What I Read In March

As I begin my social media break in April- I wanted to have a place to share the books I’ve read because I love chatting books with you guys! Leave me a comment and let me know the best book you read last month! 🙂

Another quick note: I recently started utilizing NetGalley- I didn’t quite understand how it worked previously- but it is a way to receive advanced copies of books before they are published, either ebooks or audiobooks! I’m sharing because there are a lot of books in the “read now” category that anyone can access, read and review; you don’t necessarily have to have an “online presence”! I read three books from NetGalley this month, some have been published and some will be in the near future, but I made sure to include that info under each review.

How To Eat More Plants: I loved the concept of this book so much! The basic idea is that you try to eat 30 different plants (fruit/vegetables/ whole grains/ legumes/ nuts/ seeds) each week. You DON’T have to cut anything out or “diet” at all- it’s just about increasing health and nutrition by adding more plants IN. I tried to get my 30 “plant points” for all of March and even though I never got all the way to 30- I feel SO much better and can truly see a difference in my energy levels. 4/5 stars (-1 just because the recipes didn’t look that great to me!)

This is How it Always Is: I’m a little late to the game on this one, but oh my goodness, I really loved it and think it is a book that all adults should read. It centers around a potentially “controversial” topic of a little boy who wants to be a girl but Frankel wrote the story with such nuance that it felt incredibly realistic, and the characters were so well developed. I loved the messages regarding parenthood and how none of us know what we are doing, we’re all just trying our best. 5/5 stars

Don’t Forget to Write: This is not my usual genre- but out of my huge stack of library books it was rated the highest, so I decided to read it first. It was cute and a feel good story, but I’m a little confused why it has SUCH a high rating. I liked Ada’s character a lot, as well as the feminist undertones, but defintley found it predictable and was able to guess the twists early on. I would recommend it if you enjoy feel good stories or are looking for a light beach read! 4/5 stars

A Friend in the Dark: WHEW. Lots of mixed thoughts on this one! The premise of an online encounter gone wrong was intriguing! I was invested in finding out what happened, it was definitely a page turner, and there were some GOOD twists that I did not see coming. However, it did start off a little on the cringy and steamy side (I wondered what exactly I was reading at first!) and I found most of the characters to be either unlikeable or frustrating to read about. With that being said, I finished it in two days and was satisfied with the ending- so I would recommend it if you’re looking for a unique and propulsive popcorn thriller to read! 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for sharing an advanced copy to read and review. It was published on March 1st.

Clap When You Land: This book about two sisters (one in the Dominican Republic, one in NYC) who learn about each other after their father’s death, was fantastic- it almost read as a memoir because the characters felt so real and well developed. I listened to it on audio and highly recommend as it is written entirely in verse and hearing the author read it was wonderful. 5/5

The Book of Lost Names: Again, late to the game on this one- but it was my bookclub’s pick this month and I’m glad I finally read it! It’s a World War II novel from the perspective of a young woman who helped forge documents for Jewish children to escape from the Nazis. It was a good story but didn’t quite live up to the hype to me. While the premise of the Book of Lost Names was interesting, I wish the actual book had played more of a central role in the story. I also thought many parts of the book were predictable. However, I did enjoy reading it and would recommend! 4/5

Other Birds: I LOVED this book. It’s a little weird but I’m coming to realize that I like that in a book. I like books that are a little outside of the box and make me think– this one checked those boxes for me. If you love a found family story with well developed characters and some magical realism then I think you’ll like this one too! 5/5

Behind Every Good Man: I received an advanced copy of this book and was excited to read it after recently finishing and enjoying “Don’t Forget to Write” by the same author. While I had high hopes for a similar reading experience, I didn’t enjoy this one as much. I personally didn’t love the heavy focus on politics and the whole plot felt unrealistic to me so I didn’t find myself as invested in the story. I did enjoy the inclusion of several characters from “Don’t Forget to Write” (it’s not necessary to have read it, but fun if you have!) and the similar messages of female empowerment. It’s definitely not a bad book, but someone who likes politics more than I do may enjoy it more. 3/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for sharing an advanced copy to read and review. The publishing date is August 6, 2024.

The Last Party:

“The Last Party” was a page turner with a unique plot; it had me reading every second I could because I couldn’t believe what was happening–for better or worse. It’s hard to share too much about the plot, without revealing spoilers- but let’s just say that the plot was shocking and from a perspective unlike any that I’ve read before…and I’ve read a lot of thrillers!

Like many books in this genre, the plot was a little hard to believe. I was also able to guess several of the twists, but I don’t think it took away from the story. It was still fun to read, and was a good escape.

(As a side note- I’m confused about the image they chose for the cover- it doesn’t match the story at all!) 3.5/5

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas and Mercer for sharing an advanced copy to read and review. The publishing date is August 20, 2024.