February began with a work trip to Washington and a weekend tasting wine outside of Seattle, but the rest of the month has been difficult due to family health issues.
Here’s what I read in February:
- The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (audio)
- Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood
- What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez
- A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers (audio)
- Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Ship Wrecked by Olivia Dade (audio)
- Shutter by Ramona Emerson
- The Last Girl by Nadia Murad (audio)
My favorite reads:
I’ve already reviewed Signal to Noise and The Last Girl, which were both incredible reads. My other favorite was What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, which I’ll be reviewing next week as I received an advance copy on NetGalley. It’s a moving story about a Puerto Rican family in New York with a daughter who’s been missing for a decade. Ruthy, a 13-year-old, went to school one day and never came home. Her sisters see a girl that looks just like her on a reality TV show and set out to find her and bring her home.
Disappointing reads:
Shutter was fine, but I was expecting more from the rave reviews I’d seen. It felt like other crime dramas that combine paranormal ability with mystery-solving, though this one takes place in Albuquerque and the Navajo reservation. Ali Hazelwood’s Love on the Brain was also disappointing; it felt like a weak copy of her first novel, The Love Hypothesis, and I also felt like it ripped off Pride and Prejudice (and not in a good way). Plus some big issues with the writing style and characters. Sigh. Ship Wrecked was much better, though I didn’t warm to the characters as much as I hoped to.
On the blog:
I wasn’t able to post much this month, just two reviews and a Top Ten Tuesday post about some of my favorite historical fantasy novels.
Books for challenges:
- TBR Pile/Backlist Reader: Signal to Noise, The Last Girl, The Bombay Prince
- Nonfiction: The Last Girl
- Reading Around the World: The Bombay Prince, Signal to Noise, The Last Girl
What I’m reading now:
I’m way overdue on my reading of Pod by Laline Paull, which is mainly because it’s a hardback and therefore hard to carry around with me. I’m also close to finishing Imani Perry’s South to America, which I’m listening to in small chunks. And I’m really enjoying Less is Lost, the sequel to the fantastic Less.
What’s coming up:
I have one ARC this month, Lone Women by Victor LaValle. I’m working on a review of What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez, and I’ll also be writing about some of my favorite Women’s Prize nominees, looking forward to the announcement of their longlist next week.
Added to my TBR:
Maybe I Don’t Belong Here by David Harewood was mentioned in this week’s Top Ten Tuesday by Read With Amie. Also my sister shared with me this list of Mindy Kaling’s favorite books of 2022; Laurie Notaro’s book looks like fun.
Hope you had a good February and have something fun planned for the spring, when it gets here. Until then, happy reading!
