What I Read: February

This was a pretty busy month book-wise!  It started off with just a bunch of okay books, but The Scorpio Races and Fire were finally two books that got me excited to keep reading!  Hopefully I will have many more good books next month.  :)

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I thought this was a fun, light read -- would've been a perfect summer read! I liked the coming of age story, though I think there's definitely some more growth that needs to happen with the characters. Hopefully we'll get to see that in the next book. I liked the characters, but didn't love them, except for maybe Jeremiah. And I don't love who she ended up with but I am looking forward to reading more in the series.


Across the Universe by Beth Revis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a pretty good book. There were things I really liked, but things that I didn't like. It hooked me at the very beginning, but then got a little slow before it picked up again. In some ways it reminded me of Inside Out , by Maria Snyder and The Maze Runner , by James Dasner -- two excellent books -- but this one fell just a little short of those books. It was a very interesting concept but I just never really felt attached to the main characters. And I will admit some of the "Season" stuff was a little weird and uncomfortable.  I still enjoyed it enough that I can't wait to read the rest in the series.


I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I admit I didn't make it very far into this book. But far enough for me to know that I would not enjoy it. I really didn't like the way the author jumped back and forth between the past and present -- it was very confusing. I also felt like there was too much information that wasn't pertinent to the story, that things were too drawn out; the author just seemed to ramble at times. There was also a lot of sexual content and language that was thrown in randomly and it's just not something I felt like continuing.


The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Based on reviews and recommendations I expected to be blown away by this book. Instead I was a little disappointed. While some of the anecdotes the author shared about her life were interesting, to say the least, the overall tone of the book was a little .... bland. I was sad for the kids -- their parents were definitely a little crazy -- but I wanted to feel some emotion, any kind of emotion, from the author. I didn't want to know what happened, I wanted to feel it. There was a sort of disconnect I felt that I missed.


Demonglass  by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed this sequel. I just love Sohpie and all her sarcastic thoughts and comments! The beginning was a little slow but then it really picked up and there was so much happening. The one thing I didn't like about this book was the love triangle. Honestly, I barely remember Cal from the first book and having him as a potential love interest just seemed a bit forced and not really necessary to the story. Also a huge cliffhanger at the end, but well worth it. Can't wait til the next one comes out.


It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I flew through this book. It was such a quick read - I actually finished it in a day! I felt sad a lot in this book and I hope there is more happiness in the next. I liked the few chapters from Jeremiah's point of view and wish there were more. He is definitely my favorite character!



The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a unique and beautiful story. When I first started I thought it was just okay, nothing special. But maybe about 100 pages in I fell in love -- with the story, the island, the characters. It suddenly felt so real to me. Puck & Sean were two perfect characters. I loved how different they were and I loved how different their voices were. It was easy to distinguish who was speaking; I can't say the same for several other books I've read recently. It was such a beautifully told story and it left me longing for more -- more Puck & Sean, more Corr, more Thisby, just more everything. I loved this book!



Fire by Kristin Cashore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having love Graceling, I was very excited for this sequel. The story was completely different from Graceling, but not in a bad way. I enjoyed this just as much as the first! The only thing really tying this to Graceling was the back story of Leck, which I really enjoyed learning about. There wasn't a lot of suspense or action, but I loved the slow way the story and especially the characters developed. This whole idea of "monsters" was so unique and so intriguing. Fire was the perfect main character and I really came to love all the people in her life and felt every joy and pain she felt for each of them. I can't wait to read the next in the series, though these characters will be missed!