Friday, March 6, 2020

Five Star Friday: February 2020



On the first Friday of each month, I will celebrate my five-star reads from the previous month. Fingers crossed, I have lots of books to tell you about.

This month, I was able to get through 31 books, and had a whopping 5 five star reads. Not too shabby. Essentially, I had the same number of 5-star reads as I did DNFs. Maybe it's the universe's way of maintaining balance.

I was really impressed by Jackson's debut. I immediately loved Pip, and had a fantastic time with her as she hunted for the truth. The mix of mystery and teen drama was perfect for me, and the mixed format made it all even better. It was a wild ride, and I am excited to be reuniting with Pip and Ravi for another book.


Cracked Up to Be
Courtney Summers

I have a soft spot from broken people. Perhaps, we call to each other. Whatever it is, I found myself totally engrossed in Parker's story. Summers has such a knack for creating complicated characters, who though trying to push you away, actually succeed in making you care about them. This book solidified my desire to read Summers entire backlist.


When You Were Everything 
Ashley Woodfolk

Friend breakups are so painful, and Woodfolk did a beautiful job taking me through this one. When things are good, it's so hard to imagine your world without that person, but that's exactly what Cleo had to do. I ached for her, as she watched her friendship unravel. Thankfully, Woodfolk took us through the before, during, and after of this relationship, and I was left in a hopeful place.

Rules for Being a Girl
Candace Bushnell, Katie Cotugno

I was not surprised I liked this book, as Katie Cotugno writes this brand of messy that I love, but I inhaled this book. I swear, the pages turned themselves. I really appreciated the way the authors tackled the topic, and think it could be a good conversation starter.



The Lost & Found
Katrina Leno

I have had so much success with Leno, and once again, she swept me into a story, which had me laughing, crying, and feeling so much. I fell in love with these characters, and was so invested in their physical and personal journeys. Not only were the main characters fantastic, their supporting character also won my heart. I was impressed with the story arcs she gave to each and every one of them, and yeah, I cried at the end, because the whole thing just hit me in the feels.







Did you have any five-star reads last month? 
Let us know in the comments!

40 comments:

  1. Five 5-star reads in one month is phenomenal! I’d say that definitely made up for the DNFs. I’ve never read anything by Bushnell but you know I like Katie Cotugno. It’s good to hear that her collab was just as good as her solo efforts.

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    1. I've read a few books by Bushnell - The Carrie Dairies (Sex in the City prequel) and a few others, but I honestly wanted to read the book because of Cotugno. I was beyond pleased with the story they put together, and it had Cotugno's signature messy characters too

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  2. I’m glad you found a few 5-star books! I’m always impressed by how much you read.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. I don't really sleep or watch TV, so, lots of time to read

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  3. Wow you had a lot of 5 star reads for the month, Sam! I finally joined in your Five Star Read! :)

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  4. I read your review on Goodreads for When you Were Everything. That sounds really good. Glad you had so many 5 star reads. Most of mine were 4 - which was good for me!

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. I am always happy with a 4-star rating, but I love finding those books that make me give all the stars. I was surprised by some of these books. Unlikable characters, a mystery, and a painful breakup don't scream Sam-hits to me, but I loved them.

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  5. i've gotten pretty good at choosing higher rating books, but never enough 5 stars
    sherry @ fundinmental

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    1. I expected to love the Cotugno and Leno books, but the other three was wonderful surprises for me. I knew they would be solid reads, but I was overjoyed to find them making my 5-star list.

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  6. I’ve seen A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder around for a bit but never really pay attention. You now have me intrigued about it.

    Is Cracked Up to Be the second book? Should I read her other one first?

    Where was When you Were Everything when when I needed it!

    Sometimes you just need a good cry book and The Lost & Found sounds like a great one
    Thank for sharing your top 5 star, I love this series
    I hope you have a wonderful weekend!
    Muah 💋 Helena

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    1. Good Girl's Guide was so good. I am excited that the sequel will be out next month.

      Cracked Up is actually Summers debut. They repackaged and re-released it, but all her books are standalones.

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  7. I need to read more by Courtney Summers - I've read and loved Sadie and This Is Not a Test. I'm curious about Good Girl's Guide to Murder too.

    -Lauren
    www.shootingstarsmag.net

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    1. This was a really strong debut, and I rated it higher than Sadie. Sadie was probably a little too dark and for me, but still a really well written and compelling story. This was more hopeful, and that's probably why it worked better for me.

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  8. I am glad Courtney Summers book was a fice stars for you as so many seem disappointed with it Sam!

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    1. And most of those reviews point to not liking Parker. I am actually shocked that they couldn't empathize with her.

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  9. I've heard so many good things about When You Were Everything! I want to read this so badly!
    I'm so glad you had so many five-star reads this month! There are so many books out recently that look so good! Hopefully, this month will be just as good!

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    1. I hope you get to read it, because it was really wonderful. Heartbreaking, but not depressing. Rather, it was honest and thoughtful and relatable.

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  10. Five 5 star reads definitely makes up for the DNF’s. You’ve read some amazing sounding books too, I can see why they were 5 stars.

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    1. I got really lucky this month, because I had so few in January. I hope I am as lucky this month.

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  11. I think I've only had two five star books this year and one of those was a re-read! I need to dig out a few that I think I'll love and get some five star reading done!

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    1. Well, it's good to see your re-read would still earn 5-stars. I know a lot of people tend to drop their ratings when they re-read.

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  12. I have A Good Girl's Guide To Murder. I'll be checking out these others now!

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  13. The only one of these I've heard of is Cracked Up to Be, so it was fun to read through this post.

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    1. Glad to expose you to some new titles. You know I love book pushing, and I am all about letting everyone know about those contemporary books, which never get the hype of the SFF books.

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  14. I'm glad you've had so many 5-star reads! I haven't had one yet, but hopefully soon!

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    1. Angela, we must fix this! I will keep my eyes peeled for a dual timeline historical (you seem to like these). The new Cleeton book will be out soon, have you tried her Cuba series? I thought the books were wonderful!

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  15. You read 31 books this month?! Wowza. I'm so impressed! I don't have time for that. XD

    I am so excited you loved When You Were Everything! I don't know of a single book about friendship break-ups. I'd love to see more books about this; teens need exposure to things like this to keep them uplifted when times are hard. We all lose friendships. I wish I had know how to handle a breakup like that when I was younger!

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    1. I have been seeing more and more friendship breakup books. Someone else mentioned it, but Our Year of Maybe by Rachel Lynn Solomon falls into that category, and We Used to Be Friends by Amy Spalding is a friend breakup book. Both left me in tears.

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  16. Summers has a way of writing characters you can't help but root for. I always connect with them, regardless of what they're going through, and I think that says a lot about her writing! I'm so glad it was a five-star read for you. I had to pass on reading it (they offered e-galleys of the book with the new cover) since we were moving and I had no time. I'm sort of kicking myself anyways, since Sadie was fantastic.

    Lindsi @ Do You Dog-ear? 💬

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    1. I appreciated Parker's journey, and I felt for her. I absolutely attribute that to Summers' skillful writing.

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  17. Five 5-star reads is so great. I loved A Good Girl's Guide to Murder as well and the other 4 titles are on my TBR so I'm excited to know I have some great reads coming up. :)

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    1. Wasn't it so good?! I might even pre-order the sequel. That's how much I liked it

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  18. 31 books in a month is insane! I WISH I could get through them the way you do. (#readerenvy) My TBR taunts me with all the books... I'm currently at 20 something for the year to date! lol

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    1. The irony is that I read a lot of impulse books, ones that are NOT on my TBR. I am pretty good with the ARCs, but my audiobooks are wildcards, every time.

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  19. I need to read Cracked Up to Be since I loved Sadie so much. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I hope you get to it, because it was really good, and I thought Parker was a fantastic character.

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  20. Yay for having so many five stars in February! And being able to read so much. I just read your review of double five stars and seeing it made me so happy. So many good books there. And I have heard such positive things about A Good Girl's Guide to Murder that I am going to have to try it.

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    1. Feb is making up for the lack of 5-stars in Jan. Good Girl's Guide was a wonderful surprise for me. I didn't expect it to impress me as much as it did. I hope you do give it a try. I know I eager to get my hands on the sequel next month.

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