February Recap–Better Late Than Never!

A tad late on this, but can you blame me? March has been wild! Stay safe and inside everyone. Better to read, my dears.

This February, I got through three books. Compared to the folks on my bookstagram? Not fabulous. But for my 20 Books in 2020 goal? We’re on the right track. At this rate, I’ll reach my goal by August! No promises I can keep it up, but I’m going to do my best. And besides, it’s about quality, not quantity! I had some pretty damn enjoyable reads for February.

Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews—4/5 stars

While not the most action-packed, juicy memoir, Julie Andrews’s recap of her childhood to her early twenties was detailed and heartfelt. I felt like I was insider her brain, watching her memories unfold. I didn’t know very much about her pre-Sound of Music besides Mary Poppins and the My Fair Lady, so this gave me lots of insight to how she grew up and started her career.

I didn’t realize her family was always struggling for money and that she was the primary breadwinner for her teenage and young-adult years. She’s also always had an incredible voice, which isn’t surprising. It was lovely to relive her vaudeville, Broadway, and West End experiences with her and see just how much things have changed.

It just further solidified how much I love Julie Andrews, and I am excited to pick up the next installment, Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years (though, I’ll probably wait for the paperback because I prefer them).

One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus—4.5/5 stars

This debut was quite the exciting one! Marketed as the Breakfast Club with a murderous twist. It definitely kept me guessing.

The writing itself wasn’t my favorite, but it wasn’t bad. I’m not quite sure how to describe it, but I felt like the author’s personal style needed just a bit of work. Felt very straightforward and there wasn’t anything super special (in my opinion) about it. But what do I know?

The characters were on the trope-y side, as well, but I didn’t hate that. It helped show the motivations of each character, and it allowed for some unreliability because, as a reader, you weren’t sure how close to the tropes each would stay.

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos—3.75/5 stars

Honestly, this one was so fun to read. Outlandish, quirky, and dar I say, inspiring. Not realistic by any means, and my grammar heart sometimes hurt reading the typos and such, but it made everything all the more fun. Now, I haven’t seen the movie (in full) in ages, but all the reviews says it was better…well, maybe you were just expecting too much.

This one was a wild ride, and that’s all it needed to be! Was I a bit disappointed that Lorelei [SPOILER] got married? Yes. But did she lose any of herself in the meantime? Nope. She got it all. And I loved her for it.