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Long time, no see! My reading is finally picking back up and I feel like I can thank that on finishing The Girl on the Train. That took me way too long (I started it in February and finished it March 18!! That’s so long for me.
I will say though, even after that, I didn’t read much for physical books, almost every one of these was on my Kindle. It was a weird reading slump, but I’m over it thank sweet baby Jesus.
I’ve felt so behind on here since I’ve been posting a ton on my other blog but I figured maybe if I just catch up on my round-up posts I won’t feel as pressured to write other posts, so that’s what we’re doing this week, just catching up.
I have a few new fun posts I want to do but they all require me to read everything I’m including for them so it will be a while before those go up but they’re a little different than my normal lists.
In the meantime, here is everything I read in March 2022! Get ready to see April’s reads in a few days, too.
- 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!
The Orchid Thief
Author: Susan Orlean
Genre: Non-violent true crime
Rating: 4/5
About the book: John Laroche is determined to clone an endangered flower: a Ghost Orchid. He’s deeply eccentric, oddly attractive, and most of all, wildly obsessed.
He takes Susan Orlean on a whirlwind tour of the orchid world through Florida’s swamps, orchid shows, and more.
We meet the Seminoles that help him and the feds who fight him after he is caught stealing a Ghost Orchid from the Fakahatchee Strand State Park.
We also meet other collectors and competitors to really see the seedy underworld of orchid-selling.
Final thoughts: This is actually my second time reading this but we listened to it this time on our drive from Wisconsin to Florida. I still very much enjoyed it and even just found it at the library book sale!
The Falcon Thief
Author: Joshua Hammer
Genre: Non-violent true crime
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Jeffrey Lendrum, an Irish national, was stopped at Britain’s Birmingham International Airport on May 3, 2010 with a strange parcel strapped to his stomach. Inside they found fourteen rare peregrine falcon eggs he took from a remote cliffside in Wales.
This is the beginning of a bizarre tale of two stories: a globe-trotting smuggler and a detective in charge of the UK’s National Wildlife Crime Unit. One captures endangered raptors worth millions of dollars as race champions, the other does everything he can to protect the world’s birds of prey.
Final thoughts: We listened to this one on our drive from Arizona to Wisconsin and I also really enjoyed it but the felonious arts are one of my favorite book genres so it’s hard for me not to like them.
An Unwanted Guest
Author: Shari Lapena
Genre: Locked-room mystery
Rating: 3.5/5
About the book: Mitchell’s Inn in the Catskills makes for the perfect romantic weekend getaway. When the weather takes a turn for the worse the guests try and make the most of being snowed in and cut off from the outside world.
One of them turns up dead soon and it looks like an accident. But when a second does, panic ensues. All they can do now is hope they survive the storm and each other.
Final thoughts: From Good Reads: 3.5. I liked this. It was a fast, easy, entertaining read but it didn’t blow me away. There wasn’t much of a wow factor for me. We found out the culprit and I was just like oh, ok. But I was still hooked reading it the whole time.
The Mother-in-Law
Author: Sally Hepworth
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 5/5
About the book: Diana knew Lucy wasn’t the one for her perfect son from the moment they met. Diana always kept Lucy at arm’s length despite her attempts to win her over. No one had a bad word to say about Diana, a pillar in the community and advocate for female refugees, except for Lucy.
Five years later, Diana is dead with a suicide note near her body claiming she no longer wanted to live with cancer wreaking havoc in her body, but the autopsy only finds traces of poison and evidence of suffocation, no cancer. And Lucy isn’t exactly sad she’s gone.
Final thoughts: I loved this! I had no idea what to expect and it was so good. It had me hooked the whole time but was more serious than I anticipated. SO GOOD.
The Girl on the Train
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 3/5 but a low 3
About the book: Rachel takes the same train every morning and night where she sees the same couple every day. It feels like she is part of their life when one day she sees something shocking. Then the woman is missing and Rachel goes to the police about what she saw but is she really so reliable?
Final thoughts: From GoodReads: This draggggggggged. It took me almost an entire month to read, which is insane. I liked it enough but I’m glad I can finally move on.
Wytches
Author: Scott Snyder, Jock, Matt Hollingsworth, Clem Robins
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: 4/5
About the book: If you thought you knew everything about witches, you were wrong. They are much darker and much more horrifying. While the Rooks have moved to the remote town of Litchfield, New Hampshire to escape a haunting trauma and start over, something even more evil is waiting for them in the woods.
Final thoughts: This was totally different than I expected but I really enjoyed it. The art style is beautiful and also totally not what I expected. I’ll probably continue this series but I’m not in a huge rush for it.
Pumpkin Heads
Author: Rainbow Rowell, Faith Erin Hicks
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: 5/5
About the book: Deja and Josiah are seasonal best friends since they work together every fall in high school at the best pumpkin patch in the world. Everyone Halloween they say goodbye until September 1 next year.
But it’s their last year here as seniors in high school and it’s their last goodbye, too. Their last shift seems like it will be sad, but what if they made it the best ever and tried all the food, saw all the sights, and finally did something about that crush Josiah has had for three years.
Final thoughts: THIS WAS SO CUTE! I wish I actually waited to read this in the fall but I was in the right mood so I went for it. Like most graphic novels, it was a quick read but this is one I would definitely get a physical copy of to read again.
We Were Never Here
Author: Andrea Bartz
Genre: Thriller
Rating: 2.5/5
About the book: Emily is having the time of her life in Chile with her friend Kristen on their annual reunion trip. On the last night of the trip, Emily comes back to find broken glass and blood all over their hotel room and Kristen says the cute backpacker she brought back attacked her and she had to kill him in self-defense. What’s weirder, it’s eerily similar to what happened on last year’s trip. Is it really a coincidence?
Back in Wisconsin, Emily tries to bury her trauma and throws herself into her relationship and work. But when Kristen shows up for a surprise visit, Emily is forced to face her dark past.
Final thoughts: From GoodReads:
This is a generous 2.5. I love the idea of this and the premise but i did not love the execution. This was so repetitive and the writing was weird.
“Novak’s verdant shores” is just weird. It’s a Midwest lake, it doesn’t need to be verdant.
“Herbaceous, like drinking rubies” what? Like drinking rubies? I’m assuming Negronis are red but still. It doesn’t make sense.
There were so many things like this that just didn’t fit the tone of the book. Like it wanted to be fancy but it’s really not.
Also, Phoenix is not orange. It is not red. Not all of the desert in the US is red. Almost all of it is brown. Brown brown or tan brown. Like Phoenix.
And “remote mountain road”!? No. He literally SAW HER RED BACKPACK FROM THE HOTEL PARKING LOT 🙄
I wish I liked this more than I did. It gets worse the more I think about it.
The Siren
Author: Kiera Cass
Genre: YA romance fantasy
Rating: 4/5
About the book: Kahlen is bound to serve the ocean by luring humans to their watery graves with her watery voice. Akinli is human and everything Kahlen has dreamed of, but falling in love puts them both in danger
Final thoughts: I really enjoyed this one but I wasn’t expecting anything super deep (ha) so I think that helped me enjoy it more. It’s a nice, fun read and is perfect if you enjoy books about mermaids and sirens. I feel like I also just read anything from Kiera Cass.
This One Summer
Author: Mariko Tamaki, Jillian Tamaki
Genre: Graphic novel
Rating: 3/5
About the book: Rose and her parents go to a lake house on Awago Beach every summer and her friend Windy is always there, too. But things are different this year. Her parents won’t stop fighting and she finds a whole new set of problems when she and Windy look for distractions.
Final thoughts: This was just fine. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it. Doesn’t stand out a whole lot for me in my graphic novel repertoire.
We Are Okay
Author: Nina LaCour
Genre: YA contemporary
Rating: 5/5
About the book: Marin hasn’t spoken to anyone from her old life, including her best friend Mabel, since she left. Even now, in New York, she feels the push from the tragedy she ran from in California. It’s winter break now and Marin is waiting in her dorm room for Mabel who is coming to visit. She’ll finally have to face everything left behind and unsaid.
Final thoughts: I loved this! I saw WithCindy said she loved this one and the cover is beautiful so I figured I would give it a shot. I don’t usually read contemporaries but I’m so glad I read this one and now I want to read everything from her.
The One
Author: John Marrs
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 4/5
About the book: All it takes to find your perfect partner, that you’re genetically made for, is a simple DNA test. This is the promise made by Match Your DNA. Since they made the announcement ten years ago, millions of people around the world have been matched but it’s not always positive and leads to countless breakups of relationships, upending the traditional ideas of love and dating.
Now five very different people received their Matched notifications but Happily Ever After isn’t guaranteed. Soul mates have secrets, some worse than others.
Final thoughts: From GoodReads: Not quite as dark as I expected and I thought the stories would come together at the end (they don’t) but I still really enjoyed it!
Have you read any of these? What did you read in March?
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