Welcome to my February 2025 Favorite Books post! This monthly post is where I share the 5 star books I’ve read so far each month. You can see the first half of my February reading here and I will share the rest of my February reads next week. I did not have many 5 star reads this month, so next week’s post will be a longer one! The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission.
Title: Eddie Winston Is Looking For Love
Author: Marianne Cronin
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Harper Perennial, 12/31/24
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review.
My Rating: 5 Stars
After I read The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margo, everyone told me I would love this one and they were right! This is about Eddie, who is in his 90s and never been kissed. He works at a thrift shop and he saves things that are donated but that people may want back. When Bella donates her boyfriend’s things after his death, she and Eddie strike up a friendship and she is invested in finding love for him. We also learn of Eddie’s young love, Bridie, who he couldn’t be with because she was married.
“Eddie Winston is 90 years old. He has lived and he has loved, but he has never been kissed. A true gentleman and incurable romantic, Eddie spends his days volunteering at a charity shop, where he sorts through the donations of the living and the dead, preserving letters and tokens of love along the way. And it is here that he meets Bella, a troubled young woman who, at 24 years old, has just lost the love of her life. When Bella learns that Eddie is yet to have his first kiss, she resolves to help Eddie Winston finally find love, sparking an adventure that will take them to unexpected places and, they hope, bring Eddie Winston to the moment he has waited for all his life. A tale of friendship and kindness that reminds us that those we love are never forgotten and it is never too late to try again.”
This sweet story is about finding love, both new and old, and all of the characters were great. Even Eddie’s guinea pig finds love!
Title: The Stolen Queen
Author: Fiona Davis
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: Dutton, 1/7/25
Source: Book of the Month
Why I Read It: I enjoy the author.
My Rating: 5 Stars
Another hit from Fiona Davis! This book is about a 1930s excavation in Egypt that Charlotte worked on when was young. In 1978, she works at the Met when a lost necklace from her past reappears. A stolen piece from the Egyptian collection leads to Charlotte to return to Egypt along with Annie, a young woman who was working on the Met Gala.
“Egypt, 1936: When anthropology student Charlotte Cross is offered a coveted spot on an archaeological dig in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, she leaps at the opportunity. That is until an unbearable tragedy strikes.
New York City, 1978: Nineteen-year-old Annie Jenkins is thrilled when she lands an opportunity to work for former Vogue fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who’s in the midst of organizing the famous Met Gala, hosted at the museum and known across the city as the ‘party of the year.’
Meanwhile, Charlotte is now leading a quiet life as the associate curator of the Met’s celebrated Department of Egyptian Art. She’s consumed by her research on Hathorkare—a rare female pharaoh dismissed by most other Egyptologists as unimportant.
The night of the gala: One of the Egyptian art collection’s most valuable artifacts goes missing, and there are signs Hathorkare’s legendary curse might be reawakening. Annie and Charlotte team up to search for the missing antiquity, and a desperate hunch leads the unlikely duo to one place Charlotte swore she’d never return: Egypt. But if they have any hope of finding the artifact, Charlotte will need to confront the demons of her past—which may mean leading them both directly into danger.”
I enjoy how this author weaves mystery into history, making for very entertaining reads. The stolen piece and the necklace each had mystery surrounding them. The characters were great as well. This book made me think about the ethics behind removing treasures from ancient Egyptian tombs. Ethically, it does not feel right and it is something I had never considered.
Title: A Killing Cold
Author: Kate Alice Marshall
Genre: Thriller
Publisher: Flatiron, 2/4/25
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review.
My Rating: 5 Stars
I love a smart thriller and this one felt like that to me – there are so many twists and turns that it was very unpredictable and entertaining to read. It is about Theo, who goes with her fiance Connor to his family’s retreat on a snowy mountain. Once she gets there, she starts feeling like she’s been there before – and remembering things from her early childhood that she previously could not recall.
“A whirlwind romance.
When Theodora Scott met Connor―wealthy, charming, and a member of the powerful Dalton family―she fell in love in an instant. Six months later, he’s brought her to Idlewood, his family’s isolated winter retreat, to win over his skeptical relatives.
Stay away from Connor Dalton.
Theo has tried to ignore the threatening messages on her phone, but she can’t ignore the footprints in the snow outside the cabin window or the strange sense of familiarity she has about this place. Then, in a disused cabin, Theo finds something impossible: a photo of herself as a child. A photo taken at Idlewood.
I’ve been here before.
Theo has almost no recollection of her earliest years, but now she begins to piece together the fragments of her memories. Someone here has a shocking secret that they will do anything to keep hidden, and Theo is in terrible danger. Because the Daltons do not lose, and discovering what happened at Idlewood may cost Theo everything.”
I really liked finding out about Theo’s childhood and why she felt like she had been at the retreat before. The family members were creepy and untrustworthy and it was hard to know who Theo should trust. I loved the wintery atmosphere as well!
Come back next week for the rest of my February reads!
Do you have a favorite book you’ve read this month?
