Books Read in March: 20

Books Read for the Year:  67/250

Topical Books/Monthly Goal Books:

The Hiding Place, by Corrie ten Boom (spiritual). This was an incredible story.

Beginning a Praying Life, by Paul E. Miller (spiritual). Interesting take on prayer. I learned some things.

The Water Keeper, by Charles Martin (TBR). This was SO good! I just loved it.

Autopsy, by Patricia Cornwell (TBR). I haven’t read this series for probably a decade, so it was a bit odd revisiting the characters.

Not Even for a Duke, by A.S. Fenichel (TBR). I enjoyed this series wrap-up.

Fortune and Glory, by Janet Evanovich (TBR). Just pure enjoyment. And too much Joe.

For Review:

Hideout, by Louisa Luna. Alice Vega is not an easy character to like. She’s hard. But she gets stuff done. Despite all the hatred she encounters, I enjoyed this read.

The Paradise Tree, by R.A. Denny. This was a fitting ending to Daniel and Peri’s story.

The Shadow Glass, by Josh Winning. This was a fun, kind of campy tale that reminded me of the movie The Labyrinth.

The Kaiju Preservation Society, by John Scalzi. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this, but I did enjoy the read.

A Forgery of Roses, by Jessica Olson. I enjoyed this story of magic and art. Loved the characters!

A Magic Steeped in Poison, by Judy I. Lin. This was an incredible read! I was hooked from the very beginning, and I can’t wait to read the second book in the duology.

The Lighthouse on Moonglow Bay, by Lori Wilde. This was a very “meh” read for me. I liked one of the sisters, but the other was completely self-absorbed and selfish. There was also a pretty big scene at the end that was totally disconnected from the rest of the narrative (involving a character we’d seen once, early on, and then not the slightest hint of through the rest of the novel.). This just didn’t work for me.

Savage City, by L. Penelope. This was an intriguing concept, but the characters felt a little flat to me.

Crimson Summer, by Heather Graham. I’m really liking these books with the main characters. Lots going on here, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Sense and Second-Degree Murder, by Tirzah Price (review forthcoming). I forgot how much Marianne annoyed me in the Austen book, but this was still a solid, entertaining read.

In a Garden Burning Gold, by Rory Power (review forthcoming). This was unique and intriguing, with characters that I wasn’t sure I liked (and most of them, no, I didn’t).

The Echo Man, by Sam Holland (review forthcoming). This started off a bit slow, but I ended up staying up until 2 a.m. to find out who did it!

The Burning Pages, by Paige Shelton (review forthcoming). This was a fun cozy mystery read—and I’m all about the books.

Just Because:

Mysteries of the Messiah, by Rabbi Jason Sobel. This was a fascinating read!

Left Unfinished:

Savvy Sheldon Feels Good as Hell, by Taj McCoy. I thought this was going to be more of a learning-to-embrace-yourself-warts-and-all type of book, but the 15% I read made it clear that wasn’t the case. Savvy’s boyfriend was a total jerk, but she just let him act like a selfish pratt and make her feel bad about herself, and she still let him have that power over her. I was hoping she grew past that, but I was too annoyed to keep reading and find out.

The Younger Wife, by Sally Hepworth. Yeah, these characters are a hard no for me. Annoying, unlikable, and I could not have cared less about them after reading 15%. Good writing, but not a good fit for me.

Fool Me Once, by Ashley Winstead. I read less than 10% of this before stopping. Lee might have learned never to trust men, but she sure hasn’t learned anything from her own bad behavior, and I just can’t stand to read any characters that are horrible people. And Lee qualifies. So no, thank you. I prefer characters that are decent human beings, not caricatures of a “twenty-first century woman” which, in this case, seems to be code for “selfish, hurtful, and completely frivolous”—and showing no sign of redemption.

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