Seven books in the month of March! I am super happy with that. Yeah, it's not the twelve books that I managed to wrangle in January, but considering what a busy month March was, I did fairly well! In my personal life there was two house moves (one being my own), my birthday, and multiple trips to the airport to pick up people from holiday. It's made me really excited for mine coming up in a couple of months! More on that later (would you be interested in seeing a "Holiday TBR"?) I'll head into the book reviews then, as I am sure that is what you really want to see.
The Female of the Species by Mindy McGinnis
This book completely blew me out of the water. It is one of those books that nobody really talks about and I am not sure why. I should mention that there is definitely a TW for rape and rape culture as that is what the main premise of this book revolves around. It's such an important issue in modern society and a lot of authors avoid it because it's touchy. I think that McGinnis handled it in a really bizarre and outlandish way that somehow made sense in all of the right ways. Also, I love the cover, but I don't think that it really displays the tone of the novel. For those of you that are interested, but are confused by the cover, the tone reminded me of a crude "Turtles All the Way Down". It was an excellent start to a good reading month.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I always resented that I managed to go to university for 5 years with an emphasis on classic English literature and I had never been assigned Austen, so I decided to solve that by reading it on my own accord. I debated whether I wanted to read "Emma" or "Pride and Prejudice" first. The novel that has captured half of the world's hearts won me over in the end. And I get it. I completely understand why this is a novel that is a classic. I completely understand why this is so many people's favourite book. While exploring regency era class relations and love, Austen manages to be witty and attention capturing in the best ways. I am just going to say right here and right now that Mr. Bennett is one of the best characters that I have ever read. He gave me Wilde vibes which you all know I love.
History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
This is my first brush with Adam Silvera who is considered one of YA's current golden authors alongside Becky Albertalli, Pierce Brown, and Sarah J. Maas. He has his own YouTube channel (which how cool and relatable is that?) and I have never heard anything negative ever spoken about the LGBTQ+ author that examines diversity and has some of the most realistic gay relationships in his books. Own voice authors are so important and I was so excited to delve into one of his books. After a bit of research, this one seemed the most up my alley and I was not disappointed. The relationships and grief that were explored throughout were so raw and real which is amazing. It's not action-packed, but it's something that will stick with you.
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
I have so many mixed thoughts on this book. First of all, it was very eye-opening to me in that I realised I am definitely more of a contemporary/ historical fiction gal than a fantasy one. This book reminded me so much of an adult version of Six of Crows with an even more extensive magic system. It was one of the slowest books ever to get into. Like... it's definitely going to take me at least a month or two to tackle each book in this series because I can't just sit down and read them like normal books- the pacing is too slow and the story is too complex. That being said, I really enjoyed it as well because it's super unique and interesting and I will most definitely be continuing with the series because i'm very involved now.
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
From what I have read, this is a lot of people's least favourite John Green book and I get it. There are definitely things that I struggled with when reading it as well, like the insults being used throughout made fun of medical and mental health issues and I just don't think that's okay. That being said, I don't think that Collin was as annoying as everyone was saying that he was and I totally read the book in one day which is always a sign that it's a fast and easy read (exactly what I needed after wading through the 700+ pages of The Final Empire). So, what else to say... it was a book that I would define as average. I would not say that it is a book that I would recommend to others, but it's not bad either. Sad to say it won't be staying on my shelf with TFIOS and Looking for Alaska.
When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James
This is the first book that I bought with my birthday money because my best friend told me that I needed to read it. This is the girl that basically told me what to read all the way through high school, so to say that I trust her opinion is an understatement. This book had such a good romance. It's a romance novel done right. It reminded me of a mix between a period drama and "The Hating Game" by Sally Thorne. If you like stories where the two leads really have to work for their love story, than you would really like this. It's not insta-love in the least, but it's not a torturous slow-burn either for the simple reason that the book is not long enough for that. So, on behalf of my best friend (who has read A LOT of romance) and me, this is a sure bet for a good time.
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
I have been wanting to read this for ages because I love little old men. And then, I joined the "Buzzfeed Page Turners" on Facebook and every other post was about this book, so it was one of the only books that I ended up asking for on my birthday. My husband's grandma got it for me and I devoured it between furniture building. It. Is. So. Good. But, also it's not really an old man at all... like he's only 59, so I feel like the cover is really deceiving. It flips back and forth between Ove's childhood and Ove's present and it is the best book that I have ever read that teaches someone to not judge somebody too quickly. I kept taking pictures of quotes that made me tear up and I lost count. What an amazing little novel. Also, it should be noted that there is a TW for suicide (I don't know why that's never mentioned).
Alright folks, that's all for now! I am on my fifth book of the month of April currently, so hopefully I will have an even bigger update at the end of the month, and hopefully I will be able to actually get it up on time since I will actually have Wi-Fi then. In the comments tell me about your favourite book that you read in the month of March, i'd love to hear it! If I had to choose one, it would have to be "A Man Called Ove". I think it's one of those books that literally everyone would learn from and enjoy!