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Every month I’m going to do a round-up of everything I read that month. Even though it’s April now, I’m going to do March, too. I’ll share a brief description, my rating of it, how I read it (audiobook, Kindle, or paper book), and my final thoughts.
- If you want to listen to some of these, consider trying Audible! You can get your first month free (one free book) plus tons of others they have for free. Get that Audible deal here.
- If you’re on more of a budget, try Scribd! You can get your first month free there. You can read books and listen to audiobooks. It is unlimited (especially the reading) but if you listen to tons of new audiobooks you may be restricted after a few. I don’t listen to enough to confirm this, but I do use Scribd myself and like it a lot. Sign up for Scribd here!
- Shop my collection of bookish goodies on Etsy! These aren’t my shop items, but other shops I’ve curated into a book-themed collection. Shop my Etsy bookish goodies here!
- If you want to read more on your Kindle but don’t want to buy books, Kindle Unlimited is a wonderful option. It’s $9.99 a month but if you read a lot and like to read more than just new releases, it could be worth it. Get Kindle Unlimited here!
- Get $5 off of $25 from BookOutlet! This is a great place to find new books for pretty cheap. They also have sales quite a bit, so keep an eye out for those. I tend to check here for books I want if they’re more expensive other places. They don’t have everything but they do have a lot. Shop BookOutlet here!
- Thrift Books has become my go-to when I’m looking for a book and want it cheap. It’s great if you like buying used books. With this you can get a free book after spending $30!
- Shop my book lists here! You can find every book list I have on Bookshop.org (except my monthly round-ups) and I add everything I can but they occasionally won’t have some. I do occasionally add extras though. If any lists are empty, they’ll be filled in shortly! Shop my bookshop.org book lists here.
- Shopping internationally? Check out Book Depository!
Tortured Dreams by Hadena James
Aislinn Cain is approached by the US Marshals to help on a case because of her in-depth knowledge of medieval torture devices. A serial killer is using different torture methods to kill his victims around the US and Ace is here to help.
Rating: 5/5
Format read: Kindle
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Final thoughts: I love this book. I read this for the first time in 2016 I think but re-read it this year and still loved it. It’s a little graphic and dark, so if that bothers you, I would skip this one, but if you don’t mind it, give it a shot! Plus, it’s free! And if you like long series, this one has like, 15 books. It’s the first in the Dreams and Reality series.
The Price Guide to the Occult by Leslye Walton
Rona Blackburn landed on Anathema Island more than a century ago and wasn’t welcomed with open arms. The islanders wanted to burn “the witch” out of her home, so she cursed them. More than 100 years later, all Nor Blackburn wants to do is live a normal teenage life, but that all changes when The Price Guide to the Occult shows up in their shop.
Rating: 3/5
Format read: Paper book/audiobook
Genre: YA fantasy/magic
Final thoughts: I liked this, but it wasn’t one I was super excited to finish. And by that I mean it took me like, two months to finish. I picked it up from the library this winter and got about a third of the way through when I had to return it.
Then I found it on Scribd and finished listening to it on my drive out to Utah. I don’t think it was a bad book, but I might not have been in the right mood for it. There is self harm in it as well.
Anonymous Dreams by Hadena James
The SCTU is back and sticking close to home in this one. Aislinn and the team are hunting down the lady burner after coming across a legit snuff film. He rapes and strangles women while he films it, then burns the body simply as a forensic counter measure. As they investigate, they realize how difficult it is to trace the films because everyone involved is anonymous.
Rating: 4/5
Format read: Kindle
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Final thoughts: This is the latest book in the Dreams and Reality series and I liked it almost as much as the rest of the series. I thought this one was interesting because it involves the dark web and that always hooks me.
Feed by M.T. Anderson
Titus and his friends go to the moon for spring break thinking everything is going to be great, but they go to a party and things go down hill fast. His mind has basically been taken over by the Feed directly implanted into his brain. Titus is inundated with ads and recommendations on what to buy from Weatherbee & Crotch while everyone figures out how to accessorize the lesions they’re getting. Then he meets a girl named Violet who is ready to fight the system.
Rating: 4/5
Format read: Paper book
Genre: YA sci-fi
Final thoughts: This was a weird one. It took a long time to get used to the writing style, and by the time I did, it changed. But, as I read more of it I started to enjoy it a lot more. I had no idea what to expect with this, but it was a lot sadder than I thought it would be. I did enjoy it though. If you like sci-fi, this might be good for you.
Elysium Dreams by Hadena James
In the cold, dark, winter of Alaska, a serial killer is tracking his victims and skinning them alive in state parks. The SCTU is called in to find him They have to overcome the hostile climate and citizens to find the killer before he strikes again.
Rating: 5/5
Format read: Kindle
Genre: Mystery/thriller
Final thoughts: I’ve been working on a re-read of the whole series and this is the second book in it. They tend to be normal mystery/thrillers, so if that’s your thing, check this out. It’s not my favorite in the series, but I still enjoy it a lot and will probably read it again.
Educated by Tara Westover
Tara was raised in Idaho by survivalists. Her childhood was tumultuous at best, full of injuries, abuse, and almost no education. Her brother was the first in the family to leave for college and she followed in his footsteps, but it wasn’t a smooth ride. This is the story of her life growing up in a survivalist household and the challenges she faced as she moved out into the world.
Rating: 5/5
Format read: Paper book
Genre: Memoir
Final thoughts: I wasn’t sure about this one at first since we know Tara is an unreliable narrator, but I was able to just put that aside and wow. This was just wild! I would highly recommend this if you have any interest in memoirs or extreme religious experiences and really, even if you don’t you should read it.
A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah
Ishmael Beah was a child soldier during the war in Sierra Leone. This shows what it was like being a child soldier and being forced into a war. He ran away when word of rebels invading came around, but soon he was rounded up by the government and forced to fight.
Rating: 4/5
Format read: Paper book
Genre: Memoir
Final thoughts: This was a wild ride. I started reading this years ago but never finished and read it for my book club in March. If you have any interest in memoirs, war, or west Africa, this is a must-read.
The Troop by Nick Cutter
Every year, Tim Riggs leads a group of scouts on a camping trip near Prince Edward Island. But this year was different. A horrendously hungry, pale, and skinny man shows up on the island and exposes them all to the nightmare bioengineered bug. It’s a harrowing struggle for survival to fight infection and each other.
Rating: 4/5
Format read: Scribd/audiobook
Genre: Horror
Final thoughts: This one took me a long time to finish, too. I started reading it on Scribd and had to finish listening to it or I never would have finished it. This one is pretty graphic, but if you like horror and being scared, it’s a must-read.
The Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum
The Pandemic Century talks about all the pandemics the world has experienced from the Spanish Flu until Zika. We get to learn about the viruses, how they spread, where they come from, and how they were handled. It covers the Spanish Flu, Pneumonic Plague, Parrot Flu, Leggionaires Disease, AIDS, SARS, Ebola, and Zika.
Rating: 4/5
Format read: Audiobook
Genre: Non-fiction
Final thoughts: This was, uhh, quite fitting for the time being, but I got it from the library in the winter and never read it, so I listened to it while I embroidered. It’s non-fiction and about history, so it was pretty dry at times, but I also thought parts of it were pretty interesting.
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Lydia lives in Acapulco with her son and husband, a journalist. Lydia owns a bookshop and meets the charming Javier who, unbeknownst to her, is the Los Jardineros Jefe, the newest drug cartel that has taken over the city. Soon, Lydia and Luca are forced to flee and make their way north to get away from all of the violence and death. This is the story of their journey with each other and some new found friends made along the way.
Rating: 5/5
Format read: Paper book (I won an ARC)
Genre: Fiction
Final thoughts: While this is a controversial book, I won a copy this winter and started reading it before all the negative press. I started it in January and finished it in March. I probably would have read this anyways out of pure curiosity. I did enjoy this and am glad I read it. Now that I’ve read this, I am going to read some other books written by people that have actually experienced border crossings and life in Mexico.
Have you read any of these? Which ones? What did you think of them? What did you read in March?
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