February 2014: Could have been so much better...

Oh boy, did February turn out to be a love it or hate it month. Out of eleven books, only 5 managed to get above a three rating. The remaining 6 scored a three or below. I knew I shouldn’t have jinxed it in January.

This time, it’s easy to choose my book of the month. It came down to two: Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour by Morgan Matson, and Ashes to Ashes by Karina Halle.

It’s not too much of a surprise, but my book of the month is Ashes to Ashes, by Karina Halle.

Oh how I love this series. Ashes to Ashes is book eight and the penultimate book in the Experiment in Terror series. I absolutely love everything about EIT, and this book is no exception, fully deserving its 5+ rating. Follow this link to check out my full review.

Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour is a really sweet, yet emotional story. In short, it’s a road trip book. Amy’s father recently passed away in a car accident, and her mother is moving the family from California to the East Coast. She needs to get her car from one coast to the other. Amy doesn’t have the confidence to drive since the accident, so in steps Roger - an old family friend - who needs to travel to Philadelphia to spend the summer visiting his father. They decide to scrap the plans, and have their own little coast to coast adventure. It reads and is written quite like a scrapbook, complete with receipts, pictures, maps, playlists and menus, so it took me a little getting used to, but after a few chapters it becomes the norm. It’s a great change of pace book, and I think fully deserves its 4.5 rating.

Move the Sun by Susan Fanetti was my nice surprise after a string of bad books and gave a positive end to February. If you like bikers, strong characters and a captivating plot definitely give it a go.

I don’t usually enjoy historical novels. The romanticism of ye olden years is completely lost on me. So you can imagine my shock when I didn’t read the blurb and started reading Still Life with Murder by P.B. Ryan. After a quote, the first line is: “September 1864”. My initial reaction was, umm, a historical mystery… oh joy. I was so happy to be proved wrong! The middle is a quite slow going, but the ending mostly made up for it, and it's due to that ending I gave it a 4 rating. It’s a kindle freebie at the minute, so no excuses not to download it!

Long Night Moon by SM Reine and The Third Day, the Frost by John Marsden are both the third books in their respective series. I enjoyed both overall, but I felt The Third Day, the Frost didn’t live up to its predecessors. On the other hand, Long Night Moon continued on really well, with quite a few twists I didn’t see coming.

Teardrop by Lauren Kate is the only book I’m on the fence over this month. I didn’t particularly enjoy, nor did I outright hate it.

Now onto the part I hate doing: the fails. This month they are: Death’s Hand by SM Reine, Into the Vampire City by Phil Tucker, Out of Breath by Rebecca Donovan, and Captive in the Dark by CJ Roberts. Out of these, the one I’m most surprised over is Out of Breath. Such a disappointment! It is the conclusion to the Breathing trilogy, and I liked the first two books. The last book in a trilogy should be explosive, but this felt like it was written by a different author.

I really don’t like writing negative reviews. I want to love and gush over every book I read, but I know this isn’t realistic. Thankfully, I know I’m going to be reading another Karina Halle book in March. She has just released Donners of the Dead, and I already have a copy on my kindle, so I’m expecting great things. Also, Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi has been sitting on my bookshelf since the middle of February, and I knew I couldn’t read it until next month. It was absolute torture walking by it every day! I have resisted flicking through the pages and “accidentally” reading the last chapter. I have no clue what happens and I want it to stay that way so… Note so self: I will not cheat, I will not cheat, I will not cheat…

I really hope March will be better. Actually, I don’t think it could be much worse. (I am already dreading the flashbacks to this moment a month from now!)