Whoopsie daisy, I completely forgot about my January wrap up–so I’m combining it with February’s! Both reading months seemed to have some really strong spots where I got a lotttt of reading accomplished but I seemed to hit a slump at some point in both months as well. I’m hoping to be able to chug through March a bit more steadily.
Here’s what I read to start off my reading year!
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January Reads
Her tears grant wishes. Her next tear will end her life. She didn’t ask to be the Wishtress. Myrthe was born with the ability to turn her tears into wishes. But when a granted wish goes wrong, she is cursed: the next tear she sheds will kill her. She must travel to the Well to break the curse before it can claim her life—and before the king’s militairen find her. To survive the journey, Myrthe must harden her heart to keep herself from crying even a single tear. He can stop time with a snap of his fingers. Bastiaan’s powerful—and rare—Talent came in handy when he kidnapped the old king. Now the new king has a job for him: find the Wishtress and deliver her to the schloss. But Bastiaan needs a wish of his own. He gains Myrthe’s trust by promising to take her to the Well, but once he gets what he needs, he’ll turn her in. As long as his growing feelings for the girl with a stone heart don’t compromise him. Their quest can end only one way: with her death. Everyone seems to need a wish—the king, Myrthe’s cousin, the boy she thinks she loves. And they’re ready to bully, beg, and betray her for it. No one knows that to grant even one wish, Myrthe would pay with her life. And if she tells them about the curse . . . they’ll just kill her anyway.
MY REVIEW
I’d heard so many great things about this book that I chose it for the first read of the year! Because of this, I kinda expected it to blow me away–and while it was good, it wasn’t one that I just couldn’t put down. It felt a bit slow to me at times, but I think because I was reading another fantasy alongside of it (that I was reallyy digging) I was subconsciously comparing my enjoyment haha. So I think had I read it at a different time I probably would have enjoyed it more. All that to say–I think my reading experience was compromised because of myself–not because it wasn’t good. It was a fun read, a super cool concept, and I would definitely recommend!
MY REVIEW
I’m purposely skipping the description of this one because it kinda gives away some things that happen in the first Caraval book! You can read my review of the first one here! As soon as I finished the first book, I couldn’t wait to get to this one! And I did end up liking this one too. The main character in this one was kinda my least favorite in the first one BUT. I didn’t mind to read from her perspective/follow her around. I still enjoyed it. The romance once again in this is just kinda cringe to me but otherwise I’m obsessed with the atmosphere these books create!
MY REVIEW
The truth is, I loved this series, but I wish I would have taken a break between this one and the second one. I read them back to back and I shouldn’t have personally haha. I feel like because of that, I didn’t appreciate the world or twists as much anymore. They kinda lost some of their sparkle because I felt really “used” to it all. I know it would have been as exciting as the other two had I circled back to the series with maybe a different book in between. I was a bit slower getting through this one than the others, but it was still good!
Alone in a new country, wealthy Sara Crewe tries to settle in and make friends at boarding school. But when she learns that she’ll never see her beloved father gain, her life is turned upside down. Transformed from princess to pauper, she must swap dancing lessons and luxury for hard work and a room in the attic. Will she find that kindness and genorosity are all the riches she truly needs?
MY REVIEW
I listened to this book on audio and loved it so much! I’d watched the Shirley Temple movie growing up but hadn’t read the book. It was really sweet and I just had to buy this particular edition for my{shelf} 😉
February Reads
Sarah Nickerson, like any other working mom, is busy trying to have it all. One morning while racing to work and distracted by her cell phone, she looks away from the road for one second too long. In that blink of an eye, all the rapidly moving parts of her over-scheduled life come to a screeching halt. After a brain injury steals her awareness of everything on her left side, Sarah must retrain her mind to perceive the world as a whole. In so doing, she also learns how to pay attention to the people and parts of her life that matter most. Lisa Genova explores what can happen when we are forced to change our perception of everything around us. Left Neglected is an unforgettable story about finding abundance in the most difficult of circumstances, learning to pay attention to the details, and nourishing what truly matters.
MY REVIEW
This read was a little out of my comfort zone because I don’t normally read a lot of “medical-ish” things! But I buddy read it with a friend on instagram which was so fun! I didn’t find that I connected with the characters much, but I did find reading about the condition “Left Neglect” pretty interesting. If you enjoy stories of about overcomers, perspective changes, and medical fiction–you just might enjoy this one!
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker who became a heroine of the Resistance, a survivor of Hitler’s concentration camps, and one of the most remarkable evangelists of the twentieth century. In World War II she and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis, and for their work they were tested in the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil. Here is the riveting account of how Corrie and her family were able to save many of God’s chosen people. For 35 years millions have seen that there is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still. Now The Hiding Place, repackaged for a new generation of readers, continues to declare that God’s love will overcome, heal, and restore.
MY REVIEW
Five stars, five stars, five stars. So beautiful for countless reasons. I could go on–and I do go on in this post (aka my full review/thoughts specifically on this book!) This year, I started a Book Club over on instagram and this was our very first read! It was phenomenal! Would highly, highly recommend!!
Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force. Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe. Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom? Master storyteller Ruta Sepetys is back with a historical thriller that examines the little-known history of a nation defined by silence, pain, and the unwavering conviction of the human spirit.
MY REVIEW
Yeah so at this point Ruta Sepetys is one of my favorite HisFic authors. I have been blown away by everything I have picked up by her! It is so easy to get engrossed in her books and invested in her characters. Here newest release “I Must Betray You” did not dissapoint. I enjoyed every minute of it. Ruta really knows how to connect her readers to her characters. I can’t say enough good, I would just highly recommend you go grab this one 🙂
Back in my October Reading Wrap Up , I shared my review about the first book in this duology–“Dust”! I had really enjoyed Kara’s retelling of the story of Peter Pan, her characters, and where she went with it! This was a really great second book that wrapped up the story really well. If you enjoy fairytale retellings then you would most likely really enjoy these!
“Last Night I Dreamt I went to Manderley Again…”
With these words, the reader is ushered into an isolated gray stone mansion on the windswept Cornish coast, as the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter recalls the chilling events that transpired as she began her new life as the young bride of a husband she barely knew. For in every corner of every room were phantoms of a time dead but not forgotten—a past devotedly preserved by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs. Danvers: a suite immaculate and untouched, clothing laid out and ready to be worn, but not by any of the great house’s current occupants. With an eerie presentiment of evil tightening her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter walked in the shadow of her mysterious predecessor, determined to uncover the darkest secrets and shattering truths about Maxim’s first wife—the late and hauntingly beautiful Rebecca.
MY REVIEW
I absolutely adored this book. Like I couldn’t put it down. I originally started it as my audiobook for the month but quickly paused that so I could order a physical copy to read the rest. It gave me Jane Eyre vibes for sure, a different story, but that same big-house-with-it’s-secrets eeriness and mysteriousness. My only complaint was that it did have quite a bit of language, but otherwise it’s one of my favorite recent reads!
Aibileen is a black maid in 1962 Jackson, Mississippi, who’s always taken orders quietly, but lately she’s unable to hold her bitterness back. Her friend Minny has never held her tongue but now must somehow keep secrets about her employer that leave her speechless. White socialite Skeeter just graduated college. She’s full of ambition, but without a husband, she’s considered a failure. Together, these seemingly different women join together to write a tell-all book about work as a black maid in the South, that could forever alter their destinies and the life of a small town…
MY REVIEW
This was a nice change of “scenery” concerning Historical fiction. I feel like so much HisFic is based during the World Wars and while they are good–it really is nice to pick up a book from a different time now and then. I liked this for so many reasons but that would get quuuite long–and this Wrap Up is already lengthy. But I really loved, loved my reading experience with this one.
(Little content warning–I will say it did have a lot of language and has a good bit of detail concerning a miscarriage.)