We have come to the end of another month, and similar to last month, my reading started out great, then I read one book that slumped the rest of the month! I saw it coming, but it also bummed me out because I have so many great books that I desperately want to read, but life and certain books just gave me other plans. I read a total of 6 books this past month and gave an average rating of 3.8. I thought, overall, it was a really good reading month. I found a couple really good ones, some new to me authors that I’ll continue with, and a couple of not for me books.
So, let’s get into the books, shall we?
An Unorthodox Match by Naomi Ragen 4 Stars I truly loved this book. It bordered a 5 Star read for me, but I really reserve those (apparently). Much preferred to the Matzah Ball, I feel like this book handled both its appeal to Jew and Non-Jew audiences really well. As a Jewish Woman, this is what I would want to showcase my culture and religion. The romance was super sweet and adorable too.
The Hawthorne Legacy by Jennifer Lynn Barnes 3.5 Stars This is the second novel in this duology, and it was alright. I found to be an average young adult mystery, but it had a couple nice twists placed throughout and it was a quick easy read.
Address Unknown by Katherine Kressmann Taylor 5 Stars I loved this. It’s short, told entirely in letters and painfully illustrates what so many Jews have experienced in their life. Set in the early 1930’s we are following two friends, business owners as Hitler rises to power.
The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake 3 Stars I feel so disappointed in this book. The premise, the first half, the whole concept was great! It started off so strongly but somewhere along the way it lost me, and really lost me. I barely finished and just honestly felt disappointment in the…loss of the storyline? I’m not even sure if I could describe exactly what it was, but it just lost me.
The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St. James 4.5 Stars I LOVED this book too. Simone St. James sure can set an atmosphere. This book has something for everyone (except a romance really), true crime, mystery, supernatural, haunted house, I mean it- everything! And it’s done really well- everything it seamlessly melded together and comes out beautifully. Will definitely be checking out some of the authors other works.
War of Two Queens by Jennifer L. Armentrout 3 Stars Ok, I’ve said it from book one, these books are not great works of literature. We do not judge them on their quality, but rather the escapism, the ridiculousness, the…je ne sais quoi that keeps you reading. And while this one was the same bingeable readable book as the first 4, I found it to be a bit…lackluster. Armentrout introduced quite a bit of plot into this book, a lot of the mythology and lore to the communities that she created, but I think it set it at odds with what we’ve come to expect from this series.
And that’s it! War of Two Queens and life put me in a minor slump towards the end of March, but I’m emerging victorious with a large April list that I’d like to get to!
A Cuppa Cosy 