Books I Read in February 2020 (short reviews)
Hello fellow reader, it is that time of the month again where I tell you about the books I read and enjoyed (or not) in a post that definitely lacks pictures but I still don't know if I'm legally allowed to add cover photos of eBooks, so I won't.
As always, if you want to follow my reading journey in real time, follow me on goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/95108873-lena-fiala), I set myself the goal to read 100 books this year and I'm not doing too shabby, if I can say so myself.
Anywhere, here are my short reviews of the 9 books I read this month.
One Of Us Is Lying- Karen M. McManus 5/5
If you are into teen mystery, then this is the novel for you. It was a well constructed read, I loved the twists and turns and especially the end was great (I hope I'm not spoiling it for anyone with this). I have to say that it was definitely one of the best novels I read this far into the year and I really enjoyed myself. The story lines were beautifully intertwined and even as an audio book it was well to follow and yet keeping you on your toes for the next bit of information. *chef's kiss*
As always, if you want to follow my reading journey in real time, follow me on goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/95108873-lena-fiala), I set myself the goal to read 100 books this year and I'm not doing too shabby, if I can say so myself.
Anywhere, here are my short reviews of the 9 books I read this month.
One Of Us Is Lying- Karen M. McManus 5/5
If you are into teen mystery, then this is the novel for you. It was a well constructed read, I loved the twists and turns and especially the end was great (I hope I'm not spoiling it for anyone with this). I have to say that it was definitely one of the best novels I read this far into the year and I really enjoyed myself. The story lines were beautifully intertwined and even as an audio book it was well to follow and yet keeping you on your toes for the next bit of information. *chef's kiss*
Duma Key- Stephen King 4/5
I'm probably going to embarrass myself on the internet if I say that this was my first Stephen King novel. I have started a couple before (Christine, Pet Sematary) but I never finished either one of them, probably because I was a bit too young at 15 to do so.
Now that I'm a little older and can admit that at a certain age you might be too young for certain topics, I am dipping my toe back into Horror and Thriller and I'm very glad that Duma Key was the Stephen King novel that I started with.
It had the right amount of creepy freakishness that I was expecting from a Stephen King novel without scaring the sh*t out of me. The story line was really cool and I admire the way the "supernatural" is put so naturally into the ordinary. Very happy with this one, even though it was quite the long read. I'm looking forward for more of Stephen King.
I'm probably going to embarrass myself on the internet if I say that this was my first Stephen King novel. I have started a couple before (Christine, Pet Sematary) but I never finished either one of them, probably because I was a bit too young at 15 to do so.
Now that I'm a little older and can admit that at a certain age you might be too young for certain topics, I am dipping my toe back into Horror and Thriller and I'm very glad that Duma Key was the Stephen King novel that I started with.
It had the right amount of creepy freakishness that I was expecting from a Stephen King novel without scaring the sh*t out of me. The story line was really cool and I admire the way the "supernatural" is put so naturally into the ordinary. Very happy with this one, even though it was quite the long read. I'm looking forward for more of Stephen King.
When Life Gives You Lululemons- Lauren Weisberger 4/5
To balance out that Horror I went on a little Lauren Weisberg trip and discovered that the Devil wears Prada series actually had a third part and so naturally I had to read it.
This was one of those novels that I could enjoy a lot, but only because I forced myself to not get too nit-picky with the details. If you are a fan of the original "The Devil wears Prada" or the amazing film with Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, then I have to say, don't put your expectations too high. While it does follow Emily (the novel character) around, it has not a lot of that original wit and fun. But if you read it as a snarky, funny stand alone novel then you really get a fun read out of it. This was a great book. I just wouldn't say that it was a great addition to the series. Some things just don't have to be turned into trilogies.
To balance out that Horror I went on a little Lauren Weisberg trip and discovered that the Devil wears Prada series actually had a third part and so naturally I had to read it.
This was one of those novels that I could enjoy a lot, but only because I forced myself to not get too nit-picky with the details. If you are a fan of the original "The Devil wears Prada" or the amazing film with Anne Hathaway and Emily Blunt, then I have to say, don't put your expectations too high. While it does follow Emily (the novel character) around, it has not a lot of that original wit and fun. But if you read it as a snarky, funny stand alone novel then you really get a fun read out of it. This was a great book. I just wouldn't say that it was a great addition to the series. Some things just don't have to be turned into trilogies.
Chasing Harry Winston- Lauren Weisberger 2/5
Since I was so happy with Lauren's style of writing in When Life Gives You Lululemons, I thought I would be safe by reading this novel next, but oh boy was I wrong.
This really wasn't a good novel and I'm sorry if I offend anyone by saying so, normally I try to find good things about the novels that I read, but there is really not a lot of it in this one.
First of all, the name Harry Winston only comes up once or twice I think which really bothers me for some reason, I don't know why, but I kind of expect a bit more if there is a name in the title. You could've just named the novel "Chasing men" and I would've been happy. But this is a very childish criticism of me.
On a more serious note, the characters were very flat, the story line borderline stupid and completely unresolved (or should I say ditched) in the end and I was not at all impressed. Most of it was stereotypes and bad ones at that, the rest was perfectly fine women whine about the most useless things. There, I said it. I have to move on now.
Since I was so happy with Lauren's style of writing in When Life Gives You Lululemons, I thought I would be safe by reading this novel next, but oh boy was I wrong.
This really wasn't a good novel and I'm sorry if I offend anyone by saying so, normally I try to find good things about the novels that I read, but there is really not a lot of it in this one.
First of all, the name Harry Winston only comes up once or twice I think which really bothers me for some reason, I don't know why, but I kind of expect a bit more if there is a name in the title. You could've just named the novel "Chasing men" and I would've been happy. But this is a very childish criticism of me.
On a more serious note, the characters were very flat, the story line borderline stupid and completely unresolved (or should I say ditched) in the end and I was not at all impressed. Most of it was stereotypes and bad ones at that, the rest was perfectly fine women whine about the most useless things. There, I said it. I have to move on now.
Mrs. Fletcher- Tom Perrotta 3.5/5
This was a very interesting experience for me. On the one hand I loved the premise of a middle aged woman trying to find happiness after getting divorced and seeing her only son move out of the house. I think the question of what happens to a mother once she is no longer constantly needed as a mother is very interesting for me. Over all I would say, this book gets the idea and kind of deals respectfully with the fact that women over the age of 40 are still interested in sex and maybe getting a further education.
HOWEVER, and here it gets tricky. There are some aspects that are slightly strange to me. I can't go into detail without spoiling the story for all of you, but some characters, aspects and scenes are problematic and not at all what I was expecting when I picked this novel up.
I did enjoy reading it, don't get me wrong, but I think the ending didn't do the novel justice and some scenes could've used some more time in editing.
This was a very interesting experience for me. On the one hand I loved the premise of a middle aged woman trying to find happiness after getting divorced and seeing her only son move out of the house. I think the question of what happens to a mother once she is no longer constantly needed as a mother is very interesting for me. Over all I would say, this book gets the idea and kind of deals respectfully with the fact that women over the age of 40 are still interested in sex and maybe getting a further education.
HOWEVER, and here it gets tricky. There are some aspects that are slightly strange to me. I can't go into detail without spoiling the story for all of you, but some characters, aspects and scenes are problematic and not at all what I was expecting when I picked this novel up.
I did enjoy reading it, don't get me wrong, but I think the ending didn't do the novel justice and some scenes could've used some more time in editing.
Pretty Girls- Karen Slaughter 4.5/5
Another Horror story and Oh boy, this one went all in. With all the bloody details I was expecting and some more, it literally had me stuck in my reading chair and I needed to finish it as quickly as possible. There were so many turns that I could barely follow it to the end and once everything was revealed, I was shook. This was a great novel, but definitely not for the lighthearted. It does have a very graphic approach to rape and torturing and you need to be prepared for that before reading this novel.
The characters were quite likable, something I didn't see coming when I first started reading it and I was relieved that the brutality didn't seem to cause any nightmares, so that's great, right?
Another Horror story and Oh boy, this one went all in. With all the bloody details I was expecting and some more, it literally had me stuck in my reading chair and I needed to finish it as quickly as possible. There were so many turns that I could barely follow it to the end and once everything was revealed, I was shook. This was a great novel, but definitely not for the lighthearted. It does have a very graphic approach to rape and torturing and you need to be prepared for that before reading this novel.
The characters were quite likable, something I didn't see coming when I first started reading it and I was relieved that the brutality didn't seem to cause any nightmares, so that's great, right?
The Grownup - Gillian Flynn 3.5/5
This was my first short novella (I guess that is what you would call a book with roughly 60 pages and only a very limited plot) but it was a solid one.
The beginning was great and really had me expecting amazing things which it sadly couldn't deliver that well. It was slightly confusing and felt incomplete but that's probably the point of it.
One thing that amazed me was how well fleshed out the characters were in such a short time and there were indeed a lot of twists and turns.
This was my first short novella (I guess that is what you would call a book with roughly 60 pages and only a very limited plot) but it was a solid one.
The beginning was great and really had me expecting amazing things which it sadly couldn't deliver that well. It was slightly confusing and felt incomplete but that's probably the point of it.
One thing that amazed me was how well fleshed out the characters were in such a short time and there were indeed a lot of twists and turns.
Conversations With Friends- Sally Rooney 3/5
This is probably my most controversial review this month because against what most people seemed to think of this novel, I felt like it was highly problematic.
First of all, I have to praise the over all style of writing, I really enjoyed the reading of this novel, but the topics and the plot were very difficult. If not even triggering.
For full disclosure, I only heard the audio book version of this, so I don't know if that changes anything, but I thought I might have to mention it.
The main character of this novel is very problematic from someone who deals with mental illness and I honestly felt very triggered by certain scenes in the novel. I'm not someone who self harms, but after some relatively vivid description of self harm and especially the mental reasoning behind it, I could see the appeal for some people to maybe pick up that habit again.
The plot was very strange to me and I did not at all understand the function of certain characters (as a Literature student I can also say that I took my analytical brain to this novel, in case it was hidden deeper and needed a more focused depiction) and the way this whole novel was structured was just odd.
Maybe you have to see for yourself, maybe you read this novel and can not understand how anyone could dislike this novel (that's at least how goodreads comments seemed to be) so please let me know, I would love to know if I just didn't get it.
This is probably my most controversial review this month because against what most people seemed to think of this novel, I felt like it was highly problematic.
First of all, I have to praise the over all style of writing, I really enjoyed the reading of this novel, but the topics and the plot were very difficult. If not even triggering.
For full disclosure, I only heard the audio book version of this, so I don't know if that changes anything, but I thought I might have to mention it.
The main character of this novel is very problematic from someone who deals with mental illness and I honestly felt very triggered by certain scenes in the novel. I'm not someone who self harms, but after some relatively vivid description of self harm and especially the mental reasoning behind it, I could see the appeal for some people to maybe pick up that habit again.
The plot was very strange to me and I did not at all understand the function of certain characters (as a Literature student I can also say that I took my analytical brain to this novel, in case it was hidden deeper and needed a more focused depiction) and the way this whole novel was structured was just odd.
Maybe you have to see for yourself, maybe you read this novel and can not understand how anyone could dislike this novel (that's at least how goodreads comments seemed to be) so please let me know, I would love to know if I just didn't get it.
(additionally Wenn du mich tötest- Karen Winter 3.5/5)
I will not write a review on this, as it is a German novel and I couldn't find an English translation, but I will tell you, it was a solid mystery, crime novel.
That was it for this month. I would say I had some real highlights there but there were also a couple of disappointments.
I'm writing this post quite late at night and I've already written a couple more posts, so excuse any weird grammatical errors, I will probably get to them eventually, but I wanted to upload this post while it was still early March.
What were your top reads this month? Let me know, I always love to read new recommendations.
Also, if you want to connect over goodreads, leave me your handle in the comments and I will follow you. I currently only have one friend on goodreads and my other real life friends refuse to get it.
Anyway, I need to sleep.
Take care and read on.
Lena
P.S.: I'm thinking about restyling my blog, but given that I rarely stick to any promises that I make in connection with my blog or my writing I will not promise anything. But if my blog looks different one day, then that is why.
Follow me and stay in touch:
Twitter: @lena_fiala
Instagram: @lena_fiala_
Business inquiries: lena.fiala99@gmail.com
That was it for this month. I would say I had some real highlights there but there were also a couple of disappointments.
I'm writing this post quite late at night and I've already written a couple more posts, so excuse any weird grammatical errors, I will probably get to them eventually, but I wanted to upload this post while it was still early March.
What were your top reads this month? Let me know, I always love to read new recommendations.
Also, if you want to connect over goodreads, leave me your handle in the comments and I will follow you. I currently only have one friend on goodreads and my other real life friends refuse to get it.
Anyway, I need to sleep.
Take care and read on.
Lena
P.S.: I'm thinking about restyling my blog, but given that I rarely stick to any promises that I make in connection with my blog or my writing I will not promise anything. But if my blog looks different one day, then that is why.
Follow me and stay in touch:
Twitter: @lena_fiala
Instagram: @lena_fiala_
Business inquiries: lena.fiala99@gmail.com
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