What is it about the month of March? Ever since 2020, it seems to be the one month of the year that drags on forever. Perhaps it’s the promise of spring only to deal with the reality of just one more winter storm . . .
I got a ton of reading done this month - 11-ish books (more on that later). But given how time seemed to slow down, I feel like I should have done more.
Let’s begin with my pre-selected TBR for the month.
My traditionally published choice was the much anticipated The Breakup Tour. While the husband and wife writing duo of Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka will always remain near the top of my Must Read Authors List, I have to say this one was a bit of a disappointment. Maybe it’s because I’m not a Swifty, but I didn’t connect with the female main character in this one. Still, The Roughest Draft remains one of my favorite books to this day.
I enjoyed The Atlas Six as my non-romance choice. It is clearly the setup book for the trilogy, much of it introducing the main characters. I did not expect the twist and always enjoy when something takes me by surprise. The next book in the series is penciled in to my May TBR, but I may sneak it in sooner.
Nero brought me out of my comfort zone when it comes to romance. I’m generally not keen on mafia or motorcycle club settings. However, I found the sex scenes in this Indie pub to be super spicy, but I could have done without the blood and gore.
Speaking of blood and gore, let’s move on to the other reads of the month. Butcher and Blackbird took me forever to read. I wanted to love it, and in fact ended up giving it 4.5-stars. Anyone who knows me realizes this is exceptionally high. Unfortunately, like Nero, I don’t think I will continue on with this series.
One series I continued on with, in fact, I blitzed through it was Lauren Layne’s 21 Wall St Series. It was pure brain candy and I don’t regret saying I enjoyed every minute. It was a much needed palette cleanser after Butcher.
I’m still making my way through ACOTAR and am unashamed to say I’ve become a fan. 2024 is turning out to be the year of fantasy.
I read Weyward for a book club and thought it was okay. I gave it four stars, and that may have been a bit generous on my part. I have to admit that being a devoted romance reader; I was surprised that this general fiction did automatically shoot to the top of my best books of the year list. In the past, that has always been the case (2023 - Lessons in Chemistry, 2022 Song of Achilles, 2021 Circe.) Still, there’s time. The year is young and, as I’ve mentioned, I’ve joined a book club, so there’s always a chance that some later pick will become my favorite.
That leaves us with Emily Rath and the 11-ish books I’ve read this month. Pucking Around has sat in my KU Library for well over a year. To say its length (756 pages) was intimidating is an understatement. So, I started with the prequel novella. I enjoyed the writing enough to move on to the main book. It took me over two weeks. Even then I DNFed it at 70%. Although, at that point, I refuse to list it as DNF. I’m considering three quarters of the freakishly long book read a complete read. Feel free to argue with me, but I’m not standing down. Needless to say, I’m also done with the series. It’s even soured me a little on hockey romances for the time being, which pisses me off more than anything.
On that note, I’m going to dismount from my high horse and look ahead to April. We’re right smack dab in the middle of the path of the eclipse here, which is all anybody has been talking about for the past few months. Family is coming in from all over to see it. I may even put down my book to check it out myself. As for what I’ll be reading... . . these are the selected TBR picks for April.
I've traded out the usual fantasy for a mystery/thriller this month. Of course it's for a book club . . . I'm already nearly halfway through and have had several ideas of who did it. As for the other two choices, Melanie Harlow and Beth O'Leary are both favorite authors I've read before. After last month, I felt the need for something familiar.
Until next month . . .
Cheers,
C
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