March 2022 Book Review

It was an extra big month of reading with 12 books to talk about, but I have several reasons for why it was such a big month - 2 of the books were audiobooks, one I technically finished in February but after I had written my February reads post, and 2 I started MONTHS ago but just finished {you guys know physical books take me extra time, ha}. With all that said, my total for the year is up to 29!

The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas - This was a lot of fun, BUT it was basically a rip-off of The Hating Game, ha. I'm not exactly complaining since I loved The Hating Game, but it was a big disappointing for it to be SO much the same. [Rated R]

Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe [audiobook] - This was our most recent Blog Friends Book Club selection, and it's all about Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family who invited OxyContin and lied and lied and lied about how addictive it was. This was fascinating but too long. The first 1/3 was about the uncle who was dead before Oxy was even invented! It was important backstory...but way too much of it!

Motherhood So White by Nefertiti Austin - This was an interesting look at one Black woman's adoption story adopting 2 children. This was not quite what I expected it to be {user error}, but I still enjoyed it!

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske - This was a delight! A queer, magical love story - so, so good! I'm very excited that this is a series and can't wait for the next one. [Rated R+]

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal - This was quirky and fun! My only complaint was I didn't really feel like I connected with the characters because each chapter follows a different character connected to our 'main' character, Eva. I really liked how it all wrapped up but wish we could have known everyone more!

Becoming by Michelle Obama [audiobook] - Gosh, I loved this! I loved learning about Mrs. Obama's childhood, college, early career, meeting Barack...all of it! She seems like such a grounded person and an excellent woman and mother. Can't rave about this one enough!

The Ivy Crown by Mary M. Luke - I started this book in August, ha. My slowness has nothing to do with the subject matter though! It is narrative nonfiction about the life of Katherine Parr, who was the last wife of Henry the VIII. I knew very little about the wives of Henry the VIII, and I like how much I learned about that time period and Katherine. It was so thoroughly researched and enjoyable!

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn - Historical fiction about 3 women code breakers at Bletchley Park during WW2 - does this sound exactly like something I would devour? Why yes it does, and it was excellent! And it needed to be since it was over 600 pages, ha.

Sex and Sensibility by Deborah M. Roffman - This was the 2nd book I've been reading for months but again my slowness wasn't the book's fault! Every parent needs to read this book - it was so helpful in shaping how I want to talk about sex and relationships with our kids. I've already put some of it into practice with Trent and feel the conversations have gone really well!

One Night on the Island by Josie Silver - Cleo and Mack end up being double-booked at the same cabin on a remote island and agree to share the cabin...and you can guess what happens! This sounds like it should have been really cheesy, and while it definitely had its moments of romantic trope, it was also very touching and the writing was so good! [Rated PG-13]

What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon - Another Blog Friend Book Club selection - one of the reasons I love being in book clubs is the exposure to books I might not normally pick, and this fell into that category, and I'm very glad I read it. This was an eye-opening perspective about the way fat people are viewed and treated by society {of course} but also by doctors, employers, etc. I learned so much and thought this was so insightful.

Infinite Country by Patricia Engel - Last but not least, my in-person book club read! A story of a family separated after deportation - part of the story took place in the past in Columbia following Mauro and Elena as they move to the US and part in the present set in Columbia and New Jersey. I enjoyed this and also thought a lot about this family and how hard the decisions they had to make were. I wish we had dug a little deeper into the characters but overall a great read!

Whew, this was an exhausting post to write, ha. I hope you didn't fall asleep and found a book or two worth picking up. {grin}