Well I got 2 library books and pushed my February BOTM to March. I’m actually planning on getting a Kindle (again) next month because I’ve recently learned you can load library books onto a Kindle (whaaa?). So while I really really do prefer physical books, I’m gonna try that out for a bit since its just so much easier than having to drag myself to the library which isn’t super closeby.

Us Against You by Fredrik Backman

This is the sequel to Beartown which I read in November. This one actually got higher ratings so I was excited to read it (also, maybe unimportant but how gorgeous is that cover??). Us Against You continues where Beartown left off. After the sexual assault of a main character in the previous novel, the town is up-heaved with the victim’s family continuously receiving threats, the hockey club about to be de-funded, and the majority of Beartown’s hockey players now playing for rival town, Hed. A mysterious politician steps in to try to save the club, a controversial coach is hired for the newly established A-Team, and the town’s rivalry with Hed eventually leads to further tensions and tragedy for Beartown. The reviews were right…I absolutely LOVED this book, more so than Beartown. Backman really has a way with character development and expressing, and the dramas that unfold between these characters are written so eloquently and genuinely. My main complaint about the original Beartown was BAckman’s tendency to go on these long philosophical narrations at the beginning of chapters, but that was toned down quite a bit in Us Against You. This was an all-around well-written and beautiful book that will really tug on your hearstrings. 5 stars from me!

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware

This is a very quick read, typical thriller. It was actually available on Book of the Month a few months back, but I ended up not getting it. Rowan accepts a live-in nanny position for a wealthy family that lives in a large property they’ve renovated in the Scottish Highlands called Heatherbrae House. While the parents are away on business, Rowan encounters a number of terrifying activities that she can’t explain…mysterious sounds above her bedroom, objects that seem to disappear and reappear, lights and music turning on and off in the middle of the night, etc. In addition, the children she’s watching are anything but immaculate, and the only other person living on the grounds is a handyman who she can’t decide if she completely trusts. The novel is told in the format of a series of letters that Rowan, now in prison, has written to her lawyer to recount the events of her stay at Heatherbrae and declare her innocence. It kept me interested the whole time and was definitely a page turner, but it took awhile to get to the actual twist(s) and then it felt rushed at the end. While I did enjoy the final twist, there were so many other pointless twists that had nothing to do with anything that had really been happening in the book and I feel they didn’t further the plot along at all. Because of that I’d give this 3.5 starts instead of the 4 I would normally have.

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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