlie can’t wait for the first time in years, all four of her older siblings will be under one roof. Charlie is desperate for one last perfect weekend, before the house is sold and everything changes. The house will be filled with jokes and games and laughs again. Making decisions about things like what college to attend and reuniting with longstanding crush Jesse Foster all that can wait. She wants to focus on making the weekend perfect.

The only problem? The weekend is shaping up to be an absolute disaster. There’s the unexpected dog with a penchant for howling, house alarm that won’t stop going off, and a papergirl with a grudge.

There are the relatives who aren’t speaking, the (awful) girl her favorite brother brought home unannounced, and a missing tuxedo. Not to mention the neighbor who seems to be bent on sabotage and a storm that is bent on drenching everything. The justice of the peace is missing. The band will only play covers. The guests are all crazy. And the wedding planner’s nephew is unexpectedly, distractedly cute.

Over the course of three ridiculously chaotic days, Charlie will learn more than she ever expected about the family she thought she knew by heart. And she’ll realize that sometimes, trying to keep everything like it was in the past means missing out on the future.

My Thoughts: This is another book I was really excited to get to but I ended up pushing it off. So I decided I would pick it for our group buddy read. I did end up enjoying this one. I like how chaotic it was. I also really liked the the family aspect of the book. It made me wish I had brothers and sisters since I’m an only child. There were just some aspects that I wasn’t a huge fan of. I am excited to see what Morgan’s next book is about. This was another buddy read with Amy, Luna, and Jenna.

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The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding By Alexandra Bracken

Genre:Fantasy, Middle Grade, Paranormal
Pages: 368 pages
Publication Date: September 5th 2017
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
My Rating: 3 out of 5 Stars

Plot: Prosper Redding is the only unexceptional member of his very successful family — that is, until he discovers a demon living inside him. Turns out, Prosper’s great-great-great-great-great-something grandfather made — and then broke — a contract with a malefactor, a demon who exchanges fortune for eternal servitude. Now Alastor, the malefactor, has reawakened and is intent on destroying the Redding fortune, unless they can kill him in the body he inhabits, which, oh, wait, that’s Prosper, and why is his grandmother coming at him with a silver blade?

In danger from both the demon trying to take over his soul and the family that would rather protect their fortune than their own kin, Prosper narrowly escapes with the help of his long lost Uncle Barnabas and Barnabas’s daughter, Nell, a witch in training. According to Barnabas and Nell, they have only days to break the family curse and find a way to banish Alastor back to the demon realm. Until then, Prosper has to deal with Alastor’s vengeful mutterings inside his head (not to mention his nasty habit of snacking on spiders). And, every night, Alastor’s control over his body grows stronger. . .

As the deadline to the curse draws nearer, Prosper and Nell realize there’s more at stake than just the Redding family fortune. . . that there might be something else out there, something worse than Alastor, that could destroy the balance between the human and demon realms and change the world as they know it forever.

My Thoughts: So I started reading this by physical book. I couldn’t get into it. So I decided to try it on audiobook and it was so much fun. I loved the narrator’s voice for Alastor. He ended up doing such a great job. I thought it was just so fun seeing him deal with having this demon inside him. Plus I actually enjoyed the end of the book’s cliffhanger. I was not excepting that. Thankfully the second book just came out. I am hoping it shows up on Scribd or at my library soon so I can continue on with the series soon.

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Have you guys read any of these books? If so what did you think? What books did you guys end up reading February? I would love to hear from you!