March 2023 Book Review

 1/4 of the way through 2023! Time is flying. In March, I read 12 books bringing my total for the year up to 37!

 

I read 3 non-fiction books, 1 classic, a few rom-coms, the book that will likely be my LEAST favorite of the year... it was a wild month!

The Gentlemen's Book of Vices by Jess Everlee - This was a pretty good M/M Victorian love story! I enjoyed the characters and felt their backstories felt real. I loved the found families they had made. I wasn't sure how this was going to get resolved, and I was pretty stressed about it and thought it got wrapped up well.

Trans Like Me  by C.N. Lester - We read this for Blog Friend Book Club and we all had a similar reaction - none of us are experts in understand Transgender people but we all felt like we need a decent amount, so this wasn't a shocking, eye-opening read. It was interesting reading about 1 person's story and there were some good things to think about and work toward. If you don't know much about the trans experience, this would be a great first read.

The Haunted and The Hidden by Jessica Verday - Yuck, yuck, yuck. Last month I read the first book in this trilogy and didn't enjoy it. I wanted to finish the trilogy because the friend who loaned them to me loved them, so I just decided to plow/skim through them. Almost nothing redeemable about them. Reminded me a worse-written Twilight with a terrible ending.

Make a Wish by Helena Hunting - I really enjoy Helena Hunting's rom coms. This one wasn't my favorite but still enjoyable. This was the 3rd in a trilogy about sisters, so I enjoyed getting to revisit this family and seeing all 3 sisters with their HEAs.

This Naked Mind by Annie Grace [audiobook] - I gave up alcohol for Lent and thought this would be an interesting book to listen to. I learned a lot about what alcohol does to your body, but I'm not sure I liked some of the way the author presented it. She kept talking about 'The Naked Mind approach', but I never felt like she actually gave details for people who wanted to completely stop drinking except talking about how bad it is for you AND splashing in a healthy dose of sanctimoniousness. The points were good, the delivery wasn't.

Just My Type by Falon Ballard - I LOVED Falon Ballard's debut novel, Lease on Love, so I was really excited for this to come out. This follows 2 writers {and former lovers} who are competing for a column in a newspaper. I thought it was cute - I really enjoyed the main characters and their dynamic - but it wasn't quite as good as Lease on Love, so I couldn't help feeling a smidge disappointed. It was still very good though.

The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder - Drew and I are continuing to enjoy Laura Ingalls Wilder's somewhat autobiographical Little House on the Prairie series. This one was pretty crazy, and we enjoyed hearing how the Ingalls family survived this crazy winter. We cheered on Almanzo as he saved the day!

Flags of Our Fathers by James D. Bradley [audiobook] - I have developed a slight obsessed for WW2 historical fiction {especially stories about women and usually in Europe}. I haven't read much nonfiction about WW2, and I don't know much about the war in the Pacific {past watching The Pacific}. My grandfather was actually stationed there, but we never talked about it, and he died when I was 18. This was such an amazing story - of the 6 men {boys really} who placed the flag on Iwo Jima. I loved hearing each of their stories, and the story of this battle was equal parts devastating and awe-inspiring. I am definitely going to be reading more WW2 nonfiction!

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna - This was cute! A little slow to get going, but once I was into it, I loved the characters and story. I love fantasy stories and this one about witches, found family, being true to yourself, and finding love was a solid read!

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott - This was my #1 oldest book on my Goodreads TBR, and one of my 2023 goals was to read or remove my 10 oldest books. I would say I'm glad I read this...but it was very slow and at times boring. I liked the March sisters and the story of their lives, but I would have been happier if it had been 20% shorter.

The Measure by Nikki Erlick - This was our book club selection {chosen by me}, and it led to a lot of discussion, which was nice! Imagine if you woke up and there was a box on your porch with a string inside that showed the length of your life. Would you open it? What would you do with what was inside? This book made me sit in my discomfort {because I am petrified of death}, and I also couldn't put it down. It was also a winner with most of book club, yay!

I have been pretty underwhelmed with books so far this year, with a few exceptions. I haven't had much I would recommend to people, and my monthly average rating was 3.2. My average last year was 3.9! I'm hoping for better in April!