February 2021 📚 Wrap up

Another month, another book wrap up. Let's go straight to the books. 😄

i'm thinking of ending things by Iain Reid (2016)

A woman goes on a road trip with her boyfriend of about two months, Jake, to meet his parents. However, she is considering breaking up with Jake. 

I had heard all about the praise and the mystery surrounding this book, so I had high expectations when I bought it. And it didn't let me down. It's a very atmospheric book that definitely creeped me out. The barren setting, the philosophical questions and the sinister scenes made the whole reading experience memorable. Additionally, the author did something extremely clever that I hadn't seen before; at the end of every chapter, there is one page containing flashforward conversation/gossip of random people discussing the events that the readers experience as they go through the chapters. This is a very witty technique as the readers get clues about the climax of the story. Honestly, this was the best book I read that month, and one of the best books I've ever read. This is a debut novel, so I can't wait to see what Iain Reid writes next. 

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (2011)

Patroclus is a prince, but he gets exiled at the age of 10 and he is sent to Phthia. There he meets and quickly bonds with the son of the king of Phthia, Achilles. Their relationship becomes challenging when Achilles has to choose between being a hero but dying young or fading into oblivion but living a long life. The Trojan War will force Achilles to make a decision. 

This book deserves all the hype it's getting. We get to know Patroclus and Achilles as children, and we see them growing up, which makes it impossible for the reader not to care and worry about their fates later on. Although themes of war crimes, killings, and the idea of heroism dominate, the narration through Patroclus' perspective categorises this book as anti-war literature. My sole criticism is that there is an intimate and abusive interaction between Patroclus and a minor character, Deidameia, which felt redundant as it didn't influence the plot in any way. 

I Owe You One by Sophie Kinsella (2019) 

Fixie saves Sebastian's laptop from getting all wet, and he writes her an IOU. When Fixie's childhood crush, Ryan, comes back into her life looking for a job, she decides to use her IOU in order to keep him close to her. However, life plays tricks on them and soon Fixie owes Sebastian. They keep getting trapped in a vicious circle of IOUs, which makes it difficult for Fixie to understand how she feels for Sebastian. 

Once I managed to get through the very repetitive first chapters, I got intrigued by the family drama. If you want to learn more about I Owe You One, check out my book review. 

The Minute I Saw You by Paige Toon (2020)

The chemistry between Hannah and Sonny was palpable from the first time they met. The second time, however, Sonny was clearly going through something. By hanging out with mutual friends, Sonny reveals to Hannah that he had received some shocking news that motivated him to make some changes in his life so that he becomes a better person. One of these changes involves abstinence from sex. Will they manage to stay friends or will they give in to their attraction? And more importantly, are both Hannah and Sonny able to overcome their traumatic past and trust one another completely or are they incapable of being in any type of a relationship? 

I have to warn you that this adult romance book deals with drug abuse, paedophilia, and grief. As you can guess from the trigger warnings, mental issues are heavily discussed. I can't tell if these issues are approached in the best way possible, but I feel that the author did a good job of showing both the vulnerable and the "normal" side of people suffering from childhood traumas as adults. The characters are totally functional social beings with their interests and hobbies and they are not stigmatised for their traumas. Additionally, I appreciated the fact that Hannah's trauma was hinted and it took some time for her to reveal it to other characters and to the readers as she was not mentally and emotionally ready yet. The thing that I can confidently say that it wasn't done appropriately is that there is one character, Nessa, who is portrayed as a rude, annoying and full-of-grudges villain for no reason. In addition to that, there are a lot of "hi" and "yeah" that should have been deleted. 

And these are all the books I read in February. Have you read any of them? If yes, share your opinion in the comments below.