Hi Readers! Even with the extra day, February went by too fast for me. But I did manage to have one of my best reading months in a long time! If you look back at my February TBR, I read everything on it except for one book, and added a couple of backlist books. Yay! Be sure to check out The Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction!

(Link to synopsis on Goodreads through the book title.)

February Wrap-Up

I started the month off reading a book on my backlist, The Kiss Quotient. And it was my first five-star read of 2020!

Rating [usr 5]

The Light After the War is an ARC I received through Netgalley. And while it wasn’t the best historical fiction I’ve read, I did enjoy it.

Rating [usr 3]
My review

In Five Years is another ARC I received through Netgalley. I’d read Rebecca Serle’s previous book, The Dinner List, and I knew I wanted to read this one, as well. It was very different from anything I’ve ever read before. Loved it!

Rating [usr 4.5]
My review

Saint X is an ARC I received a physical copy of. It was very atmospheric and memorable. I highly recommend it if you like literary type thrillers.

Rating [usr 4]
My review

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On Valentine’s I read a book off my backlist, Jenny Han’s P.S. I Still Love You, and then watched the Netflix film that evening. I loved it so much, I moved on to the next one, Always and Forever, Lara Jean, the next day.

Rating [usr 5]
My review of the series

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For the final weeks in February, I wanted to reread The Infernal Devices in anticipation of Chain of Gold. However, I’d forgotten how all-consuming this series can be, and I read through them faster than I expected. I ended up compiling a TBR list of Cassandra Clare’s extra stories and bonus material that would get me up to date with Chain of Gold. I made it into a post and also included my playlist for TID. <3

Rating for all three [usr 5]
My Chain of Gold TBR

February Book Haul

I had a nice haul this month, nothing too extravagant. I’ve banned myself from requesting any new ARCs on Netgalley. Unless I really, really want them. I did break my ban last month for one teensy book. Oops. But this month I was INVITED to read several ARCs…. and it’s so hard to say no.

The ARCs

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner – I’ve read several books from this author, and I couldn’t resist this book about friendship!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.

Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song. (5/19/20)

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What You Wish For by Katherine Center is actually one of my most anticipated reads for 2020, and I was over the moon when I got the invitation to read it. 🙂

Synopsis from Goodreads: Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas—the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school suddenly loses its beloved principal, it turns out his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter—a former, unrequited crush of Sam’s from many years before.

When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good. (7/14/20)

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The Vacation by T. M. Logan sounds like the perfect beach read!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Seven days. Three families. One killer.

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday – a group of families enjoying a week together in the sun. Four women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember making the most of a luxurious villa in the south of France.

But Kate has a secret: her husband is having an affair. And a week away might just be the perfect opportunity to get the proof she needs – to catch him in the act once and for all. Because she suspects the other woman is one of her two best friends.

One of them is working against her, willing to sacrifice years of friendship to destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined . . . 

Because someone in the villa may be prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden. (7/21/20)

I also added In an Instant by Suzanne Redfearn. It was my Amazon First Reads choice for the month, and I chose it after reading Alex @ Whimsypages amazing review!

Synopsis from Goodreads: Life is over in an instant for sixteen-year-old Finn Miller when a devastating car accident tumbles her and ten others over the side of a mountain. Suspended between worlds, she watches helplessly as those she loves struggle to survive.

Impossible choices are made, decisions that leave the survivors tormented with grief and regret. Unable to let go, Finn keeps vigil as they struggle to reclaim their shattered lives. Jack, her father, who seeks vengeance against the one person he can blame other than himself; her best friend, Mo, who bravely searches for the truth as the story of their survival is rewritten; her sister Chloe, who knows Finn lingers and yearns to join her; and her mother, Ann, who saved them all but is haunted by her decisions. Finn needs to move on, but how can she with her family still in pieces? (3/1/20)

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For my birthday, I picked up a copy of The Bromance Book Club at Half Price Books! And I also received a few books through Paperbackswap this month:

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• Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly
• Sky on Fire (Monument 14, #2) by Emmy Laybourne
• Savage Drift (Monument 14, #3) by Emmy Laybourne

Have you read any of these books? Did you add any of them to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!

Happy Wandering!