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This month I read four books, one of which was amazing, one was good and two were not for me. So a bit of a mixed bag!
My goal for this year is to read more with my eyes, i.e. to read more physical or e-books and not only audiobooks. My aim is to have at least a 50/50 split. I didn’t manage that in January – I listened to 3 books and read one on my Kindle.
Every Summer After by Carly Fortune
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
It‘s a classic summer read, set during Percy‘s summer holidays in her parents holiday home by the Lake. Reading it in the middle of winter was quite lovely actually – like a little, sunny vacation.
I enjoyed the story, I like when a romance novel doesn’t rely too heavily on tropes. The build-up of tension between the two main characters was so good and I enjoyed the plot twist but the hinting towards and waitingfor it became a bit tiresome.
The narration was really good. I think I will definitely listen to the sequel!
The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
2.5 Stars
After Sophie Kinsella‘s passing late last year I read an article about her. It got me very intrigued and I decided it was high time I read one of her books. So, I made the obvious choice and read the first book in the famous shopaholic series.
I have quite mixed feelings about the book. The writing is pretty good and it was an easy, entertaining read.
However, the main character becomes increasingly annoying and unlikeable as the story goes on. There’s an almost redemptive moment, but I guess as this is the first book in a series the author wanted to leave things open, which made the ending rather unsatisfying.
I did think that it was interesting and also unusual to have financial problems and debt be such central themes to an otherwise quite light read. The thrill and comfort the main character experiences whenever she is shopping sometimes sounded akin to how drug users describe getting high. Which is probably not inaccurate – shopping can be an addiction.
So, despite enjoying the framework of the story it also made me feel uncomfortable that this story which ultimately was about an addict in complete denial be so light and breezy.
Make of that what you will! I won’t be reading further books in this series but might try other titles by the author.
I listened to this one and the narrator was great.
A Gentleman in Moscow
5 Stars
I loved this book so much. There were many boxes ticked: a glance into a historical context I didn’t know much about, extremely likeable and interesting characters and such beautiful language.
The plot is quiet and slowly (very slowly) thickens and the author expertly weaves all the many threads of story into a beautiful web.
In case you want to know what the book is about: In 1920s Russia Count Alexander Rostov is sentenced to spend the rest of his life under house arrest in the Metropole Hotel in Moscow. There he meets many different people and figures out his purpose.
I’d highly recommend. The audio version was a treat, would like to re-read this in paper one day though.
The Romance Library
1.5 stars
There were a couple of days this month where I felt a bit down and very tired. I craved a book I could escape into, nothing heavy, some love and a happy ending.
I browsed through the Kindle Unlimited library and quickly settled on “The Romance Library”. It sounded cute and had good reviews.
However, it didn’t click with me. It employed all the classic tropes, the characters were kind of annoying and the love interest sounded absolutely spineless and so boring. So, it fulfilled my desire for an easy read with a happy ending but it was a bit too light and predictable.
Plus, I have this pet hate in love stories when men tell women that they’re “not like other girls” because she is cool and funny and normal women apparently aren’t either of those things. Ugh, it annoys me so much.
Anyway. It’s not a bad book if you want a classic trope-filled romance novel. However, I didn’t like it.
What did you read this month?
Any recommendations? Let me know in the comments below!
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