These reading lists are some of my favorite posts to pull together each month since I get to share what I’ve been reading—and hear what great stories you all have fallen into! I’ve gotten a lot of feedback lately that people love these posts and use them to get ideas for what to read next, which makes me so happy. I love recommending books to people I know in real life and am glad these posts allow me to do to that here for all of y’all. Please share your favorite February reads with me in the comments below!

I love to have a running list of books to read so that when I finish a book, I have options for what to pick up next. Whenever I come across a book I want to read, I add it to my Goodreads “to read” list and then check my library to see if there’s a Kindle version available. If it’s available immediately, I’ll go ahead and download it, but more often than not, it isn’t, so I’ll add myself to the waitlist. I’ll buy Kindle editions of books on Amazon if I have nothing out from the library and there are books on my “to read” list that my library doesn’t yet have. I’ve never once regretted buying a book, but I do love that I literally save hundreds of dollars a year by borrowing Kindle books through the library—especially since I generally don’t re-read books.

I had a lot going on in February, so I only read four books this month—but that still averages out to about one a week, so I’ll take it! As I mentioned last month, my goal this year is to read 62 books, and I’m still on track to meet that goal. (Goodreads makes it easy to track your goal and tells you whether you’re ahead, behind, or on-track! Feel free to friend me there if you want to keep up with what I am reading in real time.)

Before we dive in, I wanted to make note that Random House will send me some of their new titles each month. I’m under no obligation to post about any books I receive and they require I give you my own opinion (good or bad—as you can see below!) about them. This month, I’m reviewing one book that Random House sent over and I’ve starred it with an asterisk so you know which one it is. Any questions about this, let me know!

I OWE YOU ONE // SOPHIE KINSELLA*

Fixie Farr finds herself at a turning point—her father has passed away, her mother is growing older, and she and her brother and sister have differing views for how their family store should be run moving forward. While her sister wants to make the store super new age and her brother wants the store to cater to high-end clientele, Fixie has a strong loyalty to her father and a desire to do things the way they’ve always been done. She’s very much a “yes” person, so one day, when a stranger asks her to watch his computer in a coffee shop, she agrees, and ends up saving it from a collapsing ceiling. The laptop’s owner, Sebastian, then writers her an “I Owe You” on a coffee sleeve. Fixie never intends to claim her IOU, but when her childhood crush comes back to England from Los Angeles and needs a job, Fixie cashes in her IOU for him by asking Sebastian to give him a job. But, the tables turn, and suddenly Fixie owes Sebastian one, and then the tables turn again—and again, and again. Through this series of IOUs, Fixie realizes she’s torn between her family and the life she really wants.

Would I recommend it? Eh—I’m not the biggest Sophie Kinsella fan, and this one didn’t convince me to run out and pick up her other books.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING KENNEDY // LAURIE GRAHAM

My favorite book whisperer, Diana, recommended this one to me and I am so glad she did! Though the story is the fictitious diary of the Kennedy family nanny, I often forgot it was historical fiction and not a memoir as it was so compelling. In charge of all nine children basically from birth, Nora, an Irish immigrant, speaks to the different personalities of each of the children and gives her take on Joseph and Rose’s relationship. The plot thickens when World War II erupts, and Nora also shares her first-hand experiences of many of the Kennedy family tragedies, like Joseph’s death in the war, Rosemary’s botched lobotomy, and Kick’s estrangement from her family and fatal plane crash. My only complaint is that the story ends before JFK’s Presidential run!

Would I recommend it? Yes—especially if you’re a Kennedy junkie like myself!

MY FAVORITE HALF-NIGHT STAND // CHRISTINA LAUREN

This was my favorite book I read all month! Millie, a professor, has a solid group of four guy friends who are also in academia. There’s never been anything romantic between her and the guys. One evening, they’re all sitting around, drinking wine, and talking about who they’re going to bring to a black-tie gala a the university where they teach. The group all makes a pact that they’ll make online dating profiles to find dates for the event. The catcher is, that night, Millie has a little too much to drink, and her friend Reid offers to drive her home. There, they end up spending half the night together, only to decide their relationship is best being strictly platonic. As the gang suffers through the perils of online dating, Millie makes a fake profile so she doesn’t have to be herself and can keep her walls up. Only, she ends up matching with Reid…

Would I recommend it? 100%! I loved this one so much and couldn’t put it down—which lead to a few late nights before work.

JOSH & HAZEL’S GUIDE TO NOT DATING // CHRISTINA LAUREN

Josh and Hazel have known each other since college. Hazel is the eccentric type—she marches to the beat of her own drum, and most men don’t know how to handle her individuality. Josh is a textbook good looking guy, who is very close with his Korean family. Josh and Hazel reconnect a decade after school because Josh’s sister Emily is Hazel’s best friend. Though Hazel’s been interested in Josh from the start, Josh never saw Hazel as anything more than a friend. Until he finds out his girlfriend has been cheating on him for years. After the breakup, Josh and Hazel decide to set each other up on a series of blind first dates. As the dates go on, they progressively pick worse and worse people for each other…yet continue to tell each other there’s nothing between them.

Would I recommend it? I usually love what Christina Lauren writes, but I was not a fan of this one—I found it really hard to get into and didn’t love the characters or the story as much as her other books. Definitely check out Love and Other Words, Roomies, or My Favorite Half-Night Stand first.