February has been a strange month for me, with a few surprising things in my personal life as well as being able to spend time with family and getting more proactive on the job front. It can be disheartening for sure to face rejection after rejection but I’m trying my best to have faith and trust in the process. Fingers crossed something comes along soon. Reading wise, it’s been a much better month and I read quite a variety of genres and authors which is always nice.
Here’s all the books I managed to read in February:
- The Prisoner of Heaven by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa
- A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
- The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando
- Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova
- Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon
- Anna K: A Love Story by Jenny Lee
- The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
- The Glass House by Eve Chase
My top picks:
- The Labyrinth of the Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- Anna K: A Love Story
- And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando
ARCS of the month:
Anna K: A Love Story by Jenny Lee
Expected publication date: March 3rd 2020
Welcome to the dizzying heights of New York’s Upper East Side: where privilege, partying and scandal rules.
And Anna K knows the rules by heart. Beautiful, rich and popular, she takes care to maintain her status as the perfect girlfriend, daughter and student.
Then a chance encounter at Grand Central station with notorious playboy Alexi ‘Count’ Vronsky changes everything. Anna knows she needs to avoid Alexi, but sometimes fate has other plans . . .
Soon Anna finds it impossible to resist him, and finds herself willing to risk everything she has to be with him – no matter the consequences.
After all, the course of true love never did run smooth . . .
Perfect for fans of Crazy Rich Asians, Gossip Girl and American Royals, ANNA K is an addictive, romantic and subversive reimagining of Leo Tolstoy’s timeless love story, Anna Karenina ? and above all, it is a story about the dizzying, glorious, heart-stopping experience of first love and first heartbreak.
And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando
Expected publication date: March 5th 2020
When fifteen-year-old Nathan discovers that his older brother Al has taken his own life, his whole world is torn apart.
Al was special.
Al was talented.
Al was full of passion and light…so why did he do it?
Convinced that his brother was in trouble, Nathan begins to retrace his footsteps. And along the way, he meets Megan. Al’s former classmate, who burns with the same fire and hope, who is determined to keep Al’s memory alive. But when Nathan learns the horrifying truth behind his brother’s suicide, one question remains – how do you survive, when you’re growing up in the age of social media?
Incendiary by Zoraida Córdova
Expected publication date: April 28th 2020
I am Renata Convida.
I have lived a hundred stolen lives.
Now I live my own.
Renata Convida was only a child when she was kidnapped by the King’s Justice and brought to the luxurious palace of Andalucia. As a Robari, the rarest and most feared of the magical Moria, Renata’s ability to steal memories from royal enemies enabled the King’s Wrath, a siege that resulted in the deaths of thousands of her own people.
Now Renata is one of the Whispers, rebel spies working against the crown and helping the remaining Moria escape the kingdom bent on their destruction. The Whispers may have rescued Renata from the palace years ago, but she cannot escape their mistrust and hatred–or the overpowering memories of the hundreds of souls she turned “hollow” during her time in the palace.
When Dez, the commander of her unit, is taken captive by the notorious Sangrado Prince, Renata will do anything to save the boy whose love makes her place among the Whispers bearable. But a disastrous rescue attempt means Renata must return to the palace under cover and complete Dez’s top secret mission. Can Renata convince her former captors that she remains loyal, even as she burns for vengeance against the brutal, enigmatic prince? Her life and the fate of the Moria depend on it.
But returning to the palace stirs childhood memories long locked away. As Renata grows more deeply embedded in the politics of the royal court, she uncovers a secret in her past that could change the entire fate of the kingdom–and end the war that has cost her everything.
The Glass House by Eve Chase
Expected date of publication: May 14th 2020
Outside a remote manor house in an idyllic wood, a baby girl is found.
The Harrington family takes her in and disbelief quickly turns to joy. They’re grieving a terrible tragedy of their own and the beautiful baby fills them with hope, lighting up the house’s dark, dusty corners. Desperate not to lose her to the authorities, they keep her secret, suspended in a blissful summer world where normal rules of behaviour – and the law – don’t seem to apply.
But within days a body will lie dead in the grounds. And their dreams of a perfect family will shatter like glass.
Years later, the truth will need to be put back together again, piece by piece . .
Until next time,
Rumaanah x
Rums the Reader 