Show Us Your Books: February Book Love

Happy Hallmark holiday, you guys. I'm not into romance or sap, but I do love love. Romantic love, framily love, all kinds of love. I also truly love this community of readers that participates or comes to these posts every month looking for books; and I truly love reading; and I truly love talking about books and reading; so truly I love that this linkup falls on Valentine's Day this year. 

Linkup Guidelines:

This link up happens the second Tuesday of every month.

The one is  Tuesday, March 14, 2017 - aka my birthday eve

1. Please visit and comment with both of your hosts, Jana & me
2. Please display the button (need it? let me know) or link back to us on your blog post
2. Please visit a few other blogs who've linked up and get some book talk going!

Here's what I've read from the last linkup.

Engrossing Reads

The Mermaids Singing by Lisa Carey - I loved this. Maybe it's because I was recently in Ireland, maybe because it was not a comfortable read at a time when I needed a little discomfort, I don't know. It spoke to me. E-book from Amazon

Duplicity by Ingrid Thoft (Fina Ludlow #4) - I pre-ordered this because I am so into the Fina series. Via twitter, I knew this was coming out and I got it the day after it did and devoured it right away. Fina is my current favorite series and I'm already impatiently waiting on #5. hardcover, own

The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda - I loved this book - a quick, thrilling read with slippery characters at every turn. I was a fan of Miranda's book All the Missing Girls as well but I liked this one more. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

Indiscretion by Charles Dubow - The cover looks like a trollop's tale, but it is much deeper and more nuanced. I liked the way it was told both in the writing and the point of view of the narrator. The end...oh, the end. I had to text Lauren about it right away since I found this on her best of list for 2016. paperback, own

Girls in the Moon by Janet McNally - I loved this book. Maybe because I love the moon, maybe because I love lyrics, maybe because I love the idea of a rock and roll backdrop. It was beautifully written. library hardback

Passed the Time Just Fine

It Started with Goodbye by Christina June - I liked this book a lot more than I thought I would given that I'm not big on romance books. Some of the YA aspects of this were cloyish and annoying (the stepmother's inexplicable coldness doesn't sit well with me) but overall I liked it, especially the peripheral characters. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

The Longest Night by Andria Williams - A little slow here and there, but a good reminder of how different gender roles and societal attitudes were just 60 years ago. There's a good amount of tension around that and also high pressure jobs and isolation. Amazon e-book

The Night Bird (Frost Easton #1) by Brian Freeman - This was bizarre, there's no way around it. I mean, one of the characters is Francesca Stein (Frankie Stein). I assume there will be more. I wouldn't say no to reading them, but I won't be rushing to it either. E-book from Amazon

My Sister Rosa by Justine Larbalestier - This book was also fucked. I was a little bored of reading the nuances of the psycho sister, but I did not see the end coming at all so that was a nice surprise. E-book from Amazon

Vanished (Callahan & McLane #1) by Kendra Elliot - Meh. Not a good or bad meh, but a meh. I always like to give a series two books to get on its feet, so maybe I'll read the next. The explanation for this whodunit was really out of left field. I'm interested in the characters but they're a little surface in this first pass book. e-book Amazon

Necessary Lies by Diane Chamberlain - I wish this was a little more about eugenics, the shameful part of our history that we often choose to gloss over. It had a good pace for a book that is not set up as a mystery/thriller, and I motored through it. paperback, own

Not Worth It
The Goddesses by Swan Huntley - This seemed really long to me - maybe because I realized very quickly what it took the main character an eternity to get. At one point, I was like why am I still reading this? I liked the writing, but the storyline was tough in spots. It was hard to connect with or have sympathy or empathy or care for anyone in this book. I finished it because I wanted to see if the main character ever got it. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Local Girls by Caroline Zancan - I got to page 91 before I said fuck it and didn't finish. There might be something there, but I likely won't go back to it. It feels like it's trying very hard to be dark. Library paperback, did not finish

What are you reading?

An InLinkz Link-up