Books I Read in February

 I was so lucky to read a lot of really great stories this month!  I feel like almost all the books I've picked up since 2022 has started have been exceptional (those I didn't really care for I have mentioned).  

1.  The Last House on the Street by Diane Chamberlain-- Oh this was such a great book! I just could not put it down.  Though by the time the mystery was revealed I had pretty much figured it out.  I didn't mind though as that did not detract from the story. Told in two parts: Kayla (in 2010), who is moving into a new house after the loss of her husband, keeps finding mysterious things happening to her and around her home. She can't shake the feeling that the woods are haunted and she's not welcome.  Ellie (in 1965) is a wealthy white college student from North Carolina who joined the civil rights movement one summer to help register black voters over her summer break.  Canvassing near her hometown Ellie is met with lots of violence and comes face to face with prejudice within her own small social circle.  

2. To Have and To Kill by Mary Jane Clark-- I really enjoyed this cute little murder mystery book and I was thrilled to find it's part of a series.  I don't know what it is about murder and sweets like cupcakes, chocolates, and cake but they do seem to go so well together. When Piper is asked to help make a wedding cake for her former co-star she has no idea that getting wrapped back up in the world of her former soap opera could be so dangerous.

3. Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe-- I got this as an audiobook (narrated by Rob Lowe!) and really enjoyed listening to Rob tell his own stories.  Many of them are just unbelievable and I can't help marvel over the fact that he made it into adulthood at all. I usually like memoirs anyway but found I wanted to drive longer just to keep listening to this one.

4. The Children's Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin-- I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel about the Children's Blizzard of 1888.  I had never heard of this freak storm that blasted the great plains out of nowhere that killed more than 200 people.  It was such a sad and moving story. 

5. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune-- I thought this was such a cute story!  Linus Baker is a quiet, unassuming worker for the government with a job of examining orphanages for children with magical and special abilities. When he is given a month long, secret assignment to check out the orphanage near the sea he finds that casework sometimes goes beyond the rule book  and beyond prejudice.  The characters are cute and quirky and there is an underlying theme of love and acceptance throughout that I just loved. 

6. Drowning with Others by Linda Keir-- I got sucked into this murder mystery right away!  Andi and Ian have been together since high school.  But when a body turns up in the lake near their old high school and their daughter is one of a team of students that starts investigating they both get sucked in.  The body turns out to be one of their teachers who disappeared mid-way through senior year.  Both are fearful of what this will mean for their family since they are both keeping secrets.  A large bulk of the story is told from inserts they wrote in their school journals that year. 

7. Under the Northern Lights by S. C. Stephens-- Mallory is a nature photographer and when her plane crashes one winter over the wilds of Alaska she's pretty sure she isn't going to make it. Determined not to give into the pain and the elements, Mallory struggles to stay alive. When she's rescued by Michael she can't believe her luck.  After learning that she won't be able to get back to civilization until spring, Mallory decides to make the best of it.  As Mallory heals and pitches in more and more her and Michael can not help but learn more and more about one another.  As close quarters lead them to bond Mallory finds herself falling in love but Michael is resistant to change and convinced he doesn't deserve love.  I thought this was a really well written love story with enough twists and turns to keep the story interesting. 

8. Along the Broken Bay by Flora J. Solomon-- Another historical fiction novel; I found that once the story got going I just could not put it down.  While this is a World War II novel this one was quite different from any others I have read.  Taking place on the Philippine Islands mainly around the capital city Manila the central story revolved around Gina.  Gina is a wealthy American living the good life in Manila when the Japanese army attack just days after Pearl Harbor.  With her husband working on a nearby island, Gina is on her own. The army quickly invades and takes over and Gina, her daughter, and her friends are forced to flee and hide or be taken into camps because they are American. Joining a team of resistance fighters, Gina is smuggled back into Manila under an assumed name and identity where she opens a nightclub to spy on the Japanese and raise funds for the guerilla armies.  

DNF:

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey-- I wasn't sure I wanted to listen to this book after reading a few rather scathing reviews about it but I figured I really enjoyed listening to Rob tell his life story and I've always liked McConaughey's works and voice so why not give it a try?  I could not make it past the first disk (there were 6 of them).  The memoir snippets were fine; though I found many of them to be quite disturbing but the drivel in-between where he tries to impart wisdom just grated on my nerves. Matthew often talks in circles and I often found myself wondering "WTF??"  (and I pretty much NEVER use the F word).  

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