February 2020 Book Review

March 6, 2020

Hi friends! I am back with my monthly book review! In case you missed it, I decided that I would read 52 books this year. You can read about why and also find January’s books HERE. I will say that February was a pretty slow month for me. I totally blame mercury in retrograde and the Netflix show Love is Blind for distracting me. Is anyone else watching that?! It’s so bad it’s good. 🙂

Anyhow, I read 3.5 books this month and I didn’t love any of them. But do not let that discourage you from picking one of them up. There have been plenty of books that I have loved that others haven’t and vice versa. My friend and I are big travelers and when one of us comes back from some place new and we didn’t totally love the place (*cough cough* Vienna), we would never tell the other not to go there. Everyone should see a thing for his or herself. Ya know? Same idea applies here.

Okay, enough babbling, let’s get to the books.

The Library at Mount Char by Scott Hawkins – A fantasy book about…hmm… a woman trying to take over the role of God? Okay, I’m skipping straight to my review on this one: This was the weirdest fucking book (excuse my language, but there is just no alternative here) I’ve ever read. Someone else’s review on Goodreads simply said: “What the fuck was this book?” And I can’t say it any better than that. I had literally no idea what was happening for at least the first 80 pages and then it got good, but I still didn’t totally know what was happening. I would have given it 4 stars if I understood more, but instead I’m giving it 3. And if this review makes no sense to you then you may have an idea of what it was like to read the book. 3 Stars
Catch and Kill by Ronan Farrow – This book tells the story of how Ronan Farrow exposed not only Harvey Weinstein’s despicable actions, but the cabal-like media networks, people, lawyers, and others that allowed his actions to continue for as long as they did. I already knew it, but this book really confirms what a piece of shit Harvey Weinstein is. And I was in awe at how brave the women were who came forward to share their stories. I’m also impressed by Ronan Farrow’s persistence and courage in going up against some pretty heavy hitters to get this story out. I will say that the book was a little too long and could be difficult to keep track of the many people that were brought up in this book. 4 Stars
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern – This is a fantasy that tells the story of a man who discovers a secret and magical place hidden beneath the surface of the earth and learns of the people that have risked everything to protect it. And in this discovery, he supposedly discovers his own purpose. So this is the .5 of the 3.5 books I read this month. I simply couldn’t get through it. Reading it was like wading through the slowest, thickest mud. So boring. This book seemed to have so much promise and I wanted to like it, but when I start doing other things to avoid reading a book then I know it’s time to call it quits.
Room by Emma Donaghue – A story about a mother and her son who are held captive in a room for years and the bond they have. I liked that this book was told from the perspective of the 5 year old boy. It was thought-provoking and emotional. Would I say it’s an AMAZING book? No. But it held my interest, and after attempting The Starless Sea, that was all I was hoping for. 3 Stars.