Oh, February is a short month, so there are fewer days to read. And, February usually starts Lent, which means I switch to just reading religious books. I wouldn’t say any of the books I read this month were spectacular, but there were a few very solid fiction books and one great history book. Here are the books I read in February:
Maria comes to Los Angeles to escape Mussolini’s Italy with her mother after her father is taken as a political prisoner. Eventually finding a job at a motion picture studio, she has to find a balance between who she was, who she is and who she would really like to be. Mercury Pictures Presents takes a long and winding road to tell her story by going back and forth in time and between characters. I found the book slow and confusing at times, but stuck with it trying to find out what happened to her father in the end.
Rise of the Light is the final book in the And They Found Dragon trilogy. While geared toward middle grade readers, the final books moves at a much quicker pace than the other and I felt the ending might confuse younger readers. Jack tries to fight the evil red dragons’ lure, but eventually fall for it before finally turning back to the true love found with the silver dragons. It’s a cute series, but best to read with a parent to explain the Christian allegory.
I’ve really enjoyed the Marie Benedict books I’ve read so far, but The Personal Librarian is not my favorite one of hers. Belle da Costa Greene gets hired as J.P. Morgan’s librarian, but the world does not know that she is actually African-American. Her mother presented the entire family as white after their father left since they were light-skinned. She struggles with who she is during the entire novel. However, on top of this, the author ties in lesbian romances, open marriages, affairs and abortion in the story. The main character also falls a bit flat. I would not recommend this book.
I finally got around to reading The Parasite as it became available to check out as an e-book from my library. This is the 8th book in the Michael Vey series. There was a long break between books 7 and 8, with the author originally finishing the series before changing his mind. The Parasite sets up the story for the following books with the Electroclan members being in college now. I don’t recommend starting the series with this book as it only references the story that happened in books 1-7. However, I do highly recommend this series, especially for teen and adult readers. I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes when the next book comes out in September.
This Must Be The Place is a love story told over several decades. Centered on Daniel Sullivan, the book tells of how he loved his first wife, mistress, second wife and children. A man with a tendency toward addiction, he sometimes loved well, but then struggled to love when facing his own demons – from within or from the past. Even though the books skips several years, I could easily follow along with where Daniel was in the story. It was an interesting journey of how even failed love can affect a person for the rest of their lives.
I grew up listening to Sandi Patty but I didn’t realize she had written any books until a few months ago. I knew I wanted to see what she had to say, so I saved reading Layers for early in my Lent reading season. he book was interesting, but was more about the topic of removing layers so people can see the real you than her story. She’s apparently written several books and I’ll read the one that tells her story next.
I was on the launch team for The Time-Saving Mom. The book releases March 7. I’ve enjoyed Crystal Paine’s books before and follow her on social media. I enjoy her insights in daily living. This book delves into her system for managing your time like you can manage money. She shares her philosophy, but then spends most of the book sharing her systems. Unfortunately, these systems may not work for a lot of people. I think the book could have been improved by showing some different ways to implement her philosophies and not just her systems. It’s a good book to start with to get used to the idea of managing time well, but understand you’ll have to find a system that works for you, your personality, your life and your family.
Do you believe in coincidences? Sometimes it just doesn’t explain the full picture of how something happened. There are many times in America’s history where it seems God’s providence intervened on behalf of the nation. Medved explores those stories in The American Miracle. One of my favorite stories is how the Mayflower was more than 200 miles off course, yet managed to land where there was an Indian who spoke English and could help them plant food and fend off starvation. What are the odds of that?
What did you read recently that you loved? Share in the comments!
