Read With Keri: Books I Read in February

Happy March 1!

It feels like all is right in the world that a February books recap is being posted right after the month ends.

February was a fun book month that consisted of two audiobooks that finally became available on my Libby app and three good books that have been on my TBR forever.

I’m not sure how long I’ll be able to keep up this 5+ books a month trend, but I’m running with it! Here are the books I read in February.

P.S. Friendly reminder to check out my 2024 Bookshelf throughout the year for the full list of books, along with links/reading lists from previous years.

{ONE} Fly Away — Kristin Hannah (3.5/5 stars)

This has been sitting on my shelf/to-be-read list for too long, and I decided to pick it up this month. It’s the sequel to Firefly Lane, a.k.a. one of my favorite books of all time and one of the only books that made me cry. I wanted to love this book and I did, in a way, because I got to enjoy and experience new layers to the characters I grew to love in Firefly Lane. But some parts felt dragged out while others felt completely unnecessary to the storyline. If you choose to check this out, start with Firefly Lane first or else this won’t make sense (and also that book is way better anyway).

{TWO} Becoming Free Indeed: My Story of Disentangling Faith from Fear — Jinger Duggar Vuolo (3/5 stars)

I struggled through this, if I’m being honest. I loved Counting the Cost last month, which probably made my expectations too high going into this one. It’s not a tell-all. It is about Jinger’s life, but she explains at the beginning that it’s more of a narrative on how she made her faith her own instead of relying on what her parents taught her growing up. I’m glad Jinger found freedom in Christ and made her faith her own, but it was repetitive, felt “flowery” at times, and read more like a drawn-out college essay.

{THREE} The Housemaid — Freida McFadden (4.5/5 stars)

THIS BOOK. So many people told me to read it and I can see why it’s popular. This skews horror in some places but is a great psychological thriller if you’re looking for a fast-paced story. It’s full of twists and turns but it still kept my attention the whole way through. If you enjoyed The Last Mrs. Parrish, you will like this one.

{FOUR} If You Would Have Told Me: A Memoir — John Stamos (3/5 stars)

I hate to say this but… this made me not like John Stamos as much, which says a lot because I grew up loving Full House, and Uncle Jesse was the best. However, John Stamos comes off veryyy self-centered in this and loves to name-drop when it’s unnecessary. I think he was trying to be funny but it failed, in my opinion. I debated giving this a lower rating but his chapters about Full House balanced it out.

{FIVE} The Silent Patient — Alex Michaelides (5/5 stars)

I re-read one of my all-time favorites since it’s a book club pick this month! It was fun reading it this time around knowing how it ends. It felt like a whole new reading experience. If you haven’t given The Silent Patient a read, DO IT. It’s a quick psychological thriller with very little “gore.” It won’t make you lie awake at night but it will keep you on the edge of your seat. The chapters are quick and the characters are mysterious but intriguing. Highly recommend (and always will).