March Wrap Up 2019

April 5, 2019

Hello everyone! As some of you know, I took a little break from social media as well as blogging since I was wrapping up my internship and a lot of things were happening at once. It was a really good choice and I felt like I could breathe a little easier. In the weeks of my absence I read A LOT and I read exactly what I felt like which made it such a joy to pick up books again. I’m going to continue with this path and not worry about whether the book is popular or will make for a good review. I’m just going to pick up whatever I want and get back to doing Bookstagram, Twitter and blog reviews for FUN! So without any more chit chat, here’s the books I read in March when I was (mostly) on a media break:

Me, Myself and Ideas by Carrie Anton & Jessica Nordskog

(Finished March 3rd)

For once I was in the minority that liked this book! It’s a nonfiction business book about brainstorming and finding your goals in creative ways. I loved the vibrant colors and the modern design but other reviewers didn’t seem to get what they were looking for. I don’t know.. I saved a lot of the ideas for future projects and thought it was great!

My rating: 5/5
Goodreads rating: 3,1/5
Page count: 144
Publication date: April 30th 2019

Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

(Finished March 8th)

This amazing middle grade story about a confused prodigy child finding out her true identity had an instant grip on me. The story does take the “Chosen One“-concept a few baby steps too far, but other than that, I loved it. It’s got magic, elves, a school with the purpose of shaping your abilities, enemy rebels and topics such as loss and love. As you can tell, it’s jam-packed with goodies and I’m happy to say, this is a longer series with each book increasing in number of pages. Yay!

 My rating: 4/5
Goodreads rating: 4,4/5
Page count: 496

The Art of Taxidermy by Sharon Kernot

(Finished March 13th)

This is a very raw story of a young girl, Lottie, who is confused about death and her mother’s absence. She finds peace in making dead things beautiful again and develops a strong interest in taxidermy. Her family can’t understand her morbid hobby but the connection to her dead mother (who no one speaks of) is obvious. This book is a bit repetitive at times due to the setup (written in verse) but otherwise very good – IF you have the stomach for detailed scenes of dead animals and corpses.

My rating: 4/5
Goodreads rating: 3.9/5
Page count: 240

Daytripper book cover

Daytripper by Fábio Moon & Gabriel Bá

(Finished March 19th)

Daytripper is a graphic novel with a very strong message of living the best life you possibly can. We observe how one man’s life can play out and end in so many different ways and it’s quite impactful. What happens if he dies here? What if he gets a few more things out of life and then go? I didn’t care much for the art style but I loved the concept. If Gabriel Bá’s name seem familiar, he also worked on The Umbrella Academy.

My rating: 4/5
Goodreads rating: 4.3/5
Page count: 256

The Wicked King by Holly Black

(Finished March 20th)

I have a full review coming up soon but I have to say, I liked this a lot more than the first book. The Cruel Prince was so slow, so boring and I only enjoyed the scheming politics and the occasional evil Fae outbursts. I still don’t like Jude, she needs to get down from whatever horse she stole and get a grip. In The Wicked King we get more action, more schemes, more broken loyalty and it’s fun. I still have some issues with the story but overall I enjoyed it more this time around.

My rating: 3,75/5
Goodreads rating: 4.5/5
Page count: 336

The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

(Finished March 25th)

A popular YA contemporary that’s been around for some years and is now getting a movie adaption (premieres May 17th). It’s the story of Natasha, who’s trying to prevent getting deported to Jamaica, and Daniel, a Korean kid with the weight of his parents’ ambitions on his shoulders. They spend the day together and create a bond with a hopeless future. It’s a very quick read and I liked the writing style and the characters. The whole one day love story thing.. I don’t buy it. I like romance too, but it’s just unrealistic and shallow.

My rating: 4/5
Goodreads rating: 4.1/5
Page count: 384

All of This is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor

(Finished March 31st)

A group of friends get the opportunity of their lives when they get close to their favorite author. However, what they think is a true and deep friendship (all secrets spilled) is merely the inspiration to the authors new book. Suddenly, the world can read very intimate details about the group and the consequences are serious. This book is so hard to rate. On one hand, I couldn’t put it down and I read these 432 pages super fast. On the other hand the writing sucks and the characters are insufferable. It has a reality-TV guilty pleasure kind of feel where you know it sucks but you just gotta know.

My rating: 3/5
Goodreads rating: 3.4/5
Page count: 432

Total amount of pages I have read this month: 2288
Book of the month: Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

From middle grade fantasy at almost 500 pages to YA contemporary filled with cease the day-philosophy I managed to read quite a bit last month – 7 books in total (started an 8th). I’m happy with the list which includes a bit of everything and I’m more motivated than ever to read, now that I’m getting back to choosing what’s fun for me. Let me know what your favorite book of March was OR if you’ve read any of the books on my list above!

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