February Reading Round Up
February 2025 Round-Up
2025 GoodReads Reading Challenge: 9 Books Completed Out Of Goal of 50 (17%)
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Finished Reads, Ratings & Reviews: 3 in total
This was the month of ARCs - the Advanced Reader Copy books I am lucky to be approved for on Net Galley.
I read three books this month and they all had different heart ratings - a 3 💜, a 4 💜 and a 5 💜. I have also started a new ARC this month that I am loving. It’s called The House with Nine Locks by Philip Gray, and I can’t put it down. So good. Looking forward to finishing that in March.
My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I love a good locked room murder mystery, and this is a great example, although in this case, it's a locked island. There are twists and turns throughout the book that kept me guessing on the identity of the murderer. Everyone on the island is a suspect, and the three main characters are kept running for their lives while they investigate the murders.
Katie is fantastic at descriptive writing, and her details of the island and the castle make it easy to see it all in your mind as you read.
This is the third book in the Bad Girls Detective Agency series of books, and this is the first one I have read. I was a little worried that I would get lost with the backstory for the three women, but thankfully I didn't need to worry. There are references to their past cases and earlier relationships, but they didn't stop me from enjoying the story or the characters. Although now I am encouraged to read the two earlier books.
My Rating: 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜
This is the second book in the A Lizzie Hardwicke Mystery series of books and I was so delighted when I was able to get an ARC copy from NetGalley. I read the first book as an ARC and absolutely loved it.
This is the second book in the Lizzie Hardwicke Mysteries series, and it's another fantastic read. I love historical mysteries, and this is a brilliant example of it done well. Most of the characters are fictional, but some really lived, and Georgina has a fantastic way of bringing the two together. The London of the 18th century has so much texture and seediness that it makes a sensational setting for a murder mystery.
Lizzie is asked by her friend William Davenport, who works for the Magistrate, to go undercover at a local theatre where there have been too many strange happenings to be accidental. He wants her to pose as a seamstress and watch and learn from the staff and actors to see what is happening. Then, there is a brutal murder. A nobleman has been horrifically killed, and so Lizzie is on the case.
Lizzie is such a fantastic character. As she grew up in more palatial surroundings than she currently lives in, she can move around grimy London while also understanding the world of the gentry.
I am also loving the spark between Lizzie and Davenport. Will this develop into something? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out.
This is a fantastic series of books that take you into the world of London in the 1700s, with the difficulties, opulence, and people just trying to get by. The book is beautifully paced and takes you along on the ride from setting up the story right through to the unmasking of the murderer.
My Rating: 💜 💜 💜
I am really getting through my ARCs from Net Galley this month, as this is the third in February.
I enjoyed reading this book, but it took me a while to get into it. The characters were quite difficult for me to relate to. The main character, Karen, is easily led and susceptible to anything Biba says. I don't understand her fascination with Biba, who is a very free spirit, but also very selfish and self-involved. It is told in two periods - Karen meeting Biba and becoming involved in her world, and that of Biba's brother Rex and the other inhabitants of the house in Highgate and the second time period is when Rex gets out of prison and moves home with Karen and their daughter Alice.
What kept me reading was the mystery surrounding the crime committed by Rex that puts him in prison for many years, and what Karen and Biba have to do with it. Finding out about the events of the crime and the aftermath makes the book well worth a read. I never guessed what happened, and the author has a way of drip feeding the information throughout the book that made the ending more satisfactory, even if it was quite sad.
To Be Finished:
A lovely ARC I was able to get my hands on via Net Galley. I am loving this book, and it keeps getting better and better. Won't be long before this book is finished.
I am a huge fan of Sarah Hurley. As a fellow female business woman I have found her journey and success a great inspiration and have followed her on social media for a long time. When I heard she had written a book I knew I had to grab it. It’s available on Kindle Unlimited, and it’s a short wee book that is off to a great start.
I love the Bridget Jones movies starring Renee Zellweger, and read the first book in the series a long time ago, but with the new movie coming out I thought I’d like to go through the book series, and fancied the audiobooks. I am trying to get into audiobooks more, and this is one of my first steps.
It may be February, but I can’t help going back to this book series when I get the chance. Molly The Maid is one of my favourite book series, and this is a perfect addition. It’s a wee novella book and is off to a great start.
I am dual reading this ebook while listening to the audiobook. I love doing this with books based on actual history and people, even when it’s a funny book like this. To make it sweeter - it’s also read by the author, David Mitchell. So far, great fun to read and listen.
Haven’t made any progress with this book in February, so it’s at the same place as in January.
So that’s my February list. What have you been reading this month? Any recommendations?