Giant Days Volume 4 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Liz Fleming, Whitney Cogar & Jim Campbell -
I started this graphic novel series towards the start of last year and then kind of forgot about it. The series follows three friends throughout their experience at university. This is probably my favourite volume so far as I found the storylines to be very relatable and just fun to read about. I never find these graphic novels to be anything really special, but I do enjoy picking them up for a bit of a 'palate cleanser' between books.
Rating: 3/5
One Of Us Is Next by Karen M McManus -
This is the sequel to her debut novel One Of Us Is Lying, which was one of the first ARCs I ever received and one I quite enjoyed. This book follows a group of teenagers still dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first book. However, they are now also having to deal with a game of Truth Or Dare, that has the potential to become dangerous if they don't find out who is controlling it. I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but I ended up really loving it. I enjoyed it even more than the first book and was completely hooked from the very beginning. I really enjoyed getting to know some characters from the first book a bit better, as well as being introduced to some new characters. I thought the story was very gripping, I kept needing to know what happened next, but I did see some of the twists coming.
Rating: 4/5
Evidence Of The Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid -
This is a short story told in the form of letters. After a woman finds letters from the woman her husband is having an affair with, she decided to write to that woman's husband to inform him of what was going on. The two strike up a friendship through their letters and things develop from there. I really disliked this short story. I knew where it was going from the start and that was a direction I really didn't enjoy. I don't even think the writing was that great, so I basically spent the entire time wondering what the point of the story was.
Rating: 2/5
Giant Days Volume 5 by John Allison, Max Sarin, Liz Fleming, Whitney Cogar & Jim Campbell -
I picked up a second volume of this series in February and, sadly, this one ended up being my least favourite so far. I felt that all of the stories were completely random, there was no flow to them and they didn't progress the overall storyline in any way. I still enjoyed it enough, I just enjoyed the others more.
Rating: 3/5
Roomies by Christina Lauren -
After hearing so many people rave about Christina Lauren, I decided to finally give their books a try. Roomies is a marriage of convenience romance following a woman who offers to marry the busker she has been obsessing over for months so that he will be able to work for her broadway composer Uncle. I ended up being pretty disappointed in this book. I found it to be a little bit boring, the plot just didn't keep my attention and I wasn't bothered about what happened next in the story. I also didn't enjoy the romance, there wasn't much of a connection between the characters at all that I could see, and things seemed to progress far too quickly. I will give more of their books a go, but this one wasn't for me.
Rating: 2/5
Critical: Science and Stories from the Brink of Human Life by Dr Matt Morgan -
I haven't been picking up non-fiction quite as often as I would like so far in 2020 so decided to finally get around to some more. This is a memoir from an intensive care doctor, focusing on the progress of intensive care over the years as well as featuring stories from his practice. While I did somewhat enjoy this book, I had some issues with it. I found the stories interesting and gained quite a bit of knowledge from them, and really enjoyed the way the book was structured. However, I had some issues with the writing. The author appeared to struggle with finding the right balance in his writing, which meant some terms and situations were over-simplified and explained in intense detail, while others were not explained at all. I think it was an interesting read as someone in the healthcare profession wanting to learn more about other areas, but for the reader who is just wanting an insight into the work of a doctor, it is not the most accessible or readable book of it's kind.
Rating: 3/5
The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede -
My second non-fiction read of the month was one I am so glad I picked up. I am a massive fan of the musical Come From Away, which tells the story of the planes diverted to Newfoundland after US airspace was closed on September 11, 2001. This book tells the true stories of the people and circumstances the musical was based on. I loved every second of reading this book. It really is a story that emphasises the good in humanity and reminds us of the people we should all strive to be. I loved learning more about these people and the true kindness they were shown during such a horrific time. It is also written so well that it is almost as if you are there watching these people going through their experiences and feeling their raw emotion. I get emotional just thinking about this book, and the stories it tells. I would definitely urge everyone to pick it up.
Rating: 5/5
Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer -
From one extreme to the other, this was another super disappointing read. I really enjoyed my first Brigid Kemmerer book, More Than We Can Tell, so had high hopes for this one. It follows two high school students who, through personal and family scandals, have become outsiders in their school and society, but are paired up for a project and have to get to know each other. The premise of this sounded really good to me, but the execution was entirely different than I expected. These characters were truly terrible. They were trying so hard to prove that despite their respective scandals they were not terrible people, but their actions within the book made them terrible. I couldn't stand Maegan comparing her situation to Rob, when his life had essentially fallen apart while she made one little mistake and had a pregnant sister. It infuriated me! I also didn't like the way the story went, a lot of the subplots seemed unnecessary and the big twists at the end were kind of predictable. The only thing I enjoyed about this book was Maegan's sister's story, I would much rather have read a book just about that.
Rating: 1/5
After hearing so many people rave about Christina Lauren, I decided to finally give their books a try. Roomies is a marriage of convenience romance following a woman who offers to marry the busker she has been obsessing over for months so that he will be able to work for her broadway composer Uncle. I ended up being pretty disappointed in this book. I found it to be a little bit boring, the plot just didn't keep my attention and I wasn't bothered about what happened next in the story. I also didn't enjoy the romance, there wasn't much of a connection between the characters at all that I could see, and things seemed to progress far too quickly. I will give more of their books a go, but this one wasn't for me.
Rating: 2/5
Critical: Science and Stories from the Brink of Human Life by Dr Matt Morgan -
I haven't been picking up non-fiction quite as often as I would like so far in 2020 so decided to finally get around to some more. This is a memoir from an intensive care doctor, focusing on the progress of intensive care over the years as well as featuring stories from his practice. While I did somewhat enjoy this book, I had some issues with it. I found the stories interesting and gained quite a bit of knowledge from them, and really enjoyed the way the book was structured. However, I had some issues with the writing. The author appeared to struggle with finding the right balance in his writing, which meant some terms and situations were over-simplified and explained in intense detail, while others were not explained at all. I think it was an interesting read as someone in the healthcare profession wanting to learn more about other areas, but for the reader who is just wanting an insight into the work of a doctor, it is not the most accessible or readable book of it's kind.
Rating: 3/5
The Day The World Came To Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland by Jim DeFede -
My second non-fiction read of the month was one I am so glad I picked up. I am a massive fan of the musical Come From Away, which tells the story of the planes diverted to Newfoundland after US airspace was closed on September 11, 2001. This book tells the true stories of the people and circumstances the musical was based on. I loved every second of reading this book. It really is a story that emphasises the good in humanity and reminds us of the people we should all strive to be. I loved learning more about these people and the true kindness they were shown during such a horrific time. It is also written so well that it is almost as if you are there watching these people going through their experiences and feeling their raw emotion. I get emotional just thinking about this book, and the stories it tells. I would definitely urge everyone to pick it up.
Rating: 5/5
Call It What You Want by Brigid Kemmerer -
From one extreme to the other, this was another super disappointing read. I really enjoyed my first Brigid Kemmerer book, More Than We Can Tell, so had high hopes for this one. It follows two high school students who, through personal and family scandals, have become outsiders in their school and society, but are paired up for a project and have to get to know each other. The premise of this sounded really good to me, but the execution was entirely different than I expected. These characters were truly terrible. They were trying so hard to prove that despite their respective scandals they were not terrible people, but their actions within the book made them terrible. I couldn't stand Maegan comparing her situation to Rob, when his life had essentially fallen apart while she made one little mistake and had a pregnant sister. It infuriated me! I also didn't like the way the story went, a lot of the subplots seemed unnecessary and the big twists at the end were kind of predictable. The only thing I enjoyed about this book was Maegan's sister's story, I would much rather have read a book just about that.
Rating: 1/5
I guess February was a good month in terms of quantity, compared to the end of last year, but pretty awful in terms of quality. While I did read my first 5 star book of the year, everything else ended up being really disappointing. Hopefully I can read more books I enjoy in March.
What was the best book you read in February?
Sophie :)
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