Books – February 2022

Coming in hot with my book reviews for February. For a short month, I was able to squeeze in quite a few. My favorites for the month were The Golden Couple, Ugly Love and The Bodyguard. The rest are still worth checking out.

The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

This one grabbed me right away. The story alternates from Avery and Marissa’s POV. Usually with thrillers like this, I tend to not like most if not all the characters. I thought I was going to feel the same way about this one, but I ended up liking most of the characters in the book. There is a big twist to this one, but I sort of figured it out early on. It didn’t take anything away from the ride to get there. And what a wild ride that was!!! It is hard to know who to trust. This might be one of my favorite thrillers I have read recently. I know the book was supposed to be about Marissa and Matthew, but I honestly felt like Avery’s back story and just the way she runs her business was much more fascinating.

Bottom Line: Read it!

**I received a copy of The Golden Couple from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Sixth Wedding by Elin Hilderbrand

I really enjoyed 28 Summers, so I was excited to reunite with these characters for this short story! Love how Hilderbrand had a summary of 2023 before the start of the book….just like she did for each year in the first book. It was honestly one of my favorite parts of the first book and it was so fun to have a future one. The book itself went by so fast, less than 100 pages. But it was full of moments for each of the characters and I truly enjoyed it. I am not sure how I felt about the very end? I am still processing. Let me know your thoughts if you read it! I wish it was longer, I could keep going with these characters!!!

Bottom Line: Read it! But after 28 Summers, of course!

We Met In December by Rosie Curtis

Even though this has a Christmas-y cover, the book is not very Christmas-y at all. It is just Christmas at the beginning and end of the book. I enjoyed the story and all the characters, but it was a little flat through the whole story. I feel like it was a bit all over the place, there were time jumps with each chapter. There was a lot of focus around all the side characters in the book, not a main focus on Alex and Jess. The ending happens so quickly, and then the book is over. I wish there was more of the end.

Bottom Line: Cute read, but one of those that I will probably forget about quickly.

Good Girl Complex by Elle Kennedy

I listened to this one on audio. I enjoyed the narration from both narrators, Cooper’s narrator a little more. I think I said “Damn!” out loud a few times. Definitely held my attention. I really enjoyed Mackenzie’s character. She was a strong female lead who really knew what she wanted. While the book started off a little juvenile in the nature of why Cooper started to pursue Mac, I really enjoyed it. I really thought I was going to quit after the first chapter or two though, because I felt like this book wasn’t for me. I tend to give audiobooks a little more give than an ebook physical book though, so I stuck with it since I was multitasking. I am glad I did. I liked most of the side characters and all the banter. I kept in mind that these were young adults in their 20s, so not all their decisions are the best. I think we were all a mess and doing stupid things in our early 20s, weren’t we?

Bottom Line: I enjoyed this one, but there were a few things in the plot I didn’t love. If you don’t want any spoilers, don’t read any more of this.

SPOILERS: I don’t usually like books that have cheating. Especially in this situation where two characters were cheating, and then one ends up with their side piece the day they broke up with their significant other. Its tacky and messy. But since there was deception and other things going on all around in this book, it works. One other thing I didn’t like was that Cooper has all his friends playing along and lying to Mac. No one deserves that, no matter how they feel about the “clones.”

**I received a copy of Good Girl Complex from NETGALLEY in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover

Colleen Hoover has become a must read for me over the last few years, but there are several of her older books I haven’t read yet. I really enjoyed this one, but the writing style bothered me in parts.

I.

Don’t.

Like.

Reading.

Like.

This.

However, I was so invested in the storyline and wanting to figure out what happened to Miles in the past that made him the way he is now, that I let that slide. Rachel and Miles were both a little immature, but they were in their early 20s and it was exactly how I was in relationships then. I was hooked on this one and couldn’t put it down. I liked how most of the book was in Tate’s present POV, alternating with Chapters from Mile’s past. I also really liked Cap.

Bottom Line: Read it!

The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale

I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this one. I thought it was going to be more of a thriller, but it is not. To be honest, I was rather bored and had a hard time getting into this one. There is a lot of ballet terminology and you really get a deep look into the world of professional ballerinas. I felt like the author did understand the atmosphere and got that across. The book did start to pick up a lot about half or three quarters of the way through. Delphine is rather unlikeable. She is definitely a narcissist and hard to root for. All the girls are, really. I did start to connect with them a little more in the last quarter of the book. When you find out what they did to Lindsay, you are just like…really???? And that is why this is not a thriller. Not even a little.

Bottom Line: Overall, I did enjoy the second half of the book and would consider it a solid read.

**I received a copy of The Ballerinas from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

This comes out July 19, 2022

Katherine Center is a must read for me. I loved this one so much. It was such a unique storyline with the protection agent and movie star. Some heavier topics are dealt with, and even though it was completely predictable, I just really enjoyed the ride. I loved Jack’s family so much. I would love to see a book about his brother. This could totally be made into a movie and I would be there for it.

Bottom Line: Read it!!!

**I received a copy of The Bodyguard from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner

This book is a very slow burn, but once you get past the first part of it….you start to really just want answers to your questions and you start flying through it. Everything unfolds in the POV of three different characters. I started this book on a close deadline for book club, so I was trying to get through it quickly…and I really didn’t understand the Greenwich Park inserts for awhile. Even though I figured out the “bad guy” from the beginning, I quite enjoyed the ride to get there in the second half. I liked how it all unfolded in the end.

Bottom Line: Read it.