March Wrap Up

Oy! March is over! As a whole I’d probably rate March 4/5 stars. I mean…

• The weather towards the beginning of the month was absolute GARBAGE (read: snow) but turned it around towards the end. Partial credit.
• I unleashed some inner chill during the month and the lack of motivation and slight burnout was no longer plaguing my every thought. Definite win.
• Books. Lot’s of books. Add points, game over.

Anywayyy before I create an aggressively long list, let’s hop right in.

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3 🌟 A Pho Love Story by Loan Le

buddy read with @booksofmagicandmystery

4 🌟 You Have a Match by Emma Lord

someone get me a canoe

3 🌟 The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

PIRATES!

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4🌟 Can’t Take That Away by Steven Salvatore

genderqueer icon and musicals?? I vote yes

4🌟 Sweet and Bitter Magic by Adrienne Tooley

witchy magic

This book has been removed from the wrap-up because the author is problematic. I will not be supporting Jay Kristoff in any way, shape, or form. I encourage you to inform yourself on the reasons for him being problematic and avoiding financially supporting him and his book in the future.

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This book has been removed from the wrap-up because the author is problematic. I will not be supporting Jay Kristoff in any way, shape, or form. I encourage you to inform yourself on the reasons for him being problematic and avoiding financially supporting him and his book in the future.

3🌟 Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

why did i just read 350 pages about a magical deer hunt???

3🌟Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

*plays Jeopardy theme song while waiting for a plot to emerge*

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5🌟 Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

words cannot describe the joy this book made me feel

3.5🌟 The Falling in Love Montage by Ciara Smyth

summer romance, recreating rom-com moments, dry humor

3🌟Follow Your Arrow by Jessica Verdi

#overuseofhashtags #whyyyyyyyy #notneededineverysentense #pain #moderation 

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4.5🌟Honey Girl by Morgan Rogers

cue the feelings

3🌟Prince Charming by Rachel Hawkins

royals, kilts, and an excess of dad jokes

4.5🌟Namesake by Adrienne Young

“We were salt and sand and sea and storm. We were made in the Narrows.” I’M FINE I’M FINE I’M TOTALLY FINE

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4🌟Geekerella by Ashley Poston (reread)

i reread this one too because i have no chill

3🌟Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston

i expected one thing and got another and i’m not sure how to feel about it

3🌟Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston

fun fact: you should read books in order (NOT 113231)

Honestly, the posting whenever I felt like it worked a lot better. I wasn’t nearly as rigid with my Tuesday-Friday schedule and I think that allowed me to have more fun with what I was writing and enjoyed the whole ~experience~ a bit more. I ended up writing 10 posts, mostly reviews, but also a few tags sprinkled in there as well. You can click on any of the banners and it should bring you to the post!

Also, a bit of a question for all you lovely people out there. I tried a bit of a new review format with People Like Us as well as You Have A Match. It was more yay and nay bullet point style, rather than a more flow-y paragraph. Is there one you liked better than the other?? Any tips for improving either one of them? Any feedback you could give would be greatly appreciated : )

• This month I’ve been participating in a 100 page challenge. Basically, the goal is to read everyday with the aim being 100 pages. I’m honestly quite surprised by how well I’ve been able to keep up and of all the reading that I’ve gotten done!
• The speech season is officially over. That being said, there still is Nationals happening in June. The qualifiers for that tournament were during March and I’m super excited that I qualified and will be competing in a duet!
• Fun fact about April: I really love musical theater. I’ve been in a couple shows, but my first love is listening to the soundtracks. Partly because I can’t dance worth a lick, and partly because I can walk around the house and yelling “ITS A MUSICAL, A MUSICAL, NOTHING’S AS AMAZING AS A MUSICAL” while pretending that I know how to tap. Peak entertainment right there. Anyway, I’m on a team writing sketch comedy for the transitions (because its a online/in person/hybrid musical) and I’m so happy with how they are turning out.
• I also have been driving a lot lately. I got my permit a few months ago, but have I actually been driving?? The answer is no. Until now. I’ve mastered the art of the traffic lights and can go through the library pick up line, so I’m feeling pretty accomplished lol.
• One last thing! @asher_reads over on instagram and I have been collaborating on a read-a-thon for the month of April. I had a blast planning everything and even got to dabble in some drawing skills with the logo/design/thing. For more details, check out my post below! I’d love to have y’all aboard!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNEYJN0LI9s/

Starting off strong, I loved all of the posts for International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month!

• Bertie @ Luminosity Library recommends 10 Amazing Sapphic Fantasy Books. Thank you for making my TBR that much longer, I am so hyped to read some of these! Especially A Dark and Hollow Star by Ashley Shuttleworth… sounds like something right up my alley!
• Saniya @ Sunny Side Reviews recommends 5 Novels to Celebrate International Women’s Day With! Saniya always has the best recs, so I’m looking forward to the day when my hold of Six Angry Girls get’s in!

Also new in March, I might have become slightly obsessed with zodiac signs. Thank you to all the zodiac-lovers in the musical group chat for starting me on that particular binge. And of course, no obsession would be complete without corresponding book recs.

• Shreshtha @ A Book and A Dream recommends 5 Books Every Aries Should Read. I am in fact an Aries, but I’ve yet to read any of these. Definitely some lovely recs for my ever growing tbr!
• Also, Alex @ The Scribe Owl has been working on this awesome Zodiac Series! I’m specifically going to shoutout the Book Recs for Aries just because I am one (I don’t share all the traits, but a few definitely ring true lol). Do go check out the series if you’re interested in their recs per sign!!

Tropes are one of the main reason I pick up a book. Fake dating? I’m in? Academic rivals-to-lovers? Sign me up. Found family? Yes, please. I absolutely adored these recommendation lists based on the found family trope!

• Ally @ Ally Writes Things gives recommendations for books with a ragtag crew/team of misfits/found family. I am trash for this trope and will be reading these asap.

Okey dokey I’m ditching my grouping strategy and I’m just going to add some of my other favorites. It seemed like a better idea, but now it’s 9:30 the night of the 31st and I’m regretting my poor procrastination life choices.

• I forgot to include this lovely post by Marta @ Monogamist Reader in my February Wrap Up! I’m 110% here for these Lesser Known The Beauty and the Beast Retellings! I’ve yet to read a Beauty and the Beast retelling that i’ve fallen head over heels for, but whenever I ask for recs I get a loud chorus of ACOTAR. Like thanks, but I think I’ve heard of that one before. I’m so hyped to try out some of these Beauty and the Beast retellings that exist more under the radar. Thank you for compiling this amazing list!

• Happy (belated) One Year Bloggoverery to Riddhi @ Whispering Stories! I love the advice she shares in her post: My blog turns one year old! | Let’s talk advice and Q&A. So much of it rings true, and it includes lot’s of things I wish I’d known when I was just starting out!

• 90% of the reading I do is in the electronic format, truly, ebooks changed the way I read. I absolutely loved and related to many parts of How Kindle Changed my Reading Life by Mary @ Tea Time Lit!

• Nothing drives me more insane than Goodreads summaries. The amount of times it a) spoils things b) screws over the pacing in the entire book or c) is absolutely worthless and tells me nothing is absolutely enraging. Charvi @ It’s Not Just Fiction wrote an amazing post about What She Likes To See In Book Blurbs. Love the points made here.

• TikTok is the master thief of my time during quarantine, closely followed by Pinterest. There is a huge booktok community going on over there, so it was really interesting to read Siena @ Booksophobia’s post Is TikTok the Next Major Bookish Social Media??

• There is no better feeling than hearing someone loved a book you recommended to them! I was so so so happy to hear that Karla @ Another Bookworm picked up The Shadows Between Us and enjoyed it just as much as I did. Do check out her amazing review of the book, decked out with her very own, and incredibly unique, rating system!

• Counting Down With You sounds like the kind of book I would absolutely adore (I mean, fake dating!!) and I had a blast reading Ahaana @ Windows to World’s interview with the author, In Conversation with Tashie Bhuiyan, Author of Counting Down with You! I’m even more excited to pick up this book after reading it!!

• Prutha @ Moonchild Lexicons combined two of her favorite things in her post Recommending books based on K-pop songs (or maybe vice versa). You can feel her passion and enthusiasm oozing out of every word and it makes for a 10/10 post. Plus, I loved her reccomendations!

• Phoenix @ Books With Wings wrote a really interesting discussion post about Teens in YA. It was a really interesting discussion post and brought up a bunch of really interesting talking points!

• Last, but certainly most not least, I would like to thank Abby @ Beyond the Read for putting together the recourses as well as recommendations for her post Resources to #StopAsianHate + 2021 YA Releases by AAPI Authors. I am especially looking forward to Not Here to be Liked by Michelle Quach!

• Shadow and Bone Trailer, but now I have context. Also the official trailer. The amount of times I have rewatched both is honestly embarrassing at this point, but it’s fine, because April is almost here and the show will be out so soon!!!!!
• Spring Break was towards the end of the month. Very nice mental break from everything, and a very good opportunity to catch up on my mounding stack of library books that is silently staring at me from the corner.
• Fun fact: I am a major sweet tooth. Well, now it’s ice cream season once again! The ice cream shop I work at opened back up for the season and it’s really good to be back!
• I’m keeping this section short for now because it is officially wayyy later than I intended and I would really love to publish before the clock strikes midnight.

Y’all. This post got really long, really fast. Whoops. Watch out Phoenix @ Words with Wings, I’m coming for your aggressively long wrap up crown haha. So yea, basically that was my March (in like 1000 some words, but we’ll take it). I said it towards the beginning and I’ll say it again, a solid 4/5 stars. And with that full circle closure, we’re calling this March Wrap Up a wrap.

What is your Zodiac sign? Does it fit you? How was your March? Read anything interesting? What was your top read of the month??