Everything I Read in February 2024

Mar 6

February was a great reading month for me, with me finishing a total of 23 books. Ten of those were romance books, and three nonfiction. I have goal this year to try and read 366 books, one for every day this year, and while I fell a bit short of one book per day this month, I’m definitely happy with where the number, and feel I can catch up in March.

The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren

I read the True Love Experiment last year, and when I was at the library this title caught my eye. If I had to rank the two, I would definitely say I enjoyed this one more than the True Love Experiment, but they were both solid romance books.

In this one, our main character is a data scientist, and single mother, who is coerced into signing up for a dating app that matches you with others based on your DNA compatibility. When it turns out she has a super rare match with someone at the company, her world is turned upside down.

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston was definitely a page-turner, and a refreshing change from some of the more run-of-the-mill thrillers. In this one, our main character works for a mysterious boss, and often goes undercover to complete illegal jobs. When she enters a job and starts to actually fall for her mark, things become more and more complicated.

Same Time Next Year by Tessa Bailey

Up next is another Tessa Bailey title I grabbed as a quick little audiobook during a road trip. This one was just not for me, and I struggled to finish it. I think the reason I did finish it is because it was so short.

The Takeover by Cara Tanamachi

The Takeover is a lighthearted romance about two business-people, one for a little startup, and another for a goliath like Amazon or Google, who fall in love amidst a corporate takeover.

Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

I read Once More With Feeling last year, so I went ahead and picked this one up from Elissa Sussman as well. I love the cover on this one, and it was a perfectly cute romance. It’s about a journalist and an actor, and has a lot of Hollywood romance vibes. While the writing was good, I felt the pace dragged a little too much for this to be a four-star read.

The Bodyguard by Katherine Center

The Bodyguard was a fun, sweet romance about a woman who focuses on her job to avoid messiness in personal relationships. When her mom dies, she struggles with her grief, and jumps on the chance to take over a huge project at work.

This project turns out to be an assignment involving a world-famous movie star, and she ends up living with him and his family on their ranch. She juggles her budding feelings, her duty to protect her client, and drama within the company while coming to understand that her workaholism probably isn’t as healthy as she may have hoped.

The Last Love Note by Emma Grey

If you want a book that’s going to make you cry, I nominate The Last Love Note by Emma Grey. I’ve personally never lost anyone close to me, but this book captures grief in such a palpable, eloquent way that it brought me to tears. It’s a love story, loss story, and personal growth story all wrapped up into one.

The Graham Effect by Elle Kennedy

This was my first hockey romance, and I thought it was okay. This was a cute romance between two hockey players, and my biggest complaint about this one was just that it was too long.

Book Cover: On the Plus Side by Jenny L. Howe

On the Plus Side by Jenny Howe

Here we have a romance with plus-sized representation. I resonated with a lot of the themes in this book, from body image issues to how the character connects with her mother. This one got three stars from me because I wanted more from the main love interest. At the start of the book, it felt like they had good chemistry, but as the relationship developed, I felt less and less of that spark.

Accidentally Amy by Lynn Painter

This romance novel is about a woman who steals someone’s drink at Starbucks, then has a meet-cute with a guy in the coffee shop. But he unfortunately believes her name is Amy when it’s not. He also ends up being her boss, so the charade ends quickly. This one just didn’t hit for me, and I think it’s because the pace slowed so much at the end of the story.

Tweet Cute by Emma Lord

Big League Burger has recently found massive success in the food world, and Pepper’s mom has moved them to New York to manage the company and its growth. Despite its rapid success, Pepper still manages some of the social media for the company, providing the spark only a young, internet-savvy person can. She’s busy juggling the pressures of school, college applications, and extracurriculars when Big League Burger gets into a Twitter war with a local grilled cheese shop.

Jack, one of Pepper’s schoolmates, has been developing a friendship with her when they realize they’ve been in a Twitter war with each other using their respective accounts. Rather than calling it off, they decide to have a proper battle, and the best Tweeter should win. This is a coming-of-age story about family expectations, competitiveness, and deciding who you want to be.

Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond

This is my only five-star from this month, which happened to be a non-fiction book called Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond. I got this one as an audiobook and thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned a few new things and can see myself revisiting this one to refresh my knowledge in the future.

Dare to Lead by Brene Brown

Another non-fiction book, this one offers lots of actionable advice you can use to become a better leader in the workplace.

Nowhere Like Home by Sara Shepard

This is the latest book from Pretty Little Liars author, Sara Shepard, and if you want to know more about it, you can check out the full review I posted over on my YouTube.

A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham

Stacy Willingham has been a solid choice for thrillers over the past couple of years, so I decided to check out one by her that I hadn’t read yet. A Flicker in the Dark is about a woman who discovered her father was a serial killer as a kid. She went no-contact when he went to prison, but that doesn’t stop the past from returning twenty years later to haunt her and make her question who she can trust.

The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

Michelle Obama is such an eloquent writer that I think she could really write anything, but she chose to write an optimistic story about how we can get through hard times. This was something of a direct response to everything that happened in 2020, but I think many of the ideas in this one are just as applicable now.

Green Dot by Madeleine Gray

Up next is Green Dot, and the first thing I want to say is that I love the cover on this one. The second thing I have to say is that if you want to know more about this one, you can check out my full review.

Right on Cue by Falon Ballard

Right On Cue is a Hollywood romance that shows how two people can recover from a disastrous start. Emmy Harper is a script writer, and when production can’t find a lead for her latest rom-com, she steps in. Things immediately go awry when she realizes Grayson West, her nemesis, is playing her co-star. We watch the two as their chemistry flourish, both on-screen and off.

Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess

Everything’s Fine is definitely the most controversial book in this wrap-up, and that’s because it has a lot of political themes. Basically, the situation is this: This book involves a Black woman falling in love with a conservative white man, who eventually jokes (and becomes serious about?) being a Trump supporter. When the book was announced, a lot of people rating it as one-star without having read the book, but just basing this rating on the premise.

I think part of the reason this received such backlash is because it was marketed as romance, which may imply that the relationship is good, or something to aspire to. I can’t speak to what it’s like to operate as a Black woman in this situation, but I resonated with the conversations between Jess and Josh. If you’ve ever tried to help someone you love understand how something hurts you, even if it’s their “personal opinion” you may find yourself resonating with it too.

I don’t think this is a romance book. I think it’s a cautionary tale about falling in love with the wrong person. We tend to throw around sayings like “true love conquers all,” which I think can lead us to try and overlook anything when we feel affection for someone.

The Summer Girl by Elle Kennedy

After reading The Graham Effect, I was in the market for some more Elle Kennedy, so I picked up The Summer Girl from a local bookstore. Just like with the other one, I thought this was a solid three-star romance book.

Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney

I’ve been on a kick with audiobooks this month, and I got this one from Libby. I had to slow down the narration because this one has a British accent, but the story was very good. Daisy Darker hovered around a three-star read for me, until the very end, where it bumped up to a four-star rating.

Daisy Darker is our narrator in this one, and she’s been struggling with a heart condition since birth. It’s her grandma’s birthday, and she calls the entire family to meet for her party, despite the dysfunctional relationships amongst them.

When Daisy’s grandma reveals her will, which favors only Trixie, her niece, and leaves basically nothing to everyone else, the family isn’t too happy. As the night goes on, terror strikes, and they’re all stuck in close quarters until the tide goes down. One by one, the family members face their worst mistakes.

Fangirl Down by Tessa Bailey

Tessa Bailey is kind of a hit or miss author for me. I loved It Happened One Summer and Secretly Yours, but didn’t love the sequels to either of those. Overall, I thought Fangirl Down was a cute little love story, but I did feel like it was a little insta-love-y.

I also had a single DNF this month: Untangle Your Emotions by Jennie Allen. I got this book as an ARC, and was already into it when I realized it was the same Christian author who consistently misleads with titles and covers. I don’t know whether the marketing is intentionally misleading, but I didn’t finish this because I’m not interested in Christian books.

That wraps up the 23 books that I read this month! That puts me at a total of 40 books so far this year. If you’re interested in any of the books I read this month, you can click on the book cover for a link to Bookshop.org, where you can buy books and support local book stores.

Deion Malloy