What I Read This Month: March

What I Read This Month is a monthly series, sharing the books I read month by month. You can follow along here. 

After starting reading a lot more in 2018, I upped my reading goal for 2019, committing to reading 52 books (so, basically, one book a week!). In order to do that, I'm holding myself accountable and sharing what I read month-to-month. If you're a book lover, follow along with this series, follow me on Goodreads where I chronicle every book I've read and want to read or tap through my Instagram Story Highlight where I share my star-rating as I read. 

I'm kind of playing catch-up in sharing my reads, so I shared January on Tuesday, February on Thursday, am sharing March today and then from here-on out, the previous month's on the first Friday of the new month (ie. April reads on the first Friday of May, May reads on the first Friday of June, and so on and so forth).

March was a slower month for reading than the previous two, even though I did exceed my goal of a book a week, because the first week of March was dedicated to Carnival, meaning I did ZERO reading! With a growing list of Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) books, I spent the time diving into some of these this month – lighter, more romantic reads, because I was tired and I couldn't handle any hard-hitting memoirs or thrillers. So, at the end of it, I'd read five books in March, still ahead of the goal!

MARCH

5 books

THE WINTER SISTER: 3.5/5 stars
A Book of the Month pick

16 years ago, Sylvie's sister Persephone never came home one night after sneaking out late with her forbidden boyfriend. Missing for three days, her body was found, but answers were never gotten for the family. Now, all those years later, Sylvie returns home to care for her sick mother, and Persephone's then-boyfriend (who Sylvie truly believes is guilty) happens to be a nurse where her mother's getting treatment. All these years later, the home still brings back memories from that night, and of Sylvie's own guilt, and she's determined to find out what happened to her sister once and for all.

Shocker! Another thriller BOTM pick! It's no secret that there's not a thriller I don't like, so I had to add The Winter Sister to my box in February. I wasn't disappointed at all, even when I figured out the direction the plot was going in early on. Despite knowing what would unfold, it was an easy and compelling read for thriller lovers like myself.

IZZY IN EL MAREO (c/o): 2/5 stars 

Izzy needs a change, and so she takes a job at an international resort in Mexico hoping to shake things up. But soon she finds herself falling back into her same bad habits and she has to find a way to break it before she spirals back into the life she tried to run away from. 

This was my first ARC and I was soooo disappointed. I found it so difficult to like the character, and found myself wishing I could stop several times. Also, it was set in 2009 and I don't think that was ever made clear so I spent the better half of the book wondering why she was living in the stone ages of technology until I realized lol.  Also, this was 100% a situation where I chose the book because of the cover. What a let down!

Special thanks to River Grove Books!

GIMME SOME SUGAR (c/o): 4/5 stars

A young widow returns to her hometown in Georgia to start from scratch, face the ghosts of her past, and decide if she's ready to take another chance on love. After her (cheating) husband suddenly dies, Lucy and her son return home to Georgia for a simpler life, where Lucy intends to open her own bakery. Faced with the reminder of the loss of her parents, the small town gossip, a meddling mother-in-law who does more harm than good and her old BFF-who-grew-up-hot, this was a cute and easy read.

This is technically the third in the Southern Eclectic series, but it was easy to read as a stand-alone and I really enjoyed the characters that Molly Harper created. Definitely a light read for those romance lovers.

Special thanks to Gallery Books!

FAME ADJACENT (c/o): 4/5 stars

Inspired by the Mickey Mouse Club, this book follows a children's TV show where all the members went on to become really really famous (think boy bands and it girl status), except one. Now, 25 years later, Holly feels even more left behind as all the other members except her are invited to the anniversary special, and she's determined to show up and show them who they left out. One problem: she's in Internet Rehab after spiraling out of control. But that won't stop her.

To be honest, I didn't expect to like this book the way I did. Cue internet rehab funniness, a whirlwind romance with flawed characters and a plot line that'll make all 90's babies sing, and you get Fame Adjacent. I laughed, I cried, I swooned.. cannot lie, I experienced so many more emotions in this book than I was expecting. And of course, I didn't put it down til 4 am.

Special thanks to Grand Central Publishing!

THE FLATSHARE (c/o): 4/5 stars

After a bad breakup, Tiffy needs somewhere to live, but she has zero budget. With the only other option being a rundown dump, she accepts a spot in a flatshare – except this is more like a bedshare. Tiffy gets the apartment after 6 on weekdays and on weekends, and Leon gets it from 9-5 on weekdays. When the two finally meet and sparks fly (through the perfect meet-cute btw), a friendship unfolds in the best way possible.

This sounds like a typical romance, but truly it's not. Despite the best meet-cute, a ton of stolen glances and a near-death experience, the book also addresses some serious topics and deeper storylines for both characters, including wrongful imprisonment, gaslighting and emotional abuse. Seeing the story unfold from both of their perspectives made me fall even more in love with the characters and the book, and I found myself wishing Netflix would pick up the rights to turn this into a movie, like now!

The Flatshare is out on May 28th. Special thanks to Flatiron Books! 

BOOK COUNT: 17/52 

Have you read any good books lately? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!