February Book Review

 

I mentioned last month that one of my least favorite posts other bloggers do is their monthly book review. I usually just skim it and maybe add a couple of the books to my reading list.

However, after I published my book review last month, I had several people tell me that they really loved that post and that I should continue to do it! So, here is my February book review. Remember, these are all my opinions and I’m not expert on book recommendations. I obviously have a certain style of book that I like and it might differ from yours. So, take it or leave it!

I did pretty well this month and read seven books! Actually, I technically read For the Love in January after I had already published my January book review, so I guess I really only read 6 books this month.

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The Fireman’s Wife. I absolutely loved this book. LOVED IT. It was like I could have written it myself. It encompassed everything I have experienced as a wife of a man in the first responder’s field. Although Theo doesn’t work as a firefighter, I still resonated with everything that she said. I laughed. I cried. I wrote things down in my journal. I loved this book and I think every single Firefighter’s Wife should read this book!

What Led Me To You. My Mom got this book for me for Christmas. She found it on Amazon and it is the journey of a foster family, their two biological children and the three children that they end up adopting from foster care. The first chapter had me completely hooked and bawling my eyes out, I could relate to everything she was saying. But then her experiences started changing drastically from what I’ve experienced, and honestly, it kind of scared me. For example, they went through a child abuse investigation with their first placement which almost scared them out of doing foster care. I liked the book as a whole, but after that first chapter I just couldn’t relate as much as I wanted to. She tells the entire story of how they adopted these three children from foster care, but never once does she mention the daily ins and outs of what it is like having foster children in your home. I felt really disconnected to her because of that. So, it was a good book, but probably not one I will read again.

Grief Light. I was given this book to review and giveaway (post coming soon). This is a short book that has short chapters that can be used as a daily devotional for those who are going through grief. I am not personally going through the loss of anyone in my family, but I found this book refreshing and would give it to someone I know who is experiencing grief. I felt that it encompassed SO much of the grief journey in short little tidbits. More to come on that one.

The Husbands Secret. I have heard so many people rant and rave about how great this book is and how it is one of their top five favorite books ever. I was a little bit nervous because I know the author is secular and the title just makes it sound like it is full of affairs and feelings and all the like. But it actually doesn’t contain much sexual anything, which was a relief for me. The husband mentioned in the title committed a crime when he was younger, before he even met his wife and had kids. The wife discovers the secret and is in a personal battle about whether or not she should also break the law and keep his secret, or turn her and her families life completely upside down by turning him in. It is a good read and it was hard to put down because I just wanted to know what was going to happen next! I really enjoyed reading it, but I wouldn’t go so far as to put it on my top ten list.

Breaking Busy. I received this book from BookLook Bloggers and did a full review here.

For the Love. Oh, Jen Hatmaker. You had me at Seven. This woman is hysterical and an absolute gem. I really love her sarcastic and witty writing, and how she is always ready and willing to laugh at herself. I have heard so much good stuff about this book and it really didn’t disappoint. There were several things I didn’t exactly enjoy about this book, which kind of surprised me because I had never heard anyone say anything negative about it! But speak out I must. First of all, I felt like I wasn’t the intended audience. Jen mentioned several times throughout the story “those days”, of barely making ends meet and having so many little tiny mouths to feed and butts to wipe, and how she is so glad she is beyond that stage. That was really comforting to me, but I felt like her story was written to women who are also beyond that stage. Did anybody else feel that way? Anyways, regardless of whether or not I was the intended audience, this a great book! Highly recommend. It’s a super light, quick read which will have you laughing and nodding and writing down lots of quotes in your journal!

To the End of June. Wow, this was a really heavy book and I’m surprised that I finished it at all. It is all about the American foster care system and what is wrong with it. Not just chapter after chapter of why it isn’t really working, but specific lives that were not changed despite the placement of foster care. Most of the book focused on teens in foster care and how the system is totally and completely failing them, especially as they “age out”. The book also talked about the battle between what is best for a child: biological connection or attachment? Right now, children in foster care will ALWAYS go to someone who is biologically related before they have the chance to be adopted into a foster family. While this is a good thing usually, shouldn’t there come a time when attachment to the foster family is actually better than DNA?

It was kind of a sad and frustrating book and I was really bored by the end of it, but it did give me some food for thought and some interesting perspectives!

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And that was February for you! Let me know if you have read any of those books and what your opinion is on them!

You can find my January reading list here.

4 comments

  1. Nancy says:

    It was really hard to tell if What Led Me to You would be good or not. I’m glad it wasn’t a total wash, but I can see how you wouldn’t completely relate to her story. Some of the others you mentioned here look really good and I’ll have to look them up!

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