It was a great month of reading with a wide range of genres. In fact, three books this in March jumped to the top of my favorites for the year. I continue to lean hard on audio books – but sometimes it’s just hard to sit down (or read too late at night without falling asleep). I love Libby and Hoopla for free library books from the library and try to match them up with the physical books I check out as much as possible. I like options and momentum!
Here’s the monthly recap:
Audio: 7
Physical: 4
Audio/Physical Tag Team: 4
Quits: 3
Format: Audio
Rating: 3/5
Genre/Topics: Middle Grade Fiction
Warnings: N/A
Why I read it: Spotted in a 6th Grade Classroom Book Club
I’d recommend this to: upper elementary kids that like a little light mystery
The year is 2040 (Too Soon!?) and Dashiel is living on the moon with his scientist parents in the first lunar colony. When a scientist dies in an accident – could it be MURDER!? The set up and suspects are pretty boring, but the twist at the end is fun. It was fine.
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.75/5
Genre/Topics: Fiction, Light Mystery
Warnings: Domestic Abuse, Language, Grief
Why I read it: Friend Recommendation
I’d recommend this to: My Moms! (The highest honor)
My favorite book of the year so far – and maybe top 10 of the last two years. High Praise! It’s easy to read and a fun adventure with an unlikely friendship, character development, and fun twists. Unreliable narrators usually drive me crazy, but the main character tells half-truths for the entire book, so it’s okay if I fell for a few misleading plot lines and got surprised. It’s clever and sweet and funny. If you liked Finlay Donovan series, you will probably enjoy this one. I love when I finish a book and want to hug it.
Format: Physical/Audio
Rating: 3.75/5
Genre/Topics: Children’s Fiction
Warnings: Domestic Violence, Drugs, Poverty, Guns
Why I read it: Ben’s book club was reading it!
I’d recommend this to: Anyone needing a quick book to switch up genres
This was an intense story about a boy that finds belonging in a track team. It’s a story with a strong voice about friendship and empathy, giving second chances and looking beyond someone’s circumstances. It has my favorite quality in a book: someone to root for.
Format: Physical & Audio
Rating: 5/5
Genre/Topics: Fairy Tale, Magic, Childhood
Warnings: N/A
Why I read it: Friend Recommendation
I’d recommend this to: Anyone wanting to remember what it’s like to be a kid
A girl helps an imaginary creature find its home. This is the perfect example of a book needing to hit in the exact right mood. I actually DNF’d this book last year because I tried reading it out loud to the boys – and they weren’t that into it. But I picked it up again this year and thought it was the sweetest little book and cried at the end. So…..five stars.
Format: Audio/Physical
Rating: 3/5
Genre/Topics: Childrens
Warnings: N/A
Why I read it: A dose of cuteness in a classic
I’d recommend this to: Anyone needing short stories and a chuckle
I did not grow up with this story and actually saw the movie first. It’s a lovely little tale of a talking bear joining a family in England. The series of short stories are sweet but very random. Should we explain the whole talking bear thing? Nah, just roll with it.
Format: Physical
Rating: 3/5
Genre/Topics: YA Romance/Adventure
Warnings: Teen angst
Why I read it: Friend Recommendation
I’d recommend this to: teens and romcom fans
This was a hard one to rate. It started as the most adorable little five-star adventure (and that’s even when YA romance makes me throw up a little in my mouth), but slowly turned into an “ope, that’s weird” and finished up as a “I didn’t hate it”! An uptight American teen meets a depressed runaway Prince of Wales and they end up traveling Europe while a doomsday meteor heads to destroy Earth. Honestly, it’s pretty cute and charming – but the end is rushed and super weird. I was so confused, until I found out the sequel will arrive this summer. That fact definitely explains the seemingly unnecessary cliffhanger.
Format: Physical/Audio
Rating: 3.75/5
Genre/Topics: Sci-fi
Warnings: Language
Why I read it: Husband Recommendation
I’d recommend this to: someone that wants to dabble in Sci-fi but not too much
This was an interesting example of how I had to switch from an audio book to the physical book to enjoy the story. I knew I would like the plot, but the narrator was a little more snarky than how I would interpret it. It’s amazing what a difference it makes! It strays a bit from the sci-fi to give a little commentary on the impact of fame and social media. It came off a bit preachy at times, but it was an interesting (and fast-paced) read with a bit of a riddle thrown in. For better or worse, it comes with a pretty significant cliffhanger with an intimidatingly larger sequel. I’m interested in it – but it needs to wait in the queue!
Format: Audio
Rating: 3/5
Genre/Topics: Upper Elementary Fiction
Warnings: Financial Hardships, Family Conflict
Why I read it: It had a giant fluffy cat on the cover.
I’d recommend this to: parents wanting to talk about hardships with upper elementary kids
Look at that cover – gorgeous! And a giant imaginary cat!? Sweet! I wanted to preview this one to see if it would interest my fifth grader. However, it turned out to be much heavier than I expected. Yes, there’s a sweet giant imaginary friend story – but I found this part of the book to be greatly underutilized. That cat is barely in the book – which revolves around a family’s struggle to stay in their home and make ends meet. It’s a great (and sad) book about growing up – but do not expect much on the comedic giant cat front.
Format: Audio
Rating: 3.25/5
Genre/Topics: Adult Fiction, Light Mystery
Warnings: N/A
Why I read it: Fan of the other books in the series
I’d recommend this to: fans of the first three books
This was an easy and short read that is technically a prequel to the series. It gives more background into the Vero (sidekick) character. While it’s a cute mystery, this adventure is not nearly as exciting or funny as the full books. In fact, not too much actually happens. However, it got me excited about reading #4 very soon (I’m #1 in the library wait list!).
Format: Audio
Rating: 4.25/5
Genre/Topics: Children’s/YA Fantasy
Warnings: Peril
Why I read it: It was about time!
I’d recommend this to: Harry Potter fans, gateway to fantasy genre
I must have been at the exact age where I was too busy to start another fantasy series that was geared toward kids. It started in 2005, so that tracks. However, I’m glad that (19 years later), I finally got around to reading this one. It definitely echoes Harry Potter (hello, boy that finds out he has super abilities that goes to a special place where other kids like him have to go on adventures – and a boy/boy/girl trio are apparently the only ones that can take things on even though it seems like a grown up should somehow handle these things??). Anyway, it is a super fun adventure that woke up all that mythology knowledge that was shoved in my brain sometime in an elementary language arts class. I hope to continue the adventure soon!
Format: Physical
Rating: 2.75/5
Genre/Topics: Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Warnings: Explicit doin’ it, language, violence
Why I read it: Sometimes you have to check out books that make you snort-laugh from reading the back cover
I’d recommend this to: No one. I just can’t. It’s too much. I’m embarrassed.
Ummmmm. So you know that old story about how a witch steals from her vampire ex and falls through a portal and gets picked up by a hot magical pirate and they get super lusty while also starting a revolution within pirate politics and then they eventually have to team up with the vampire ex to all survive? I hate that I didn’t hate this book and will probably read the sequel. BUT YOU DIDN’T HEAR ABOUT IT FROM ME.
Format: Audio
Rating: 2.25/5
Genre/Topics: Thriller, Fiction, Country Music
Warnings: Domestic violence
Why I read it: James Patterson is on my library challenge.
I’d recommend this to: someone who needs a nap
The audio book for this was very well done – Dolly Parton, Kelsea Ballerini, and a full cast – but wow, was it a snooze fest. There was no thrill in this thriller. I can’t roll my eyes hard enough when I can finish the sentences in audiobooks because they are so cliche. A girl with a mysterious past meets a boy with a mysterious past and helps her get in with a country superstar with a mysterious past. Nothing was surprising about any of the reveals and it was incredibly predictable.
Format: Audio
Rating: 5/5
Genre/Topics: Memoir, Motherhood, Pets
Warnings: Miscarriage, Grief, Pet loss, Pandemic, Childbirth
Why I read it: She’s one of the only social media influencers that seems relatable
I’d recommend this to: Millennial women, all moms and pet lovers that need to cry
I did not see this book coming. I’ve followed the author on Instagram for a few years and love her comedy. So, when she promoted that she wrote a book, I put it on the Libby waitlist. Months later, it popped up and I tried it out. Within two days, the book is finished and I’m crying. WHOOPSIE DOOPSIE. Just like her Instagram posts, she has the perfect balance of “I love motherhood, but I don’t love everything about it all the time”. It’s honest and funny and beautiful. I hate books that make me cry, but if they can trick me into it – automatic five stars.
Format: Audio/Physical Tag Team
Rating: 3/5
Genre/Topics: LEGO Nonfiction
Warnings: N/A
Why I read it: A lot of my life revolves around LEGO and I needed to cleanse my brain (see: pirate lust from above) with some nonfiction
I’d recommend this to: LEGO lovers wanting a deep dive into the founding family
Even though I have strong Danish roots, I was very thankful for the audiobook assistance to walk me through the dozens and dozens of names in this very dense book. I hopped back and forth between the pictures in the book and the auditory narrator, and that worked really well to get me through this giant tale of the Kristiansen family. I was actually drawn to this because Ben and I watched half of a documentary when we were resting at LEGOland, and I found it all fascinating. The story of the LEGO family and business itself is a full five stars, but this book was oddly paced. It went into lengthy descriptions of some topics (patent law and family politics/management) and glazed over some things that I would have found much more interesting (development of products and more on LEGO culture).
Format: Physical
Rating: 4.25/5
Genre/Topics: Fiction, Light Thriller, Comedy
Warnings: Dead bodies
Why I read it: I loved the rest of the series
I’d recommend this to: readers in search of a lighthearted mystery
I have to admit that I was a little annoyed at the end of the third book that this series was going to keep going – she just kept opening more cans of worms and the light fun of the first book was getting too complicated. That said, I’m so glad the Finlay Donovan books kept going, because this one (while still ridiculously over-the-top) wrapped up a lot of those plot lines from the first three books – while allowing room for a continuation/reboot in the future. I would love to see what is next for the entire cast of characters – this series is just fun and reliable.
No a bad month, eh? I had a lot of fun with this batch of books, but let’s go ahead and wrap up this post with: March’s Quit List – DNF With No Regrets
This was in my “If You Liked…..” recommendation list, so I tried it out. If you were already a fan of Maria Bamford, maybe this would be great. However, I knew very little about her and the audio book was pretty obnoxious and overstimulating. I just didn’t quite get it, and that’s okay! DNF @ 9% (audio).
The premise was adorable – match up the basics of the Wizard of Oz to a modern story. I was charmed by the concept but was then thwarted by my most hated character: Insecure Female Lead. Oh, it was painful. Imagine if Dorothy spent the entire plot of Oz hung up on the trauma from the tornado. Would it be justified? Absolutely. Would it be fun? No. I made it 38% before I was about to throw my book across the room if I heard one more mention of the following: her ex, the book her ex wrote, trying to interpret a text from her ex, missing her sister, her insecurities about her writing skills, her concerns about the future, wondering if she’s good enough, shocked she found a new friend in a new city. Okay, you get it. She was miserable, and I have liberated myself from her pouting.
I mean….look at that cover! So PRETTY!! Portals to other worlds!? So intriguing!! This is for the fans of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue – it was not meant for me. And that’s okay. I made it a whopping 138 physical pages before I could no longer go on. This book was such a tease – every time it flirted with being almost interesting, it would suddenly switch points of view and bore me to Boredomtown, USA. It would lose all momentum. I know it’s supposed to be amazing, but I just couldn’t put any more effort into it. When a book feels like a chore, NEXT!
That’s it for now. I’m starting April with a book from Ben’s book club, a sci-fi thriller, and a sci-fi comedy. Here’s hoping – and Happy Reading, Friends!