February Wrap Up

Read:
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Blue Night by Simone Buchholz
All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson (audiobook)
The Reckoning by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (audiobook/reading combo)
The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste
The Cormorant by Stephen Gregory
Beton Rouge by Simone Buchholz
Duma Key by Stephen King
Dead of Winter by Kealan Patrick Burke
Rabid Heart by Jeremy Wagner
In the River by Jeremy Robert Johnson
For Better and Worse by Margot Hunt (audiobook)

Stats:
13 books (3 audiobooks)
3,655 pages
Top 3 Reads: The Silent Patient, Duma Key, & An Anonymous Girl

I’ve blinked and February is gone. I can’t say I’m particularly sad to see this month placed in the books. Work has been crazy and dramatic. Reading has been my self-care strategy, and as you can see I needed a lot of self-care this month!

This month I was able to read books by two authors who have been on my radar for a long while. Last year I remember stalking all of the Orenda blog tour post for BLUE NIGHT and thinking how awesome the book sounded. This year I was sent a copy of BETON ROUGE and then asked to be on the tour. Naturally, I needed to read in order! Both of these books were outstanding! They were extremely fast reads and highly entertaining reads.

Peter Swanson has been on my TBR list for what feels like an eternity. I own 3 of his books and still hadn’t read him until now! It’s a little embarrassing considering how many bookworms have told me to pick him up and you know, the whole already owning his books thing! Oops! I ended up listening to ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES over audiobook and loved everything about it! The story was fantastic and the narration really brought the dual narrators to life. I’m feeling like I need to continue this trend next month with another Swanson book!

February’s line-up gave me the pleasure of reading two new releases that had already been made available overseas. First up was THE RECKONING, which is the second installment in Yrsa Sigurdardottir’s Children’s House series. I love hanging out with main characters, Huldar and Freya, as well as living through the interesting cases that Sigurdardottir comes up with. This was another solid addition to the series. I’m looking forward to trying more of Sigurdardottir’s work while waiting for the third book to release.

THE BONE KEEPER was first placed on my radar thanks to a laundry list of blogs reviewing it. This book has been out in the UK for some time and gaining a ton of praise. When I saw it was hitting shelves in the US, I knew it was time to pick it up. I was not disappointed! This book has such a creepy local legend/lore plotline to it that I found myself unsettled several times.

Since becoming a subscriber to Night Worms, I try to make sure that each month I leave room in my TBR to include whatever books come in my monthly package. Thankfully they’re great about providing spoilers ahead of time, which really help with my planning. Since the ladies behind this subscription box value reviews as part of the experience I genuinely try to make sure I’m getting them read.

First up for me was THE CORMORANT. This is an older title that centers around a young couple and their recent acquisitions from the husband’s uncle. They now have a wonderful new cottage and a creepy bird they must tend to! This one was good, but not my favorite. There was one scene included in this story that just left a bad taste in my mouth and sort of ended my interest in the story.

Next up was RABID HEART, which was an incredibly fun read! This book is set 6 months after a super-rabies virus takes over the world creating a post-apocalyptic state of undead referred to as Cujos. Wagner takes the reader on a road trip with Rhonda that feels like it stepped out of a movie.

The final book in the February package was IN THE RIVER by Jeremy Robert Johnson. The cover and description of this novella caught my eye when it originally came out thanks to a few reader on #bookstagram. When I saw it was included in the February package I did a dance for joy and promptly saved it to close out my reading month. It was brilliant! There is so much in this tiny novella: folklore, horror, fantasy, and all the emotions.

I managed to conquer two backlist titles off of my shelves in February; one was a winner and the other fell short. We’ve been having snow on and off, which lead to me remembering I snagged DEAD OF WINTER back when it came out in December of last year. I adore all things Kealan Patrick Burke, but this short story collection got shoved to the side during the holiday hustle and bustle. I’m so glad I decided to pick this one up! There are some amazing stories within these pages!

FOR BETTER AND WORSE was a Book of the Month selection for me last year. I knew quite a few people had picked it as well, but I haven’t seen very many reviews floating around. This one was very run-of-the-mill for me, but I do think it would work for someone who reads less in the crime fiction genre. The premise is great, I just wish it had been expanded upon more with a bit of a darker undertone.

It was hard to pick exactly which books I wanted to deem my favorites for February, but in the end these three represent the books I loved the most and couldn’t put down when reading.

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL was an audiobook and reading combination. It was supposed to be solely an audiobook choice for the month, but I found myself unable to step away from the book. I think the audio really set the stage for me in bringing the dual narrators to life and made this one of the best books I have listened to to date.

DUMA KEY was the February pick for our Stephen King journey and this book was so much more than I was expecting! I’ve seen it land on a lot of Constant Reader’s favorites lists, but it still consistently remains an under the radar book for King. This book has some of the best characters I have ever read about and the story is fascinating. I absolutely adored this book!

Taking the place as my favorite February read is THE SILENT PATIENT. This debut knocked me off my feet. For starters, it wasn’t narrated the way I thought it would be and that was a brilliant choice in telling this story! The twists and the ending of this book really kept me on my toes. As someone who reading in this genre often it’s very hard to find that. If this one isn’t on your radar, look it up ASAP!

Here’s to March reads! Happy reading!

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Interested in snagging a copy of any of these books? Check them out here!:

THE SILENT PATIENT: Amazon | Book Depository

BLUE NIGHT: Amazon | Book Depository

ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES: Amazon | Book Depository

THE RECKONING: Amazon | Book Depository

AN ANONYMOUS GIRL: Amazon| Book Depository

THE BONE KEEPER: Amazon| Book Depository

THE CORMORANT: Amazon| Book Depository

BETON ROUGE: Amazon | Book Depository

DUMA KEY: Amazon | Book Depository

DEAD OF WINTER: Amazon | Book Depository

RABID HEART: Amazon| Book Depository

IN THE RIVER: Amazon| Book Depository

FOR BETTER OR WORSE: Amazon | Book Depository

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Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.

Disclosure: Thank you to Cealdon Books, Orenda Books, Minotaur Books, St. Martin’s Press, and Sourcebooks for sending me  free copies in exchange for an honest review.