Hello everyone. Welcome back to Bibliophilia Book Reviews. In this post, I will be doing a wrap up of all the books I read in January. This new year though I want to try something a little different with my wrap ups. I am still going to list how many books I read in the month I am wrapping up and provide a synopsis for each one of them, but this time I want some of those books to be part of a reading challenge I set up for myself this year so that my reading includes various types of books. The categories for this reading challenge include: 1. Read a classic, 2. Read a library book, 3. Read a nonfiction book, 4. Finish a series, 5. Start a series, 6. Read a Book of the Month (BOTM), and finally, 7. Requested review from a self-published author. The only rule in this challenge is that one book cannot fill in for two categories at the same time. Taking this into account then, I think that I did pretty good in January. Let’s see how well I can keep this up throughout the year. I read 11 books this month.
1. The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez
The Happy Ever After Playlist (HEAP)is the second book of The Friend Zone romantic series by Abby Jimenez. Trigger warning for death of a loved one and grief. This book is Sloane’s story after her fiancé Brandon dies in a car accident. Two years after Brandon’s death, Sloane is still grieving him, but on the day marking the second anniversary of Brandon’s accident, she finds a lost dog on her way to the cemetery and her plans change. Now she is trying to find the owner, but all of her messages and calls go unanswered for weeks. So she decides to keep Tucker. After all, she has finally started feeling more like herself in the weeks since she found him. But then Tucker’s owner answers one of her messages and tells her that he wants Tucker back.
After reading the first book in this series last month (see my review here), I picked this one up knowing that this author tends to address issues of daily human life that tend to not be talked about all that much. That topic here was the death of a loved one (boyfriend or spouse) and the grief that the deceased’s loved ones suffer after their death. And I think that the author does a very good job at portraying the aftermath of such a traumatic event here. I liked Sloane and it was nice to see how she starts healing from Brandon’s death after she finds and bonds with Tucker. Dogs do that; they help you heal. And I may be a little biased because my sister had a dog named Tucker several years ago, and he soon became my closest companion and protector as well. I wasn’t mom, but I was a very beloved sister (or aunt, not sure which) and he soon became one of my most treasured friends. This book reminded me of him.
Another thing I liked about this book is Sloane and Kirsten’s friendship. I know that this is a romance novel and that the relationship between Sloane and Jason is at the forefront of the story, but Sloane’s relationship with her best friend was one the most entertaining things about the book. And I liked how Kirsten and her husband Josh were always looking out for her as she grieved Brandon. It was nice to see Kirsten and Josh (the main couple of the previous book) married and forming their own family.
I also liked Jason, but I did not enjoy him being a musician as much as I enjoyed Josh being a firefighter, if that makes any sense. I wasn’t a big fan of the whole music tour/rockstar trope because the book became rather predictable after that. I knew that Sloane and Jason’s different lifestyles wasn’t going to mesh very well and that they would eventually break up sometime in the second part of the book. In addition, the whole Lola storyline (drama) added a whole new layer (addiction and a negative representation of female rockstars) to the plot that wasn’t necessary. Eventually Lola was just there so Jason would have someone to break up with Sloane over, and I didn’t think that Lola deserved that to be honest.
Nonetheless I still Liked this book and Will Probably Read It Again.
2. NONFICTION: SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
The title of this book says everything that needs to be said about what this book is about, so I will not try to summarize it here. But what I liked about this book is that it tries to describe that history from a different perspective than what has usually been done. In other words, instead of focusing on relating the major events that occurred during the reigns of each one of the emperors, such as is done in The Fall and Decline of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbons, SPQR focuses primarily on relating the history of Ancient Rome from the point of view of its Senate and its population. Hence, the title of the book. SPQR stands for Senātus Populusque Rōmānus,” which basically means “The Senate and People of Rome, and I thought that this gave the book an originality that not many books about the history of Rome have.
SPQR is book targeting a general and non-specialist reader. I found it a very interesting read, though some chapters have a greater scope than others and the story of the history of Ancient Rome becomes a retelling of the city’s history during three periods of time: (i) the foundation of Rome and the kings that first ruled it, (ii) the Roman Republic, and (iii) Augustus and the advent of the Emperors. Mary Beard’s history, however, ends after the reign of Commodus, a time of history, she says, when a new history of Rome begi ns.
I found this to be a very interesting and educational read. I Liked It And Will Probably Read It Again.
3. CLASSIC: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Catcher in the Rye is a classic that I had never read before. Holden Caulfield is the typical 16-year-old boy who thinks that the world he lives in and the adults in them don’t understand him. We all go through that phase in our lives, and this is probably one of the reasons why this book is a classic. We can all identify easily with Holden. Most of us, however, grow out it. We mature. And this is one thing about The Catcher in the Rye that I did not like. Holden Caulfield is a 16-year-old reflecting on life, and, yes, we are all wannabe philosophers at that age, but I don’t think 16-year-olds, either boys or girls, are mature enough to reflect on their lives as such at that age.
Don’t get me wrong. I understood that Holden doesn’t want to lose the innocence of childhood that he treasures so much now that he is growing up simply because he doesn’t to grow up. He doesn’t want to become a phony adult (I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that uses the word phony so much before), but he is completely oblivious to the fact that childhood can be disenchanting and cruel as well. And I think that J.D. Salinger did a great job in contrasting that with Holden’s little sister. Still, this classic is not a favorite. I gave it an Okay rating.
4. BOTM: The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd
This book is one of my favorite reads of 2021 (read that post here), and I reread it again this month. And like before, I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I was reminded why I had liked Ana so much before, and that this book is ultimately the story of the women (specifically his wife) in Jesus’ life. More specifically, the story of those women who tragedies are no less great than any man’s, but which tend to get lost in history when those women die because there is no one to tell their stories. It is more common for men to tell the story of other men whilst women are cursed by oblivion. So Ana tries to be the one to tell those stories; stories that will get lost sometime throughout the history of mankind, but which will inevitably be found again. That is why Ana buries her books at the end. I gave this book an I Really Liked It rating.
5. Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez
This book is the third book in The Friend Zone romantic series by Abby Jimenez, and I will admit this book hit close to home. The main character in this book has come to accept the possibility that she may not live past her 30th birthday due to the fact that she may be developing the first signs of the disease that killed her mother and sister, both of which died before they turned 30: amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). I say that this book hit closer to home because my grandfather died from ALS and because he died when I was so young, I had not stopped to think about how hard it must have been for my grandmother to see her husband sick and deteriorate from this disease. My mother too, to see her father dying so slowly but at the same time so fast. Back then, in 1987, there were clinical trials too. And my grandmother thought about getting him in one. But decided against it last minute. He was dead in less than 6 months.
So the last thing Vanessa needs right now is to find herself caring for her sister’s baby, whom she dropped at her doorstep, becoming her sole guardian overnight. Vanessa doesn’t need a baby right now; she needs to get her affairs in order and set up and pay for her own funeral. ALS looms large in this book despite the fact that we don’t actually see anyone sick of it in it. Thus some parts of the book were really hard to read, and they twisted my guts. I gave this book an I Really Liked It rating and will probably read it again. I did not use this book as the one for my FINISH A SERIES prompt in my reading challenge because this is an ongoing series. The next book will be published on April 19th, 2022.
6. Sword of Kings by Bernard Cornwell
This is the twelfth and penultimate installment of The Saxon Stories by Bernard Cornwell. In this book, Uhtred has an oath to fulfill, and he sets out to fulfill it when he receives a letter from King Edward’s third wife, who is running for her life and that of her children. Everyone is expecting news of king’s death, and Eadgifu knows that Aethelweard, Edward’s son by his second wife, will kill her sons when that happens so she runs from Wessex seeking the protection of her brother in Cent. However, she also sends a missive to Uhtred, and he is the one who rescues from Lord Aldhelm’s men ;, m. Now, Uhtred must kill Aethelweard and Aldhelm to pave the way for Athelstan, Edward’s first-born son, to take the throne.
Aethelstan and Uhtred’s relationship this far into the series has changed dramatically from what it was when Edward’s son was Uhtred’s protégé and I missed that in this book. Aethelstan is now a replica of his grandfather Alfred and that antagonizes him with Uhtred, who is still a pagan. Aethelstan is smart, cunning, and ruthless, nonetheless, just like Alfred. He is also very devout and thinks that he is God’s anointed. That is why he will stop at nothing until he is king, even killing his brother. And Uhtred will be his sword.
The only thing I didn’t like about this book was Uhtred’s treatment of Eadith. He might have never slept with Benedetta while Eadith was alive, but he was still unfaithful to her. He cheated emotionally on Eadith by falling in love with Benedetta while still being married to her, and I hated that he wished several times he weren’t. I also did not like that Eadith (conveniently) died at the end of the book so Uhtred could be free to pursue his relationship with Benedetta. Eadith deserved better. I gave this an I Liked It And Will Probably Read It Again rating.
7. The Forgotten Letters of Esther Durrant by Kayte Nunn
This book takes place in two timelines, one in 1951 and another in 2018. In 1951, Esther is a young mother going through a severe postpartum depression after her young son Samuel dies from SIDS in his crib. Her husband, John, at a loss at how to help her, takes her to an isolated mental asylum in the Sicily Islands where he hopes that his friend Richard will help her. Predictably, Richard and Esther fall in love. And the story in 2018 takes place when the cabin that once housed the asylum has long been abandoned. But Rachel, a wandering and free-spirited marine scientist is stranded at the island one night after a storm and takes refuge in the cabin. And predictably as well, she finds the love letters that Richard wrote to Esther after she left the asylum and returned to London with her husband.
I found the story in 1951 more interesting than the one in 2018 honestly, however the one in 1951 also had its faults. I was rather disconnected from Rachel throughout the entirety of her storyline, and at times the plot of the book in this timeline dragged. A lot. Like when she stays with Leah in the cabin for three days. That part of the book was rather boring and stagnant, and I couldn’t wait for the author to get past it. Also, I couldn’t fathom what Leah’s purpose in the novel was. At some point, I thought she and Rachel were going to get romantically involved but that didn’t happen. Instead, she ends up with that guy that keeps showing up every now and then (I forget his name; he was that memorable) but ultimately Rachel isn’t the protagonist of the book. It’s Esther, now 90-years-old, who is now writing a memoir relating her story as one of the country’s most accomplished mountaineers. After Rachel finds the letters, however, her work in the islands takes a step background and she is solely focused on finding the intended recipient of those letters, and later, on getting Esther and Richard back together. Predictably again, those letters reveal that Esther had a third child after she arrived from the Sicily Islands. Hannah, who, lo and behold, was really Richard’s daughter (she’s dead, BTW).
I found this book awfully predictable and gave it an Okay rating. The only thing that stopped me from disliking it altogether is its portrayal of postpartum depression in an era when most people did not know what that was and attributed it to women being ‘hysterical’. Frankly, I would have liked the book had focused more on this, but I also know that ultimately this is a romance book.
8. LIBRARY BOOK: My Mother’s Secret: A Novel Based On A True Holocaust Story by J.L. Witterick
The events in this book are based on a true story; the story of Franciszka Halamajowa and her daughter Helena, who saved the lives of 15 Jews during WWII by hiding them in their house for twenty months until the end of the war in 1945. It is a story of courage about two women who put the lives of others above their own; who risked their own lives to save the lives of two Jewish families and a German officer. The book is roughly 200 pages long, and the story is told from the perspective of four different characters. With the exception of Helena and her mother, none of those hiding in their tiny home know of each other’s existence. Every point of view relates the same events: Helena, Franciszka’s daughter and a young woman who finds love despite the war, Bronek, who hides himself and his family in Franciszka’s pigsty after the death of his brother knowing that if he doesn’t do so they will all be taken to a concentration camp and killed, Mikolai, a young boy whose family hides in Franciszka’s and Helena’s tiny cellar, and Vilheim, a defector from the German army, hiding in the attic. I Really Liked this book, and I will probably read it again.
9. REQUESTED REVIEW: The Fifth: Indoctrinated City by Chris Sykes
The Fifth: Indoctrinated City is a YA dystopian novel about how hatred on the top levels of Britain’s fascist government affects the lives of the country’s citizens. New laws are implemented, and certain people in the country are now illegal. Thus, they are hunted by the Patrol. Victor, an Iranian man living in York with his wife Evie, a member of Parliament, and children, is now one of the government’s new targets and he is forced to leave his family to save his own life. Years later, Evie has lost her seat in Parliament and is now on the run as well. Brian, her new husband, takes the children, Jack, Jenny, and Zo, to York’s train station trying to outrun the government’s Patrol. But Brian dies, and Jenny and Zo are separated from their brother Jack. He is rescued by their mother Evie and is taken to a Scottish castle to join the British Liberation Army (BLA). Jenny and Zo, for their part, reunite with their long-last father, Victor, and become members of The Fifth. From there, the book alternates between Jenny’s and Jack’s point of view, and we see how both Jack and Jenny struggle to fit in and find a place in their new reality.
10. START A SERIES: Soulkeeper by David Dalglish
This is the third time I read Soulkeeper by David Dalgish, and I have mentioned this book several times in this blog. I had intended to finish the series last year but that didn’t happen. And this year it was January’s pick in my book club, so I decided to give it another go. As I said before, the world in this book (and series) is built on the worship of The Three Sister Goddesses—Alma, Lyra, and Anwyn. Each goddess has her own priests and priestesses (sort of, as they are not referred to as such in the book) known as Faithkeepers, Mindkeepers, and Soulkeepers, respectively. Devin Eveson, the protagonist, is a Soulkeeper and he is introduced when he is performing the funeral rites for a young girl who succumbed to disease. However, his world is soon torn apart when he is asked to seek out a magical creature—a creature his religion teaches him is not real—believed to have the cure for said disease. Devin sets out against his better judgement and is shaken beyond belief when he actually encounters the magical creature after he is gravely injured by wolves and is healed by him. The creature, however, warns Devin about the return of the Dragon and disappears again.
And then a mountain appears at the doors of Londheim and Faithkeepers start appearing all over the city brutally murdered…what’s not to like in a book about the impending end of the world? Or, more specifically, the end of the world created by the Three Sisters?
This book is a very fast read and ends on a cliffhanger. I Really Liked It and will definitely continue on with the series this time.
11. FINISH A SERIES: War Lord by Bernard Cornwell
And finally, the last book I read this month is War Lord by Bernard Cornwell. This is the thirteenth and final installment of The Saxon Stories, and it is the recount of the bloody battle that finally united all the kingdoms of Britain and made Alfred’s dream of Englaland a reality. It is the story about how all the kingdoms in the North united as one to defeat the power of Wessex, (Mercia, and East Anglia); of how the grandson of Guthrum wages war against the grandson of Alfred, each one of them fighting for what their respective grandfathers fought for in the Battle of Ethandun (this battle takes place at the end of The Pale Horseman. Read my review for this book here). It is also the end of Uhtred’s story and how he takes part in the Battle of Brunanburh, one of the most significant battles in the history of not just England but of the entire British Isles.
This book is fast-paced, action-packed, and a very satisfying ending to the entire series. Despite the fact that I reached a point while I was reading this series where I got tired of its formulaic structure (The Burning Land, Death of Kings, and The Pagan Lord, I’m looking at you), I nevertheless enjoyed it very much. Uhtred is an awesome character, and his friendship with Finan, like I said before, is one of the best things of the entire story. And because of this alone, I know that I will very likely read this series again in the future. It is one of my favorites, despite its repetitive nature but I don’t entirely fault it for that. Every genre in existence is based on a formula; that’s why tropes exist. I mean, how many times have we not read a book with The Chosen One trope in fantasy?
Right now, I have a little catching up to do on my individual reviews for each book in this series. Nonetheless, I am also planning on writing an overall/general review for the entire series after I post my review for this book.
Thank you so much for sticking with me in this very long monthly wrap up.
