Happy April!! We are officially on to the second quarter of the year!
March was a wonderful reading month, with so many unexpectedly good reads enjoyed!
I had a TBR laid out of books I wanted to read throughout March, and read almost none of them as library holds and ARCs came up, but I cannot complain at all, because it was a fabulous month with quite a few new favourites discovered! I read more books this month than I have since I started tracking my reads years ago, so we reached a new record in March!
Book 1: The Library of the Dead by T. L. Huchu
This book drew me in with the synopsis, but unfortunately it was not for me. I found the main character spoke with too much slang, and since she narrated the entire book, it was hard for me to get past. There were also a lot of parts to this book all wrapped together, and it felt like too much for such a short book. So my first book of March was not a success, but luckily things looked up!
Book 2: The Invasion of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
I read The Queen of the Tearling in February, and this was book 2 in that series, so I picked it up next, wanting to dive back into this world. While reading the second book in the series, I didn't enjoy it as much, but once I got to book 3, I appreciated the journey that book 2 was. The Queen of the Tearling set the stage for the trilogy, and this one followed up with action and plenty of events.
Book 3: The Fate of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
I had to follow it up with book 3, The Fate of the Tearling, to end this trilogy off, because I wanted to know what happened. This book put a lot of book 2, The Fate of the Tearling, into focus and provided explanations for the previous book, that I found really satisfying. Throughout the entire trilogy I lvoed the theme of justice, and right & wrong, and ethics and religious influence on a community, and moral actions. I thought book 3 specifically led to quite a few thought-provoking situations along these lines, and I enjoyed watching them be debated and considering them myself.
Book 4: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
I wanted another fantasy book next, but I wanted a faster-paced stand-alone book that would grab me and bring my focus away from the Tearling, and this book not only met, but exceeded my expectations. I was immediately drawn in to this magical and secluded island, immediately connected with the main character, and I loved the multiple POVs to show different aspects of the events taking place on the island. Young did a wonderful job of bringing magic into the story and keeping this slightly urgent pace, to keep the reader wanting to turn pages. I flew through this book and absolutely loved it.
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Book 5: Circe by Madeline Miller
Based on the synopsis, this book seemed like it would be filled with gods, magical abilities, fighting, and this action-packed plot. This book let me down. I have heard many good things about the book, and I can defintiely understand why someone would love it, but the writing really lost me. I thought it had a dream-like writing that made it feel vague, even during major plot points. The plot itself was okay, but while reading the book, everything felt like an anecdote that was still leading up to big events, even when it was a big event, and so the book seemed to rag on in a very slow fashion waiting for something that already happened.
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Book 6: The House at the End of the World
I decided to move along to a thriller, because I was craving something much faster-paced, that would have more urgency and suspense than Circe had, and I chose correctly. I was not expecting the amount of suspense and anxiety I would feel in reading Koontz's book. This was so excellently crafted to provide information at just the right moments, to have the reader connected to the characters, and hoping they survive, catching glimpses of their past to really feel for them, all while this plot is unraveling, and going nowhere good. This was a brilliant read that will have you completely captivated.
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Book 7: Nettle & Bone by T Kingfisher
This book also exceeded all expectations. This was a new-to-me author, so I only had the synopsis and a couple good reviews to go off of, and I am so glad I picked this one up! The first chapter drew me in, the next couple chapters slowed a bit to create a foundation, and then we were off running again in this adventurous and witty story. I absolutely loved the characters, which included but were not limited to: a demonic chicken, witches, magical godmothers, nuns, royalty, dogs made of bones & magic, and ghosts. This was as thrilling as it was funny, and I was constantly chuckling. This was a rag-tag team going on an impossible mission and I loved every moment, from the goblin market to the convent. I highly recommend this read!
Book 8: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
This was chaos from the first page, and I did not catch up, even as I closed the book. This dark academic fiction is based around a school for wizards of varying powers and abilities. Sounds good, right? Of course! However, the execution left me confused. The magical abilities didn't get explained as much as I think they needed to, and there seemed to be a lot of exceptions even once I understood them a little more. The idea of this was great, but I found it somewhat confusing. I haven't decided if I'll pick up the rest in the trilogy yet. Stay tuned!
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Book 9: The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
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Book 10: The Little Old Lady Strikes Again by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg
To start my vacation reads I picked up a sequel to The Little Old Lady Who Broke all the Rules accurately titled The Little Old Lady Strikes Again. This met the expectations set out in the first and I enjoyed seeing where this retired group would continue their illegal activities. The group of characters has good variety, and we get to know them slowly throughout the books since the focus is on the plot and events that this group gets up to. I have enjoyed both of these and am looking forward to the next!
Book 11: Heir of Uncertain Magic by Charlie N. Holmberg
I picked up my kindle next and dove into another sequel. I read Keeper of Enchanted Rooms in December of 2022 and was so eager to pick up Heir of Uncertain Magic after finishing that one. Luckily I was approved for the ARC! I am loving this series (I say series in an optimistic hope for another book with these characters). I absolutely loved getting to know these characters and see them progress past magical hurdles and events. This historical fiction includes magical elements in such a great way, and this book did a fabulous job following up the first in the Whimbrel House adventure. I highly recommend these for a quick, endearing, magical, and adventurous read.
Book 12: VenCo by Cherie Dimaline
Book 13: Wolfsong by TJ Klune
I turned to my third ARC next, Wolfsong by TJ Klune, which kept me in the fantastical realm. I had not read a synopsis for this one and went in completely blind, only having Klune's other works to give me an idea of what to expect. Klune is great at using fantasy as societal commentary, showing different types and situations around love, acceptance, and an incredible array of emotions. This was a perfect found family novel, where we meet an MC who goes through so many tragic situations, and fins the people who help him get through these and grow as a person. This was a slow-moving story that dove into loss, grief, acceptance, love, and hope, all while balancing this thrilling plot including magic and werewolves. This was a great story showing why Klune is one of my auto-read authors!
Book 14: Good for You by Camille Pagan
I then read Good for You by Camille Pagan. I chose this one because of the cover and thought it would be a good vacation read, but was not expecting the amount of emotion included. Pagan has woven a story of loss, grief and hope of moving on after losing a sibling in a tragic accident. This was well done, although I did have some issue with some of the MC's decisions, but I think this showed that grief can really alter a person and change their outlook on life, which was well done.
Book 15: The Witch of Tin Mountain by Paulette Kennedy
Book 16: Cleopatra's Dagger by Carole Lawrence
To end my vacation, I started Cleopatra's Dagger by Carole Lawrence on the last flight of our week. It hooked me right away, with a female MC going against societal norms to be a journalist in the 1880s. I loved the NYC setting and feminist commentary. This was a great mystery where the reader is suspicious of everyone and not sure who will be the murderer will be until the reveal. It wasn't who I thought it would be! I loved this one.
Book 17: Stoneblind by Natalie Haynes
I grabbed my bookclub book next so I would have time to finish it before our meeting. Stoneblind, by Natalie Haynes, was a let down. The synopsis and title made me believe this story was about Medusa, but in actuality it covered the paths and events of many gods, and Medusa was a fairly small character right from the start. This had some parts that seemed completely unnecessary to the story as they didn't relate to anything else, and had the most unlikeable characters. I defintiely would have quit reading this one had it not been for bookclub.
Book 16: The Kind Worth Saving by Peter Swanson
Lastly, I ended the month with the sequel to The Kind Worth Killing. The Kind Worth Saving was a perfect follow-up. It kept the same thrilling tone, unexpected turns in the plot, and we saw a few of the same characters again which was nice to see where their story went following the first book. This was a classic Swanson in terms of fast-pace, little description, and a page-turning plot.
So all in all, another good month! I was fortunate to go away for a week on vacation, so some of these books I read curled up in my reading room with snow falling outside, and some of these books I read on a beach in the sun! A great balance and two perfect backdrops to enjoy a book.
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