February Reading Wrap Up

 

What do all my books have in common this month:  They are either about people finding themselves,  working through grief, or searching for that elusive happily ever after and realizing real life is better.  I read 8 books of which 6 were physical, 2 were ebooks, 4 were new to me authors  and a total of 2603 pages.  I enjoyed  journaling spoilery thoughts about every single one, what I liked, what I disliked, etc.   

What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama: The story was charming and revolved around books which helps the readers solve real life problems. A young girl on her own, learning how to cook and care about herself and take joy in life.  A working mother who faces all kinds of trouble after her baby is born. An accountant learning you can make a new start. An unemployed 30 year old man finally discovering what he was good at. And a retiree figuring out what he liked and enjoyed. Ordinarily I don't like books that reflect real life, but since the story involved Japanese culture and society, it made it more interesting. ****

Bookshops and Bone Dust by Travis Baldree:  Charming and entertaining, Bookshops and Bonedust is the prequel to Legends and Lattes which I haven't read yet, full of anthromorphic animals or not human, in which Viv the orc helps Fern, a rattkin, who is a walking, talking, foul mouthed rat with a pet dog who is a cross between a dog and a bird, fix up her bookstore while trying to solve the mystery of a necromancer. ****

Bonded in Death by J.D. Robb: #60 in the In Death series in which she hits it out of the ballpark.  We learn new things about Summerset and his history and those who were involved in the Urban Wars. *****

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey: A story about grief, love, loss. A story about powering through, resilience, humor, honesty, and family.  Never letting go, but moving forward, finding your way without the love of your life, and somehow falling in love again with the one was right in front of you all along.  I laughed, I cried, I laughed some more. e, ****

Starter Villain by John Scalzi:  Silly and ridiculous and entertaining with intelligent cats, foul mouthed dolphins, and a bunch of villains who try to threaten and cajole their way to a fortune after they’ve dug themselves in a hole, but the starter villain is smarter than they think. ****

You are Here by David Nichols: Some strangers, some friends begin a coast to coast walk from the Irish Sea to the North Sea of England and work through life issues in the process.  The story represented two very flawed, hurt, people not trying to get over bad relationships, until they were put together on this walk.  Was there too much angst, bitterness?  Not exactly. There was a just a right amount of humor to balance the story along with the revelations.  I liked that it didn't end with a happily ever after with all sins forgiven, but a 'let's try' together vibe.  ****

Comfort and Joy by Kristin Hannah:  Joy walks out of her own life, onto an airplane, crashes, walks away from the wreck, and has a bonding experience with a man and his child living deep in the woods. Yet, something is strange about the whole thing. Is is all real or in her imagination?  Once I finished the story, I want to read it all over again.  At the beginning it didn't seem like it, but Comfort and Joy is a charming Christmas story about hope and finding happiness.    e, ****

The Lonely Hearts Book Club by Lucy Gilmore:  Sloane, Maisey, Mateo, Greg, and Arthur. What do all these people have in common.  They've all experienced grief, or trauma in their earlier lives that have caused them to hide their true selves, burying themselves in other peoples lives, their children, their work, their books until one day Sloan decides to become involved in an angry old man's life.  From there, it snowballs, in a good way, until each one together, give each other the strength, the power to make the changes necessary to accept their pasts, and move on into the future. ****

Bookshops and Bonedust by Travis Baldree

 

“The glow in The Perch dimmed, her corner untouched by the blast of light and heat from the hearth across the room, so she asked for a lantern to read by. The kid obliged, and despite the uncomfortable chair and the ache in her leg and the backwater in which she’d been abandoned, she was absorbed. She was transported. She was elsewhere.”

First Line:  "Eighteen! bellowed Viv bringing her saber around in a flat curve that battered the wight's skull off its spine. 

In Bookshops and Bonedust, the main characters are anthromorphic animals or not human.  Viv is an orc, a female fighter, wounded while searching for a necromancer.  She's left in a back water town, called Murk, to recuperate.  While there, she gets involved with Fern, a rattkin, who is a walking, talking, foul mouthed rat with a pet dog who is a cross between a dog and a bird. Fenn owns a bookshop in a sad state of disrepair.  Viv befriends and helps Fern, all the while falling in deep like with another dwarf, plus establishing friendships with a few other odd characters.  

Meanwhile, another bad guy coincidently hides the spell book in Fern's bookstore,  from the necromancer, whom Viv and her crew had been searching for, and ends up dead. Viv and friends find the book, and then his duffel which contains an animated skeleton, which means the necromancer will eventually be showing up on their doorstep. 

Although she became a beloved part of the town, it didn't stop her from leaving in the end.  After all, it was a temporary spot. However, she left the place better when she left. Charming and entertaining, Bookshops and Bonedust is the prequel to Legends and Lattes which I haven't read yet.

336 Pages

Tor Publishing, 

Fantasy, prequel